I happened to get referred to Habitat Hunters through a rental I was looking at. Jeff P. helped our family out tremendously in finding the right house! I can't thank him enough for his hard work and patience with my pickiness. He is very knowledgeable on all things real estate and all of the rules that go along with it! Thank you Jeff!! read more

Big shout out to my realtor Jody Lockshin (who I've known since I first moved to Austin 10 years ago) for going above and beyond in every category to get me the type of home I've always wanted. She worked tirelessly on my behalf and was directly responsible for several seller concessions and fixes before I signed the papers. If you ever need a realtor in the area, she's excellent. She's been in business for over 40 years and is the owner and founder of Habitat Hunters, Inc., which is one of the most well-known and well-respected Real Estate firms in Austin. After working with her as my realtor, it's pretty clear why she was able to build such a successful company. read more

Habitat Hunters - Me & Jody on signing day - Real Estate Agents Near Me - Austin, Texas

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I needed to find a new home quickly and contacted the realtor, Lily Baik. We met in Leander, saw 6 to 7 great homes all within the area I needed to move to. I was still uncertain as I needed a closer commute to work. Later she showed me two great properties and I decided on one that very day. Lily is very hardworking, understood my location, price point and time constraints. Very professional and understands the neighborhoods, the schools and the local resources. HIghly recommend Lily to anyone looking to find a lovely home or new rental in Austin. read more

I am so fortunate that I found Lilly Baik. She listened to all of my needs and wants and she was there for me every step of the way while looking for my perfect home! She was more than accommodating whenever I had a question. I am happy with her and intend to work with her again and recommend to friends. Thanks again Lily! read more

My husband, daughter, and myself were honored to have Lily Baik as our realtor during the entire process on our house hunting. Lily is very professional, organized, and hard working when it comes to her clients. She would check in with me during the process of renting a house and reassured me that everything would work out. Ultimately, we are now in a very beautiful home thanks to Lily. I appreciate all the hard work she has done for me and my family. She will be our realtor when it comes to buying our first house! If you have any doubts about seeking help from a realtor, rest assure that Lily Baik is a wonderful relator and will get you into a home that you deserve. Thanks again Lily!! read more

Marc Moore doesn't just go the extra mile for his clients--he will go an extra 100 miles for you, no questions asked, all because he genuinely cares and wants the best for anyone lucky enough to work with him. We viewed numerous properties around Austin with Marc, and he always came abundantly prepared. He placed a high value on our time and was incredibly efficient. He had answers to questions we didn't even know we had--the amount of market and industry knowledge this man possesses, he should be named a local legend. And he is so responsive, you would think you were his only client. If you need a home in Austin, you need Marc Moore. read more

Michelle Weaver is the best agent! Very communicative and efficient. I will surely use or recommend her in the future.

I couldn't have had better luck finding Michelle Weaver to help me through this process. Her willingness to help me through every single step (and then some) was something I didn't know I needed or was possible. Smart, kind, available, and an all around great person made this move/transition a truly easy and enjoyable journey. Moving sucks, but with Michelle, it sucked a whole lot less. read more

Michelle Weaver at Habitat Hunters is the absolute BEST for finding a house to rent or buy! She is the most helpful realtor I have ever met! She was patient as we looked for properties and chose them from the portal she set up- she reached out to the rental agencies to foster relationships so we could get answers more quickly. Every interaction with Michelle was wonderful! I have already referred her to a friend who was having issues with a rental agency and she helped them find a place in just a couple of days! If you're looking for someone to help on the rental or purchase of a house- Michelle is your best option! read more

Amazing experience- made my homesearch so much easier than it had been before. Marni Kempf was such a wonderful and down to earth person. Very attentive, respectful and super kind- always willing to go the extra mile for her clients. read more

I found the house that I love and that alone is worth five stars. As a first-time home buyer, Gary took me through all of the steps and had great patience with me. When it was necessary, it felt like I had an entire team behind me with Gary, Jody, and Jeff that had my best interests in mind. Again, five stars, Gary helped to find the house that I love over one weekend. He's a great guy to boot. read more

Our experience working with Marni was terrific! She was really great and super attentive to our needs. Her approach was perfect for us, and she showed us/arranged for us to see a wide variety of properties and neighborhoods so that when decision time came, we were really confident in our choice. We highly recommend her and Habitat Hunters! read more

