I talked to Lou Ochs through another apartment finder location, but he continued to help me after his move to Greenlight Realty in Austin. I used to live in San Marcos and did not know the Austin area too well. Lou helped me find exactly what I was looking for and also drove me to other apartment complexes that I may have been interested in. He was very friendly and personable, and would highly recommend anybody to give Lou a call when on the hunt for an apartment. I moved in to my new apartment this past weekend and love it! Note: This was actually supposed to be posted in June of 2013, but for some reason it posted today when I logged in ha. read more

Martha, Martha, Martha! I've often found apartment locating services to be a little on the tacky side and apartment locators to be a little used car salesman-y. In the past, I've been shown to properties that seem to only meet the apartment locators requirement of getting paid a commission. Not so with Greenlight. First off, part of the reason I gave them a chance is because of all the positive Yelp reviews and also because they seem to be looking at an entire different class of properties than other apartment locators. I gave Martha a specific set of requirements and she came totally came through. The whole deal was very stressful to me due to the fact that apartment prices have gone up, in my humble opinion, to shockingly high levels. She stayed within my price requirements, however, which was much appreciated. I hate when you tell someone how much you can afford and they just ignore it. Martha isn't like that and it is MUCH MUCH MUCH appreciated. The properties she showed me were lovely and she made the entire tour fun, funny and informative. I would definitely recommend Martha to anyone looking for a place to live in Austin. read more

I was really hopeful that I would have a great experience with Greenlight Locating because of all the great reviews on Yelp, but we'll never know because I was basically forgotten about. When I called in, Lucas took down my information, what I was looking for, etc, and he told me that because of my move-in date, it was too soon to start looking for a place. Okay, I bought it, so we agreed to touch base in early June. In the mean time, he said he would send over some places for me to look at. Two weeks went by, and I didn't hear from him, so I sent him another email with some more apartment features and to update my price point. He responded by again saying it was too soon and he'd send over some stuff soon. I never heard from him again. Instead, I got another realtor who was AWESOME and I'm very happy with the apartment I ended up with. So I guess in the end, everything worked out, but it still doesn't explain or excuse the serious lack of professionalism I experienced. Maybe it was an honest mistake, maybe he had "bigger fish" to fry. He told me twice he would be in contact with me, and twice I never heard from him. I know people get busy, but when I followed up with him, shouldn't that have been a reminder to him to put me back on his radar? The best part is he even told me, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you." Right. read more

I decided to use Greenlight the last time I was looking for new digs based on other Yelp reviews. I was in a pinch, had to move unexpectedly, and was legitimately a little picky in terms of price and location. Not unreasonable, just not endless amounts of availability. I got connected with Stuart and he sent me some search results to pick from right away. There were a few things my roommate and I were interested in, but by the time we responded one of them had already leased. Whatever, no biggie. We finally met up with Stuart to see a few properties, and honestly he was kind of a creeper. He hardly spoke to us and didn't seem very interested in some of our concerns about one of the units (rat droppings, water damage, etc). When we got to a third unit that we really had our hopes on, he couldn't even get into the place, had to call the landlord, and found out it was already leased. Thanks for doing your homework, buddy. I've used a handful of locating services in Austin, and Stuart has by far been the most disappointing. He wasn't a nightmare or anything - was easy to communicate with via e-mail and phone and did send several options online for us to look at first - but it would be better if he, I don't know, cared a little? read more

I have to admit, I was a bit wary of using an apartment locating service. My only experience with one was in Chicago and it was laughable at best. However, for anyone moving to Austin, locators seem like a must, especially if you are new to town and have limited time. Taking a look at Craigslist can be overwhelming with hundreds of locators promising you the world for little money. I was fortunate enough to work with Stuart Kennedy. There is not much more I can say but Stuart was wicked awesome. One of my worries was that I would be stuck in a car for hours with a "sales" guy. Instead, Stuart makes you feel like a friend showing you around, but, who is also really good at his job. He was on time, coming in early on a Saturday morning for me, and had a sheet full of properties waiting. He asked me several questions and then narrowed our search a bit more. After about a 25 minute consultation and finalization of what we would see, we were out the door. He was extremely patient with my bizarre questions and gave helpful hints about Austin in general. I was even a bit surprised that he took bits and pieces of things I had mentioned and tailored his Austin wisdom around them. At the end, he made sure I had seen enough and there was no pressure to apply for something that minute. I am not quick to decisions so I appreciated that. He followed up with me a few days later (my fault for not getting back to him right away due to travel) but still no pressure from him. I can also see where this would be one of those businesses that who you get makes all the difference. I am sure there are fantastic people that work there but I highly recommend Stuart. I can't imagine he would ever disappoint. read more

