Since day one, Gary DePinto has been very helpful, truthful, friendly, and overall a true professional. Managing our investment property in Austin after moving to the North East was quite challenging for us, and Gary made this incredibly easy and stress free. He was always prompt, and transparent in his communications, which seems to be a rare trait to find these days. Eventually, when we decided to sell the property, we entrusted Gary to not only get a good offer for the house, but to also take care of the various maintenance issues prior to listing. Gary exceeded our expectations on every metric! We were able to go through the whole process remotely, and Gary made sure everything was as smooth as possible for us. We are very grateful that we were able to connect with such a wonderful person. It goes without saying that we would highly recommend Gary to anyone looking for a real estate agent! read more

I have never in my 20+ years of renting come across such bad business practices. I reached out to Mission South via an online listing from Zillow. The returning contact was Vito Raymond with Metro 512 Realty a.k.a. 512Living a.k.a. The 512 Group. Vito met me onsite at Mission South to show me apartment 112. When I arrived he said that unit had been leased but he could show me 109. Unit 109 left much to be desired. You could tell they were working on it, but you could also see the unit suffered years of maintenance neglect. Still sensing my hesitation, Vito called me back to come look at a finished unit at Mission South the next morning. This unit looked good, but sadly it was on the second floor. Due to a current disability, I need to be in a first floor unit or have access to an elevator for upper floor unit occupation. I asked Vito if some basic updates could be made to the 109 unit before I applied & he said that my list items were already on their list to take care of. I informed him that I was not available for any move-in until at least March 13, due to my being out of the country. I don't think that message hit home with anyone, because as I was out of town, the pressuring messages started flooding in. Multiple texts from Vito to which I replied that I was still abroad. I asked if I could see the unit before signing the lease & if it didn't work, for whatever reason, if I could get my security deposit back. His reply was "Yes that can happen as long as you don't sign the lease first. So pay the deposit and tell Loren our property manager that you want to see the apartment before signing the lease". The very next day I got an email from 512Living - Mission South's assistant manager Marisa Garcia. "The security deposit and admin fee payments are missing in order to hold the unit & send the lease.", she explained. In fear of not having a place to live when I got back to Austin, I reluctantly paid the admin fee & the security deposit via an online portal on March 8th. my mistake was assuming Vito had spoken to them about my being abroad & about my request for the deposit refund. Friday 3/15/24, I texted Vito that the unit wasn't right for me and that I wasn't going to make our meeting or sign the 12 month lease with Mission South. He wished me luck & asked me to reach out to Loren, the manager for Mission South & employee of 512Living to get my security deposit refund. I called & left a message with the admin on shift. Later that day I got an email from Loren reading ..... "Mary- I've attached a copy of the application for your records. Your application was received on 02/26 & approved on 02/28 when your guarantors application was submitted. The deposit was paid on the 8th, & the lease was sent the same day- the unit had been held since the 8th. On page 6 of the application, it states in paragraph 3 & 6 that we may keep the application deposit as liquidated damages if you don't sign the lease or withdraw your application. I know Vito mentioned you weren't ready to commit to a long term lease. I can ask the owner if they would consider a shorter term lease if you would like; let me know and I can reach out to the owner. If you have any questions in regards to this, please let me know. -Loren" Notice that in the email above Loren improperly refers to my security deposit as an application deposit. I paid a security deposit, as referred to in the application. I did not ask for a 6 month lease that she attempted to have prepared for me. I explained to her that Vito mentioned that the security deposit was refundable if I didn't sign the lease & asked her to have the owner call me. After two days of no reply I followed up with an email explaining that I am not interested in signing a lease & that I do not feel comfortable doing business with a company that allows misrepresentation of terms from an agent regarding the refund-ability of security deposits. I also asked them to send an itemized & dated list of any liquidated damages suspected to be associated with this transaction. I still have not received this. Loren replied "although the application specifies that we can retain the application deposit as liquidated damages in case of withdrawal or failure to sign the lease, the owner has agreed to refund half of your application deposit, totaling $537.50." Again incorrectly referring to the security deposit as an application deposit. There are no defined terms for clear understanding. They change the deposit term to suit their needs. This is absolutely poor real estate practices & every realtor I have spoken to says they are operating incorrectly by Texas law. Even Vito texted confirmation that he "did say the security deposit was refundable and that has always been their policy". I took the partial refund, but I am still waiting on the receipt for damages. They are now past 30 days as required by law in the state of Texas to produce this. I am still working to get the rest of my money. BUYER BEWARE! read more

I have had several troublesome experiences while dealing with this company, but I have been patient. After moving into my current home, I was informed that the laundry facilities and meters are shared. I pay my rent online, but since last year, a $2.50 transaction fee has been charged. The bills for the shared meter also appear in the online system, but they come at random times. If I pay the rent and utilities separately, each transaction incurs a $2.50 fee. Once, an utilities bill was added without my knowledge, and I was charged a late fee of $5 per day for 20 days. I had to call to have those charges removed. In this billing cycle, "Allocation fee: $9.00" has been added to the utilities breakdown. When I inquired about it, I was told that they have started charging a $3 fee each for the shared utilities, drainage, trash, and city services. These items are consolidated into a single bill issued by the city, with each original amount ranging from $10 to $30. When I asked, "Isn't it ridiculous to charge a $3 fee for each of these items?" I was told, "We manage many properties, and such tasks are quite challenging." I said, "If you're going to charge a $9 fee, at least please make sure the utilities bill is entered into the system before the rent payment due date each month. I'm always being charged an extra $2.50 fee just for the utilities" They responded, "We can't control the timing of the city's bill. If you don't want to pay the $2.50 fee, you can mail your payment or drop it off at the office." Disclaimer: They should have plenty of time to handle the utilities bills. For example, in this cycle, we are paying for utilities from March to mid April along with the June rent. read more

