Team Real Estate

Thomas was awesome! Out of all the locators I came across with, he’s the one who not only responded quick, he was the one who delivered. He made it easy for me to communicate with him via text, was very honest, and showed me apartments that matched my criteria. I said wood floors, top floor, my budget and location requests and that’s what he showed me! My car was in the shop at the time that I was looking and he was kind enough to take me around twice. He had a sense of urgency and honesty which I found impressive. I couldn’t recommend him enough!

BEST TEAM IN AUSIN!!!
From the moment i walked in i knew that these guys where different they actually wanted to show me a place fro my budget. and not just the places they get the biggest kick back.
Thomas Brown is the MAN he showed me multiple places and ultimately found me my new place in the amazing city of Austin…
i would Recommend these guys if your in Austin and want to find a place fast and they work with any budget…
I am Glad i came here

I’m recommending these guys to anyone I know who’s looking for a place in Austin. Thomas was really helpful and friendly. He found me several listings that aren’t mentioned on Craigslist, et al. I ended up signing with one of them and am really happy about it.

Team Real Estate was literally my lifesaver! Tony Brown helped my roommate and I out so much!
Tony gave us many options to choose from in our price range. He looked up every apartment and house available for rent in our ideal location, and found us a sweet deal in a great location!
Most importantly he helped us out in a crucial conflict that happened 24 days after we put down a deposit for a complex that shall remind nameless, but I will just say it rhythms with Farton BIlls… Farton BIlls contacted us 10 days before we were suppose to move in saying that our renter verification came back with a red flag, and that we now had to put down a $ 1150 deposit on top of the $ 250 deposit we put down a month ago to save the apartment. I contacted Tony for help, and he totally came thru for us even though we had not been in contact with him since we had been approved 24 days ago. He fought with Farton Bills until they rechecked our rent verification. Farton Bills eventually realized that they entered our information wrong and that we really had perfect renters history.
It was a great Victory for us against the mean apartment company, and we couldn’t have done it without Tony Brown!

Was recommended by a friend to call T***. T said we were looking a bit early but sounded excited to work with us (started searching end of January for a late april move in). We had a phone conversation then a subsequent email. Then I was blown off. I emailed a month after the first contact and was ignored. I actually know another person that works in the office so we asked him and he didn’t want to help because it was SXSW. So I went on the web randomly and found another person that was more than willing to help — she bent over backwards because at this point (mid-​March) she said we we very limited for our move-​in options and we should have started looking earlier. /​facepalm I can’t believe I was blown off by 2 people in this company.

Do not use Team Real Estate.
By my first contact with the business, I was disappointed. I gave the business the benefit of the doubt in the beginning but, overall, found their customer service to be a total disaster.
When I called two months out from my expected move, the agent sounded distracted and distant. They did not walk me through what the process would be like and simply said to call back closer to my expected move.
So I called back a month out. We set up an appointment to meet and review possible apartments. The agent was 10 minutes late to the office. When sat at her desk, the interaction was largely silent as she focused on her computer for the good part of half an hour. I was in the dark with what she was doing. It was extremely awkward and unsatisfying. I did not feel included in the process at all. Since she knew what I was looking for before we met, I wondered why she did not have potential apartments ready to review at the time of the appointment, instead of having me sit there, mostly neglected.
She also kept telling me that Saturdays are the worst day to check out apartments, since many apartment complexes are closed on the weekend or are minimally staffed. Then why was I not told that before I set up the appointment on a Saturday only to spend 3 hours on a miserably unsuccessful apartment search?
I left with no leads and an absolutely awful experience. The customer service could not have been worse.
Tips for Team Real Estate:
— Keep the consumer apprised of what you’re doing to help them.
— Sound interested and concerned in the consumer’s needs.
— Guide the consumer through the process, i.e. Tell them how you do what you do, what to expect and why.
Tips for Apartment Searchers:
Drive around neighborhoods that interest you to find potential apartments. Call the apartments directly. I had far more success with this strategy and now have a lease signed!

