UpTown Homesearch Blog

For many University of Texas freshman, getting out of the dorms and living “off-campus” cannot come soon enough. Deciding what to lease & where to lease “off-campus” depends on many factors. Everyone knows there is west campus & north campus, but if you want walking distance to campus from these areas, it will usually come with a higher price tag. With rising costs in tuition, students are looking for ways to save money, and one big way to save money is lower the rent. When students come to me to locate their next home, I do my best to work with them and find a property that best meets their search criteria, but in particular, I look for properties that offer a reasonable price, good location, good quality inside the unit, & safety. Finding a property that meets all this criteria can be difficult to find. So, where can you find good value that is within walking distance to campus? The answer is with the west campus condo market. Before I explain why the condo market offers good value, it is first important to understand what a condo is, and what condos compete with.

There are four types of properties that UT students are leasing: Houses, Duplexes, the Corporate Apartments, & Condominiums. If you want walking-distance to campus, which is what most students want, the Apartments & Condos are the properties of choice. What is the difference between apartments & condos to the tenant? Usually, the unit you rent in a condominium complex is individually owned by a certain landlord or investor, who could live anywhere. To the contrary, the unit you rent in an apartment complex, along with all the other units in the complex, is owned & managed by the same corporation. Condos are also built with Condo specifications which means thicker walls, much better noise isolation, and several other better qualities than Apartments. That is because eventually Condos get sold to individual buyers.  Some of the more popular condominium complexes within walking distance of UT include the Croix condominiums, the Palmetto Condominiums, the Orange Tree Condominiums, & the 3200 Duval Condominiums.

So, why are Condos worth a closer look? Condos offer great location, significantly lower rent prices, & just as much safety as any other type of property. The main concern, or complaint students will have with a condo is “they look old from the outside”, or “they were built in 1982”, or “they don’t have granite countertops like the new apartments.” While these are all legitimate complaints, let me explain. Yes, most of the condos were built in the 1980’s, and they do look old from the outside, however what you see on the outside of the building doesn’t reflect what you see on the inside of the individual units, and I say “individual units.” Remember, because condos are “individually owned”, within the inner walls, each condo will look completely different from the condo next door. Why do all condos in the same complex look different from each other on the inside? The answer is because some owners don’t take pride in their unit, or simply don’t have financial capital to renovate like some of the other owners. On the other hand, I’ve seen owners of condos that do take great pride in their unit, they like to renovate, and they like to put money into their unit to make it more desirable to rent. I’ve seen condos where the owner has put tens of thousands of dollars worth of renovations and it looks incredible, and as crazy as it seems, they rent for the same amount as the owner that hasn’t spent a dime on renovations. If you really seek value, you have to take a closer look at the condo market, particularly those condos where the owner has spent money renovating it. There are some steals out there for lease, you just have to know how to find them.

When it comes to price, condos always beat the newer apartment complexes. When it comes to location, they offer the same walking distance as the apartments. When it comes to safety, there is no difference from the apartments. When it comes to what’s inside the inner walls, there are some really beautiful renovated condos on West Campus with owners that really take pride in them. So, how do you find these beautifully renovated condos? Call me and I’ll show you what I’m talking about. My name is Will, I’m a Texas-EX, and I’m one of the most experienced agents at Uptown Realty. I would be happy to help you find a beautifully renovated condo for a much better price than the apartments. My number is 512-569-5369 or you can email me at Will@UTHomeSearch.com .