When many people think of the app TikTok, they think of a constant stream of viral videos. A local real estate agent is using the platform to highlight a serious problem: the need for safe, affordable housing.
With her signature shoes and mini microphone, Realtor Sarah Hamway takes TikTok viewers to places in Dallas many didn't know existed.
"I wasn't even going to make a video today and I just found the craziest rental opportunity I have ever heard of in Dallas. This unit in Highland Park is less than $600 a month," Hamway shared with viewers in one of her online posts.
With her quirky humor, she gives renters the raw truth about the conditions and amenities she encounters.
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"If you don't have a lot of furniture, that will work to your advantage," she said, touring a residence with a very small living space.
In this economy, her videos bring much hope.
"I was told by other agents when I started that if someone came to me with a budget of $1,600 you can't help them [and] there's nothing in Dallas for that price," Hamway shared.
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She uses the TikTok username The Heeltor (@the_heeltor), which combines her industry and signature high heels.
Not only did she prove that other agent wrong, but in a city with a median rent of nearly $2,100, Hamway's series of 12 apartments under $1,200 a month, was a hit.
"It did over a million views on TikTok in two weeks, which really showed, I mean, it was a testament to how much people really need affordable housing," said Hamway.
Hamway began her career during a tough real estate market. Helping renters has not only helped her earn a living, but focusing on those looking for lower rent has helped her uncover her calling.
"My niche has been based off of trying to help a community that has been far overlooked and underserved by the real estate community in Dallas," Hamway said.
Hamway said she's seen it all while searching for the best possible rent.
"Mold in the air vents, mold in the refrigerator," she described. "I've seen some really jarring apartments."
She scopes out the listings, posts her tours and renters race to get in line.
"Before I met Sarah, I was just checking online, and I feel like I was getting good pictures and stuff, but I wasn't getting any really other information, like when I could move in. Rent is always questionable. I would just get spam," said renter Ivan Ochoa.
When Ochoa found himself priced out of Richardson, he found Hamway on TikTok and she helped him find a spot that fit his budget.
"It's a lot less stressful," he said.
She helped fill more than half the units in his building.
Part of her strategy is nurturing relationships with smaller private landlords, which can be critical when helping people trying to overcome challenges like bad credit and qualifying for housing.
"She was like the mediator between the owner, the property owner and myself, she was able to tell my story," said renter Natalia Lucien, who goes by the nickname Cookie.
Hamway is helping Natalia Lucien for the second time.
"When I first moved here, my daughter had a health crisis and ended up having brain surgery. I actually lost my apartment. So I had an eviction, and it was making it even harder."
With Hamway's help, Cookie found a landlord to give her a chance.
"And now I'm in a better place, and I am actually elevating or growing into something a little more like a two or three-bedroom now," said Lucien.
These stories fuel Hamway's fight, partly because they aren't too far from her own.
"When I was, like, 22 years old, I was paying for an apartment in Downtown Dallas that was, like, $1,400 a month. I ended up getting my car repossessed. I didn't pay medical bills when I had them because I couldn't, and I was living paycheck to paycheck just to make my rent payment," Hamway said.
That was in 2017. The City of Dallas then showed the median rent as $992 a month. In September 2024, Zillow showed the median rent in Dallas is more than $2,000 per month.
As North Texas remains among the fastest-growing areas in the nation, with rents to match, Hamway's inbox remains flooded with messages from people of all ages. She hears from recent high school graduates and seniors in their 70s.
"I'm like you wanted to reach out to me from TikTok? They're like my grandparents' age," Hamway said.
She hears from renters of all ages and occupations, desperate to find a place to stay and to find stability and security within their means.
"If you're comfortable, you can probably just do amazing things," said Ochoa.
"I feel safe going into my house," said Cookie.
"I am beyond grateful that I get to have this opportunity and I will continue to serve my community," Hamway said.
Hamway shared that real estate agents who offer apartment finder services can get commissions as much as one month's rent. But in her experience, Hamway says apartments with lower rent sometimes offer an even smaller percentage of the first month's rent as commission. She has to help more renters keep up, but she says it's worth it.