Worst apartment experience I have ever had was with them. I had the misfortune of falling victim my sophomore year of college, and boy was it a hell of a lot of money for a concrete room with a single window facing a wall. In the winter the heaters did not work for several days and the AC sucked. I hate this company with such a passion. The management often brushed off complaints, but the place was constantly breaking down. But the worst part is how EXPENSIVE it was. They often tacked on fees for reasons that made you scratch your head. Nobody likes this damn place, you can see it in all the reviews, so just don't even bother giving them a chance. Run away at all costs read more

NOW THIS IS SLUMLORDING! as most others have pointed out these are the bottom tier of housing stock around campus--which isn't necessarily a deal breaker if you know what you're getting into and that it fits your price range as a student or as someone paying for a student's housing. I won't comment on the quality of the units because you should see the unit you want to rent in person before signing a lease based on pictures (as others have said, 512 and other campus realty firms use several leasing agents that are motivated to put you in A unit--not necessarily the one you're interested in-- and never talk to you again). You'll see for yourself how much care and upkeep is (not) done. The reason for the truly horrible ratings for 512 Living (both here and almost every other social review aggregator) is that interacting with the management will have you screaming and considering your legal options. The office staff was kind enough on the phone when I was signing my lease, but once I began having problems in my unit (maintenance and otherwise) I got the true 512 Living experience. The closest analogy I can offer is to imagine renting from teenager--the staff will cut you off, demean your experience, and make things very personal, up to and including refusing to talk to you. Certain staff members will try to intimidate you by insisting that you've already agreed to do everything they tell you once you've signed the lease. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Be very wary about being railroaded into accommodating them, most of the office staff assume you won't read or understand the lease and can be bullied into going along. Management WILL violate the lease agreement in ways such as 1) not giving you more than 24 hours ("reasonable") warning that a leasing agent will be showing your apartment 2) demanding you pay deposits and first month's rent with a cashiers check. The short answer is that these people are not real estate management professionals. I, along with substantially every other reviewer, urge you to seriously consider before signing a lease with 512 Living. a few last items to be aware of: 1) move-out is a nightmare and is essentially a grift that eats most of your security deposit 2) the shared utility meters mean that your utility bills are largely OUT OF YOUR CONTROL and vastly exceed any comparable unit--I had about a 500 SQF unit (1 eco-minded person) and utilities were routinely over $200 a month and included an additional fee for "allocation." What happens is that all power/water/sewage/waste is on a single account that is then split up by square footage. Consider this when making rent comparisons. Do yourself a favor and ask the realtor/agent what the average utilities are in the unit you're looking at--this is information they should be providing but do not because of the truly insane costs (especially for 1-2 people). There are fees hidden throughout their process, so always ask for an all-in cost when dealing with anything. Better yet, ask yourself why looking past the ocean of negative reviews and experiences here is a good idea. read more

I've had at least one of my kids in college and renting for over 12 years, so we've dealt with a lot of property management companies. 512Living has been the most helpful and quick responding company ever. The refrigerator wasn't working the day we moved our daughter in and they brought a loaner fridge the next day until the new one could get delivered. Also had a problem with the hot water heater and they fixed it immediately. She has lived there for an entire school year and they have quickly and efficiently responded to all requests and questions. read more

I lived at Lone Star Lofts from Aug 2019-2020 through 512 Living and it was by far one of the worst experiences of my life. To start, they sent an email stating to split the keys you pick up with your roommate. I left one by her desk since I arrived earlier, left to pick up groceries without locking the door and came back to see I was locked out yet she hadn't even gotten to town yet? Tried to contact the office through multiple calls and emails on Friday afternoon but the didn't respond even after Monday came. I went to the office and they said that although the email was poorly worded and I was supposed to keep my keys, they couldn't reimburse me for the food that spoiled, give me a credit, nothing. My parents had to call into work to stay with me because we couldn't move any of my stuff in. They were not at all sincere about the situation. When I moved in the AC messed up (on a Thursday) and I had to wait till Tuesday to get it fixed. This was in the summer, so I was living in a room that had gotten to nearly 100 degrees for days. Throughout the whole year there was a HUGE problem with roaches. I constantly cleaned, called pest control twice (they came for less than 5 min each time and charged an unreasonable amount for it) and nothing changed. When I emailed about the issue, they responded by saying that's how it's supposed to be and that I basically need to accept how it is because it's Texas??? None of the other places I've stayed at have had that same issue. Absolute BS. Literally find ANYWHERE else. I know the place is cheap, but they'll create so many charges behind your back, the price becomes the same as other apartments. Might as well spend your time somewhere enjoyable read more

Earlier this month, I was in a major multiple car accident. My car was totaled, and I was dealing with a lot of stress and trauma post-accident. I emailed 512 Living about my situation and that I needed a replacement for my garage opener and parking pass. I was saving my parking pass because I have been using a temporary car. The next night, my car was wrongfully towed out of my own parking spot! I received a $230 bill from J&J Towing. Despite already discussing my situation with 512 Living, Jason blamed me for the situation. He said that I should have put the parking pass sticker on my rental car. You're not suppose to do that to a rental car! Even when I talked to J&J, they said that 512 Living should have let them that there would be a temporary car in the garage without a parking pass. I am very disappointed with Jason's lack of accountability for 512 Living's mistake. I didn't appreciate how he turned the blame onto me for being in this stressful situation. read more

