"Ernest and Christine Frugé have a very charming, cozy, well-kept house in one of the prettiest neighborhoods in Austin. Their bungalow, which has beautiful hardwood floors, is equipped with everything one could wish and attractively furnished, with big windows, an ample kitchen and comfy living-dining area, a handsome master bedroom and sunny second bedroom/office, with lots of closet and storage space everywhere, including the bathroom. The front yard is nicely planted and the fenced back yard is huge, with an enormous shade tree always full of birds. The house is on a quiet, lovely street in a safe, leafy, historic neighborhood wonderful for strolling, yet very convenient to the University of Texas, major roads, and a variety of commercial areas for grocery shopping (including both small local stores and bakeries and also the Central Market, the top tourist destination in Austin); dining out (including several top-rated restaurants); exercising, etc. Nothing is much further than a five or ten-minute drive, or a pleasant walk or bike ride; there are also municipal and University bus stops only a few minutes' walk away. Also just one block away is a terrific, funky little café with a friendly staff where one can linger as long as one likes, including late into the evening, using the free internet and downing quiche and pastries.
As if the house and location weren't ideal enough, Ernest and Christine would make anyone's list of All-Star Landlords -- we found them extremely responsible, gracious, trustworthy, hospitable, thoughtful and generous people, who take diligent care of their house and tenants both. We felt not only instantly comfortable with them but also befriended, and remain very grateful for our stay in their rental. To anyone considering a stay in Austin, we would not hesitate to give the Frugés and their place our highest recommendation."
Steve and Elise,
University of British Columbia, Canada
"My wife and I and our newborn son rented this home on Ave H for the academic year 2009-2010. We cannot recommend the house highly enough. The house is a cozy two bedroom bungalow with plenty of living space, a front porch and a huge (and beautifully landscaped) backyard -- ideal for BBQs. The house is perfect for a couple.
The quiet, leafy Hyde Park neighborhood is among the most liveable and walkable in all of Austin: the Flightpath cafe is around the corner; the Fresh Plus grocery store and Quack's bakery are just a few blocks away. The University is a long ramble (about 2 miles) or a very short drive.
Even all the way over in Houston, the Frugés were ideal landlords--friendly, helpful and laid-back, yet reachable instantly by phone and email and always proactive when something needed to get done. Truth be told, even when nothing needed to get done, I found myself catching up with Ernest by phone every few weeks. Its apparent that they love the house and have put a great deal of care into it. My sense is that they genuinely want their tenants to love the place as well.
All told, renting here was an entirely pleasant and trouble-free experience, a rare occurrence in home rentals. It was perfect for us."
Brent Sirota
North Carolina State University, U.S.A.
"Excellent neighborhood. Great house and yard for families on a quiet street with a well-equipped kitchen. We loved our stay here as a fellow at UT Austin with two small children. It's walkable to parks/playground/pool and neighborhood restaurants and stores. Awesome coffeehouse around the corner. Bikeable to the university on a bike lane and regular direct buses, too. Ernest and Christine were very accommodating and considerate landlords. No problems at all and a wonderful experience!"
Lewis Faulk
American University, U.S.A.
"We stayed in this lovely home in 2010-11, the year that our son was born. The house itself is completely furnished, even including a full complement of kitchen tools and spices. The location is excellent- near to East Austin taco stands, 51st street gourmet food, a nice local grocery store across from the most amazing cookies at Quack's on 43rd, and a popular coffee shop a block away which is great for writing. The highlight of the year was lucking into a home owned by Ernest and Christine, who are gracious, prompt, responsible, and thoughtful. For example: they moved furniture around so that the second bedroom could serve as a nursery/office and put a new hideabed in the living room. They also came over while we were out of town to put together a crib for the baby and look after our cats. We highly recommend this house!"
Jessa, Joshua & Leo
Brown University, Providence, RI
"We truly loved our Austin home. Not only is it lovingly furnished, but it is perfectly well equipped (especially the kitchen!). Whenever something didn't seem to work, our landlords responded immediately solving the problem in no time at all. The neighborhood is terrific, too. It's green and it's quiet. Plus: there's an awesome cheese shop, a bakery and a well-assorted grocery store just a stone's throw away. If we ever moved back to Austin, this would definitely be the place we would want to move into again. Thank you so much! "
Katrin, Torsten & Jakob
Germany
We lived in this house during the academic year 2012-2013, with our sons Fatima and Emilio. Christine and Ernest made every thing very easy for us, and even before our arrival they were always trying to make everything smooth. The house was a great surprise when we arrived and in many ways it exceeded our expectations; we found within the house all what we needed to cook and have a very pleasant stay in Austin. Location is excellent; we used to bike very often to the Colorado river and downtown area.
We enjoyed very much the neighborhood, with several playgrounds and coffee shops. The backyard is fantastic, plenty of nice plants and trees, perfect for BBQs. Fatima attended to McCallum High School, and we were very happy with her development. We express our gratitude to Christine and Ernest for all the effort they put in making our stay in Austin a great experience.
Daniel & Angelina
Mexico
Dear Christine and Ernest, I wanted to thank you again for allowing us to stay in your beautiful house. Your house is wonderfully located on a quiet street and close to UT campus and public transportation to downtown, as well as great restaurants, funky bookstores, an amazing cafe (probably the best in town) and shopping areas in close vicinity. Our daughter spent hours playing in the beautiful backyard, and we enjoyed meeting the neighbors Susan and Bill. It was lovely to live in a small and very practical house. We certainly left with wonderful memories. Thank you also for always being prompt, thoughtful, and caring for all our needs throughout our stay.
Ömür
Brown University, Providence, RI
We really loved our time at 5012 Ave H. Of the several landlords we've worked with, Ernest and Christine stood apart as the best in both professionalism and personableness. We had a very comfortable stay at the house and loved all the appliances and furniture provided. We highly recommend this place also for it's convenient location in Hyde Park right along a bus route to UT.
Secelia & Reynaldo
UT & Amazon