Ms. Lockshin did an absolutely FABULOUS job in navigating a very difficult and tricky 1031, staying available 24x7, and finding a motivated buyer who offered a great price for the property sold, as well as negotiating another advantageous great price paid for the replacement property. You can't do better than avail yourself of her organization's services. read more

Michelle was amazing! My sister and I had no idea how to go about finding a house to rent. Michelle created an online portal with homes to our preferences to make the hunt a heck of a lot easier! We are picky people even when we started feeling discouraged she kept us positive and went above and beyond to help us find the perfect place! 10/10 read more

We love our new home! Thank you Jody and Habitat Hunters for everything. We had particular specifications and were limited to one zip code! Jody us house after house that met and exceeded our expectations! She took us out to see homes at our connivence, she pointed out the obvious that we had over looked as we were struck, in a few cases, with those stars in our eyes you only hear about in the movies! Jody knew not just the specs of the houses, the neighborhoods, the long term market trends for the area, she knew about the schools, local development trends, community growth and how our zip code of choice fit into the big picture of the greater Austin area and Central Texas in general. Jody is accessible by as many was as there are to communicate. Jody laughed at my husband's Jokes! It was when I discovered that we have an old friend in common, that I learned that Jody loved working with us too! Jody is personable, precessional and she doesn't quit! We made four offers, where three had failed their inspections miserably, before we landed the perfect house, with a blue ribbon inspection report and with sellers who were responsive to Jody's excellent all business commitment to us, her clients. We are thrilled with the results we got from working with Jody! read more

Habitat Hunters - Real Estate Agents Near Me - Austin, Texas

I have to agree with some other low-star reviewers regarding Jody doing some questionable business practices, making her company, and even the represented property owners, look bad to the wider Austin community. Here are four main cases in point: 1. Jody stated to my realtor, before we submitted our application with the corresponding fee payments, that one application would be handled a time. However, she turned down my application after showing a property to another prospective tenant even while my application was still undergoing review, and before formally rejecting my application. And this is related because she would not negotiate lease terms after this occurred, and instead stated she would reconsider our application after waiting for the same prospective tenants to submit their applications. 2. Before denying my application, Jody gave her terms to sign the lease, and I agreed to the terms completely, and stating so by email. Afterwards, she unilaterally changed the terms, making it more cost-prohibitive, by adding an extra $3,200 upfront to the lease terms. And I tentatively asked if she would be willing to push back the move-in date, so that I would save $800 in payment in my effort to budget for this increase, considering she was now asking for $8,000 in a two month period under her new terms. Instead of negotiating and or even stating that there were no other options, she rejected my application flatly. And yes, this is still on the same night she decided to suspend my application to review other potential applicants. 3. Adding to the unreasonable actions, she had previously asked and insisted that we present proof of 30-days notice of moving out of the current apartment. After providing this to her, it should have been obvious that I was serious about the move. This creates undue hardship by putting myself in an awkward position of having to find a new place to live quickly after rejecting my application. She should have never required this at this point of time. 4. Trying to understand this, I figured I would try to budget myself to agree to her "final" terms (quoted because they seem to keep changing); and wanting the property so much, I relayed to her that if the costly final terms she presented were the only option, I would adhere to them. Her response, as stated earlier, was that she would reconsider after dealing with other applicants. And then later said that I had been rejected, and without providing specific explanation (which I had requested) on how I could improve the application or make it at least palatable to her and/or the landlord. Overall, this woman is not one to negotiate with, and definitely not a mediator, considering that she does not appear to understand the hardship or stress that she places on other people seeking properties which she represents. People like me have spent a lot of time working and trying to find a property that is likable and I am always willing to come up with workable solutions to exhaustion. Unfortunately, because of her unprofessional renegading tactics that she pulled, despite myself being a patient individual, I am going to have to file a report to the Texas Real Estate Commission. If I were you, I'd avoid this person and her company at all costs. It was a waste of my application fees to deal with her, and something I wish would be refundable, considering her treatment. read more

Marni was amazing. I was nervous about finding a place due to a low credit score, but Marni came in and made the process feel effortless. I've moved many times over the years, and I've never had an agent that could hold a candle to Marni. I felt as if I was her exclusive client throughout the process, and I am so grateful to her. I will be calling her exclusively moving forward. read more

