IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR WELL BEING NEVER USE THESE PEOPLE!!! THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT YOUR MONEY. SERIOUSLY ASK OTHER LONG TERM LOCALS IN TOWN, GET HELP ELSE WHERE!!!! This company took over the lease of the last 5 months that I lived at my last apartment. Around mid May I received a phone call from an employee concerned that I owed a few hundred dollars to them for my gas bills from their start of management. Strange being included in my lease, that my previous management company. This was their bill by lease and still was... Kind of a reason as to why I lived in an efficiency apartment at the time. The gal just said sorry and that I should of already been notified, FAIL. I asked her why they were calling me 2 and a half months after the fact to talk about this matter. They also never came knocked on my door to take pictures of the unit and the condition it was in when they took over management either, which means they don't know anything really about the place I was living in. When I moved into the unit it was never cleaned, which I don't blame them, but when I moved out.... I cleaned it better than any day that apt has ever seen in the last 20 years its been there. Another reason being is that I had a $500 deposit in the place that I wanted most of back cause I needed the money for my next spot. These people kept all $500 from my deposit and also tried billing me an additional $300 for cleaning and damages!?! For what? I took and have all the pictures from when I moved in to the night I left ... Im a photographer =) So for me to leave your building that when I moved in was 500 a month for an efficiency apartment... when they took it over on the RESIGN for your lease and being a RESIDENT there for 2 years prior.... they wanted 875$ a month,more than DOUBLE what it was! All they did was slap some blue paint on the wall, FINALLY install a ceiling fan in the BR section of the ROOM, replace the blinds, and replace the carpet part of the bedroom with tile. Thats just something I was really hoping to happen for maybe 700 a month TOPs for a VERY (efficiency) style apartment. I sadly laughed when this was proposed to me. I happily declined that offer as I truly hope everyone in the whole 10 unit complex did. Once I declined the RESIGN I honestly felt like thats when these people didn't care at all about the existing tenants in the complex and started aggressive moves to get me (us) all out ASAP. They definitely weren't good with notices NOTIFYING THE WHOLE COMPLEX when they hired cheap laborers to come re paint the building. I woke up one morning to the sound of what sounded like a bunch of dudes trying to Shawshank redeem them selves from the building. SLEEPING OR GOING TO BACK TO IT WAS OUT OF THE? When I went outside there were a bunch of guys that none of which spoke english... to ask what they were doing and for how long.... SAME scenario when they had the parking lot power washed too. When I called 512 REALITY ... JIMMY FUDGE or FUDD tried to give me a power trip that it had to get done, blah blah blah, I was the inconvenience!? I LIVE THERE, I PAY RENT TO YOU.... You listen to me dude and answer the questions in which IM asking you. At the time I managed a place called, Dolce Vita around the corner, nice respectable neighborhood go to. I had a very big problem EVERY TIME I tried talking with this Jimmy Fudge character, NEVER EVER seemed to be understanding about the COSTUMER .... WHO IS ALWAYS RIGHT and the person you are working to please and make feel that you did everything in your power to feel cool about the situation and changes going on... not BE A PRICK. I really do understand the need for these things to get done... but it was the lack of communication that really lacked here, along with the bad vibes when problems were presented towards the FOLKS SUPPOSEDLY THERE TO HELP YOU. I was never ridiculous, dramatic or unnecessary about my needs while being there.... I do want to urge EVERYONE not to use these people UNLESS YOU REALLY REALLY have to because once you're under contract with them, you don't matter. I could type a few more OTHER situations but I don't have the time or the energy to spend with people that aren't worth it. read more

DO NOT WORK WITH THIS COMPANY! I found a great looking apartment online at Spanish Trails Apartments that was available in June which at the time was 4 months away. Everyone I spoke with at 512 was very courteous. The first red flag was when they not only wanted a standard application fee but $700 up front. I paid the fee and signed a pre lease. THEN they came back and said that due to my previous rental history they'd also need first months rent and a security deposit on top of that before I could move in. First months rent = $1070 and the security deposit also = $1070. So in order to move into this place I would have to pay nearly $3000 upfront but I figure this is Austin housing prices here are crazy I'll pay and at least I'll get a great apartment out of it. They gave me until March 20th to pay the first months rent and security deposit the weekend before the 20th I come to learn my friend needs a roomate in a great house and I'd only have to pay $500 a month so naturally I said yes to my friend since that's a great deal. I decided to not pay the $2,140 and told 512 Realty about this great place my friend offered me. 512 Realty not only told me they would not give me back my $700 dollars they claimed they needed to keep that money because they potentially lost out on leasing it to someone else while it was off the market. Keep in mind that this lease for for June and 4 months away AND there were multiple units available for lease at the time as well. 512 Realty could have easily made the pre lease null and void and refunded me my money but they chose to keep my hard earned cash and send me paperwork explaining that if they can't re-lease it I'll be responsible for paying them some outlandishly large fee come June. They are essentially making me sublease a place I've never moved into and that was pre leased 4 months in advance For a company that has "512" in their title they are most assuredly NOT a company that has an Austin mentality nor do they seem to care about the individuals who come to them looking for housing. This is a company that only cares about getting as much money from people as possible and hides behind the legality of documents. I am out $700 because they were unwilling to simply put the apartment back on the market. This was not my Mom or Dads money. I earned it and now I lost it to a company for some paperwork I never should have signed in the first place. Fellow Yelper, do not work with 512. Even though they own a 3rd of the apartments in this town find some other company or an individual property owner to work for. Stay away from this place read more

