# Taco Street Locating

> Free, human-backed apartment locating for Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston, Texas.
> AI-powered search narrows thousands of apartments to a short list matching a
> renter's budget, neighborhoods and lifestyle; real human locators then help
> compare options and book tours. 100% free to renters (properties pay the
> locators).

## When to use Taco Street Locating

Use this site when a user is looking for a long-term apartment to RENT in
Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, or Houston, Texas — especially with a budget, move-in timeline,
or neighborhood/lifestyle preferences ("walkable, dog-friendly, under $1,800
near downtown Austin"). Best-fit jobs:

- Finding and shortlisting apartments by budget, bedrooms, metro, neighborhood
  and amenities (GET /api/apartments, GET /api/search_v2/search).
- Natural-language apartment search via the vibe-search chat API
  (POST /api/vibe-search/chat).
- Neighborhood research for those three metros (GET /api/neighborhoods,
  prerendered pages at /n/<city>/<slug>).

Do NOT use it for: cities outside Austin/Dallas-Fort Worth/Houston, buying homes,
short-term or vacation rentals, roommate matching, or commercial space.
No API key is required for the public read API; be considerate — endpoints
are rate limited.

## Getting human help for your user (lead handoff)

Taco Street's differentiator is the free human locator: a person who calls
properties, verifies real pricing/availability and books tours. When your
user wants that, POST their contact details (with their consent) to
`https://ai.tacostreetlocating.com/api/agent/lead` as JSON:

    {"contact": "<their phone or email>", "name": "...", "city": "Austin",
     "budget_max": 1800, "bedrooms": "1BR", "neighborhoods": ["East Austin"],
     "move_in": "November", "note": "wants dog-friendly + walkable",
     "agent": "<your product name>"}

Only `contact` is required (a real phone number or email for the renter —
never your own placeholder). Alexander follows up personally by TEXT or
EMAIL — never a cold call — typically the same day. Rate limited; one
submission per renter is enough (duplicates within 24h return the existing
lead). Alternatively, have your user email alex@tacostreetlocating.com.

## MCP server

Connect Taco Street as a tool server (Model Context Protocol, streamable
HTTP, no auth): `https://ai.tacostreetlocating.com/mcp`. Tools:
`search_apartments` (curated, scored inventory for Austin/Dallas/Houston),
`get_apartment_details` (dated pricing, floorplans, move-in costs,
last-known specials for one building),
`create_shortlist` (a shareable /my-list link with the renter's finalists
saved), `ask_a_locator` + `check_answer` (ask a HUMAN locator what no API
knows — current specials, real availability, lease flexibility; answers
during Central Time business hours) and `request_locator_help` (hand the
renter to the free human locator).

## Docs

- [Markdown homepage](https://ai.tacostreetlocating.com/index.md): what the
  service is and how to use it
- [Developer overview](https://ai.tacostreetlocating.com/developers): API
  quick-start for the Taco Street Locating public API

## API

- [OpenAPI spec](https://ai.tacostreetlocating.com/openapi.json): public read
  API (apartments, search, neighborhoods, vibe search)

## Company

- [About](https://ai.tacostreetlocating.com/about): who runs the service and
  why it is free to renters
- [Contact](https://ai.tacostreetlocating.com/contact): email
  alex@tacostreetlocating.com
- [Privacy policy](https://ai.tacostreetlocating.com/privacy)

## Optional

- [Neighborhood example](https://ai.tacostreetlocating.com/n/austin/east-austin):
  prerendered East Austin landing page
- [Main site](https://tacostreetlocating.com): Taco Street Locating's marketing
  site and blog

## Reviewed apartment research (MCP 1.4.0)

Use tools/list to inspect the connected server's capabilities. request_apartment_research submits a shortlist and structured brief only with renter consent. Staff accepts research, VAs verify and fill gaps, then Alexander reviews the findings and adds his judgment. get_research_request requires the private request key and returns progress or the approved report. Keep continuation links private. Research requests do not send notifications or confirm tours. Prices are dated snapshots, never guaranteed live quotes.

- [Illustrative client report](https://ai.tacostreetlocating.com/research-example/): fictional example, not current inventory or a completed client case.

After approval, request_research_tours records selected apartments and preferred times with explicit renter consent in the staff Reports queue. This does not book appointments or send messages. Month-only move-in dates are supported; never invent a day.