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It was easier than I thought…

“Honestly, this was easier than I though…I would happily use an apartment locator again when my lease is up”

Free Expert Help Finding Your Next Place

Right now, in 2026, roughly half of San Antonio’s apartment communities are offering move-in concessions of one to three months free, according to MMG Real Estate Advisors market data. Most renters searching online have no idea, because listing sites show you the sticker price, not what properties are actually willing to accept. An apartment locator in San Antonio can close that gap for you, and the service costs you nothing.

I’m Marlene Quade, and I run SanAntonioApartmentLocators.com with my husband Ross and our team of licensed agents, brokered through Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC (Broker License #562021). This is all we do, full-time. We talk to leasing teams across San Antonio every week. Not their websites. The actual people making approval decisions. That means we know which properties just dropped their credit minimums, which ones are running specials they haven’t posted online yet, and which managers will work with you if your situation is complicated: a past eviction, credit issues, a PCS move with a tight timeline.

This page covers what apartment locating actually is, how screening works at different property classes, what your apartment will really cost after mandatory fees, and which San Antonio neighborhoods make sense based on where you work. I’ll give you actual numbers (credit thresholds, rent ranges, fee breakdowns, commute times) because vague advice doesn’t help anyone make a decision. And if your situation is straightforward enough that you don’t need our help, we’ll tell you that directly.

What Does an Apartment Locator Actually Do?

Your San Antonio apartment locator is a licensed real estate agent who specializes in rental housing. We match you with communities based on your budget, your preferred area, your screening profile (credit, income, rental history, background) and your timeline. Then we help you through the lease process so nothing falls apart between approval and move-in.

It’s free to you. Your rent is the same whether you work with us or find the apartment yourself.

That surprises people, so let me explain exactly how the money works.

How This Is Different from Apartments.com or Zillow

Listing sites show you what’s available. That’s useful, up to a point. But they can’t tell you which of those listings will actually approve your application. They can’t filter by credit minimum, income requirement, lookback period, or whether a property accepts third-party guarantees. And listing site results are ranked by advertising budget. Whoever pays the most shows up first, not the one that fits your situation best.

There’s a bigger problem, though. What you see listed as available often isn’t. Properties post units weeks before they’re ready and sometimes leave listings active after they’ve been leased. We hear it from renters all the time: they schedule a tour for a specific unit, drive 30 minutes across town, and it’s gone. A quick call to the leasing office first confirms real-time availability and saves you the trip.

Then there’s pricing. What you see on a listing site isn’t what you’ll actually pay each month. A one-bedroom listed at $1,200 can cost $1,310–$1,400 once you add mandatory valet trash, pest control, water/sewer, and other fees that don’t show up until you’re reading the lease. We’ll break down the full fee picture below, but the gap between listed rent and actual monthly cost runs 7–15% at most San Antonio properties.

We track specials, too. Concession levels change weekly. A property running two months free last Tuesday might have pulled that special by Friday. Some deals aren’t advertised at all. They’re offered to locator referrals or mentioned only during tours. We’re on the phone with these leasing offices regularly, so we know what’s actually on the table before you walk in the door.

The Win-Win-Win: How We Get Paid

Here’s how this works: you don’t pay us anything. Your apartment community pays a referral fee from its marketing budget when you sign a lease. It’s the same budget they’d spend advertising on Zillow or Apartments.com. They’re just directing part of it toward getting a qualified renter through our referral instead.

It’s a win-win-win. You save time and avoid burning $50–$75 application fees at places that won’t approve your profile. Your new community gets a qualified tenant through a trusted referral source. And we earn a referral fee. Your rent doesn’t change by a dollar either way.

When you reach out, you’ll get help from a real, licensed apartment locator that specializes in apartment locating. We’ll assess your current situation before you spend a dime on applications, recommend options that actually fit your profile and budget, and advocate for you if your application needs a boost during the review process.

Ready to get started? Tell us your budget, timeline, and any screening concerns, and we’ll pull options that match your situation. Fill out this quick form or call us at 210-468-7667.