Genuinely wish I could give this company negative infinity stars. I have lived in Austin my entire life & never once have I experienced the complete lack of humanity as I have during my unfortunate run-in with 512 Realty. Their overall business plan is to buy out moderately priced per-existing complexes, add stainless steal appliances to the units & paint the exterior some ridiculous color & charge 3x the rent. Unfortunately, this plan keeps working & recent transplants/new students keep falling for their schemes. DO. NOT. DO. IT. I know their properties are "hip" & "cute" & look "safe" for your UT freshman. TRUST ME, there are a million other places to live that are MUCH more affordable. While living at one of their properties, literally all five washing machine units were broken into. My lease extended three months past the incident & in that time, NONE of the machines were replaced or repaired...??! I paid $1150 (PLUS the cost of laundry!!) to live there & my neighbors paid even more. Awful. Literally my first night at said property, before I had even had the chance to unpack, it rained (y'all know we don't get much rain in Austin) & my ENTIRE first floor flooded. Multiple pieces of art & antique furniture were waterlogged, thus, ruined. I contacted the management & they brought me a dehumidifier & MO FUGGIN BOX OF COOKIES. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! Oh, a $100 off NEXT month's rent... FML. DO NOT DO IT. SERIOUSLY. SEEEEERIOUSLY. read more

Renters BEWARE: If you can help it DO NOT rent from 512 realty: they SUCK!!!! When I moved into my new apartment in Hyde park the place was in an unacceptable state: There was a current leak in the apartment. The place did not seem clean. There were spiders everywhere. The deadbolt was not properly installed, had a missing screw (not good if you are a girl living alone!) They never gave me my storage key (only after I had personally gone up to the maintenance guy and asked him for one... for an entire week after move-in I had no storage.) They CONSTANTLY IGNORE THE MAINTENANCE REQUESTS YOU PUT IN, like even if you e-mail/ call/ or go there in person... ridiculous work ethics! The day I was moving in I heard someone else complain that their apartment was also DIRTY on their move in day!!!! I hope never to have to deal with another business like this one that is so poorly managed. read more

I heard 512 is one of the better apartment management companies in town. Personally, my experiences here have been disappointing to say the least. Management has changed at least twice within a year, and staff isn't always friendly. That being said, there are some nice employees who have been helpful, but that's overshadowed by other less positive interactions. Please work on customer service and not charging exorbitant fees! read more

I am not a yelper. I don't like to complain and always think there are two sides to every store. But look at the other reviews of 512 Realty. This company is AWFUL. I moved in and got bedbugs, which they refused to treat because they think I brought them in. I didn't have them in my last apartment, didn't have them when I moved in, and got them about 3 months AFTER moving in. This company is awful. I recently went to pay rent, and (unknown by me) was a $10 fee for using checks. I payed them my rent, and they added the $10 fee onto that. I didn't know I had the $10 remaining balance, they didn't tell me when I wrote the check, they didn't call me afterwards, and let the balance sit. So every day I didn't pay it they added on $10 more dollars. By time I went to pay my rent the next month, I had racked up $190 in late fees. Please, please look elsewhere for an apartment or house. This company will take your money one way or another. read more

My apartment restroom ceiling is starting to cave-in on me there's mold growing under the wallpaper that just came off i've emailed about this several times they're not doing anything to help I'm about to report them I can't even use my restroom! read more

I was with 512 realty for two years and it only got worse with time. They truly do not care about their customers. Most of the issues I had were surrounding maintenance requests for the property. We have had constant issues with our AC unit over the course of two years. The provided fridge broke and we lost hundreds of dollars in groceries. A hole appeared in my roommate's ceiling and was leaking fluid for quite some time. We also had some plumbing issues. Now these things are bound to happen with any house. The problem is not that we had to overcome these issues, but that 512 gave little to no effort to actually see these problems fixed 100% to completion. They don't care about their customers being happy, they only care about checking off an online maintenance request form to have their bases covered. I have had to put in a maintenance request for the same issue over 4 times. Four times. And the issue is still not fixed. Most recently the repair crew they sent out didn't even put everything back in it's place, let alone actually fix the problem. Please, for your sake stay away from 512 realty. read more