So "Jimmy" told me to call him; as you can see on my last post. I just wanted to let everyone know; I a couple months ago, I tried calling/leaving messages several times and Jimmy never returned my calls. Additionally I noticed they had the Studio 34 review on Yelp completely removed.. If you are reading this, I still can't feel anything on the end of my right pointer finger. read more

I lived in Plaza38 in 2017 for a 12-month lease. Not only was 512 Living's faculties poorly maintained, but their move-out experience was TERRIBLE. My roommate and I left the apartment in better condition than we found it, and yet we lost our entire security deposit (1 month's rent) and even had extra to pay out silly things like replacement air-filters, oven drip-pans, small smudges on walls and pre-existing stains on carpets. They also require you to have a professional maid service AND a professional carpet cleaning service before moving out, and the maid service alone cost more than $300. The poor experience of 512 Living has left a poor taste in my mouth, and I hope they make changes to create a better experience for future students and for those seeking economy housing. read more

On top of all that I've told before, please take a note: 512 Realty is bad intentioned and dishonest (despite the payed-review that someone had just made, stating the contrary). 512 Realty sent me back the $500 deposit discounted by $62 for a "drip pan"!!! Really? The most expensive drip pan coast $7, and even they had bought 4 drip pans for the oven, it would coast $28. They refused to sent me the invoice for that. As always, they turn the "Sorry, I don't know what are you talking about/ I'm incompetent" mode on and wait you to quit the game. Please, make a favor to Austin: DON'T SUPPORT THIS KIND OF BUSINESS IN THE CITY: DON'T RENT WITH 512 Realty. read more

This is the third time this has happened living here and each time they don't fix it right. If you like a reoccurring problem that doesn't get fixed then go with 512 living. read more

512 Living - Hallway - Property Management Near Me - Austin, Texas

My issue was escalated to the Regional manager and as of March 16th all repairs have been made in my apartment; leak fixed several times and moldy carpet removed. With this update, an agreement with 512 has been made to repay me for the damaged goods at my valuation of $470 and they will credit my account for some of the days I was unable to stay in my apartment. read more

I usually don't bother writing reviews for ANYTHING but I feel that this is something that must be done in order to help other people . DO NOT SIGN A LEASE WITH 512 REALTY. No matter how good of a deal this office may present to you, they will absolutely blindside you with fees and "technical" bills hidden away in their contracts. Just as an example, my roommates and I were charged with a bill for "Replacing 16 Blinds = $600 ". We do not even have 16 windows!!!!! Not to mention that our maintenance request for our hot water to be fixed as well as RAT EXTERMINATION, went unnoticed for months until a few weeks until our lease was ending. How convenient. If you feel the need to ask for more questions about 512 Realty, please reach out through yelp with a direct message. I will provide evidence to just how predatory this office is. Please, for your sake, heed my words as well as the other reviews on Yelp. Good luck. read more

This review is in regards to Plaza 38, a property managed by 512 Realty (512 Living). If I could give this property 0 stars I would. It is a complete shit hole. To begin with the exterior is dirty and has absolutely no curb appeal. There is a sign outside that still reads "Pre-leasing for Summer" and it is now the end of September. This is a complete indication to the lackadaisical and uninvolved management that Plaza 38 has. The management does not follow up on the maintenance work, and is always taking a shortcut to fix the problem. For the 2 months I have been living here, the air conditioning has been out for more than 2 weeks, in Texas 90°+ weather. Still residents have yet to see any kind of compensation. In addition, the mailboxes are falling off the wall and do not have any kind of working lock, so packages get stolen very often, that is if the post office even delivers them because of the lack of "safe space" to put them. The showers in multiple units switch temperatures throughout the duration of your shower. From one minute excruciating hot to the next freezing cold. Residents have gotten blisters from the burns they have received in the shower. Most units do not have a light or ceiling fan in the living room, and the vinyl flooring is pulling up in many spots. There is a communal washing machines and dryers that are filthy, so there is no use in even washing your clothes in them, because you will have to rewash them. Windows are old and not secure. Units do not come with microwave, and have 1 chest high plug in the bathroom. Also, you have to pay for parking and sometimes the lot is too full to even find a spot (even though you paid for a pass). Overall DO NOT LIVE HERE. Managment sucks, and complex is a dump. Only thing positive this management company can do is tear this complex down and start from scratch. read more

Please do not move here!!!!!! Living here is like one of those scary scenarios you hear your friend dealing with but don't think it'll happen to you... The place is in a good location and seemingly nice just old. It in fact is decaying garbage with a fresh layer of paint. Everything from the stove to the toilet don't work properly. In 6 months, the only thing I've witnessed maintenance-wise was my microwave was replaced in the second week without my knowledge... @#$%#this place!!!! read more

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Management is nice HOWEVER, they take their time and do little to nothing to solve issues (like most other people's reviews state as well) PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES BEWARE- they will not take your accommodations seriously!!! THEY DO NOT TAKE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES HEALTHY SERIOUSLY. NOT WORTH HASHING OUT any agreements with them. They DO NOTHING. Already looking into back dated legal action for physical damages once I move. They switched me to a unit next to another smoker, and with glue seeping out of the floor- a problem they knew existed before I moved in. The glue dries and BLACK MOLD GROWS ON IT. they are not taking this seriously and are moving so slowing. Pushed it a day back * just to look * at it... when apparently it's been looked at before... I would move but it is the middle of the semester and I do not have the extra money in my budget! read more