What San Antonio Apartments Look For on Your Application

Every apartment runs a screening check before approving a new tenant. Specific criteria vary, sometimes dramatically, by manager and property class. But they’re all evaluating the same three risk factors: Will you pay rent on time? Will you take care of the unit? Do you owe money to a previous landlord?

Your credit score is the single biggest factor. It determines which property classes you can even access, and that access drops fast below 600.

Credit Score Requirements by Property Class

Screening criteria vary by community and change over time. These ranges reflect recent approval outcomes across the San Antonio market as of early 2026. Verify current requirements directly with any property before applying.

Here’s the part that’s hard to figure out on your own: two Class B properties on the same street, charging the same rent, managed by different companies, can have completely different screening standards. One requires 620 credit, runs a 7-year felony lookback, and doesn’t accept third-party guarantees. The other takes 550 credit, does case-by-case review on older convictions, and welcomes third-party guarantees.

Same neighborhood. Same price. Different approval odds. That’s the kind of thing we track across management companies, and it’s the kind of thing no listing site can show you.

Income, Background Checks, and Rental History

Most San Antonio apartments require a gross monthly income of 2.5x to 3x the monthly rent. A $1,200/month apartment means you’ll need to show $3,000–$3,600 in provable monthly income. Self-employed or gig work? Some properties accept bank statements and tax returns. Others insist on standard pay stubs. Flexibility depends on the manager, not the property class.

Background checks typically use a 7-year or longer lookback for felony convictions, with the specific window varying by property class. Class A and luxury properties tend toward stricter standards. Class B and C properties are often more flexible, mainly when the conviction isn’t recent and isn’t violent or drug-related.

Rental history matters, too — and this is where we spend a lot of our time helping clients. Each situation has a different path:

Evictions within the past 3–5 years narrow your options, but they don’t eliminate them. We place renters with eviction history regularly and know which management companies actually work with these situations versus which ones auto-decline. The key factors are how recent it is, whether it was contested or default, and whether there’s an outstanding balance attached. We’ve written a full breakdown at eviction-friendly apartments in San Antonio.

Broken leases are somewhat easier to work around, especially if there’s no money owed to the previous property. Timing matters here, too. A broken lease from 18 months ago is a different conversation than one from 5 years ago. We cover the specifics in our broken lease apartment guide.

Property debt is the hardest factor to overcome. Money owed to a previous landlord (whether from a broken lease, unpaid rent, or damage charges) shows up on your screening report and it’s close to an automatic decline everywhere. The amount barely matters. A $200 balance blocks you just as much as a $2,000 balance. Paying it off before applying, or setting up a documented payment plan, is almost always the first step. If you’re dealing with delinquent accounts tied to a previous property, that’s where we start the conversation.

Credit issues beyond property debt (collections, judgments, bankruptcy, high debt-to-income) each have their own path. We’ve built a specific guide for bad credit situations because each type of credit issue affects your options differently.

What If My Situation Is Complicated?

If your credit is below 600, or you’ve got a past eviction, a broken lease, or a background issue, you still have options. They’re just different options than someone with a clean record and a 700 credit score.

A third-party guarantee is one path. Companies like Insurent, The Guarantors, and Leap Easy act as a corporate co-signer on your lease, which can open doors at property classes your screening profile alone wouldn’t reach. Not every manager accepts third-party guarantees. But the ones that do can move you into a much better apartment than you’d access otherwise.

Deposit options like Liberty Rent, Jetty, and Rhino are another option. They replace a standard security deposit with a smaller fee or a monthly payment. These are separate from guarantees and come into play when a property requires a higher deposit based on your screening profile. Cost and structure vary by provider.

We work with complicated situations regularly. If any of this sounds like your scenario, call us at 210-468-7667. We can usually tell you where you stand in about 10 minutes. We work with eviction history, broken leases, credit issues, and background concerns across San Antonio, and we know which properties in your price range and preferred area are worth applying to versus which ones will waste your application fee.

The Real Cost of Renting in San Antonio (Not Just What the Listing Says)

San Antonio is the most affordable of Texas’s four major metros. Average effective rent sits at roughly $1,246/month as of early 2026, about 15–19% below Austin for comparable units, per Yardi Matrix market data. But the number you see on a listing and the number that actually leaves your bank account each month? Two different things.

