We have lived here since July and have had both positive and negative experiences with Waters Park, so I feel pretty qualified to share an unbiased viewpoint. Our overall experience so far has been very positive. We are a newly married couple and unless we buy a house by next summer we will most likely renew our lease.

MOVE-IN: Lease was signed and keys handed over without any problems. Took a couple weeks to get gate tags. Apartment was not in great shape on move-in day: floors not vacuumed, problems with toilet and ice maker, terrible dog urine smell in garage, previous tenant's rented appliances still in utility room. We moved in later than the normal rush that month so we may have been overlooked. One phone call to the office that morning and almost everything was remedied post-haste. Took them about a month to fix the garage smell though... they had to paint the slab to make it go away! I think the previous tenant was pretty trashy.

LOCATION: Perhaps the biggest thing going for WP, and an important factor for us. AM/PM rush hour traffic on Parmer can make getting out of the complex difficult. Going east is ok but you have to wait a while sometimes; if you want to go west, good luck. Only one entrance/exit from the complex is pretty inconvenient, especially in the case of wrecks on Parmer that REALLY cause a logjam. There is a gate in the back of the complex that opens onto Adelphi, but the neighborhood won't let WP open it except to let large trucks in and out.

QUALITY: Apartment seems generally well-constructed. The countertops are showing their age, but we are on the wait list to get them replaced. Noise level is great - we hear the occasional loud footsteps above us, but never any voices, music, TV, etc. Trains do pass by south of the complex along Waters Park Rd, which can be heard inside the apartment. Seals around doors are a little suspect - have had dirt blow in under our front door when groundskeeping comes by with their power toys.

BUGS: Since no other reviews mentioned any bug problems, we were surprised when we discovered we had a roach problem! Saw several the first week, then it tapered down to about one per week after that. Pest control has come out several times (at no expense to us) and laid down bait, but it never really got better. We've only seen one in the last couple of months, but I don't know if it's because of the cooler weather or the fact that I sprayed Raid all around the exterior doors and windows and laid my own baits. I think this may just be isolated, though, since we are on the corner of the complex and have wooded areas behind us. Besides, there is a plus in all this - I have become, out of necessity, a lot more intrepid about killing roaches. Pest control is outsourced to Worldwide Pest Control, who I had never heard of, nor am I totally sold on the quality of their service.

GROUNDS: Very well kept exterior appearance. The buildings all got new paint jobs July-September, but I preferred their old colors over the new. Clubhouse and exercise room were renovated recently, but I rarely go to either of them. One light post by the bridge got knocked over a couple months ago by high winds and is still awaiting repair. As a couple other reviews have said, there are a couple of blind turns that can be dangerous if you're not paying attention.

SAFETY: Parking lots are mostly well lit, but some sections are darker than others. Someone in the building across from us apparently had his car broken into (with his wallet inside) a couple weeks ago. Haven't heard of any apartment break-ins. We generally feel safe here. I don't know that I'd leave anything valuable within plain sight (open blinds, inside your car, etc.), but that's generally a bad thing to do anyway. Also, GET RENTER'S INSURANCE!!! It is so cheap that it is simply irresponsible not to protect yourself from theft, fire, etc.

MAINTENANCE: I have submitted a lot of maintenance requests, ranging from burned out light bulbs in the garage to a malfunctioning door lock. Most requests were handled same-day, with the majority of others taken care of within 24 hours. For many of them we have also gotten a follow-up phone call from the office asking whether or not the job they did was satisfactory.

STAFF: Can't say I understand the hate for the management in the other reviews. I do understand that there seems to be a fair amount of turnover in the office, but there are still plenty of familiar faces as well. The leasing agents and other staff have been nothing but friendly and helpful to us. When our first water bill came back at $56 (obviously incorrect), they let us wait until the next bill came before paying, and then adjusted down the incorrect bill. They organize parties and other socials for us (most of which we haven't attended) and generally make us feel like part of a community.

DEMOGRAPHICS: From what I can tell, the population here is pretty diverse. College students, hi-tech workers, single parents, families, older couples... it's hard to say which group is more represented. Lots of kids and dogs.

ONLINE: Being able to pay my rent and water bill online is a huge plus for me. It saves me the trouble of writing a check, saves me from keeping track of a paper receipt, and saves me from routine trips to the office. The rest of the resident web site (forums and such) is basically useless, but paying online makes it all worth it.

EXPENSES: Typical water/sewage/trash bill is $20-25/month. We run the A/C at 77 all day (74 at night) and the heater at 73 all day (70 at night) and use a lot of power otherwise, so our electric bill is $100-125. Ceiling fans allow us to run the A/C higher. No gas.


I've gone on way longer than I needed to, but I just thought I should share my good experience after reading all the bad reviews. Hopefully this information is useful to you. WP really is a great place to live.

User Responses
From: Sunmiss	Date: 01/03/2007
Thank you for such a thorough review!
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/19/2007
This review sounds like the management attempting to gain back control. Management...change your attitude and treat your tenants like they were your own family and I guarantee that the apartment rating will go through the roof.
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/20/2007
I'm not sure if the title of your review is appropriate because you only lived there for 5 months when the review was written. You may have been jumping to conclusions... I agree with you about how dirty the apartment was when I moved in. My place was really messy, I had to vacuum and clean the bathroom, kitchen, and carpets when I moved in because everything was filthly. This was very disappointing based on what I was told would take place prior to my arrival. It is surprising that your rating is so high due to negative experiences you and other residents have experienced at Water's Park? I'm not sure you have been here long enough to provide a thorough evaluation of the services Water's Park provides. The scores that you provided make me wonder if they paid you to write this? Maybe you were really bored and overly nice. I encourage you to reconsider your thoughts on Water's Park after living here for several years rather than just months...it is likely that you would reach a very different conclusion.
From: armywife-n-mom	Date: 04/15/2007
Thank you...your review was very helpful. I appreciate your honesty. As with any apt there is going to be some give and take, but I'd rather not move somewhere that can't properly prepare for my arrival (that says a lot about the rest of your stay). And I can't stand roaches so forget that! As for the response that mgmt should treat tenants like family? That's probably expecting a little too much, but I'm sure respect would be appreciated.
From: paradox183	Date: 04/24/2007
I'm the one that wrote this review... Seems like most complaints are centered around the staff. We have little or no interaction with the staff, so that is not negatively affecting us. The things that are important to us - quality of apartment, maintenance, costs - are good, so overall our stay has been good. However, I am starting to think that getting new countertops is a lot of hot air... we've been on the "wait list" for about six months and haven't heard anything yet.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/20/2007
Okay, i can deal with the traffic, most of my time will be spent in school, library and work anyway, but BUGS!!!!! I was seriously thinking about moving in here until i saw the word bug. Please tell me not all of the apartments have this problem!
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/17/2008
I moved into this property in Dec 2007. As with most older apartments, the wear and tear of the appliances and countertops will be anywhere you go. Unless you move into a brand spanking new apartment! And most property management companies are doing repairs on the cheap. With the limited availability of apartments in Austin, renters don't get treated as well as we once did. I've lived here 40 years... I know. I deal as little as possible with the leasing office. Only contact them when needed and so far it has been okay. Not great service, but that is a common factor around town. emergencies are handled quickly. That is what is important. little things can wait. Or I fix 'em myself. You need to complain to the higher ups if you feel your life has been endangered by unfair treatment. Otherwise, you are singing to the choir.

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