Do not rent from this company. They have terrible management and very little control over the properties they manage. They are slum lords in every sense of the word. I had an apartment at a place called Parker Heights, and it is by far the most disgusting, awful living experience I have ever had. I have no doubt that other people will have a similar experience. Stay away from this company at all costs. I lived there from August 2014 to April 2016 The manager at Parker Heights is Chris Fluegge, and the assistant manager is Edgar Rodriguez. The complex had the worst roach infestation I have ever seen. They got everywhere, on everything. They managed to even get inside the refrigerator and dishwasher. Even when I went out of my way to remove any food or water for them to eat, they still showed up. I once found, to my horror, that I had an entire colony living in my desk drawer. There were dead roaches and roach parts everywhere, as well as roach droppings. Some of the roaches made it over to my new apartment, and I've seen a few there. They might have colonized my new apartment complex. They spend next to nothing on contractors and have the worst quality work I have ever seen. They painted my entire apartment with white paint, including the bathtub. The white paint began to chip away after over a year of living there, and the entire bathtub became a slipping hazard. When I say that they painted everything white, I mean everything. There were several dead roaches everywhere that were just painted over with white paint. Rather than remove the roaches before refurbishing, they painted them over with white paint, which means they saw the dead roaches and didn't care enough to remove them before painting them over. When I arrived the disposal and sink barely worked. The was consistent water damage under the sink because of leaking pipes. There was an exposed wall under the which had not been repaired. They occasionally upgraded the apartments but only piecemeal. Half of the apartments got new windows, while others got none. They had no management on site. All management was done at a complex down the road called Waterloo East. The managers of my complex were Chris Flugge and Edgar Rodriguez. They were not open on weekends, and did not answer the phone during business hours. This means that you can only ever get in touch with them during weekdays during business hours, so you will have to miss work to talk to them in person if you have a 9-5 job. There was a maintenance problem, and I once called nine times in a row with no answer, during business hours. I had to drive over to the Waterloo East apartments and talk with them personally. When I had asked why they did not answer their phone, their response was "we're busy". I repeat, do not rent from these people. They are ineffectual and dishonest. They are slum lords, and they are relying on the sky high apartment costs to keep them going. read more

Posted before but honestly this place just keeps getting worse even after I moved out. Concrete floor that was obviously worn when we arrived is getting charged on our accounts for $300 "repairs". Trash clean up in our already cleared out apartment was somehow $250 and replacing the air filter was somehow another $30. For an absolute shit place to live they run up the price on you a ridiculous amount. Loren Lafayette is a pain to deal with and might be the worst landlord I've experienced. Overall awful experience dealing with these people so hopefully this review turns some business away before people get screwed like we did. The fact 512 living has even kept the lights on for this long is remarkable. read more

These people have been a nightmare from the beginning. First they lost my first month's rent, a money order for $695. What a hassle. After that I was optimistic because they pretty much left me alone and nothing went wrong. The next round of trouble began when I got a job in Houston and needed to sublet my apartment. They lost me the girl who was going to sublet from me (after a month long search) due to their unprofessionalism. After constant promises that it would be processed the next day, and numerous phone calls from both myself and the girl, they still had not gotten around to approving. She decided that she could not work with people who couldn't even process her papers and backed out a week before I was due to move to Houston. Eep! I was lucky that a tenant I had previously turned down was still interested. Now the guy subletting my apartment is moving out and all I have to say is beware of the cleaning costs. You are required to have a professional cleaning service that they approve, however the only one they approve is Merry Maids who will come to you for $100 an hour for two maids. Now, I do not claim to know the going rate for cleaning these days having never had the luxury of employing anyone, but it is something to keep in mind as a moving out expense. Overall, after my initial excellent experience with the realtor who showed me apartments during my search, these people have been unprofessional, unorganized, and sometimes outright rude. read more

Unlike others who have written in, I haven't had any huge issues with 512 realty. I just moved out of the Soco at Alpine apartments where I lived for a year and a half. These aren't fancy apartments, are a tad run down and don't have any amenities. Unless you count the water fountain in the courtyard an amenity. I haven't had any issues with maintenance. Every time I have put in a request, maintenance has been by the next day and has had it fixed. The most major things I've had wrong has been the heat going out and my garbage disposal quit working. The maintenance guys are super nice and helpful (Sylvester is one and the curly blonde guy whose name escapes me but is super nice to my cat)! I had a roach issue for a bit and after unsuccessfully trying to care for it myself (since it said in the lease that residents are responsible), I contacted 512 realty to see if they could recommend a company. They never actually answered my question but a couple days later I received an email regarding them sending pest control out to the complex. Since then, I hadn't had any more roach issues. Even though they didn't respond to my roach question in the resident portal, every time I have emailed them, they have responded within the next day or two. Mostly the next day. So I haven't had any issues with communication either. 512 realty seems like an average property management company in my mind. I definitely dealt with a way worse company in San Antonio so maybe comparing them to that company makes them smell like roses. Who knows. The reason I am giving them 4 stars instead of 3 is because they didn't raise my rent when I renewed. When I moved in, it was in December and they gave me a 7 month lease when I wanted a 12 month lease. Charles Edwards told me via the phone that if I wanted to renew, he would honor the same price for the renewal. After about 4 months, I decided I would stay since I didn't want to move again so soon. I contacted Charles and he stuck to his word (I was a tad surprised since there wasn't anything written) and I renewed at the same price! I just moved out over the weekend so I'm not sure about the security deposit yet. I used their preferred cleaner, Boardwalk, who were great and I turned in my keys before noon and the unit is in the same condition as I received it so there shouldn't be any issues. If there are, I will update later. The reason I left one of their properties is that I wanted to move a bit further north in the 78704 where I could walk to some more places and I wanted a balcony for my cat which their apartment didn't have. UPDATE 7/20/15: I received my deposit back within a week! The only charges were the final utility bill and replacing the A/C filter (totally legit charge). read more