512 reality has the worst reviews. This is one more to add because they Claimed some how it was a burden to them to move their furniture "worth 2,400" and then kept the 3k deposit even after we DID NOT SIGN the lease (( that's illegal )) they have only one star on every single site because they will SCAM YOU!!! read more

512 Living - They kept the 3k deposit even after we DID NOT SIGN the lease (( that's illegal )) - Property Management Near Me - Austin, Texas

I honestly don't think 512 Living is any better or worse than any other leasing and management company that rents primarily to students. I lived for a year in Rosewood, a small, 8 studio complex in West Campus. It was fine. I moved because the company wanted to raise my rent from $750 to $950 at renewal, which was ridiculous, if not I would have renewed. They certainly aren't a good management company, but I think a lot of the terrible reviews on here come from the fact that they rent primarily to students, which means this is the first lease they've ever had, and the students have no idea what renting and living on their own is supposed to be like. I think 512 takes advantage of that fact, which is pretty sucky. For example, I went and picked up my keys on the first day of my lease, which was a Sunday, so the office wasn't "open" but they were giving out keys. I go over to my new apartment to check it out, but the key doesn't work because the locks haven't actually been changed yet from the previous tenant. I called the office but they were already closed. If I'd had a moving truck showing up with my stuff, this obviously would have been a HUGE DEAL. But for me, I just went back to my old apartment and waited till the next day. When I finally got in, I noticed a few things that needed to be fixed -- primarily the lock on the sliding glass door. TX law requires 2. I informed 512 and told them to let me know when it was fixed, which took about a week. Again, for me, no big deal; I had another place to stay. When I did finally move in, I asked them what my prorated rent would be for that month, and they told me the regular full-month price, and I was like, "Nope, you didn't have this apartment ready per the law and the lease because I didn't have my keys and a second lock on the door," and they immediately prorated my rent to reflect my actual occupancy date. So they try to pull stuff like that, but if you push back in a calm and reasonable way, knowing what your rights are, you're a lot better off. It's rotten that they try to get away with stuff like that, but I bet they do a lot because their clients don't know any better. If you ending up leasing with them, here's my advice: read your lease thoroughly. Really. Don't be surprised by the cleaning fee or the fact that agents can bring people over whenever they want to view your apartment. Take tons of pictures and videos when you move in, and detail every single possible defect on your walk through form. If something is old, or bent, or dirty, or chipped, or there's the tiniest chance they could charge you for it, write it down. When you move out, do the same -- take photos. Of everything. They can't charge you for a drip pan if you've got a photo that it was there when you left. It sucks, but it's what you have to do with this company. Same goes if you're having problems -- leaks, bugs, etc. -- take photos and document it every time you report it and what action 512 took because you may need it later. Everything else for me was pretty much okay. As a business, they suck, but compared to other property management companies, they are pretty much standard, unfortunately. I didn't have issues with bugs or whatnot, and when I reported something that needed to be fixed, it got fixed. Sometimes not right away, and not on the first go, but it was eventually all taken care of. read more

I live in Lonestar Lofts. My experience with 512 Realty (now rebranded as 512 Living) has been atrocious. The apartment complex itself is okay. I take no issue with any of the amenities or or characteristics of the physical space. With that being said, I am going on week four of living without a functional air conditioning unit. Around the end of June/beginning of July, our AC would not cool the apartment to a temperature below 78 degrees. Not too bad, but we had the thermostat set on 72. I filed a maintenance request on July 4th, and a technician came by within a couple of days and temporarily resolved the issue. A few days later, the temperature starting creeping back up - this time becoming over 80 degrees nearly every day. A second maintenance request was filed, and to my knowledge, nothing was ever done about it. Regardless of whether or not someone came, the AC was still not functional and the apartment remained above 80 degrees for most of the day. On 7/10, I called the office and spoke to the property manager and he told me that a technician would come by that evening. No one came, and our apartment remained a sauna. It is now 7/22, and it is 85 degrees in the apartment. I suspect that nothing has been done because the last month of my lease has been paid for. The apartment has been unlivable for almost a month now, and I expect nothing to change before I move out. 512 Realty does not care about its residents. If you have other options, I'd strongly recommend going with them. read more

I lived at Parker Heights for 1 year and I'm not sure how I survived. We lived on the bottom floor of the building and it was absolutely terrible. So terrible that we stayed at 6 Airbnbs due to not being able to get sleep. We had to deal with couples constantly fighting next door at 3 in the morning, and upstairs neighbors playing band practice or stomping around. The sleep was so bad in the bedroom that we eventually put the mattress in the living room. We slept with earplugs every night and when that didn't work, we bought soundproof headphones. I've lived in apartments since I was born and have never had this experience. However, the maintenance guys here are awesome. They're really helpful and get things done immediately. P.S. there's a nightclub next door and you WILL hear bass Friday-Sunday until 2 or 3 am. read more

I will bring this company down if it's the last thing I do. I will find a way to bankrupt any and all parties involved with how this company is run. The maintenance guys who were chill are fine, y'all were nothing to worry about and were always kind. But the higher ups, the owners? Y'all are fucked. read more

My review is so negative, mainly due to 512 Realty's pre-lease policy. I moved in to my place in August. By October, a sign had come up in the front yard for next year's pre-lease. This week alone I had 4 separate showings, all with little to no warning. It's hard to feel like you have any privacy when random realtors are coming in unannounced. I understand the need to pre-lease, but I have NEVER seen it done as aggressively as 512 realty; Six months in advance of my year-long lease expiring seems like a fair amount of time to find a new tenant...NOT 10. Keep in mind, this is a standard practice for them. If people aren't that interested in your place, you have the potential to deal with random showings for 9-10 months out of the year! I do have to give them at least one extra star because even though I moved into a roach-infested house with a broken stove, they were quick to address those issues. read more

One of the worst property management companies in the country. Fortunately they're only local.