We relocated to Austin from the Bay Area and were basically clueless. We had some general idea of what 'hoods were likely to be winners, but when we got here and drove around, we realized we didn't have a clue. We thought about buying something, but obviously not knowing where we wanted to live, we decided to rent for a while before diving in. Enter Barron Johnson of Greenlight Locating (he's the boss). We met Barron when we showed up at a property we saw on Craigslist and he immediately blew us away with his knowledge of the neighborhood, his friendly demeanor and the fact that he wasn't trying to push a property that (candidly) wasn't right for us. Truth be told, we had been working with a broker from a big realtor in town, who my employer set us up with as part of our relo package. That guy, who shall remain nameless, kept pushing us to reconsider buying (his strength) and kept suggesting houses in neighborhoods much further away from downtown than we wanted to be (in his core territory.) However, as soon as we met Barron, we punted that guy to the curb. The difference that Barron (and presumably his team) brings to the table is that he knows the Austin RENTAL market. Period. By way of example, the first time we sat down with Barron to go through the MLS listings, he had already taken our general requirements and narrowed them down to a no-BS list for us. Houses likely to be clogged with traffic to/from the highway? Gone. Look good in pictures but a disaster in person? Gone. Smells like cat piss? Gone. How did he know all that... he's just been focused on this market for so long, he's seen a ton of places and knows what's what. Equally important, the guy consistently went above and beyond for us. He met us during 'off hours' when we had time constraints. He was super responsive to our emails at all hours. And he even went so far as to go back to the house we ultimately chose to measure out the bedrooms for us so we could make sure that our furniture would fit. My wife and I have nothing but good things to say about Barron and Greenlight and would recommend that anyone needing help finding a rental give them a call. read more

We are relocating to Austin and recently came out to view properties. We only had four days to find something, so we were definitely on a time crunch. I had been dealing with Lucas Lee for about a month and thought he was well aware of what we were looking for. Our first day being able to apartment hunt was a complete waste of time. Lucas didn't want to meet until 1pm, which left us with only four hours left in the day to find something. Of that time he showed us 4 properties. Of the four properties, only TWO we could actually live in. One did not allow pets and the other was over our budget. Lucas kept insisting that he could not find anything (and that we would not be able to either) with our list of wants and budget. Lucas wasted an entire day and did not help us at all. These locators will only show you places that give them the most commission, which means you wont get to see A LOT of properties if you use them. We ended up finding something that fulfilled ALL our wants and was even below our budget. The complex said he probably didn't show us it because they dont provide a large commission. If you are looking to waste your time and get extremely frustrated, then go for it. He is a terrible locator. read more

Thumbs up, Donna!! I traveled down last week from Chicago and had only 48 hours to find the perfect apartment and seal the deal. After consulting Yelp, I made several appointments with several different apartment finding agencies because getting on the return flight without an Austin home was not an option. Lucky for us, Donna's appointment (our first) was the only one we needed, leaving us with a full day and a half to eat, shop, and relax. Before our trip down, she emailed me the management company she thought would be most accepting of our Rottweiler and highlighted the property she thought we would love the most. Donna works solely on commission, so she took a big risk emailing links that I could have turned around and contacted on my own, but I really appreciated getting a preview of our options before we headed down. To avoid any complications, she also made the suggestion that I bring some letters of recommendation attesting to the personality of our pet and maybe bring some pictures showing how good natured she is just in case we came up against an evil dog discriminator. And, she was a great tour guide, offering up awesome Austin trivia like the history of the Soup Peddler as she carted us around in her own vehicle! In the end, her advice was spot-on. We only needed to visit one property and it was the initial complex she had suggested in her email. We are thrilled that by August 2nd, we'll be living in a freshly remodeled, upgraded, dog-accepting, 2 bed, 2 bath unit with access to an amazing pool for a whole hell of a lot less than what we're paying in Chicago. read more

I would not be living in the awesome apartment I am now if it wasn't for Stuart Kennedy at Green Light Locating. I moved from California and I called Green Light to assist me in finding a new place. Stuart was very friendly on the phone and asked me lots of questions so he could get a handle on what I was looking for. He set up an online account so I could view some properties before I moved. When I arrived in Austin, Stuart went out of his way to help me a find the place that was right for me. I had a lot of very specific requirements. I have a large dog, I had a pretty strict budget, and I wanted to live in biking distance to my new job. He assured me we would find something that worked, It took many days and several trips to view many places, but we kept searching and he found me a wonderful place. I love my apartment! During the entire process he would give me tips about places to eat, things to do, and tricks for driving in Austin. A really friendly and helpful person all around. He gave me maps of local hiking places, and got me all the information to set up a household, like information on power and cable. In addition, he got my paper worked in order. By the time I went to sign the lease the apartment manager was shocked to see how prepared I was, especially with my pet records. Looking for a new place can be a huge hassle, especially when you move to a whole new city, but working with Stuart was painless. Plus, I got a really wonderful place. read more