Definitely, I don't recommend i! I had a terrible experience.... when she (Jody) answer me so quick, I was very excited but she was rude and pushy , even before seeing the property, she wrote to me "you need to move in two weeks, If not, we won't meet. Let me know asap.".... unbelievable!! read more

Jeff is professional and helpful, always available to answer questions and very quick response to email, text and telephone calls. Overall, a good experience! read more

My fiancé and I were under pressure to move out after our previous landlord decided to sell our place. I requested multiple listings from different sources and Gary Cross was the first to respond . He was everything we could have asked for. A guide, friendly, knowledgeable, and an excellent professional. We were able to get the place we wanted in under a week! We are extremely grateful for his service and Habitat Hunters! read more

I worked with Gary Cross from Habitat Hunters and could not have had a better experience. Gary is extremely professional, punctual, and communicates quickly and clearly. Over the course of a couple of days, Gary set me up with an MLS search that fit my needs, and helped me land an incredible rental in East Austin. He worked tirelessly throughout the process leading up to signing our lease, and consistently checked up with us since to make sure everything was working out up to move-in. Go with Gary! read more

Jody did an amazing job marketing my home and we got a great price. Then she patiently helped me get my dream home in this crazy market. She is the best! No BS, just great experience and the real deal! read more

Will Fordyce was great to work with. He communicated with me every step (regardless of what time it was) of the way and worked around my schedule. He even chauffeured me to the homes we went to view. Being chauffeured is the stuff of legend that I hear from my parents and grandparents, but that I've never experienced in the past 14 years I've dealt with real estate agents. He was professional without being stuffy. As soon as I had decided on a property, he set up the introduction between the property manager and myself so that communication could happen without a third party. Would highly recommend. read more

James at Habitat Hunters is a gem. Back when my husband was in college, he hired James to help him find a place. When we moved in together 4 years ago, we asked for James' help again, and now that we're moving to a new place so that we can be closer to my husband's office, we are using James again. We keep coming back to James because he's so amazingly attentive, courteous, and responds quickly to emails and phone calls. He even picked up the phone when he was on vacation to help me out when I had a question! We're still looking for a place (it's a difficult process with me; I'm very picky) but James has been so patient that I thought I should write a great review for him, since we hadn't done that yet despite using his services over the span of 5-6 years. We all know it sucks to try to find an apartment, but at least I know that we've got a nice, trustworthy realtor person on our side. Best thing is, we don't have to pay him a cent -- wherever you rent from pays his commission :) Free help -- who doesn't want that?! read more

We worked with Gary to find a house to rent in Austin and he deserves 10/10 stars! He was so great at communicating with us on updates during our search process and he was very patient with us as we wanted to make sure we found the perfect spot. Gary made a process that can be stressful so much easier and approachable! Habitat Hunters helped us loads as we moved to Austin from out of state and we would absolutely use this service again in the future. read more

Marni is the best! My experience in finding a new home in Texas was 100% glitch free because of her years of experience in the business. Marni took the time to get to know me very well. She knew what I was looking for and what I was willing to compromise. Marni went out of her way for me which is very rare these days. Integrity: being trustworthy enough to entrust her with picking a home in my absence. Responsiveness: knowing I could count on her in the middle of the process and bounce a new idea in the middle of the process. Marni was very patient with me during this process. read more

JODY LOCKSHIN was wonderful. She found homes that fitted exactly what we wanted in a future home. She was quick to communicate and shows that she values her clients. read more

I worked with Pete Philips, he was the best realtor ever! We knew exactly what we wanted, the issue was finding it. Pete went all over with us, and he never complained. We were able to find our perfect home! He even checked in afterwards to see how the move in went. I would highly recommend this company and Pete. read more

Habitat Hunters is the best place to start if you need to find a place to live in ATX! I thought I had already looked at every property in Austin that sort of met my needs. Late in my search I happened to meet Jeff, who asked me to give Habitat Hunters a chance to see if they could find something better. And sure enough they did. Jeff found an undiscovered gem by going the extra mile and calling the property that I had already passed by because it wasn't obvious that it met all of my specs. It is perfect and I love my new place....thanks Habitat Hunters! read more