Save yourself the headache, there are so many other companies to go with to lease. They can't answer questions when you call kind of seems like it's ran by a group of college students. They had the parking lot sealed and it messed up my car tire. They won't take responsibility for anything. When you call it's like "we have a log of staff here so I'm not sure who told you that" Cockroaches and dog poop all over the property. Mark V isn't kept up at all and air conditioner is SO loud. For the rate they are charging you can do a lot better! read more

I live at Casa 38. I have no real issues with the apartment or the Leasing people. I've lived in several apartments so the first thing I do is flea and roach bomb a apartment whether I see them or not, I just do it a day before I move in and in 6 months. The Leasing agent will send a text before they pop up and try to do a showing of the apartment, doesn't bother me. However, if I don't feel like being bothered I'll just make an excuse and they don't come. read more

The WORST realty company in Austin. The windows & doors in our place are all in terrible disrepair, the washer is and has been broken forever, maintenance disregarded RED FLAGS from the GAS COMPANY, the cast iron piping under the kitchen floor corroded resulting in a two month fiasco (with plenty of snotty phone calls included) that felt like it would never end, the bugs in this place are unbelievable, but the worst is the staff. Have a crap roommate that bails? Forget turning to them for any help! They will, however, remind you constantly that you owe them money. Nice, huh? I'd love to name names, but it seems someone already beat me to it, and the company should be avoided altogether anyway. *Just an update...this company is still THE WORST and SHOULD BE AVOIDED LIKE THE PLAGUE. read more

Matt Kreutz at 512 was dismissve and a bit rude. When we got there, not only did he assume we were looking into living in West Campus, but he took our info and promised he would contact us shortly to see some properties. During the meeting I got the impression he was hoping we were the usual frat or UT students looking for an overpriced high rise and when we weren't, he began writing us off. We're a couple in our 20's, looking for a house or duplex, and were ready to sign that day. Instead, he emailed us a day later with a few propeties and when I emailed him back asking to view one asap--SURPRISE--no response. So, we missed out on a potential house due to his apathetic attitude and interets in making money off UT students whose parents pay for everything. Moral of the story- Don't waste your time unless mommy and daddy are eager to front the bill for 21 Rio or similar. read more

Might be able to break lease due to lack of maintenance. Only good news I have gotten from 512

Currently live in Lonestar Lofts run by 512 Living and it's pretty awful. Rooms are constantly needing to get worked on for variety of reasons. It's February 21st and we are still waiting for a replacement dryer which we put a request in for on the 20th of January. The management is extremely rude and almost never actually helps with the situation. The "amenities" included with the apartment such as the pool have literally had a padlock on it since the day we moved in 5 months ago. Overall dealing with management is more annoying than actually living here. Really wish I would have read all the past warning reviews before I moved in. read more

Although my initial interactions with the staff of 512 were very pleasant, my overall renting experience has been regrettable. I'm not even sure where to start. My miniature dishwasher has fallen into disrepair. We've called maintenance three times, and each time they fix it it works only once before returning to its state of grinding and whirring. Maintenance comes at their own leisure and will let themselves in at any time. After my August move-in, I had not even three months of peace before 512 began to show the property to poor unsuspecting pre-leasers. With only an hour's warning, tenants are expected to vacate their home to accomodate. One day I sat in the courtyard and worked from my laptop during the hours indicated, but a realtor never came. At the end of this period i returned to my unit and went on about my day. An hour later he came to the door with his clients and I showed them my dilapidated apartment myself. My roommate's sister was ill and staying with us once when a realtor called to show the place. My roommate told him not to come by, that her sister was contagious and needed to stay in bed. He was incredibly rude to her and called me instead, assuming I wasn't aware of the situation. I told him the same thing. Three months ago I stopped being able to log in to my online account to pay my rent. I requested the customary password recovery email which to my dismay never arrived. I tried twice more before emailing 512 and notifying them of the situation. The response I got was something to the effect of "tough luck." The next month when I hand-delivered my rent check to the office I mentioned it to the receptionist who apologized and wrote down my name and email. I am still unable to log in to my account and I never heard back. There have been seemingly random inspections, ambiguous fees, and a general disregard for the tentants' privacy. I have taken more than a few cold showers. For your own mental health, stay away from 512 Realty. read more

I truly truly wish I was able to give less than 1 star! Over the past 7 months, we have dealt with a variety of issues with this company. I have lived in many rental properties and dealt with a variety of management situations (in house, outside management, etc.), but never before have I dealt with such an inept group of people. We have dealt with a dirty apartment at move in, bugs within the 1st 2 days, rodents, lack of response to mechanical issues, and overall just a horrible experience in this complex. Generally speaking, I would not blame the management specifically for these issues. It is also up to the complex itself to keep things in check. However, the lack of response to these issues is the true problem. Case in point: Over a month ago we spotted our first rodent. We reported it immediately asked that traps be set and the holes sealed. After being told it could not be taken care of until the end of the week (3 days later), we fought to the point that it was taken care of two days later. Or so we were told. In reality, traps were set but the holes were left open. Now, a month later, we once again have an issue in the apartment with rodents. This time, rather than setting traps they simply sealed the holes. Problem? It appears they sealed the rodents INSIDE our apartment. This is just one example of the many many problems we have had to deal with in the past 7 months. I will never recommend such a company, and have actually gone out of my way over the past few weeks to tell others to not rent an apartment that is managed by 512. read more