So, I've lived in Austin for 7+ years now, and I was looking for a place. I had a decent idea of where I wanted to live (southwest) and a conflict - I'm selling my house - and I have two dogs. I checked on Yelp!, knowing it to be ever helpful, and lo and Behold! I found Greenlight. I called the main line and got hooked up with Lucas. He was super helpful, and came up with a list of properties almost tailor-suited to my needs. Sure enough, I found a great place, in my price range, with a ton of amenities, and they take goggies! :) Yay! Greenlight locating is the bomb! And so is Lucas! Thanks Lucas! PS - I'd recommend to all y'all going through the locating process to make a list of needs, wants, likes and don't wants and stick to your guns. PPS - The only reason why I didn't give them a 5 was because I think it would have been helpful to have a list of fees and services that may be baked into a rental place (pest control service?! Valet trash?! pet rent?! Yikes! some places have basic cable offered in the rental price) so you can get a better feel for what you'll actually be spending. That was really important to me to determine my savings and expenses vs. home ownership. read more

Update: I finally had to go through a bunch of Yelp reviews to get numbers for other agents who worked for Greenlight. I did this because when I tried to actually stop by their offices, I found out that the address on their website is actually an abandoned building. So there's that. After I called the alternative numbers, one agent never answered at all and the other only answered when I filled out a contact form on their website. (To be fair, Barron said he had dropped his phone in water and had been working on getting a new one.) Once he got in touch with me over e-mail, I told him the situation and he apologized about Donna. He helped me finally get in to see the unit I had initially asked about. While Barron was great once we finally got into contact, the overall experience was absolutely ludicrous. It was like the real estate Twilight Zone. I've worked with many realtors in Austin and pretty much all of them were better than Greenlight. Save your time, especially if you're on a tight schedule like I was, unless you can get in touch with Barron directly. I'd recommend filling out the contact form on their website and asking for him specifically. read more

Barron was a champion for me in a way I'd been yearning to see from locators: a "special" search. Greenlight has a search, I think it's called LES, that's all the independent, tiny apartment/condo/houses for rent in the area. After the way my apartment complex is treating me now, I seriously can't wait to get back into a tiny complex independently run by a small real estate company. Barron was in a time crunch, but gave us an hour of his time and showed me an adorable apartment, just a teensy bit above my price range (but let's face it, how many of us could skip a meal or two out a week to live in a better apartment?). Unfortunately my current apartment won't let me out of my lease like they'd promised, but if you're looking for a smaller community, without all the "accouterments" of larger communities, search with Barron. Now I'm just sad I can't move into this adorable place he found for me because my complex won't release me from my lease. Le sigh. read more

I gotta give props to Jennifer over at Greenlight Locating. I needed to find a place to live and I had a lot of amenities that I wanted. Greenlight Locating seemed to have all these great listings when I was doing my (painful) searching on Craigslist. I actually started my search pretty early - which was bad for me in terms of getting good deals - but Jennifer was really great to work with and I popped onto Yelp and saw that they had some great reviews so I decided to give them a try. I am really glad that I did! They have great centrally located office and Jennifer was very knowledgeable about many different apartment complexes around town. Due to some miscommunication, our first outing was a bust but with a few tweaks we were on the right track and during our second outing we found our dream apt. I really appreciated that she was willing to drive us around to the properties and her knowledge of various properties came in really handy. The system that they use in their offices had really good pictures as well of the various properties - interior, exterior, etc. and I agree with a previous poster that the caliber of their properties seemed a step above the rest. I liked that you give them the laundry list of what you want and your price range and they do all the hard part of hunting down the best deals and they seem to genuinely want to find the place that is perfect for you. The whole process was relatively painless and stress free so I highly recommend that you check them out and give them a try if you are looking for a new place to call home. read more

Greenlight Locating, specifically Lucas Lee, was recommended to me by a colleague. I needed help remotely finding an apartment in Austin from Washington, DC. I had just one day in Austin to shop around before making a decision and I was terrified me and my Shih Tzu would end up in a cardboard box off I-35. Lucas was incredible. I emailed him a million times before my actual visit to Austin and he patiently sorted through my (sometime silly) questions and request. While I negotiated in my head what I wanted with what I could afford, Lucas was able to offer gentle honestly about where my expectations should lie. This was invaluable, especially because it was impossible to gauge Austin value from DC's wildly different housing market I also had other questions than just those related to W/D connections and square footage. I had questions like "Will I fit in in Austin?," questions a Realtor need not feel obligated to answer. But, I felt that Lucas had compassion for my nervousness and was able to put my mind at ease about moving cross-country alone. He is even helping me find some affordable movers to unpack my truck when I arrive so my Dad doesn't have to lug boxes with me. Lucas is a gem and I'd absolutely recommend him to anyone moving to Austin. read more