Habitat hunters did a great job on selling my house! Jody had a lot of advice and tips to get the house ready for sale. She was able to get a buyer within 48 hours of my listing! We were also able to get the price we had asked for. Throughout the whole process she communicated well and when we were ready to go, she was right there at our doorstep. She always had our best interest in mind and was great at negotiating on our behalf to get what we wanted. She made everything easy to understand and convenient especially since a majority of the time I was out of town. She kept me in the loop step by step as we proceeded. I would recommend Jody as my real estate agent to anyone. She definitely knows what she's doing and does it well. read more

Great combo team. Jody showed me some properties and Jeff took care of me once a property was selected. Both answered all my questions promptly (and there were many as a first time home buyer). They were also available at off hours... which was key for my schedule. Kind, knowledgeable, and experienced. I don't know why they say buying a house is stressful... I've played hands of poker more stressful than this whole process. Good realtors help I'm sure! ;) read more

Our Habitat Hunters story starts while my husband and I were still living in England. We needed to find somewhere to rent when we moved over to the US. Obviously living around the globe makes it rather difficult to review properties and to make matters worse, we have 4 little dogs that were coming over with us. We emailed various companies and as soon as they heard "dogs" (plural) they were all, "Well bye, good luck with that...!" I was beginning to lose hope but someone recommended Habitat Hunters on a forum and I got in touch. Bryan was put on our case and he worked so hard for us. The dogs factor never seemed to be an issue, it limited our choices, sure, but he never made a big deal out of it like the other companies had. Every few days I'd pick a bunch of places I liked the look of and he'd go to them all and take photos so I could get to have a closer look. He'd even check the fence for me to see if our little dogs could get out or not. I'm quite picky, so poor Bryan was running around for some time trying to find us the "perfect" rental. Considering I was around the world and could have easily just been window shopping with no intention of moving, he really went above and beyond the call of duty. Rental properties get snapped up quick in Austin, so once we found the perfect place (yes apparently they do exist!) he moved quickly to make it happen. Fast forward 3/4 of a year and our house has sold in England and we're ready to buy in Austin. We call Bryan back and off he goes again finding us lots of places to see. By now he has a pretty good idea of what we like, which makes everything a lot easier. It doesn't take us long to fall in love with a beauty of a house near Cedar Park. The whole affair went though with Bryan's usual efficiency and attention to detail and completed today! We couldn't be happier. Thanks Bryan and Habitat Hunters! :) read more

My Realtor was Katherine Lucress Debski and I cannot recommend her highly enough. Katherine is the epitome of a professional, knowledgeable, customer oriented, champion for her client, than any Realtor I have ever had the pleasure with whom to conduct business. I was interested in purchasing an investment property in Williamson County. I set my parameters and "lucked-out" in getting a call from Katherine on an inquiry I made on Zillow. She patiently showed me a variety of properties in Hutto, then Taylor and finally in Jarrell. When I decided on a property in Jarrell, she went through all the steps leading up to an offer and negotiated with the Seller's agent to get me a good deal. Okay, I know, that's what a good Real Estate Agents are supposed to do. What makes Katherine exceptional is all the time she spent with me during the closing process. She demonstrated such a high degree of customer service and caring and totally represented me with the utmost professionalism. This was not a particularly expense property and I know Katherine was not earning a huge commission, but she was always my champion, always returned phone calls, patiently explored options, clearly explained what was happening and valiantly tried to work with the Title Company. I unfortunately worked with Zillow Closing Services (see my review about Zillow). To say this was one of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had with a Title Co. is an understatement. Katherine made at least 40 phone calls (never returned) and sent dozens of emails (never answered) and finally had to deal with the Lender and the Seller's Agent directly (who were also frustrated with Zillow Closing Services) to get any information I required from the Title Company. What patience! I was so frustrated I was almost willing to sacrifice the downpayment on the house because of the Title Company's incompetence. If it hadn't been for Katherine, I would have done so. Katherine was there for me through the entire process and if I ever decide to buy or sell another property, it will be Katherine and Habitat Hunters I turn to. If I could rate her 10-stars, I would! Thank you to Habitat Hunters and Katherine Lucress Debski for making this happen. It's easy to see why Habitat Hunters was voted "Best Realtor, Best Apartment Locator" by Austin Chronicle readers. Obviously having an Agent like Katherine makes that possible read more