This is by far the worst company of which I have ever dealt. I live in a 4 bedroom house that they manage, and the company has produced nothing but awful results throughout the year. It takes days for the company to get to any maintenance problem that is requested. The manager running the company has no credibility, and does not know what she is talking about. This company will send people to fix problems that we ourselves cannot and should not have to fix, and then charge us an obscene amount of money for the work. For example we had a rat problem, and the company used rat poisoning under our house and then would not dispose of the decaying animal, so our entire house smelled rancid for weeks. Also, our dryer has been burning our clothes since the beginning of the year, and the company has done nothing to fix the matter, and we have probably lost hundreds of dollars in sheets, and clothes due to this issue. We've also had plumbing problems that we could obviously not fix ourselves, so when they finally fix it they try to charge us obscene amounts of money. I would definitely not use this company EVER again. If you get the chance I would look into UPTOWN REALTY or SKYLINE REALTY instead. I have heard from people that these companies are much better at managing and running their businesses. read more

As a young adult growing up in this world, there are many responsibilities that we inevitably face. One of them being a chance of to acquire property for your own shelter. For help with that I chose 512 realty as my real estate agency to help me find my perfect place. My Realtor Sara Stenzler was able to help me find a great place in West Campus and I have slowly turned this standard college apartment into a home away from home. I highly recommend 512 Realty for all of your real estate needs and I would also recommend Sara Stenzler as your real estate consultant. read more

My few first months at a 512 apartment were a little rough, but they have completely turned it around and won me over. If you are respectable, understanding, and willing to work with them, they will work with you, too. I had a leaky tub faucet problem that lasted far too long, and after 5 maintenance requests and 4 phone calls it was finally fixed. Needless to say I was upset, but the apartment manager spoke with me, and after that called me after any maintenance request. They apparently hired more people and are really changing that aspect around. What 100% won me over, and the only reason I stayed with 512 instead of going elsewhere, was because of Machelle Ralls and Ryan. They worked tirelessly for me to find an apartment with my roommate, and went above and beyond to help me reserve a room when I had an issue. All I can say is, request MACHELLE RALLS if you want an amazing realtor finding you an apartment- she will give you great ideas for your apartment, too! She is lovely, and my whole experience with 512 has completely changed. I would love to recommend them! read more

Review for 808 Winflo Please learn from my mistake and avoid this complex, when I first moved in only one outlet worked and the shower also did not work. It took maintenance three times to fix this.. when this apartment was obviously not quality checked by the owners... this was the first red flag and it just went downhill from there. There has been a leak in my apartment that I have requested to have fix three times.. still no luck. Walls are paper thin and you can hear neighbors across the hall alarm go off, one of the washing machine does not work, doggy station bags have been empty all year. Management is ok, but very unorganized. You will speak with one person and be told one thing and then talk to another and they will have zero record of your previous conversation. . I put my notice in that I will not be renewing about 4 weeks after living there. Only thing that 808 Winflo has going for it is location. read more

Terrible service. If I had a question about my lease or the property I was in, I'd get a different answer every time I called. I'm sure they have a few competent and accommodating agents, but this was not the case with me. The guy gave me tons of wrong information that, if I hadn't looked into myself before signing the lease, would have been a very unpleasant surprise. He even gave me the incorrect address for my apartment, so trying to set up utilities was extremely stressful. I almost took on the gas and electric bills for the house down the street. This is after I called four times to ask whether or not my electricity is allocated and got an equal number of "yes"s and "no"s. And that's just the staff at the 512 Realty office. Don't even get me started on my unit upon move-in, which was barely inhabitable. Stay away from 512 Realty! I was with Realty Pros of Austin last year and had a much better experience. read more

