Who pays, and when

An apartment locator is paid by the apartment community, not by you. Communities set aside a marketing budget to find new residents, much as they pay for advertising. When you lease through a locator, part of that budget pays the locator’s fee.

The timing matters: the community pays after you have signed your lease and moved in. Nothing is owed by you at any step, and nothing is added to your rent. You still pay the community what any renter pays it, such as the application fee, the deposit and the rent itself.

Fees are not the same everywhere. They vary from one community to another, and a good locator builds your list on what fits you, not on what pays more. If you rule a place out, it stays out. For the full picture of the money, see how it’s free.

What a locator actually does

The work is the part you would otherwise do alone: calling properties, waiting on hold, and finding out which ones really have a unit for your date. Here is how a search with us runs, step by step:

1. You tell us what you need: area, budget, bedrooms and move-in date.
2. You get a short list, checked by phone, sent the way you asked.
3. You tour. We help book the visits around your time.
4. You apply and sign. We help with the application.
5. You move in, and on qualifying leases part of your move is on us.

You will not find a search grid of listings on our site. Live listing data is not ours to republish, and prices online are often out of date, so we do the checking and send you the result. The list is yours to edit: add a place you found on your own, or take out one you do not like, and we work from there.

The guest card, and why the name matters

When you first visit or contact a community, the leasing office asks you to fill in a guest card: your name, your contact details and how you heard about them. That last line is how the community knows a locator sent you.

If you are searching with us, write “AptViva” there, and write it on the application too. It is the step that keeps the search free and the included move possible. Ask the leasing agent to confirm it. If you are unsure what to write anywhere, ask us before the visit.

A licensed job in Texas

In Texas, locating apartments for renters in exchange for a fee is real estate brokerage. State law defines a “residential rental locator” and says a person may not act as one without a license.

You can check any license holder, by name or license number, with the Texas Real Estate Commission. AptViva is the brand; the licensed entity behind it is Oikos Property Services LLC, a Texas real estate broker.

Texas brokers also publish two notices from TREC: the Information About Brokerage Services and the Consumer Protection Notice. Ours are linked at the bottom of every page of this site.

What stays the same for you

• Your rent. Using a locator does not change the rent or the specials a community offers you.
• The screening. The community decides on your application with its own rules. We tell you what each one asks before you apply.
• Your choice. There is nothing to sign with us and nothing to cancel. You do not have to lease through us because you contacted us.

One thing a locator should never do is steer you toward a property for its own benefit. In Texas that is a breach of a broker’s duty, not a matter of taste. Fair housing law also protects you from being steered by who lives somewhere; read more on our fair housing page.

Questions to ask any locator

Whether you work with us or with someone else, these questions sort a real service from a directory with a phone number. Every answer should be short and plain.

• Are you licensed in Texas, and who is your broker? Then look it up yourself.
• Who pays you, and when? The answer should be the community, after move-in.
• Will anything change my rent or my specials? It should not.
• Do I have to sign anything with you? With us, no.
• What exactly do I write on the guest card and the application?
• Have you checked that these units are available for my date, and how?
• Can we do this in my language?

The part that is extra: the move

On qualifying leases we also pay for part of your move: up to 3 hours with three movers and a truck. The search stays free whether or not your lease qualifies. What counts, and how to claim it, is on the included move page.

Everything here happens in English or in Spanish, the same service in both, and we answer 24 hours a day. More questions? Read the FAQ.