Average Rent by Area

Here’s what one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments look like across different parts of San Antonio right now:

Rent ranges reflect several data sources as of early 2026. Actual pricing is subject to change. Verify current rates with the property directly.

Those are the advertised numbers. Now here’s what you’ll actually pay.

Mandatory Fees That Aren’t in the Listing

Texas has no state law limiting mandatory add-on fees in rental housing, per the UT Housing Policy Clinic. That means properties can (and do) stack charges on top of base rent that won’t appear until you’re reading the lease or sitting at the signing table. Expect a gap between listed rent and the true monthly cost of 7–15%, depending on the property class.

Here’s what a real fee stack looks like at three different price points in San Antonio:

Class A (listed at $1,400/month): Base rent: $1,400. Valet trash: $35. Pest control: $8. WiFi/tech package: $55. Amenity fee: $25. Package locker: $10. Water/sewer (RUBS): $65. Billing admin: $8. Actual monthly cost: $1,606 (+14.7%).

Class B (listed at $1,200/month): Base rent: $1,200. Valet trash: $30. Pest control: $5. Water/sewer (RUBS): $55. Billing admin: $5. Renter’s insurance: $15. Actual monthly cost: $1,310 (+9.2%).

Class C (listed at $900/month): Base rent: $900. Valet trash: $25. Pest control: $3. Water/sewer (RUBS): $40. Actual monthly cost: $968 (+7.6%).

That Class A apartment advertised at $1,400? It’s actually $1,606. And that’s before your electric bill.

CPS Energy is San Antonio’s only electric provider. The city opted out of Texas deregulation, so there’s no shopping around. Summer bills hit hard. A one-bedroom averages $65–$100/month from October through May, then jumps to $130–$185 from June through September. Two-bedrooms can reach $160–$230 in peak summer. West-facing top-floor units in older buildings without solar screens or double-pane windows? I’ve heard renters report $300+ monthly bills in July and August. Ask about unit orientation, window type, and HVAC age before you sign anything.

How to Calculate Net Effective Rent

This is where online apartment searching gets people into trouble. You see two listings. Property A: $1,400/month, no special. Property B: $1,500/month, two months free on a 12-month lease. Most people pick Property A because the number is lower. But Property B is actually cheaper.

Here’s the math:

Net effective rent = (monthly rent × lease term − total concession value) ÷ lease term. It’s the number that actually matters, and it’s the number that listing sites don’t show you.

Right now, with San Antonio vacancy near 10% and about half of all properties running concessions, the spread between listed rent and net effective rent is unusually wide. Class A luxury rents have fallen 3.2% year-over-year, and the gap between luxury and mid-tier pricing has compressed to just $180/month. That means a brand-new luxury apartment with quartz counters and a full-amenity pool might cost you barely more per month than a 15-year-old Class B property down the street, once you factor in the concession.

But there’s a catch. Concessions apply to Year 1 only. When your lease renews, the listed rent, not the effective rent, becomes the baseline for increases. That $1,500 apartment you’re paying $1,250/month for? It renews at $1,500 or higher. Plan for it.

Specials change weekly. Some aren’t posted online at all. And sometimes you can push past the posted deal. An admin fee waiver here, a reduced deposit there. Properties sitting at 87% occupancy with empty units have room to bend. We talk to these leasing offices daily. We know what’s actually available, and we know when a property is motivated enough to stack offers.

Timing matters, too. December through February is when you’ll find the deepest concessions. Properties need to fill vacancies through the slow winter months. May through August is peak season: more competition, less room to negotiate. A winter lease on the same apartment can save you $2,000–$3,000 compared to signing in June.

San Antonio Neighborhoods: Where to Look Based on Where You Work

San Antonio sprawls. The city covers over 465 square miles, and choosing the wrong side of town can turn a 15-minute commute into 45 minutes of Loop 1604 or I-10 traffic. Where you work should drive where you look, not the other way around.

I’ve organized this by employer and base, because that’s how most San Antonio renters actually make this decision.