This company is the absolute worst. Stay away from them. My roommate and I saw the model apartment and signed a lease. The actual apartment really sucked, there were constantly maintenance problems, and the rent increased after we moved in. The realtors were always really shady, not giving straight answers. And they will try to rip off college kids as much as possible with fees and really anything they can charge you for. But what really pissed me off the most was that after we finally moved out and were able to find a sublease, someone stole the washer- dryer and they tried to blame me for that. . . Terrible service. Terrible people. Terrible properties. read more

I have waited months to review this place because when we first moved in to our apartment, things were so bad that the review would've been an ugly read. Fast forward to now and it has certainly improved, but it seems fair to reflect upon the whole experience here. 512 typically manages student housing, and has recently branched out into managing other properties. We found this particular property on our own, and 512 representatives showed us the place - or rather, neighboring apartments similar to it as the unit in question was still being renovated. The renovations looked nice, and most importantly, it was in a good location. That is the main reason we chose this apartment. The promised move-in date came and went not once but three times as the place was still being worked on. We had to stay with family outside of Houston and camp at McKinney Falls state park so my husband could get to work. When we finally did move in, the apartment reeked so strongly of paint, finishers, and floor sealants that we camped again, out in the backyard. Within hours of moving in we noticed several unfinished things/areas of the apartment - missing baseboards, window screens, rough patches on the floors, a missing light bulb, paint chips, etc. After our first night of sleeping in the apartment, we woke up to find a puddle of brown water on the kitchen stove top and floor, which was coming from the cabinets overhead, which was coming from the ceiling, which was coming from the toilet upstairs. Thus began a several week process of fixing the toilet and the huge mess that it made. They fixed the toilet relatively quickly but we had a hole in our ceiling for days and then an unfinished ceiling with a dangling bare bulb for many days after that before they finished the job. We also had to have maintenance people come every couple of days the first couple of weeks to fix other problems around the house. What it comes down to is that they got in over their head trying to fix the place up in order to rent them out as quickly as possible. They made promises they couldn't keep and did a half-assed renovation job. On the surface our place looks nice, but once you look a bit closer (or just live here) you notice the unfinished things, sloppy paint job, crooked cabinets, etc. Perhaps this is just the nature of renting and one of the inconveniences we all put up with until we can buy a home. Subsequent service requests are dealt with promptly and we haven't had any major problems since the initial overwhelmingly awful ones. I want to end this review but two more things come to mind. One is that after the massive inconvenience of it all, of not being able to move in for a couple of weeks after we were supposed to, and then not really being able to live in it comfortably for several more days after we did move in, we wanted out of the lease. We had another place ready and waiting for us and just desperately needed to unpack and start living somewhere. But naturally 512 wouldn't let it happen without taking our money, which we couldn't afford. They did, however, give us about a week's worth rent free, for what that's worth. The other thing is the girl working their front desk was consistently rude and unhelpful. Other people working there are decent and nice. Ok. That's it. Anyone still reading this? read more

Though there are some nice people at 512 Realty, on the whole, they run an operation that I can only call breathtakingly incompetent. The worst, as others have mentioned, is that they can show your apartment at any time during your lease just by calling you an hour in advance. Except they don't always come when they say they will -- one time they were almost two hours late, and they finally showed up while I was in the shower, completely unapologetic (Thank god I had the single-sided deadbolt on, or they would have waltzed straight in -- in fact, the realtor the nerve to get snippy with ME when I finally got my dripping self to the door.) They also require you to arrange and pay for your own cleaning service from their recommended vendor on move out, which is frankly just very lazy on their part. Facilities are abysmal. The antiquated air conditioning system is barely effective and has broken several times -- once for over a week in the middle of the summer. The explanation given was that there was only one person in Austin who knew how to fix that AC system. I've received "outstanding balance" notices for utility bills that aren't due for another two weeks, and spontaneous one-time "lawn care" charges. (There's no lawn.) Their correspondences treat everyone like they're students, referring to dates in academic calendar terms that have no meaning to me as a non-student. Rent at this complex increased quite a bit last year -- yet unlike a reviewer below me, there were no improvements whatsoever to the units or the grounds. They recently added some seating and decorations to the small courtyard, and I have no doubt they will use that as justification for the rent skyrocketing next year. This is not to count the small bits of incompetence that surface from time to time -- like when the receptionist hung up on my realtor because it (?) was "too much." They're snapping up all the apartment complexes in my area. While I'd love to stay in this vicinity, I'd rather leave the neighborhood -- in fact, if it came to it, I'd rather leave Austin -- than continue this nightmare of an engagement. UPDATE: Despite having a perfect move-out, they apparently take a 10% administrative fee from the security deposit no matter what. I consider it the fee for getting them out of my life forever, in which case it is the best $85 I've ever spent. read more