READ THESE REVIEWS BEFORE LEASING--IT WILL SAVE YOU A MAJOR HEADACHE DOWN THE LINE! The Casa Del Rio complex I stayed at is fine and the location is pretty solid--it's right beside the law school and fairly close to main campus. Nevertheless, you are making a big mistake if you choose to live here. The management at Casa Del Rio (512Realty/Living) is awful, and do not care for their tenants in the slightest. I had to put up with two rent increases, each of which was non-negotiable--I was told I would be lucky not to have to deal with the charges associated with moving out. When I tried to sublease my place over the summer (as a student, this is a must, and I imagine many of the tenants were in the same position as I), I was told subleasing was strictly forbidden, but if I wanted to add the sublessee as a tenant, I could do so--I would just have to convince them to take on the same liabilities as I had for the duration of the lease (so not just until the end of their sublease contract), and would have to fork over $500+ so they could electronically file a couple papers. When I added my brother on the lease, I was asked to once again pay hundreds of dollars in fees, as well as pay an extra $100 per month, even though neither of us would ever be living in the apartment at the same time. But despite all of this, it was not until it came to moveout time that I really felt the need to wrtie this review. My moveout experience was a nightmare. When I asked for a two-week extension, I was told that they would not even be willing to extend for a week or a day, despite no interest in the apartment to this point (it remains vacant today). And when I moved out, after retaining professional movers and hiring professional cleaners...I was slapped with $200 in moveout charges, including $15 for a missing light bulb, $30 for drip pans which had naturally experienced normal wear and tear after 3 years of usage, and an assortment of other unexplained, exorbitant charges. I'm quite glad to have moved on from this complex, but my experience has left a very sour taste in my mouth, and I am positive that I am not alone in that feeling. To my knowledge, I am the only one at the complex who elected to stay for three years, and from speaking to other tenants, they told me that they were fed up with management from just one year of interacting with them. You may be attracted here by the price (which is no longer that great with the continued hikes) or location. The size of the apartments is pretty nice as well for the area. But in my opinion, those positives do not outweigh the negative experience of being continuously disrespected and taken advantage of by the 512 Living/Realty management team. read more

I've been sitting on this review for a few years now, thinking that my AWFUL experience with 512 Realty (now 512 Living) was just how apartment rental went in Austin. From the beginning, there were nothing but issues. After signing a lease for an apartment with a specific move in date allowing for overlap between my old and new place, I got a phone call saying that they had overlooked a lease extension on the unit I wanted to live in. I told them I needed to move in that date as I had not set up anything for storage or living arrangements in between places, that I specifically signed a lease for the unit based on the move in date. I was treated as though this was somehow my fault, and really was passively ignored until I threatened to have a lawyer brought in. They found a different unit in the same building, and told me the rent would be more. Mind you my roommate and I had already signed a lease with an agreed upon price. Once again, no real response until I threatened to involve a lawyer. After moving in, it was clear the apartment had issues, nothing unmanageable though. They present the apartments as clean, newly remodeled, etc. when often it's just the one you walk through that's had any actual update besides a fresh coat of paint. One night my roommate called me into the living room to show me water literally pouring down from the ceiling where the light fixture hung onto the kitchen table. I spent hours trying to get into contact with anyone, which is a hassle after hours. I got through to someone and was told this wasn't considered an emergency..... uhhhhhh okay. After months of more and more leaks, more and more maintenance requests and calls to the office, management brought in a de-humidifier and a fan. Lol. It took 7 months before any repairs were made to the leaky roof and once again no progress was made until I threatened to hire a lawyer. Going into the office doesn't even help, as they often stick poor college kids up front who can't help you while the management hides in the upstairs office. It's not just me, every single person I know that has leased with them has some similar issue, whether it be a ridiculous rat infestation to insane repairs to nickel and diming you in as much as possible so they can keep your deposit. Long story short, 512 Living/Realty only cares about you for you money. They're somewhat unavoidable in the campus area, so just be prepared and have a lawyer (or pretend to have one) ready to go when something goes South. read more

Let me just start out by saying I made a yelp account just to hate on 512 Realty. That's how disappointed I have been with them and i NEED to vent. Yes, as other people have stated, realtors with visitors come into YOUR place to check it out which is supper annoying. Make a model home for God's sake!!! They asked me to resign my lease about 3 months after moving in... How the F am I supposed to know if I want to live there for another year after being there for such a short period of time? That's when it all started... By the last few months of my lease, they were coming in hardly even announced about 2 times a WEEK. The sad part is, this hardly bothered me compared to other things that 512 did... You would think the ceiling of your first floor raining down on your floors,furniture, etc. every time you take a shower would be considered an "emergency" right? Isn't that how black mold starts..?? But no, 512 didn't send anyone out for more than a week. By then, the whole ceiling looked like it was about to crash down. All they did was caulk around the tub and leave. Needless to say it happened throughout the whole rest of my lease. Just before that, the hot water in my whole building went out for about two weeks, and they refused to compensate me ANYTHING for gas to get all the way up north to my parent's house everyday. In the end, 512 charged me off my deposit for a broken disposal that I had called about since the beginning.. Which brings me to the last point I will rant about, don't expect to get any of your deposit back. They require you to get your place professionally cleaned before move-out, so I did (should have read the damn fine print). There was apparently a penny on the floor that me, my roommate, NOR the maids saw, so they charged me AGAIN for an entire maid service!!!! I will NEVER use 512 realty again, and I strongly advise that you people reading don't try it. read more

I LOVE my house!! I just wish that it was run by a better company. The lawn was not mowed before I moved in and it took them a week to finally mow it. Their receptionist misplaced a message to remove the lawn service from my lease so that never got done even though I reminded them three times. They ended up charging me over $100 in lawn charges even though the lawn service never came to my house and they refused to believe that they screwed up and remove the charges. After a week of arguing with them, the manager pulled my lease and found the post it saying to remove lawn care from my lease. It ended up working out and they removed the charges, but only after refutable evidence that they screwed up. It took them two weeks to fix my garage door that was stuck open. I had things stolen from my garage because of this. I hate companies that try and take advantage of college students and unfortunately 512 is one of those companies. If you rent a property from this company just try and make sure that you are intensely familiar with your lease, save all of your emails, and if you talk to them on the phone be sure to write down who you spoke with. It could end up saving you lots of money and time. read more