Neighborhoods by Employer / Base

Commute times are rush-hour estimates and can vary with construction, weather, and school schedules. Evening rush is much worse than morning. Friday afternoon is the worst traffic window of the week.

A few things about this table that listing sites won’t tell you:

The Medical Center area is San Antonio’s best-kept budget secret. It has the widest range of apartment stock in the city, everything from 1970s-era Class C at $700/month to new luxury at $1,500+. Class C one-bedrooms run $700–$855 here, making it one of the lowest-rent centrally located neighborhoods in town. It’s served by VIA’s Prìmo bus rapid transit on Fredericksburg Road, 20 minutes from downtown, and 10–15 minutes from La Cantera/Rim. Ambulance sirens near the hospitals are a real noise factor. Ask about the unit facing relative to the ER entrances. But if you work at USAA, the Medical Center, or anywhere along the Fredericksburg Road corridor, this is probably where your apartment search should start.

Alamo Heights — locally called “the 09,” is worth the premium if you have school-age children. Alamo Heights ISD is one of the metro’s most highly rated districts, and it’s the primary reason families pay more to live here. Apartment supply is limited compared to other neighborhoods, with Class A one-bedrooms at $1,300–$1,800 and even Class C starting at $800–$996. Walk Score hits 55–65 along the Broadway corridor. It’s only 5 miles from downtown and minutes from Fort Sam Houston. Check FEMA flood maps for properties near Olmos Creek or the Fort Sam tributary, especially in the Terrell Hills section.

Stone Oak is suburban and car-dependent, but the schools pull families north. Walk Score: 25. North East ISD is highly rated, Eisenhower Park offers over 320 acres of trails, and two hospitals (North Central Baptist, Methodist Stone Oak) anchor the area. One-bedrooms run $848–$1,600. The Stone Oak Parkway / US 281 interchange bottlenecks during rush hour. If you work downtown, budget 35–55 minutes. If you work at a Stone Oak hospital or anywhere on the north side, it’s a different story.

Alamo Ranch and Westover Hills draw military families near Lackland. Newer construction, Northside ISD schools, 12–20 minutes to Lackland AFB. Class A one-bedrooms at $948+, Class B around $999+. Walk Score: 15–25. You’ll need a car for everything. We’re seeing properties in this area offer 4 weeks free with waived fees, which signals low occupancy and room to negotiate.

For Randolph families, Schertz consistently comes up. Strong schools (Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD), family-oriented, 5–10 minute commute. Class A one-bedrooms from $972+. I-35 traffic noise and Randolph flight path noise hit the western portions, so ask about it on tours. If you want more space and can handle 20 minutes on I-35, New Braunfels is running 5–7% below last year’s rents with significant new inventory.

One area-level reality that catches relocating renters off guard: San Antonio’s public transit through VIA Metropolitan Transit is limited. Outside of the downtown core and the Fredericksburg Road Prìmo line, you’ll need a car. Factor that into your budget if you’re coming from a city with better transit coverage.

I’ve written more detailed breakdowns of specific areas if you want to go deeper on a particular part of town.

A note on flood risk: San Antonio has real flood exposure, especially near creek and river corridors. The San Antonio River, Salado Creek, Leon Creek, and several tributaries all pose risk during heavy rain events. Before signing a lease, verify the property’s flood zone status through FEMA flood maps at the specific address level. Neighborhood-level generalizations aren’t precise enough. One building can sit in a flood zone while the property across the street doesn’t.

Moving to San Antonio with the Military? Here’s What You Need to Know

San Antonio is Military City USA for a reason. Joint Base San Antonio (Lackland, Fort Sam Houston, and Randolph) is home to over 67,000 direct employees and contributed $55 billion to the Texas economy in 2023, per the Texas Comptroller. We work with military families on PCS moves regularly, and the apartment search looks different for a military renter than for a civilian in a few important ways.

The first thing to understand: your Basic Allowance for Housing is your apartment budget, and San Antonio’s BAH goes further here than at most duty stations. Here’s how current rates align with actual rent across different parts of the city:

BAH to Neighborhood Alignment

BAH rates from the DoD BAH Calculator for the San Antonio MHA (TX285). Note: 2026 BAH rates decreased by about 2.9% from 2025. DoD “rate protection” means members already receiving the higher rate retain it as long as their status stays the same.