There are some helpful people at 512Realty, but on the whole I've had a bad experience with them. I've had plumbing and leaky pipe issues for the past several months. The kitchen sink in my apartment was regurgitating up a mucky, black substance and it took the maintenance crew several days and calls to figure out what to do. An independent plumber finally came by and replaced the plumbing underneath the kitchen sink (using my pots and pans to drain out the water---I promptly threw those in the dumpster) but 6 weeks later, the kitchen sink is possessed and spitting up from hell. I'm convinced there is a major plumbing issue here but the leasing company doesn't seem ready to make a permanent fix. It wasn't a big surprise when I didn't wish to renew my lease and for two months, realtors and agents would drop in unannounced (several times while I was sleeping) to try to rent out the place. 512Realty really capitalizes on the student and 20 something crowd that is prevalent in Austin and wants to pre-lease all their crappy apartments out. Also, they have all these crazy things in their lease that you aren't smart enough to read until you are moving out (my fault) like paying for the electricity long after you've moved out, hiring a professional cleaning company to clean the place and pro-rating the water bill shared equally among the twenty tenants. That's just ghetto practice. They should have individual water meters. I guess I was paying for the wonderful daily occurrence of Old Faithful in my kitchen spitting up black garbage. Don't live here: 808 Winflo 78703. read more

I will be very truthful, I HAVE NOT LIVED in a 512 property. I ALMOST did until I read each and every one of these reviews. Unfortunately, I had applied and put my security deposit down before doing this. The reason for the 2 star review is because after realizing/reading how unsafe and unmoral this place possibly/most likely is, I called and retracted my decision to live at ANY of their properties. I was told by Colleen that they wouldn't refund any of it back. Needless to say I was devastated and concerned (also confused) because the language of their application paperwork is quite vague. Considering we had not signed a lease and only submitted an application should warrant that we get back the actual security deposit (not application deposit, these are two VERY different things) that we paid upfront. After consulting with a realtor/lawyer friend of mine and sending over phone numbers, I received a call letting me know that they decided to refund the deposit. Moral of the story is, if you are considering living at one of these properties please, read everything you are about to sign and take these reviews into consideration because this is a decision that might not be so easy to undo. I was lucky enough to get out when I did but I don't think this is a common occurrence. read more

Don't even look at a property owned by 512. Just don't. As another reviewer mentioned, they mostly manage student properties. As a result, the office is run like the residence life department of a university. Rules on top of rules on top of unnecessary rules. Want to pick your key up at 8 am on the day your lease starts? Nope! Key pick up hours are from 11-2pm ONLY. Is this illegal? Oh, definitely! Want to put in a maintenance request? Do it through the online portal, wait a month and it'll get deleted without a response. Submit it again and threaten legal action and they will call you and tell you they are "working on it." Want basic safety equipment in your apartment? Go live somewhere else, because I've been without a fire extinguisher since the day my lease started. And do NOT trust their "demo units" in their "renovated apartments". The only units renovated were the demo units. My apartment looks nothing like the one I viewed before signing the lease. Do not rent from here! read more

Ah, if only I could give zero stars... Humm...what doesn't suck about 512 Realty? Pretty much nothing. STAY AWAY! They have inconstant fees which are charged out of no where, they are constantly behind on book keeping, resulting in you paying September's utilities in November (along with November's), they ignore emails, and I think the staff is quite rude. Don't believe me? Go ahead and read the 52 filtered reviews! You'll see! read more

I'm all about putting good energy into the world. But let it be known, 512 Realty will steal all of your money and then some. They will keep your entire deposit, to the last cent, and justify it with insane charges (example: $49 light bulb replacement fee; $30 drip pan replacement; $0.07 Maid service). $0.07 for a maid, you read that right. They will then proceed to charge you additional, crazy fees, and in the end YOU will owe THEM money. I know that only angry people write negative Yelp reviews, but maybe this will save you from being an angry person in the future! read more

I've rented from a couple different places during my last 14 years in Austin (Eyes of Texas, etc.), and these guys take the cake as the worst company by far. I was living in a nice apartment complex in central Austin at a reasonable price when these guys came along and bought the place. Cue the circus music... First problem - PRICE: They jack the rent up on existing tenants by 50%, and tried to lease out the quickly emptying units at twice what we were paying. The justification for doing this? They spray-painted the place primer white and landscaped the front yard. They quickly found out that the market wouldn't bear that for a paint job and the prices for new tenants start coming way down. Older tenants are screwed. Second problem - SERVICE: The shared washers and dryers for the complex start falling into disrepair. There was a whole month without a working washer. They don't fix it, they buy new ones. But guess what? They're cheap as possible and don't get anything clean. Just leave a grimy residue on everything. Residents resort to washeterias. Oh, and now you have to pay for this privilege, as they've been replaced with coin-operated machines. Oh, now you also have to pay for the water, electricity and waste water for them, too. Third problem - PRIVACY: Or, rather, utter disregard for privacy. Service guys are given keys and don't even call when they come to fix anything. You just come home and someone has been mucking around in your place while you were gone. And the leasing agents are worse. I had one call me four months from my move out date asking if he could show the place. "Man, I'd like to help you, but I'm having friends over for dinner. Maybe some other time." "Um, it's in your contract that you have to let me show the place." "Sure, 30 days out from the end of lease, and even then I CAN STILL SAY NO." And he just keeps pushing the issue like he's going to come over anyway and show the place, because he, as a 23-year-old representative of 512 Realty has inalienable rights to my home. Unbelievable. But I think what really speaks to their disability as a company is that only eight months after they bought the 12-unit complex, there was only one, pissed-off tenant left from the original bunch. Usually an apartment rental company isn't something you even think about, or if you do it's briefly, but these guys managed to empty this complex in 8 months. And the new guys were already looking to break leases. This is impressive. I guess the silver lining is that the office staff seems pretty nice. And maybe it was just my experience dealing with one complex, but the whole operation just doesn't seem quite ready for prime time. And an opinion is an opinion, but these 5-star pieces seem a little stilted and defensive. Hmm... Anyway, if you have a choice, choose someone else. They may not be great, and probably won't be, but it'd be tough to match this epic fail. read more

