I've left my original review intact below, so you can get some sense of my history here at The Lodge. I've returned to edit my comments, as the property has changed hands yet again - now to TriVest - and my opinion of the property has diminished somewhat. Most striking is the continued neglect of the grounds. The sprinkler system appears defunct for the most part. As a result, much of the grass is dead, and one can expect to find at least one dead tree/shrub around most buildings. I drive by two garage doors - damaged no doubt during move-ins/outs - that haven't been repaired in six months, and several light poles remain bent or broken. Furthermore, if you plan on using the fitness room, I'd encourage you to make sure that the treadmills and such are in working order before you factor that into your decision.

As far as "interior" maintenance goes, my experience has been very positive, but then again, I haven't submitted a request since the changeover in front office staff. I'll reserve judgement on that one.

I've lowered my ratings accordingly, and hope my experience helps you make a more informed decision. Oh... and lesson learned. I wouldn't put too much stock in the personnel when evaluating this property, as who knows when it might change hands again.

P.S. Interesting comment on my update. The writer agrees that the place is "falling apart", yet takes issue with my comments regarding dead grass, dead trees, etc. Oh...I suppose they're right. I mean, silly me... what was I thinking' To be so presumptuous as to expect that an apartment complex should actually MAINTAIN their property.

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A former resident of Riata (Dominion Village), I considered moving to The Lodge at Stone Oak Ranch when my initial lease term expired six months ago, but quickly changed my mind upon reading the myriad of negative remarks attributed to the property and its THEN management company, MBS. One could go to any apartment rating site and find a multitude of comments regarding a slow - if not altogether unresponsive - front office, littered premises, broken security gates and speeding cars.

Four months later, at the suggestion of Fonda McConnell at Apartments Now, I gave The Lodge a second chance. I was pleased to learn that the property had only recently been acquired by Greystar Properties, one of the highest rated property management companies in Austin. Suffice it to say that I've been a resident for the past two months, and I've yet to regret my decision. I find the office staff courteous, prompt and professional as any I've encountered. My maintenance requests thus far have been completed the next - if not the very same - day. My neighbors are courteous, quiet and polite. I see a groundskeeper picking up trash every morning when walking my dog, and I've yet to encounter a speeding car. As to the security gates that haven't worked in years, Greystar addressed the issue within weeks. As far as my apartment goes, I walked into new carpet, fresh paint and newly tiled floors. What's more, I'm now living in The Lodge's largest two-bedroom floor plan for a mere $100/mo more than I was paying for my one bedroom in Riata's Dominion. Not bad... not bad at all : )

P.S. The address is ACTUALLY 5400 W Parmer Lane, across Parmer from Riata. The new management's working to correct that too.

P.P.S. Hmmmm...seems someone's cried foul, suggesting that my review was "planted". That hurts, so let me clarify. I mentioned Greystar's awards because it speaks to their track record. Seeing how the former property management company, MBS, declared bankruptcy in November, it's comforting to see someone demonstrably competent at the helm. As to my experience with Apartments Now, how many people can say that their apartment locator agent actually drove them to the suggested locations and walked through each unit with them' I'd say that merits honorable mention, wouldn't you' As to mentioning the correct address...hmmm...color me silly, but I thought people might want to know where the place ACTUALLY was. I concur, the gates have yet to work consistently, and I can't speak to another's experience with the traffic, but it's readily apparent that Greystar has a well thought-out plan for bringing new life to a property that was neglected far too long, and I - for my part - am impressed. Rome wasn't built in a day : )

