i moved in to westdale parke in the late part of may. this was my second apartment, and from a first glance, this place seemed much nicer than my previous one. after just one month i could see that i was wrong about that.
when i first moved in, i was missing 2 doors in my apartment( one to the bedroom, one to the closet) and was told that they would be replaced with Brand New ones in less than 2 weeks. it took over a month, and many complaints before i finally got the doors, and they were by no means new. they had big off colored splotches on them.
i had a similar problem as other people mentioned with the online payment. on more than once occasion, when i specifically noted that i did not want any other payments put on my debit card, other charges would show up. the only explanation i could get from management was that "well, we usually get rent and water in one payment, so we added it in for you." even though i had written them a check for water, wich they also cashed. they fixed this by crediting my next months rent. if for some reason you decided to live here, pay by check for everything, and do not keep credit cards on file.
i ended up getting out of my lease 5 months early becuase i had a HUGE amount of MOLD in my apartment. i read a review on apartmentratings.com saying that they found mold in their apartment, so i decided i would check. sure enough, first vent i removed, there was a golf ball size ball of mold in the vent, and every other vent i removed, i found more and more mold. i took plenty of pictures, and talked to austin tennants council, and was able to get advice. i wrote westdale a certified letter telling them of the Health Hazard in my apartment and their solution was to PAINT over it with a white primer called KILLZ. this product does nothing for the treatment of mold, but is made to help prevent mold BEFORE its growing.
After seeing that, i was furious and demanded that westdale fixed it properly, or let me out....guess what they opted for. so now thankfully i am out of there, and would never live there again, unless i was looking for some kind of lung disease.

finally, i would like to add that their management is horrible.
----- is the biggest douche bag i have ever met. there was more than one occasion that he came into my apartment unanounced, and left no notice that he was in my home. he is very rude and condescending. i expected much more from them, but the only thing that matters to Westdale Parke is MONEY, NOT YOU!

if you would like to see pictures of my horrible apartment, mold and their "repair" check out my photobucket: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v469/lunaman2005/Mold Apartment/

User Responses
From: qweroiu	Date: 02/15/2008
"This particular resident really just was not happy from the time they moved in and really just wanted to get out of their apartment." Gosh, and I can't imagine why this person would want out. 1. You didn't bother to replace the doors BEFORE they moved in. Then instead of going to Lowe's or somewhere else after Home Depot supposedly wasn't coming, you just didn't do anything. Did you replace the old doors with the new ones when they did come in? Did you refund any partial rent? $50? Anything? 2. You didn't even address the online payment complaints that this person and others brought up. I'm guessing this person wouldn't have gotten anything back they were double charged for if they hadn't said something.
From: lunaman2005	Date: 02/15/2008
RESPONSE TO MANAGEMENT: i can understand that it may have taken longer than expected to get the doors in, and i could deal with that since it was not an extremely important door like a front door. but to not ever talk to me about the delay, and only do something after i had called a couple times is not right. also the fact that when i was told the doors were comming, i was still told they would be "NEW" not torn from another apartment, which i did not know until i read this response today. when i first moved in, i was extremely happy. to say i was "This particular resident really just was not happy from the time they moved in and really just wanted to get out of their apartment." is not true, i was fine with it until i started having money charged to my card that i had not authorized and when i found hoards of mold in my air vents. Westdale Parke and its management have some serious issues that YOU need to address, and not blame all of your mistakes on residents that you see as just unhappy people trying to get back at you in some way. i wrote this review to give any other young people like myself a heads up about this heap of an apartment complex, and to keep looking at other apartments. THANK YOU.
From: Anonymous	Date: 02/15/2008
Management Reponse: In regards to the missing doors, we had ordered the doors from Home Depot and they assured us they would be in with in 2 weeks. When that time passed by we called back and they told us that they were back logged and the doors would be running behind by another two weeks. Again after that time went by with no doors arriving, we called them back. They told us that due to a change over in manufacturers that they were not sure when the doors were going to come in. At that point after speaking to this resident on several occasions the only option we had at that point was to take some doors out of a vacant unit as this resident was not willing to wait any longer for the doors. We completely understand where the resident would be upset about not having the doors, and apologized for the delay, however we were at the mercy of Home Depot. We even tried to find some way to make them ourselves, however we did not have the proper tools to bore out the holes required for the door. In regards to the A/C vents, we went over to the unit and did clean out the vents for the resident, and yes we did use Kilz paint in the vents. However, that was after cleaning them out first. The Kilz is a paint that will help prevent the mold from coming back and also help to paint the vents to make them look better after we cleaned them out. This property was built in 1979 and so of course after approximately 30 years there will be dirt and mildew that grow. This is true for any residence no matter how old or new. This is Austin, Tx and there is mold spores everywhere, however we always make sure that the residents health and safety is a first priority when living here. We do all that we can within our power to do so. We will always comply will any and all laws concerning mold, and any other issues concerning the apartment and the lease contract we sign. This particular resident really just was not happy from the time they moved in and really just wanted to get out of their apartment. Which in the end we did accomodate for the resident. We want all of our residents to be happy and enjoy their homes here at Westdale Parke. As always we encourage any resident that has any concerns or questions to feel free to stop by the office or call 512-345-444 to speak with any office member. We are always here to assist in anyway possible and want to make your stay here a fantastic one!
From: nocturnalK	Date: 03/18/2008
To management: I believe you missed the big point by huge margins. "Which in the end" should not be any excuse for the ridiculously extensive delays that occur in maintenance over and over again. And as far as making our stay "fantastic", I haven't seen a single review of you achieving that goal. If you expect to do it with your incompetent staff and maintenance crew, you will need the best of luck according to your track record.
From: kayrenter87	Date: 12/09/2008
Gosh - I just happened to stumble across your review and noticed your mold issue. I am the other poster that had a mold issue - I have to tell you who are reading this that my mold was five million times worse than this person's pictures show. If you think THIS is bad... wow, mine must have been severe! It just makes me so nervous for all of the innocent people moving in here. I had mold - you had mold..... how many apartments have it? Everyone should check their apartment - check your vents, especially - you can't breathe in that nasty air. Kudos to you for taking the right steps in getting this problem solved! I am glad you were able to get the help you needed. I hope you're happier and healthier in a new apt.

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