4/7 I'm so happy/relieved at this point. Met with pest control company to walk through the property and spoke with another representative of 512 Realty. They have agreed to move my belonging to where I move next, pay for the cleaning of the belonging that need to be cleaned and let me out of my lease while refunding my deposit and rent. Additionally they made some personnel changes after my experience. I was assured even though I'm leaving, the building would be addressed, which is a relief. I plan on following up with the current residents, for my own peace of mind, I would feel horrible leaving anyone else in the situation I was in. 4/6 So the owner of the building (and another property manager as well) I'm renting in has reached out to start to remedy the mess I'm in. I'm so grateful for the response. They even made efforts to make sure I wouldn't be sleeping in my car again tonight even. I've been told that I'm being let of my lease, along with the return of my rent and deposit. We still have a few more things to hash out tomorrow when we do a walk through of my apartment but I'm so relieved, and a little less scared of my future, now that the ball is rolling. I'm so glad this nightmare is coming to a close. Update on my situation. Spoke with management about my issues. They said they're looking into my situation as to why didn't notice the bed bug infestation through out the process renovating my apartment which involved ripping up the carpet and painting over bedbug remnants. Or through the final walk through before they rented my apartment. Apparently the AC and the stove was working when I moved in and happened to fail at the same time. They're so sorry that they didn't catch it. They're so sorry they didn't see the bed bug mess in nearly every crevice or in the fresh paint. They're trying to say it's not necessary to treat the whole building since its been treated previously (and obviously failed). I left the office with no offers of remediation for my time, experience, or belongings, nor a hard timeline for any actions besides treating my specific unit. I heard the words sorry, but didn't see the humanity. 512 realty has failed me miserably. I will continue to post updates on my situation until it is rectified to my satisfaction, as is my right. I signed a lease in good faith that what I was moving into a clean, working,habitat space. My confidence has been betrayed and time is of the essence, I can't stress this enough. I have done the responsible thing and notified the health department. I will be contacting the Austin Tenants Council to continue my efforts to remedy this situation, and report my experience to the better business bureau. If anyone else is in a similar situation, you have rights. Reach out, contact everyone, one of 512 Realty's excuses was that it hadn't been reported. So lets change that, let's speak up when our right to clean and well maintained housing is violated. read more

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These people are soulless monsters without an ounce of human decency or kindness. They refuse to do anymore than the bare minimum and openly disrespect their tenants. After the severe flooding in Nov 2015, we woke up to find water seeping in through the walls. Within 2 hours the water had formed a 2-3 inch puddle that covered the entire apartment. We spent hours waiting for any sort of help, and then spent hours cleaning and removing the water with the help of a very friendly maintenance guy. He told us that the drainage pipes were stuffed with leaves and other detritus that prevented the walls from draining. Despite 512's negligence, they refused to accept any responsibility for all of our damaged property, and to add salt to the wound they repeatedly refused to even pay for cleaning. Apparently having 2 inches of filthy rainwater covering your entire apartment floor "doesn't warrant a cleaning crew". Also, if you live in a 512 managed apartment, expect them to barge right in without so much as a knock multiple times a week to show the apartment. Like I said, they don't respect their tenants one bit. read more

ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE. I hesitate to give this place one star because I don't want readers to think I'm being over-dramatic. This really was the worst apartment-renting experience of my life. The problem is the management. Everything they do, they do in a shoddy way. They are unorganized and unprofessional. They know they are mainly dealing with college kids, and they take advantage of the power imbalance. For example, they pushed my move-in date back two days because they weren't finished repainting. When I did finally move in, the property manager gave me my key, pointed out where I could park, and left. I parked where she said I could, across the street from my apartment. I got towed. I called to let them know. She comes over, and says, "Well, clearly you can't park there." Like I was an idiot for parking where I did. Yes, I was an idiot. For listening to her. The real kicker: My apartment was broken into when I went home to visit my family for Christmas. Before I left to catch my flight, my key broke off in my lock. I called the emergency maintenance line, which went straight to the property manager's cell, I guess. She told me to leave my apartment unlocked, and she'd get there first thing in the morning. While I cannot say for sure if they forgot to lock my door after they changed the lock, all I know is that when I had a friend pick up my mail a week later, he told me my door was unlocked and my tv had been stolen. I called to let them know there had been a break in. The police came, and, over the phone, I told them everything valuable that could have been stolen. A few hours later, I realized I forgot to let them know my passport was there. I called the property manager to ask her to check (since the apartment was now locked and the only key was with me.) It took her THREE DAYS and 2 phone calls to get back to me. And when they did, it was because they were showing my apartment to a potential renter. They couldn't even make a trip to my apartment to see if my passport had been stolen. Disgusting. That spring, my ceiling poured (not leaked, not dripped, POURED) water 5 times, in 3 different places. They came 5 times. The problem never got fixed. The billing was sketchy, too. I paid half my electric bill to them, and half to the electric company, but they could never tell me what each bill paid for. Every other apartment in the complex had its own washer/dryer and central air (I didn't have a washer/dryer and I had a window unit.) I suspect I paid a portion of the water and air for all my co-tenants. Other unprofessional actions: they told me there was a laundry facility on-site. False--it was in the apartment complex next door, which they also owned. They take 10% of your security deposit for "administration costs." When I returned my key, they misplaced it and tried to tell me I'd never turned it in. As a general rule, I don't cry. Call me emotionally unavailable, cold-hearted, what have you. But 512 Realty reduced me to tears more times than I care to mention. Please, please, please save yourself the trouble and avoid these people. Yes, they are nice. But no amount of sweetness makes up for incompetence. Don't let me suffering be in vain. read more

