Ross Quade

Ross Quade is a licensed Texas REALTOR® who has spent a decade helping people find apartments after they've been denied everywhere else.

Most renters don't call Ross on a good day. They call after the third denial. After blowing $200 in application fees at places that were never going to approve them. After being told by a leasing office that "we can't work with your situation" without anyone explaining what that actually means or where to go next.

An eviction on your record can feel like a housing death sentence. Landlords see it and stop reading. It doesn't matter that you lost a job during COVID, went through a divorce, or had a medical emergency that wiped out your savings. The screening software flags it and the conversation is over. Ross knows which communities actually review the circumstances instead of just declining the application due to rental or credit issues. He tracks apartments that accept evictions so renters aren't starting from scratch every time they get denied.

Broken leases are a different problem but they'll stall your search just as fast. Sometimes you had to leave a bad living situation. Sometimes a roommate bailed and you couldn't cover rent alone. Now there's a balance owed to a property that follows you from application to application. Ross tracks which communities treat that balance as a dealbreaker and which ones will work with you, especially if the debt is paid or on a payment plan.

Then there's credit. A 480 score shuts doors people don't even realize are closed until they apply. It doesn't mean someone is a bad tenant. It usually means medical debt, student loans, or a rough financial stretch that got away from them. Ross has mapped out the actual credit thresholds and income workarounds at hundreds of properties across Texas, including Houston second chance apartments, so renters aren't guessing and gambling with application fees.

A criminal background is the hardest screening issue to crack. You did your time or completed probation, but the rental market treats you like you're still serving a sentence. Every property screens differently. Some won't touch a felony regardless of how old it is. Others evaluate case by case depending on the charge, the timeframe, and the circumstances. Ross knows the difference and won't send you somewhere that's going to waste your time.

The service is free to renters. Apartment communities pay locator referral fees out of their marketing budgets, so the rent is the same whether you use a locator or walk in on your own. There's no catch and no markup.

Ross served in the U.S. Army before getting into real estate. That's where the no-BS approach comes from. He earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, holds Texas Real Estate License #679806, and has been placing renters in Austin apartments since 2016. He now operates across all five major Texas metros through Austin Apartment Locators, San Antonio Apartment Locators, and Second Chance Apartment Group.

If you're apartment hunting in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, or Fort Worth and your background is making it harder than it should be, Ross and his team already know which properties will work with your specific situation.