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 04/24/2008
This sounds like a planted review if I've ever seen one...it has too many phrases like "highest rated property management company" and it mentions Apartments Now by name...what an ad...and the "P.S." part is a dead giveaway--how would they know/why would they care that the new management is trying to correct the address on the website? Anyway, I have lived here for several years, weathering bad management because I like the apartment itself, and I can tell you the front gates were working for ONE day--actually, half a day total, I think. The side gates close occasionally, but not often enough to make a difference, and we don't have a clicker to open the side gates when they are closed. I will say that the new management IS better; I do see someone picking up trash each morning, and some lighting issues were addressed soon after they took over, but there are still a lot of cosmetic issues around the grounds that are yet to be addressed, such as damaged car ports and garages, and fading paint. Also, someone almost hit my car twice in the past month, speeding around corners that don't have stop signs. I would say it's an okay place to live because the apartments themselves are nice, but I wouldn't go overboard with praise yet--I will see what happens in the next few months.
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/25/2008
I see that one person is excited that Greystar has taken over which I find humorous seeing how short lived that was. So much for their plan of action. As for the gates, I couldn't be happier that they are no longer operating. The 'system' they had in place was terrible. No remotes unless you happened to live here back when the gates did work. Let's face it, gates don't keep the bad element out when the bad element happens to live here too. In my opinion, I'm more likely to have my place and car broken into by someone who lives here than by some random stranger. What makes people think that bad people always live somewhere else? I've seen a person that lives here back out of their parking space into another car and just take off. I left a note for the vehicle that was hit and left the license plate of the hit and run driver. I checked the next day and the note was gone. Likely thanks to the hit and run driver that knew they were seen hitting the parked the car. So the gates, in my opinion are really more of a nuisance than anything else. I've always felt the staff to be very friendly but let's face it, this place is falling apart. Anyone tried to walk barefoot in the pool? The entire thing needs to be resurfaced. The bottom and walls are corroding to the point of leaving sharp bits and pieces all over the bottom and in some areas large handfuls of the pieces can be collected. The lights in the pool don't work either. As far as complaining about noise...I can't imagine something so futile. If anyone really expects to have a completely quiet apartment living experience, they should wake up. You live in an apartment, there's going to be some unwanted noise. The person living upstairs is going to walk around like they are training a herd of elephants. The people sharing the walls with you are going to have their tv/music up loud. They are going to insist on yelling at their family members/ roommate etc. People are going to continue being rude and inconsiderate regardless of how many times the apartment office addresses the issue with them. People are filled with a sense of entitlement for some unknown reason. So to blame the noise level on anyone other than the inconsiderate people making the noise is pointless. I've personally, very politely, informed a neighbor of the noise level they were creating and they very politely expressed they would try to be more careful. Of course they haven't improved the slightest bit. As long as they live here, I don't imagine they will, but in no way is the office staff to blame for this particular person's behavior. No apartment complex is going to be perfect. The office staff should be held accountable for the things they are responsible for. But let's use a little bit of realism too. People are going to be noisy, drive faster than they should and behave poorly from time to time. Not every tree or shrub is going to be perfect looking all day every day. There is no such thing as a crime free zone. The complex across the street had the largest meth bust in Austin's history and their gates have always worked. For those who see fit to count the number of trees and shrubs that don't look as appealing as they'd like, I envy the kind of life you lead. If that's al you have to fill your day, if that's the worst life has to offer you, you lead a blessed life. Too bad you're too busy complaining about things so trivial to notice. Then again, I suppose don't envy that.
From: Anonymous	Date: 09/12/2008
We have lived here for 6 months. If we had to do it all over again, we never would have done it. There was a rodent we could hear up above us, and we called the office about it three times, finally "pest control" came and went. The must have set a trap because a couple days later, we smelled dead, disgusting animal every time we came in the front door. We called every day for a week. No one ever came. You cannot smell it as strong, must have dried up with 120 degree weather we had all week. The pool and the fitness center.. these are two other issues. The fitness center equipment has not worked properly since we moved in. On memorial day this year, we asked the office staff if the bathrooms would be unlocked. They assured us that they would be. We invited several friends over to grill out and swim, as did many other tenants. Much to our surprise, they forgot to come and unlock the doors. Did I mention at the time that personnel lived in these apartments?? They could have walked down, taken two minutes and unlocked the door. We called the number and got the answering service, who was rude to begin with, and then told us that it was not an emergency. I told them there were children peeing on the side of the pool.. that isn't an emergency? Okay, then. ALSO, both mine and my husband's cars got broken into. They stole my husband's golf clubs, they also vandalized his car inside. We have car ports, not garages. You are right, this could happen anywhere... but it has never occurred anywhere else. I would not reccomend living here.

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