Plain & simple: I personally have had to call the cops multiple times, due to.. -Transients, smoking crack and charging their smart phones (??) in the laundro mat -Attempted burglary -Narcotics (needles) found on property, in dog park -Drug soliciting -Sexual assault My neighbors have experienced multiple break ins, and even RAPE. DO NOT SIGN YOUR LEASE, HERE. ***PREVIOUS 5 STAR REVIEW, FOR MAINTENANCE CREW ONLY!!!!*** This review is *specifically* for Silvestre Pina, the incredibly hard working maintenance man for 512 Realty (specifically Parker Heights). Silvestre has helped me extraordinarily upon moving into my new 1/1 here on Parker lane, making my stay super comfortable and welcomed. He helped fix multiple plumbing issues in my unit within one day, and even was willing to go to the store to get me the equipment and tools he needed to do the job thoroughly and correctly. Thanks Silvestre! read more

Roaches rats and mold infestation and a lot of attempts from 512 realty to dispose of the evidence, delete my maintenance requests alerting them to these disgusting issues. They knew of a large hole in the wall of my apartment leading to the roach infested patio, tried half-assedly covering it up with wooden planks (easily chewed up by mr. Rat). With the help of Austin tenants association I got out of there (mold and rat droppings severely affecting my asthma) but not before they squeezed every little penny they could from me. Literally fighting over pennies, it's a despicable money grubbing business. Don't know how they sleep at night. read more

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Even though on the website it says someone will get in touch with you "ASAP", please be warned that is not the case. I had to fill out the form on the website and send several emails before someone would get in touch with me. Then, when someone finally did, they said someone else was going to get in touch with me....and he sure took his sweet time about it. When he did finally call he was patronizing and rude and basically said it would be "impossible" for us to find a unit with a backyard in our specified location for $1300. (By this time, the one about which I was originally inquiring was, of course, already leased.) He said he would run a search and email me the search results.....which never happened. Luckily, with the help of a different company (and a very, very friendly realtor), we found a great unit in a great location for $1100 and the realtor seemed to pass no judgment on the fact that we have the pets that we do, unlike the guy at 512. read more

5/5/2015 Due to health problems our infant son was showing we moved out of the unit yesterday and back into our old rental. He had boogers, coughing and labored breathing that only started after moving into the 512 property. We didn't feel safe or healthy with in two days of being in the unit. We took our son to the doctor today who did confirm he was congested and had some upper respiratory issues. We even informed the doctor of the move in and quick move out of the unit after noticing health problems with our son. She was very happy to hear we noticed the problem quickly and removed him from the situation as soon as possible. 512 realty wanted us to stay until the end of June and said they would let us out of the lease with out penalties if we did so. That's completely out of the question considering my baby was getting sick with in 2 days of being in their rental. You can't expect someone to risk their health or the health of their newborn over a lease at a place that is obviously a health hazard. We are currently out of the 512 unit but I will update more info as we resolve this issue with the owners. 5/4/2015 Update: Dianne the manager here showed me all different units this morning to try to remedy the situation. Unfortunately they would not accommodate our specific needs and she was compassionate about that. She called other sister properties to try to help. She even offered to help redo the unit we are currently in but that would displace us and we would miss more work and there are some aspects that's cannot be fixed quickly or at all in the current situation, like the death trap stairs, and hearing the neighbors A/C as a few examples. My newborn is getting sick after 2 days of being here and it makes me very nervous about his safety in this unit and about stressing him out more with longer displacement and lack of stability/accommodations. She is doing what she can but these are too many problems popping up in less then a week to be ignored. We got a text from the listing agent that showed us the property initially and he confirmed that the manager is working on getting us out of our lease. More up dates later 5/2/2015 & 5/3/2015 We moved our family into one of 512 realty's townhouses in North central Austin a few days ago. We had seen the property under construction our first time and we were assured that the proper renovations would take place before we moved in. We were guaranteed new appliances, sinks, redone shower, fresh new floors, new paint and no pests. We couldn't even move in on the first of the month because the contractor needed to do a few more things and the cleaning lady couldn't make it until almost 4pm. We visited the property on the night of the first and the unit was filled with gas from someone bumping the stove gage(is our guess). The whole upstairs smelled like paint and the paint was already peeling. There was black mold in the shower, rats were heard in the ceiling, and the counter in the kitchen is warped (almost bubbled up) so you can't place dishes on parts of it, not to mention there was still trash in the yard from the previous tenant. We moved in on the 2nd and things got worse from there, the A/C was so loud we couldn't even hear our newborn crying in the other room next to us, so now he sleeps in our room. When our neighbors A/C (which you can hear and vibrates the walls a bit) finally shut off around 4am and we tried to fall back asleep. Then at about 4:30am a rooster that apparently lives right under our window in the parking lot started going off and won't quiet up until about 9am. After deciding coffee was the only thing to remedy the morning I found a dead rat in front of our unit. The stairs are a death trap and very badly made, I had a friend look at them and assured me they are not up to code and haven't been for years. The bathtub is painted with a really slick paint and no grip at all, and nothing to grab onto if you slipped. The bathroom sink was still dirty and covered in soap scum/toothpaste, and overflow drain is rusted and looks moldy. More updates later read more

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