BAH is non-taxable — a detail that matters more than most people realize when budgeting. Your $1,935 BAH is the equivalent of roughly $2,400+ in pre-tax income. Keep that in mind when a property asks for income proof at 3x rent.

Which Base, Which Neighborhoods

Lackland (BMT, 37th Training Wing, SW San Antonio): Alamo Ranch and Westover Hills are the most popular, 10–15 minutes to the gate, newer construction, Northside ISD schools. For junior enlisted on tighter BAH, the Marbach Road corridor and Leon Valley keep rent within budget at 15–20 minutes.

Fort Sam Houston (BAMC, medical training, NE of downtown): Alamo Heights puts you 5 minutes from the gate with access to one of SA’s top-rated school districts. Windcrest and Live Oak are more affordable at 10–15 minutes. Government Hill, right outside the base, has a walkable character but limited apartment stock.

Randolph (AETC HQ, Universal City): Universal City is adjacent and hard to beat for convenience. Schertz is 5–10 minutes away with strong schools and a family-oriented feel. Converse offers lower rents at 10–15 minutes. Randolph flight path noise is real in the western sections of all three properties, so ask about it when you tour.

PCS Timeline: What’s Realistic

If your screening profile is clean (600+ credit, no evictions, provable income), standard screening runs 2–3 business days (Monday through Friday; screening doesn’t run on weekends). We can typically have you matched, approved, and ready to sign within that window, which works well for a standard PCS with 2–3 weeks of lead time.

If your situation needs a third-party guarantee, the approval itself only takes 1–2 days. What extends the timeline is the payment method. Paying the guarantee fee by ACH or bank transfer can add 3–5 business days for processing. Credit or debit card payments clear faster. Either way, it’s not much longer than a normal application.

One protection you need to know about: the SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) lets you terminate a lease with PCS or deployment orders exceeding 90 days. Written notice plus a copy of your orders — the lease ends 30 days after the next rent due date. No early termination fees can be charged.

One warning on SCRA: some leases include waiver language buried in the fine print. Signing it can give up your protections. Don’t sign anything like that without talking to the JBSA Legal Assistance Office first.

PCS move? We work with military families and understand the timeline pressure. Tell us when you need to be here and we’ll get started, or call us directly at 210-468-7667.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

San Antonio’s apartment market right now is one of the most renter-friendly in the country. Yardi Matrix market data ranks it among the softest rental markets in the U.S. Vacancy near 10%, rents declining, and concessions at half the places in the city. That won’t last. Construction dropped by about 80% in 2024, and the supply cliff that will be created will tighten the market a lot by late 2026 and into 2027. If you’re planning a move, the math favors doing it sooner.

But favorable market conditions don’t eliminate the complexity. The gap between listed rent and what you’ll actually pay each month is real. Two properties in the same neighborhood, same price class, can have completely different screening rules. That gap is real. And the risk of wasting application fees at places that were never going to approve you is real, especially with anything beyond a clean credit score and steady paycheck.

That’s the gap an apartment locator fills. Not finding you apartments. You can find listings yourself. Knowing which ones will work for your specific situation, at the lowest true cost, in the right part of a 465-square-mile city. That’s what our team does as licensed Texas real estate agents working San Antonio’s rental market every week.

If your situation is straightforward, the information on this page should give you a solid foundation for searching on your own. If it’s not, or if you’d rather not do the research, the calling, the fee math, and the neighborhood guesswork yourself, we’re here for that.

We are committed to Fair Housing practices and provide equal professional service to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. All properties listed are subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act.

Need Help With Your Search?

You’ve got everything on this page to evaluate properties on your own. But if you want help, or if your situation makes the DIY route harder than it needs to be:

Fill out the form, and we’ll text or call you back to answer questions, check your screening situation, share current specials that match your budget, and set up next steps. Or call us directly at 210-468-7667.

Rent ranges and market data based on multiple sources, current as of early 2026. Screening criteria are subject to change and may vary by unit type, lease length, and applicant profile. Verify all information directly with the property before applying.