These guys are phenomenal... I had dealt with 2 other locating services that friends had referred me to with no luck. I called Greenlight and told them what my very specific requirements were. The next day they called me back and we went and looked at places. I fell in love with the second duplex we looked at and I am happy to announce we just renewed our lease for another year. Thank you Greenlight, I will use you again if/when I am moving again. read more

We read great reviews about Greenlight on yelp and decided to consider them for renting out our property in Rond rock. We met Barron Johnson who was very honest, straight forward and professional from his first meeting. We were first timers and his knowledge and advice were very useful. He exactly understood our needs and gave us the right advice. Unlike many other realtors, Barron is great with technology and is always in touch over email and text messaging. He took amazing pictures and priced our property very well in alignment with our expectations. Also, Barron was very patient and knew the perfect market timing and price for our property. Our property was rented out within one month at a fantastic price. He had a great understanding the leasing market and also did a great job of explaining the lease details to us and our tenants. Green light's realtor fees were considerably less compared to other competitors and Barron's expertise and professionalism was way better than then others we met. I'd hire Barron Johnson in a heartbeat for any real estate related advice in the future. Barron rocks! read more

So, I'm back with an update. Greenlight got me wanted and they are still OK in my book. That been said, after a year, I'm moving from the apartment that they found me between Riverside and Oltorf. The apartment finder side is just that. I'm not stating anything that isn't true. It's a service that finds what you need, where you want it. That been said, even though Greenlight Reality has realty agents, you really need to ask the right questions even though a realty agent might be sitting right there. 1) I need to see the exact apartment that I am going to be leasing. 2) How much notice to move. 3) Are all fees inclusive in the monthly lease. 4) What is the percentage rate of the apartment complex that are full. 5) How many staff members does the complex that are full time to do repair. 5a) Are they bi-lingual 6) What is your retention rate of management staff? (The don't have to answer but it's worth a try.) read more

There is a multitude of apartment locating services in Austin, and I'm not sure why I was drawn to greenlight. It is where I ended up starting my search, and I worked with Kelly Coffee from beginning to end who did a great job accommodating my busy schedule, and constantly changing preferences. After one week of looking at 2BR's I completely changed my mind and dropped back to 1BR's with different preferences, and she never complained or dropped her level of service and communication. I could have had a new place lined up in a matter of days if needed, but it was due to my schedule that it took me one and half weeks. Aside from being knowledgable about properties I would have otherwise missed on my own and taking the lead when visiting with property managers, she was friendly and entertaining. I had a great afternoon looking for a place with her and my girlfriend. She even wrote my deposit check when I decided on a place, and had realized that I had left my checkbook in the car back at her office! All around I am 100% satisfied with her help finding my great new place. read more

We've been working with Barron Johnson at Green Light for several years now. We own a couple properties in Travis Heights and we've been very pleased with Barron's professionalism, industry knowledge, and work ethic. We're also happy to hear positive feedback about Green Light from the residents at our properties. We definitely recommend Barron as the go-to guy for Austin property. read more

Just a quick update: Jason got back to me after seeing this review. Guess he never got the e-mail reply I'd sent him, because he wrote me to apologize and I thought that was pretty professional of him to own up to what probably came down to a spam filter (or gremlins). So for that, I'll give a star back As for Jason's work, I can't say either way regarding his ability as a locator, but the courtesy is appreciated read more

I recently worked with Lucas Lee with Greenlight Locating. It was a fantastic experience. Prior to meeting Lucas, I worked with other apartment locators with GREAT disappointment. I needed an apartment while we sell our home up north. This was my first time living in an apartment after many years of large home ownership. So I was a bit picky. Lucas learned my needs, quickly recognized what I would like, and set out to find the perfect apartment for me. I felt at all times that he put my needs first and he worked hard to make the best use of our time. (other locators never took the time to learn my tastes, so they wasted lots of my time). In the end, he found me a fantastic apartmnt for a great deal. He's the best I've met. I highly recommend Lucas and Greenlight! read more

