Relocation

No worries! Leasing a unit sight unseen can be stressful — photos don’t always do apartments justice. Our agents are happy to do a detailed video walkthrough or FaceTime tour so you feel 100% confident about where you’ll be living.

While you can narrow down potential neighborhoods and apartment complexes ahead of time, properties typically don’t provide updated availability until 60 days out from your move-in date.

This is our full-time job, and all of our agents work pretty much all the time. If you’re coming in on a Saturday, just let your agent know and we can have updated availability and pricing for you to look over before you come. We love touring out-of-towners because we get to show off how much we love this city. We can show you the different neighborhoods, the best bars to meet new people, and all of our favorite restaurants — we’re foodies around here!

There are a ton of factors that go into choosing the perfect neighborhood like budget, work location, and lifestyle. Browse through our neighborhood guides to get a feel for the city, and definitely ask your agent for recommendations!

Unlike some cities that have only one electricity provider, Houston has many options to choose from (which can be a little overwhelming!). A Relocation Specialist from our Smart City Connect team can help you compare rates and get the best deals. Click here to learn more and get started with this free service.

We recommend (and can get you discounts with) a number of both national and local movers! Check out our Smart City Connect partners right here.

The METRORail has a number of stops throughout the city, but the easiest way to get around Houston’s sprawling highways is by car. If you’re not planning on bringing a personal vehicle, we know plenty of properties within walking distance to METRO stops!

Houston is SUPER pet-friendly — our office included! There are plenty of bars and restaurants that allow furry friends to hang out on their patios, and almost all apartments allow non-aggressive dogs (with a deposit). Some places even have onsite amenities like pet parks and grooming stations!

If you have an “aggressive” breed (we use quotations because we know your pit bull is sweet), then your options will be more limited, but they still exist. Let an agent know, and we can give you the details on what to expect.

We love telling people who move from big cities like New York or LA about deposits here in Houston. They usually range anywhere from $0-400. Sometimes higher if there are credit issues, but no apartment requires first and last month’s rent, which is awesome. Some apartments will even give you a month of free rent! You will also pay an application fee of $0-100 and an admin fee of $0-300. We’re pretty good at finding deals though, you shouldn’t expect to pay more than $500 for move-in costs with good credit. If you have a pet, your deposit will be a bit more.

All apartments in Houston come with a fridge and a microwave. Parking is usually included unless it’s a downtown property or if you have specific requests.

We’ve partnered with CORT to provide our clients the option to rent furniture instead of outright purchasing everything. Get 50% off your first month when you use the code SMARTCITY50!

As for short-term leases, the minimum lease term we work with is 6 months, but pricing is usually MUCH higher for short-term leases — sometimes double the price. We always tell people that if they’re planning on moving here for at least a year, it’s well worth it to sign on for a 12-month lease to save money.