If you’re looking for a regular old apartment locator who’s only going to show you the apartments that they get paid the most for, look away, but if you’re looking for a team that will actually show you what you asked for while getting better than advertised prices, look no further!
My roommate and I met with Kevin a couple of weeks ago in hopes of finding an apartment downtown that fit our budget and wishlist. Because I have used a locator before who was extremely pushy and showed me (and later convinced me to rent) a dangerous and unkempt property, I went into my experience with Kevin VERY on edge. When we arrived at the office, we were greeted warmly and began the search right away. Kevin showed us numerous properties that had the things we wanted and gave his honest and helpful opinion on which property fit us best.
After going to see 3 or 4 properties, there were 2 clear front runners and my roommate and I needed some time to decide. While we discussed it, Kevin was patient and even called to see if he could answer any more questions on either property for us. When we decided on a place and finally went in to sign, Kevin made sure to call us and follow up.
All in all, if I could sum up my experience with Team Real Estate it would be easy– they care about what YOU want to live in, and not what’s going to fatten up their commissions. If you need an apartment in Austin, I can’t stress enough that you need to call Team Real Estate and ask for Kevin!

I had 3 different friends recommend Team Real Estate. We made an appointment with Kevin Haines and went to meet him the next morning. Kevin was extremely helpful. It was nice to meet him and talk to him in person so he could better find us a place that suited us. Many other realtors just throw listings in your face without meeting you in person. Kevin was very personal and honest and genuinely wanted to find us a place that we liked. He put our benefit above his own. We got a deal at the very first place he took us. It was a pleasure working with Team and Kevin. We highly recommend it!

This review is mainly about Kevin Haines.
Listen up, if you need an Apartment Slayer (not just a hunter/​locator but a KING SLAYER!) or a Realtor in Austin then ask for Kevin.
Lets be honest, locators all do the same thing. Search the MLS, figure out your price range and requirements and take you to see apartments. Done and done.
You want someone that knows the management, knows the floor plans, the area, knows Austin, the trends etc.
Kevin knows Austin, he gave me a feeling of honestly wanting to put me in a place that was right for me. I even had to adjust my expectations a bit, but that wasn’t through him out right telling me, it was more of him showing me what could work.
I just read this in another review and I put into words what I was trying to say. Kevin doesn’t give opinions unless asked, but EVERYTIME he gives an evenly weighted opinion, what he sees as pro and what he sees as con. He is pretty much the perfect apartment locator, and I think if you read the other reviews you’ll see I’m not alone.
I’ve had apartment locators that didn’t know there way around the city. I’ve had one’s that just try to put me in places that were always at the very top of my budget (nothing pisses me off more).
The market is terrible right now for renters, but that’s all about to change soon as building is resuming. It might not be like the glory days of the early 2000’s but it should start to be reasonable, maybe even by the time my newest lease is up.
At which point, I will definitely be using Kevin again.
If for some reason you can’t get Kevin, the other agents at Team Real Estate seem like great people as well.
The place is kinda hard to spot. Just park in office park behind Super Burrito and go up the stairs in the first building.

Ask for Serena! I just closed the deal on a great apartment thanks to her back in February and I couldn’t be happier.

Although their website is kind of strange and not super helpful, as most of the properties were not available after I called, I had a great meeting/​scouting with Thomas on Saturday. The office is kind of hard to find, as there’s not a «Team Real Estate» sign, just something that says Apartment Locating. No matter, head up the stairs. Thomas found three possible properties and was super knowledgeable about the Austin area. We swapped stories and chatted while he drove around and showed me the properties. I’d definitely go back.

I suggest meeting up with them if you’re looking for something cool and in your budget, I did some searching on my own and felt extremely discouraged, after reading some reviews I called them up. I just met with Kevin and he helped me land THE apt! He listened to what I really thought was important, which was a short bus ride away from my job (on e 9^th street), he knew all the bus routes and helped me choose the best area to look at. THEN he made some phone calls and luckily a place on the corner of south 1^st had one vacancy, we went to look at it right away, he was extremely familiar with the property so he really helped paint a great picture. That was the only apt I needed to look at because I was in love, I left a deposit right away.