This review is going to get lengthy - here's the tl;dr summary: Barron from Greenlight Realty was beyond amazing in helping us find a home to buy. In a market as crazy as Austin's, where homes are gone before they are even listed, we didn't even stand a chance without a solid realtor. Barron was phenomenal - his thorough knowledge of Austin, the real estate industry, home construction and design were invaluable. We recommend him without any hesitations whatsoever. The long version: We relocated to Austin from out of state during a time when real estate here was skyrocketing - people were flocking to Austin (100+ each day) and homes were getting snatched up before even being listed. Being a buyer in this market was totally daunting, and we knew we needed a solid realtor. We interviewed 3 different realtors and knew we wanted to work with Barron. We were impressed by his knowledge of Austin and the real estate market/industry and his experience. Because we were focusing on areas with homes built in the 60's and 70's, we also needed someone who could help us understand where the gotchas were (the patching of cracks and fresh coat of paint can be very misleading). We definitely made the right decision with Barron. Barron started out by taking the time to get to know us and understand what we were looking for. He really listened. Barron immediately got us set up to get email notifications on new homes matching different sets of criteria. When a new home came on the market, Barron was on top it - often contacting us before we'd even had a chance to see the email. Many times, he would even have already gone out to the property to check it out. And, he was available at the drop of a hat to take us to see a home - this was crucial being a buyer in this market. When we would go to see a home, Barron would point out in great detail what condition the home was in and what we would need to watch out for. He was able to tell us whether a crack was superficial or something that would cost us later. Beyond that, Barron was really great at helping us envision renovations - he would share insights on low cost changes we could make to improve the home as well as bigger renovations. And, he was able to give us a solid idea of what this would cost. With Barron, we had a really concrete idea of what we would spend just to buy the home, what we would need to fix right away (due to age-related issues) and what we could do with the home both in the short term and the long term. With Barron, we were armed with more information that we could have ever hoped for. Barron also helped us understand everything we needed to know about making an offer on a home. With this market, we didn't have the luxury of taking a few days to think over whether or not we wanted to make an offer. Often, if we had even the slightest bit of interest, we had to jump right away. Barron was very good about giving us peace of mind when having to pull the trigger on something we might not have been completely sure about. He was also very insightful about helping us figure out what would be a realistic offer worthy of consideration. When we were at the point of making an offer, Barron would pull comps and do all kinds of due diligence to make sure the home was really worth what we would be offering. Beyond all of this, Barron was also amazingly resourceful. He had contacts he could suggest for all our needs throughout this process - people to help with finances, inspections, closing, etc. Being a very fastidious family in a seller's market, this was a long process with some ups and downs. Barron stuck through it with us the whole way. He was more than we could have ever asked for and exactly what we needed. read more

It's no secret that Jennifer Zapalac is the star of Greenlight, and she definitely did right by me. I started my apartment hunt by getting frustrated with Zillow, and sorting Yelp by the most rated professional locators in central Austin. I see you had the same idea. I opened the home pages of the top four or five in Firefox tabs, navigated three or four successfully, and sent them identical, friendly bullet points of my ideal living situation, sorted by their priority to me. I heard back from three. This is the story of one of them... Jennifer of Greenlight here was the quickest to reply. I first got an email letting me know she was on the case, and then a call the next day, during the off-work hours I'd specified, to let me know that, though my preferred location and price range were tricky, she'd found some options. Over the phone, I vetoed a reduced 2/2 that I could barely afford on my own, or move a roommate into for a steal. I assured her that I had moved past living with others, that anywhere central was fine since downtown was out of my price range, and we set up an appointment to tour a sweet deal of a studio on South Congress along with a couple of others on the gentrified outskirts of Southeast Riverside. Unfortunately, Jenny Z's internet fame means she's perpetually swamped, and our first appointment fell through. After a quick reschedule for the next day, we were on our way. Jennifer, herself, was a proverbial hoot and a half. Fluent in Texan, she tested my social character, and once we'd determined we were all adults, we were pardoning each other's French, and having fun chatting about everything from our lives to the market we were navigating. Mrs. Z is definitely easy on the eyes, knowing how to really wear business casual, but you have no problem respecting her as a God-fearing family woman. The South Congress studio was everything I needed, and a good share of what I wanted. Little details like the complex being a fifteen minute bus/bike ride from work, the unit being off the ground floor for safety, and the up-to-date appliances assured me that my texts and emails had, in fact, actually been read. We gave a couple of others a courtesy check, but they weren't on par with the bullseye first one. At closing time of the leasing offices, Jennifer gave me a ride to where I was staying, too far north for anyone's comfort, insisting against me putting ten bucks in her gas tank even as I insisted for it. I vowed to let her know of my decision the next day. By all rights, I would be moving into the South Congress flat as I type. It had pretty much everything, and I have no doubt I'd be happy there. However, I went into this playing the field, knowing hearts had to be broken through no fault of their own. I ended up turning down Greenlight, the formidable Jenny Z, and a stupidly easy commute for a larger 1/1 on West Anderson for the same price, found by Jason of Urban Squared. I said space wasn't a high priority for me, but maybe I was dishonest with myself. One thing that is definitely for sure, though, is that if Jennifer is representative of how Greenlight does business, they deserve their placement among the top of Austin's elite. TL;DR: 4/5 stars, only shy of perfect for a missed appointment, an initial misunderstanding about preference, but otherwise exemplary customer relations, and an incredibly valuable service. Swift follow-up, accuracy, effective management of expectations without selling any property short, and empathy to individual needs. These people are working for us, for free. Even though I didn't end up taking their offer, the missed opportunity will make me wonder. Telling the world the glowing truth about Jennifer Zapalac and Greenlight Realty is the least I can do. Would definitely employ again for future apartment hunting. Maybe even exclusively. read more