You might say I'm in the process of starting over. However, as with any start over, I had very specific ideas of how I wanted to do that. Enter Jennifer, from Habitat Hunters. She probably took me to half a dozen flats over the course of the week before we came to one that was perfect. There were a few setbacks, but she didn't seem annoyed or frustrated or anything but the perfect realtor. Hopefully I won't have to find a new place for some time, but I know I'd feel comfortable with Habitat Hunters on my side if I did. read more

This review is for Dana Sanditen. My brother and I had been on the hunt for about 2 months already, doing our own research on austinhomesearch/zillow/etc... When I found one of Dana's listings in the area we were looking for. In addition to going to the house she listed, there was another house nearby that I wanted to check out...we instantly knew we wanted the other house I had found when we toured it so Dana calls the listing agent and we find out it has already had an app put in on it. Shit. Well, about a week goes by, Dana keeps in constant contact (daily email updates and phone calls every couple of days), but there just aren't too many new properties being listed that are what my brother and I are looking for. The end of our current lease is coming up, so my brother and I are literally the next people in line ready to rent a storage space, thinking we are going to be couch surfing for a couple of weeks...until I get a phone call from Dana, the house we wanted just came back on the market, "drop everything you are doing, I'm emailing you the application." She ends up meeting us at Habitat Hunters after hours and walks us through the application to make sure we did everything right. House was ours the next day. Stay Gold, Dana Sanditen. TL;DR: House we wanted was taken, came back on market, Dana called and met us after hours to make sure we were the first to put in an application, house was ours the next day. Dana Sanditen is a badass. read more

Jody was professional and energetic and made our house hunting adventure fun and exciting. I really appreciated how prompt she was in returning texts and phone calls. Thank you :) I am looking forward to having you over to our brand new house .......we are loving it ! read more

Habitat Hunters really came through for us. My family of four needed to move out of our East Austin house for a year-ish while we are doing an extensive remodel, and we needed a rental near our house and our kids' school. We were working on our own for a while trying to find a place, and had little luck navigating the current rental market. A few realtors we met along the way offered to help us out but didn't really seem to get our needs. Then I happened upon a property leased by Habitat Hunters and was hooked up with Melissa Wile, who showed it to me and also took me over to another place she thought was fairly similar in the same area. Melissa was great. A super professional, easy going, and best of all a great listener who got our needs immediately. She was pretty honest about the ups and downs of the two places we were currently looking at, neither of which was really ideal, and after listening carefully to our needs she went back to her office and within 30 minutes had come up with a list of another seven or so places to show us the following day that had slipped our radar but fit our bill. She met me the next morning, and from that set we narrowed it down to two places that would work for us. She rushed to help us get the lease applications in, even working some on the weekend, and in the end we got a great place to stay that's in a perfect location for us and fits all the other criteria we had. She stayed with us through the process of getting the lease signed, and was super on the ball about making sure we were all situated in the end. I recommend Melissa highly! She really knows how to take care of people. read more

Was contacted by Jody-owner and Evie Edington-Realtor who helped us. Neither apologized for the incidents that occurred during our search. Jody seemed more concerned defending the business than apologizing for what had happened. Evie has never apologized to this day. Update: Evie sent my wife and I a note apologizing for her behavior. Thanks. read more

Do not work with this company. I called this morning, and the guy answering sounded less than pleased to talk to me. I told him what I was looking for, and he basically laughed at me and said "You'll need to look in Hutto." Excuse? I think someone can find a 2 br for a max of $1300/mo. "Pets?" "Yes, a boxer & a little dog." "Yeah it's gonna be tough." With the way the guy talked to me: belittling, telling me to raise my budget or get out of town...no wonder natives are saying it's turning into the new San Francisco! I will be taking my business elsewhere. read more

Bryan from Habitat Hunters helped me find a great apartment! Good job, Bryan! But... the whole process was relatively impersonal and it seems to me that Bryan is maybe not the biggest fan of his job or maybe he was having a rough couple weeks. I'm not sure why this bothered me but no matter how many times I said "Thank you" in an e-mail, he never said "You're welcome" or anything that resembled it... Bryan, if you read this, seriously great job with your actual job of finding me a bad-ass apartment for the right price. But, dude, you gotta learn to enjoy your work! read more