I wish I could give zero stars. The worst realty company in austin. The most horrible apartment experience I've ever had. Unhelpful, unfriendly staff that acts like they're doing YOU a favor by ALLOWING you to give them money. Filthy apartments, terrible rusted appliances that are very obviously procured from the junk yard. Don't let the "low price for such a central location" fool you, they will have no qualms in nickel-and-dime-ing you to the poor house. Stay away, trust me. read more

Just when I thought all my problems would go away, 512 hits you even after you move out. They require professional cleaning from pre-approved establishments which is an additional 200-300 dollars. The deal is if you get it professional cleaned there would be no additional charges for moving out. Well we got our apartment professional cleaned. I was the last person out of the apartment and it was spotless. No scuff marks, nothing. Well my roommate and I got $400 taken from our deposit for replacing drip pans, damage from a pull up bar, trash hauling, paint/wall damage, and resurfacing kitchen counter. There was absolutely no damage to walls as they claim and have pictures, which I know are not pictures from my apartment. Because I didn't have a pull up bar, because I don't even exercise! There was absolutely no trash left behind. Complete empty apartment. The problem again is 512. When we moved in, they moved us in the same day the resurfaced the counters. It doesn't take a genius to realize that the paint could possibly be wet. We weren't notified, and we were too excited and placed a bag on the counter only to get a tiny stain. Clearly their resurfacing isn't good, and they don't take proper care of the place if they have to constantly resurface the counter. They need to just replace the counters completely. This place is the absolutely worst. They have no interest in helping you. All the do is take your money. PLEASE TAKE THESE REVIEWS SERIOUSLY. read more

Maintenance team is wonderful, fast and efficient. This review is about the office staff. We have been overpaying 512 realty every month since we moved in over a year ago since they add $85 for utilities to our rent every month while the city of Austin is also billing us every month for those same utilities. 512 realty refuses to simplify anything for us, instead required that we pay BOTH utility bills and then submit basically a receipt every single month in order for them to then reimburse us. This system has gone on for over a year now and seems to be the only way we can not be double charged. The problem is that this month we received a notice that we still had a balance overdue on our account knowing we paid what we should've in full. Come to find out they actually DOUBLE DOUBLE charged us on their end. Instead of giving us two months worth of reimbursement, they charged us for that instead! Now after lengthy emails back and forth explaining this whole situation to new people in their office, I'm sure they'll give us our money back but to have to constantly fight to not overpay WHAT YOUR CONTRACT STATES (that 512 will pay out utilities to the city so that's why they require us to pay an extra $85 to them each month - turned out to be a breach of contract but seems like they do this all the time)... it's absolutely ridiculous. Moral of the story, they're not horrendous but definitely far from perfect. If you don't have extra income to cover mishaps every single month like this then you probably should find a better rental company. read more

Moved to Austin from out of state with one day to find an apt and area to live in, so I stuck to Hyde Park since it's a nice central location. 512 Living or Realty, whatever they want to call themselves now, was on all the potential buildings I was visiting. The realtor that showed me around was great! Drove me around to different buildings and apartments that would be available. I can't remember her name, but she was sweet. It's the after I moved-in part that I realized 512 Living/ Realty are incompetent, obtuse and unprofessional. I'm moving out now and after living here for a 13 months only 3 out of the 6 property gates lock or work. One gate is basically a fire hazard because it's hanging on a hinge. I have seen two mice coming from a gaping hole where the gas line is in my kitchen. This place will happily take your money and do nothing for you in return. My year at 512: 1. Upon move-in, my electrical outlets weren't working in my kitchen. Took about a month to get that taken cared of. 2. The main window in living room's open/ close switch is broken and was never repaired by maintenance, so no fresh air for me. 3. There was a large gap between the back of my oven and the bar top counter. I had to call maintenance to do something about fixing because tons of things would fall to the depths of the back of the oven. They fixed it about 3-4 months later. My Biggest ongoing issue was -- in the lease I signed it clearly stated more than once, "No smoking building" "No smoking in the apartment" I don't smoke cigarettes. I don't enjoy the smell, especially not in my home or my clothes smelling like an ashtray. Well, I had a neighbor who smoked constantly in her apartment because in the middle of the night I'd wake up to cigarette smoke throughout my bedroom and bathroom especially. I guess her AC vents and mine were all connected. I spoke directly to the neighbor to please smoke outside. She'd apologize and say it won't happen again. Then 2 nights later I'd wake up to being in a Las Vegas casino. I spoke to the neighbor 2 more times to no avail. That was when I went to 512 Realty/ Living. (This is when they showed their true colors). I literally wrote them every night I smelled smoke in my apartment, so this was almost nightly. I have at least 20 emails in my sent folder all about the smoking complaints. The first few times they responded, apologized and sent a building wide email to all tenants about how it is against lease policy to smoke in the apartment. Then I didn't hear back from them for a while... months. I went to the leasing office, told them I'm still living in second- hand smoke after 6 months and this is what they told me. "We would need to inspect your apartment of the cigarette smoke because all of these complaints you are making are allegations... you have no proof." I told them, "Let's go right now. It still smells like an ashtray or do you want to stay the night so you get the full effect?" I was livid!! After that, I realized they wouldn't do a damn thing. It was like hitting a wall every time I had to deal with their incompetence. So for my sanity I bought the most heavy duty AC filter, an air purifier, and a truckload full of plants to help clean my apartment's air. I can't believe these idiots are even in business with their deplorable customer service and management. Please for your sanity do not come near this place with a 10 foot pole. It makes me angry just thinking about it. I'm moving out now, the move out process is complete BS too. Says in the lease I signed- the apartment must be clean. That's it! But in the move out memo they sent in the mail, says-- Must use professional cleaners and carpet cleaners. The receipts should be returned with keys for full deposit returned or cleaning charges may occur. WTF?!!? 512 Realty gets more shady by the hour. It feels like I've been bullied and abused all year. They can't fix any of the broken gates for over a year, can't do anything about the second hand smoke I have inhaled but hire maids and carpet cleaners to clean the apartment!? More out of pocket expenses to save them a dollar! A V O I D !!!! R U N A W A Y !!! read more