Barron Johnson helped me and my roommate find an AMAZING place, and we couldn't be happier. We saw the ad online right after Barron posted it and jumped on it because of its great location -- 78704, which is what Barron and Greenlight specialize in. And what they say is true: location, location, location! We had a slight SNAFU in the leasing process and Barron was quick to work in our favor,. He was very gracious about the whole thing and the confusion was cleared up. If you want to live in south or central Austin (aka: the awesome part), we would definitely recommend Barron at Greenlight Locating. read more

On a Sunday I decided I wanted to move and started looking through Craigslist ads for listings. I searched all day Sunday and Monday. Overwhelmed by what was out there I emailed several agents and left VMs fand none of the agents emailed me or called me back. On Monday night at around NINE in the evening I called Mike about one of his postings. Not only did he answer the phone but he answered cheerfully and told me "no problem". He took my criteria and I had an email in the morning with a list of properties to look at. We emailed back and forth as I changed my search criteria and location on him several times. By Wednesday morning he and I were touring an apt. community and signing applications. He totally went to bat for me. Found me all the discounts and even did follow up work when I had questions about my lease. I am looking forward to working with him next year when I start lo shop for a house! Give Michael Ebeling a call 512.426.5347 *Honest *Quick *Accommodating *Knowledgeable *Funny *Family-man You won't regret it! read more

I requested Martha Bowles after reading Yelp reviews. Martha responded in a timely manner and was very helpful. Martha made several suggestions for alternatives to the one property I was interested in. I had found a place that I believed met all of my criteria, but I was unsure if I was settling too quickly. Martha was kind enough to provide me with some alternatives to consider, which removed all doubt about the property I had in mind. I provided Martha with a list of requirements (no more than 15 minutes by bike to the capital, w/d connections, a balcony or patio with a sliding glass door, Central Air/Heat, Dishwasher) and Martha was able to provide a short list by email. In fact, Martha and I never had to meet in person as we were able to communicate effectively and efficiently via email and phone calls. This was a big plus for me. I really appreciate that Martha took the time to help me even though there was a high possibility that I wouldn't go with what she was able to offer as I had a gem in mind already. I highly recommend Martha and will definitely consider her again in my future home hunting. read more

Damon Brown = A+! I had my boyfriend contact an apartment locator after the one I had contacted (different company) was seriously dropping the ball and not listening to anything I was trying to get out of an apartment. He sent us a list and we told him ones we liked and didn't like. We came down to visit and he met us at one of the apartments and really chatted with us about our likes and dislikes. Needless to say - I felt like he truly cared and we found our apartment and were approved! My boyfriend and I don't relocate for a few more weeks, but without Damon's help we would have never found this place! Excellent service and highly recommended!! Thanks Greenlight! read more

Moving can be stressful and time consuming, especially when you have a month or less to look for that place to call home. Stuart Kennedy from Greenlight locating was tremendous help and took a load off my boyfriend's search for his new place. From the very beginning, he had an ample amount of property listings to choose from. Unlike other realtors we worked with, he was the ONLY one that sent quality listings each day. I found the exclusive profile listings very helpful and it made us feel like we were a priority in his house hunt. I would most definitely recommend his service over any other realtor. Like I mentioned moving can get stressful and frustrating, but with help like Stuart's, you will find that place to call home. read more

Donna Hellriegel rocks!!! My 25 year old son is moving from New York to Austin and didn't know anything about apartments or neighborhoods in Austin...fortunately, Donna knows everything. After exchanging a few emails about preferences and available apartments, we flew in for a day of apartment hunting. By mid-afternoon we had signed a lease on the perfect place, thanks to Donna's buttoned up planning and extensive knowledge of all the neighborhoods. Along the way, she gave us great insight into the different areas of town and really helped my son figure out where he would be happiest living. Done! She made this ridiculously easy! read more

Green light was of great help. Sara took us around and made sure we were comfortable, before we contacted them we tried searching on our own and it wasn't good at all; if you are trying to find a Home or a nice Apartment Greenlight is the place to go, thanks again Greenlight for your help. James/Bwana Roulette read more

Donna is exceptional with her service and attentiveness. ** Note - I assign "5stars" to New World Order only - (smile) ** read more

