We recently connected with Keisha Oduor and have shared our conversation below.

Keisha , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry.

Trends we are seeing in the Apartment Locating industry in Texas include an influx of relocations, greater numbers of new construction home communities and multitudes of previously novel concept Built-to-Rent homes. Houston, Austin and San Antonio have all experienced increases on the latter, with Dallas reportedly maintaining over one-half the BTR homes in the state. (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/built-to-rent-communities-housing-costs/)

I started Apartment Locating in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and assisted many clients and customers by either providing apartment locating services to help lease up vacant units with qualified applicants or helping to find renters a new home.

Fast-forward to 2024, and the rental industry in Texas is starting to plateau a bit with slower growth of new properties. The state capital of Austin regressed by -2.3% https://www.corelogic.com/press-releases/corelogic-national-rent-growth-remains-slow-and-steady-in-august/ In addition to the cuts, we are also noticing more stringent rental criteria due in part to the aftermath of the pandemic era.

Overall, with a steady upward incline, more and more new construction home builders are expanding their catalogs to include Built-to-Rent communities. Coupled with the continuation of new construction apartments in Texas, these factors have helped to level out the playing field, where cities such as Austin, TX saw rents grow as high as 20-30% in 2021-2022. https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/real-estate/texas-multifamily-rent-growth

While I am not an attorney and am not privy to offer legal advice, my suggestion would be for both clients and customers to stay abreast of the market ‘storm’, as history has shown it to calm and rage unpredictably. In my career, I have assisted many individuals and families who had less than ideal leasing qualifications, or a “second-chance”, as it is called in our industry. Second-chance is a buzz-word that encompasses the idea of giving an applicant who may have fell on hard times a second chance to rent again, with less stringent rental criteria. It is caution that each property may have different standards, so it is great to remain open and honest communication throughout the search process for best results.

If this sounds daunting or like something you wouldn’t mind delegating to a professional, licensed Apartment Locator in Texas to speak on your behalf at no cost to you, then please contact me today @ www.koluxrentals.com

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

On a typical day as an Apartment Locator, I may gather media content to advertise new properties/move-in specials, schedule and/or escort locating clients on tours in various locations, negotiate with properties and collaborate with colleagues. I may speak to prospects and learn how I may best assist with their apartments search, attend industry events, open houses, trainings, etc.

Like many real estate positions, it helps to be a good listener, self-motivated, self-starter and people-oriented person who is able to prioritize the needs of clients while maintaining the tenants of real estate ethics and customer (properties/management companies, etc.) integrity. It is an exciting, fast-paced career full of adventures, “hurry-up and waits”, tears, laughter and a few cups of coffee. My personal brand is compassionate, non judgmental, determined, efficient and effective service. I am very proud of the many reviews in various places, including videos and testimonies, from clients who appreciated my hard-work firsthand.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Trust, communication and thoroughness are three words that come to mind when I think of how I built my reputation as an Apartment Locator. I believe these are important tenants trust us to represent their best interests first. Customers equally expect us to uphold integrity and value when finding qualified tenants to fill their properties. It is a privilege and honor of mine to maintain a high level of honesty and integrity in my dealings with all parties in order to uphold the ethics of the Texas Real Estate Commission, TRELA and the other governing parties of my licensure.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

My best sources of self-generated new clients has been Referrals and Social Media. I hold both types near and dear to my heart as typically it means that the potential client has already engaged with me and has an idea of my work, reputation and ethic.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.koluxrentals.com
• Instagram: @koluxrentalstx
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keishaoduor/