As I prepare myself to (potentially) move again, I’ve been thinking about my various living options.

Since I’ve moved to Austin, I’ve only lived in apartment complexes owned and operated by large management companies. But there’s other options out there that I haven’t fully researched: renting from a private landlord.

A private landlord is generally someone who only owns a couple buildings or even just one place that they are trying to rent out.

There’s pros and cons to each option. With a large management company, there’s generally more amenities, like a pool, clubhouse, complex events, etc. But these companies could also have more leverage over their renters because of their ability to make deals or advertise.

A private landlord might be more approachable or more willing to work with their renters. However, a private landlord might not have the same resources at their disposal that a large management company does. For example, a private landlord may be slower to respond to maintenance issues because they have to handle all the requests themselves.

I’ve had pretty good experiences with the larger rental management companies, however, I think for this move, I’m going to widen my search and look into private landlords. But I’ll need to do even more research into what is required for private landlords and also look at reviews—good or bad—for any potential landlord.

I’ve got some time to figure this all out, but I need to start building a list of questions and doing some research into private landlord requirements and questions to ask.

Do you rent from a management company or a private landlord? What do you think are the pros and cons of each?