I worked with Lou and had a great experience. Even with how fast apartments get rented in Austin, with Lou's help I was able to find a place that was perfect for me. I'm moving cross-country, and contacted Greenlight several weeks before I visited to look for apartments. Lou was great at answering my questions and helping me prepare for my apartment hunt. When I met with him the morning of my hunt, he had a list of places prepared and he was gracious enough to drive me around in his personal vehicle all day as I was without a car. Lou seemed to have great connections with properties in the area, and I was able to see a good range of what was available. By 2 pm, I had decided on a place and was filling out paperwork. Apartment locators are not really common where I'm from, and getting (FREE!) professional help finding an apartment was a huge relief. I would highly recommend Lou at Greenlight--he was very professional and I will definitely get his help if I need to move again. read more

This review is negative not specifically because of Greenlight Locating, but to warn Yelpers about the entire industry in general. Greenlight just happens to be the source of my education. Apartment locators care about one thing, which is their commission. They will do everything in their power to get you to move in to one of the city's big McLuxaryApartment developments, where they get nice kickbacks. Those big corporate developments are basically hovels dressed up to look real pretty and take you for all you're worth. Our Greenlight locator clearly knew all the people at the apartment complexes he took us to, and told us he was planning on moving in to the very apartment complex we were looking at. I've heard that one before. "Don't you want to move here, this is where I want to live..." Now on to Greenlight specifically: our locator seemed very friendly, but became increasingly rude and within a couple hours was clearly ready to move on and snag his next commission. He was texting and talking on his phone and hurrying us along. It's ridiculously impossible to find a house or apartment on Craigslist, because nearly every ad is posted by an apartment locator trying to make commission... even the ads that look legit are mostly locator bait-and-switches. The whole industry is dirty and ought to be exposed for what it is. Good luck in your housing search--I recommend driving around a neighborhood you like and looking for yard signs. The vultures at Greenlight and their competitors have made the online market nearly impossible to wade through. read more

I called Greenlight Locating because of the great reviews combined with the cute listings I saw on Craigslist that Greenlight put up. I spoke with Dina, who ended up being my oh-so-fabulous locator. After listening to my requests for an apartment (wood/non-carpet floor, $750 or under, no further North than 12th Street, no further South than Stassney, large patio, dishwasher, nice gym, pretty pool area, good sunlight, and in a fairly walkable area), Dina sent me a long list of places to review. I went through the list and told her which ones appealed most to me. The very next day, Dina, her husband Damon who is also a realtor, and I met up and they drove me around to look at 4 places. The entire day, Dina and Damon were energized, positive, patient, and I could tell they really know Austin. I'm an Austin native with out-of-towner sensibilities, and I felt like they really understood exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to feel like I was living in a cute, fun part of Austin in a sunny apartment that I could work and write out of. Basically, I wanted to feel like quirky Sex and the City Black Carrie on a budget. They were convinced I would love the place they showed me in SoLa (yes, I said it) and took me there after we saw a few places. They were right, and I did! The complex is mostly 20-30 something professionals and couples. I visited twice, and it was very chill and relaxing with a few happy-looking residents walking around. Since I had insisted on not having carpet, they steered me toward a place with stained concrete and nice upgrades, but the apartment wasn't available for viewing so I had to view one with carpet and they sent me high quality pictures they had of the unit with the stained concrete. I went back the next day with my application, and the property manager, Leslie, allowed me to view a unit with stained concrete and I HATED IT in person. I'm so glad I went back to look at the actual unit. I ended up choosing a much larger unit with slightly cheaper rent, no upgrades and carpet (after all my insisting). I don't blame my hating the stained concrete on Dina and Damon; I thought I would love it and so did they! Dina was very accessible via phone throughout the three days of our locating engagement, she and Damon's car was clean and comfortable, and I didn't feel ganged up on or pressured. I don't think they usually show places together, but they made a great team the day they worked with me. I really appreciate all of their hard work. I went from being like, "Wouldn't it be nice to move out of my parents' house sometime soon?" on Wednesday to signing a lease for a place I love on Friday. Go Greenlight and Team Dina-Damon! read more

Martha at Greenlight helped us find an apartment that we otherwise might have overlooked. She went through our long wish list and offered a lot of apartment suggestions. She wasn't at all fazed when we got picky and narrowed that list even further. Instead, she took us around for tours and offered to look for private condo rentals if we didn't like anything we saw. We found a place that we loved, and she helped us get a great deal on it. Plus, she was super nice and responsive. read more