Kevin Haines is awesome. Smart, savvy and honest – exactly what you need when making an important decision. Kevin didn’t offer opinions unless asked and even then, his comments were evenly weighted and objective. I had a short timeline and he jumped on it – did exactly what I asked and I’m moving soon!

Flew in to find our new residence in Austin, and we had three days to find our next home; Kevin found it in about 2 hours!
Kevin Haines is AMAZING! If you are searching for the holy grail of apartments, and if you have very specific things you want and don’t want in an apartment, and if you are not willing to settle, Kevin will absolutely find you your dream place.
He is direct and efficient and knows the city like the back of his hand. Not to mention he knows just about every place to rent and their property managers (he seems to have a good relationship with them all). If you are desperately seeking a residence in 78 704, I’m certain he is your guy.
Could not be more impressed with his professional manner and eagerness to please! He even called to check and see how our move went.
Austin we are loving you already, thanks to certain people (Kevin Haines) who helped make this move one of the easiest yet.

I discovered Team Real Estate via craigslist & their website definitely peaked my interest as they listed affordable apartments in distinct neighborhoods throughout austin. I was disappointed by the fact that their website was very basic & did not even provide a way to reach them electronically, but I mustered up the courage to phone them & set up an appointment for 3 apartments I saw on the website.
I left them a message at night & received a call back the following morning. by that time, they said one of the apartments I was looking at was already taken. I spoke with one of agents & agreed to meet up that afternoon to look at 2 apartments.
the meeting was super relaxed. the agent was helpful, but was also a bit pushy. he even convinced me not to bother to look at the other place. the place we looked at was pretty worn down. definitely an older complex. when I expressed interest after being told a remodel was underway, the agent just pointed me to the direction of the management office without even offering to drive me there.
I then visited & spoke with rainier management & that was a total letdown. the person who greeted me was so ready to get out of there, which was apparent by the shortness of her answers to my questions. all in all, not a very good experience.
the agent never followed up with me. I think that says it all.

Serena’s great! Really knows Austin and is willing to go the extra mile.

I used Team a year ago and everything was pretty hit-​or miss, but they eventually found me a great place.
This year I wanted to move into a bigger place and they were NO HELP AT ALL. I felt like Selena didn’t listen to what I wanted, she didn’t show me the apartment which was listed that I originally wanted to see, I couldn’t find an acceptable place with them, so I ended up re-​signing my lease. It was very disappointing and a huge waste of my time.

I found Team through an ad in the Chronicle. Based on their location and appearance I would have never thought they could offer what I was looking for. I’m glad I looked past that because Kevin was very helpful. He saw me the day I called. He showed me a handful of apartments in two days. I only had a few days in Austin to find an apartment and I had never been there before. Kevin drove me around while a friend not familiar with Austin followed. He is a very conscientious driver (read: no road rage) and very easy for my friend to follow. He showed me properties in my price range from brand-​spanking new to just a few years old. I also emailed him several times for advice about cable service, appliance rentals, etc., and he kindly and promptly responded.

Kevin knows Austin like the back of his hand and loves Austin above all things.
He gave my husband and I a complete tour of everything we needed to see and know when we relocated to Austin in the fall of 2005.
He explained our rental options and the trend of rental rates in the city. His guidance almost made us experts of the city and also helped us decide to stay in Austin and settle down in our current Brentwood neighborhood.

Sure they’re relaxed, but I think your experience really depends on whom you’re working with. My agent, Justin, was not very helpful and knew very little about the town. He showed me just three places.
– The first one had the WORST smell I’ve ever smelled — he couldn’t even walk inside, and I had to run through with my nose plugged.
– The second (which I ended up leasing, but only after coming back on my own and looking at a different unit) wasn’t at all what I told him I wanted.
– The third was above my price limit and in a totally different area of town, and he spent most of the time flirting with the apartment manager.
Then he said he’d call me back with more properties and didn’t. Boo.