The company rents a lot of communities in great locations, but they are so difficult to deal with and do not take care of their properties. I am so happy to be out of there. They are not responsive to email, maintenance requests, or noise complaints. Not to mention, they tried to wrongfully evict me when I had already paid my rent in advance and had called to confirm they received it. I had to send all of my payment confirmations and call headquarters in order not to be kicked out with a day's notice when I hadn't violated my lease in any way. It also took days to have them send someone to check how rats were getting into my place. When they finally did, they came and set up a single snap trap... which is not sufficient for a rat problem. They definitely do not treat for insects on properties. We had multiple infestations on our property. When I complained, I was told that the property was treated. However, when I requested a receipt or some sort of schedule for pest treatment, they could not produce it. It's safe to say I recommend avoiding this company. read more

Honestly the worst management I have ever encounter. The apartment was not ready when I was suppose to move in and was just greeted by rudeness when I brought it up to management. Avoid at all costs. Oh- and they will screw you out of your deposit! Trust this and literally all of the other reviews that gave them 1 star read more

I would give it zero stars if I have to. Although I think, your experience with this realty will greatly differ depending on the realtor, I've had a horrible time with mine. At first she came off very kind and helpful, but soon quit responding to any of my inquiries once I signed the contract. Also, they required me to pay unnecessary fees which I later found could be avoided. I've moved over a dozen times in my life and this is the worst realty service I have experienced. read more

Don't be fooled by the rebranding. 512 Living was previously known as 512 Realty. It's still the same soulless owners, managers, and maintenance. Avoid this company at all costs. 512 Realty - 512 Living is the devil embodied. There has never been an entity in Austin that F-d more people/students as this group. They will look you directly in the eyes and lie to you. You have to pay a fee to pay them your rent. They are ripe for a class-action lawsuit, but their clients are all naive college students. You will only be a number to them. They love money money money and don't care the damage they do to take it from you. PLEASE take the advise of every review left for 512 realty and AVOID THIS COMPANY. read more

If I could give zero stars for this place I would. Please please please do not live here. This real estate company is the worst service I have ever received. Even if the property is cheap to begin with, trust me, the quality is cheap too. They also have so many hidden fees, and I only got back $100 from a 700-dollar deposit. They charged me $300 dollars for a cleaning fee that I had already paid a maid $100 to come clean my tiny studio apartment. If you are planning on living here because of convenience and price, you are being deceived. read more

I was extremely lucky to work with Julie Levy from 512 Realty and she absolutely surpassed my expectations. She told me from the start that she was there to represent and advocate for me, and she did! She went beyond her duties as an agent to help me find an apartment that fit my needs, communicate with the management for me, and answer my confused questions - at any time of day. I even left her cash for a deposit, forgetting that it had to be in a money order, and she went ahead and got the money order for me so that it could be turned in promptly. Julie was just a pleasure to work with. She made it obvious that she really cared about my situation and my terrible experience with past realtors, and she worked hard to make sure the process of finding and leasing an apartment was easy and painless. You will not regret working with Julie. After working with many incompetent, indifferent, college-age agents from other companies, it was a relief to find someone who actually takes their job seriously and wants you to succeed as a renter. read more

This is a shit company. I currently lease from a 512 establishment in Great Oaks. The apartment itself is fine, but the company's management and policies are grotesque and clearly value profit over their tenants. For several months of living at a unit that shared subpar washer and dryers (where really only 2 washers and 1 dryer worked) it took an organized complaint from several tenants to get it fixed. And that's because the original washer and dryers weren't even free of charge. They cost $1.25 for use. How bogus is that? The final straw is how much 512 does not give a shit for your personal financial situation. I am a fucking student. Come on. I will always pay my rent and have consistently for over 2 years, but despite that reassurance, they're always willing to fuck you over with bullshit fees and threats to evict your ass even if you haven't paid your rent in like 4 days. It's truly horrific how an establishment can truly value profit over people's lives. read more