I thought I'd try out Greenlight because of its high reviews on Yelp. I've tried using apartment locators before, and never had any success. Unfortunately, it turns out that Greenlight is no different. Look, I get it. The business model of apartment locators is that they get commissions based on the amount of rent you end up paying for a place. It's a business model that necessarily ends up exploiting folks who are looking to rent, because the higher the rent you pay, the more the locator makes. I knew that was the deal, and was prepared to hold a firm line about how much I could afford to pay. The one star is because of the duplicity of having Greenlight tell me they'd get back to me and never doing it, because I'm looking to rent cheap. If they'd been up-front and told me they wouldn't work for me in the price range I was interested in, that would have been fine. But instead, they promised to get back to me (after I called, since they ignored the initial website form submission) and then never did. For the record, I was able to verify independently that there were plenty of places available in the price range I named, so that's clearly not the issue. My advice? Skip apartment locators and go it on your own. Finding a new place using craigslist and calling based on posted signs isn't that hard. read more

Apartment locating is always a chore. I would know, as I've moved at least once every year for the last 6 years, and have spent a lot of time apartment-hunting. There's craigslist, of course, which is good if you have hours to sort through spam and repetitive listings for crappy places that are "only moments to downtown!" (that means it's in Buda) or "cozy roommate layout" (that means you'll be sharing a bathroom and hearing your roommate having loud sex with some rando). And there are all the leasing places near UT, which will take you to a thousand places that you're not interested in and try and pressure you to pre-lease almost 9 months in advance for one of those horrible dorm-apartments in west campus. Then there's Greenlight. I actually cannot speak much to Greenlight as I never set foot in their offices, I only know that the person we worked with, Donna, did a great job finding us our new place. Both my boyfriend and I are very busy at work, so we don't have much time to spend apartment hunting. I'll go ahead and admit that I am also a bit aggressive in my apartment search, in that I know what I want and don't want, and I don't like to waste time. After leaving a message with Greenlight, Donna called me back to ask more about what I was interested in. I gave her the dates we wanted to move, the need for accommodating our cats, and my demands for things like in-unit washer and dryer, a reasonable kitchen, and NO CARPET. Why are these things so difficult to find together? So Donna promptly e-mailed me with a list of properties that met my demands. We had a lot of options - probably at least 50 places to look through - and my boyfriend and I e-mailed back our top 5 choices. Come our apartment-hunting date, none of the places were available for viewing, so we decided to wait a couple more weeks, when more places would be available to view and move-in. I was a bit disappointed, but Donna said that we were still early in our locating time frame. So I waited, and again got in touch with Donna. Again, she sent us even more places to look at, and we picked our top 5...or, ok, 8. We made plans to meet on a weekend afternoon. When we first met I was a bit nervous. The place didn't look like what we wanted, and when Donna arrived, she confirmed that the place wouldn't be ready for move-in until after we needed to be moved out. I will admit, I felt a pang of fear that this wasn't going to work out. But the next place we went was right up our alley. And the next place was even better. And the place after that was EVEN BETTER. The last place we got to was perfect. It wasn't on our original list; Donna had just heard about it that day and thought it sounded like something that we'd want to see. When the boyfriend and I walked in, it was pretty much love at first sight. Donna got us a lease form from her car. Ok, if you know how the rental market is in Austin, if you don't hop on it immediately, things could very well be snapped up in the course of a single day. We had found our dream place Saturday afternoon...Donna called first thing Monday morning to tell us we needed to put our app and deposit in that day because someone already started an application on it! PANIC! But Donna did a lot of the work for us, including coming to pick up the completed application and checks from my boyfriend at his office downtown, and taking them to the real estate agent way up north, and coordinating all the many mundane tasks of actually renting a place, including negotiating a distant lease start date that could have been tricky. In the end, it took about a week to get all the paperwork filled out, but Donna did most of the work. She even worked out a deal that allowed me to store some of my already-packed boxes at the new place so I wouldn't have to move them twice (once from the place I moved out of to my boyfriend's current place temporarily, and again to the new place). She met me at the new place to open the lock box, and even helped me carry some of my boxes upstairs in the mid-day heat. I was really impressed with Donna's knowledge and hard work. I've never, in 6 years of looking for apartments, found my ideal home the very first time I went looking, and I feel that this points to Donna's awareness of her clients needs and time constraints. I'm really excited to move in next week, and I'm so glad that I got through my apartment search relatively stress-free (at least for an apartment search). I'm really hoping I won't have to move again, but if I do, I will definitely use Donna and Greenlight for locating a new place. read more

Martha makes it happen. I would not have been able to move here had it not been for her knowledge and help. Highly recommended.

Martha is the best. She really took the time to understand our needs and suggest appropriate sites to save time. She really made our decision easier to make. Thank you Martha. read more

Martha really knows her stuff. She's patient, hard-working, and very nice. We emailed back and forth quite a bit and she found me the perfect place. She kept me calm when I started freaking out about finding a place - I would highly recommend her! I'd give her 6 stars if I could. read more