PARKING
I've never had trouble finding a parking spot right in front of my apartment unit, though it looks like it might be more difficult for certain buildings. This is something you can see well before you step foot inside a unit, so if you end up renting somewhere with shoddy parking, it's really your own fault. Lighting is suspect in places (dim in some places, bright glaring light in others), but I've never worried about it too much.

NOISE
I'm on the second floor of a three story building, so if my neighbors were loud then I'd surely hear it. I've yet to hear any loud music, TV, movies, or games coming from any of my neighbors. That said, I've heard a baby crying a couple of times, and I've heard some stomping around from the people upstairs, but I think they were crackheads anyway. When they moved out, they dragged everything down the stairs hitting each step on the way down which caused a huge racket, so I doubt these people were very bright. Overall, though, interior noise from neighbors has pretty much been a non-issue.

Outside noise is another issue. I live close to the middle of the complex, so road noise isn't a problem, but it's not uncommon to hear cars blaring loud music. There are a lot of families here, so hearing children playing and yelling is common. There's also a roasted corn on the cob truck that drives through the parking lot on weekends. It's like an ice cream truck with music and everything, only it sells roasted corn on the cob. I don't get it. It's really hot outside. Are there really people jonesing for roasted corn on the cob sold from the back of some guy's van' Also I'm pretty sure there are "No Soliciting" signs posted, and I'd imagine this counts as soliciting, so I don't know what the deal is.

The most problematic outside noise has to be cars honking their horns early in the morning. A lot of residents here appear to have construction jobs, so they have to get to work early. Their ride will show up at 5:30am or whenever and honk. Sometimes once or twice, sometimes more. It's incredibly annoying, and it reeks of laziness. They don't have phones' They can't be waiting outside for their ride' I guess not. Instead they have to wake everyone else up with their honking. Rude and annoying, but there's really nothing I can do.

GROUNDS
There are trees and grass, and the landscaped area in the middle of the complex behind the pool looks very nice. I notice some trash in the parking lot occasionally, but it's not often. I'm not the biggest fan of the yellow color of the buildings, but the trees, grass, bushes and whatever else are okay.

SAFETY
I haven't worried much about my safety during the several months that I've lived here. Outdoor lighting is spotty, though. Some areas of the parking lot are incredibly dark while others are faced with a bright and blaring light that hurts to look at, even if you're just driving by. As I said earlier, there are a lot of families here. The neighbors that I've spoken to have been nice. As for hobos living in the woods behind the complex, I don't know about that. This is Austin. Hobos live everywhere. I've seen a couple of people that looked homeless, but I'm not sure. I haven't felt unsafe. The locks on my door feel sturdy.

I'll say this, though. I would not choose to live in a unit close to or facing William Cannon, especially on the ground floor. Most, if not all, ground units do not have a fenced in patio. There are bushes, but they're just bushes. It would not be hard for someone on William Cannon to walk right up to the sliding glass door of a ground unit. Just don't live on the ground floor. It's that simple.

CONSTRUCTION
With the exception of some of the wooden planks used to floor outdoor walkways, construction seems to be okay. I don't feel like I'm going to fall through the floor, and I don't worry that things are just going to fall apart. The front door is heavy and solidly-built. The entire complex is aging, and it's obvious, but it could be much, much worse. I don't know about the pool because I've never been to the pool.

MAINTENANCE
I haven't had to call maintenance for anything, but I see them around the complex all the time either picking up trash or fixing other things. My one experience with any kind of maintenance person was when I was trying to have my DSL internet activated. They ended up having to send someone out to make sure my phone line was up to snuff, but they didn't tell me they were doing that. My understanding is that the apartment complex had scheduled this with an outside electrician or something, but I was not told in advance. And it may have been the internet company that scheduled it. I don't know.

STAFF
The staff has been mostly kind and helpful. The managers have been nice, and most of the maintenance people that I've seen are nice, too.

OVERALL
These aren't bad apartments. Sure, there are problems here, but there are problems everywhere. Good luck finding an apartment complex that doesn't have to deal with people blaring loud music in their cars. Good luck finding a non-gated community that doesn't have to put up with homeless people wandering through. A lot of the people posting reviews here sound like they're expecting way too much. It's an older apartment complex suited towards people on the lower end of the economic spectrum. Anyone expecting anything else will be disappointed.

It's not perfect here or anywhere else. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I doubt it.

A few quick notes, though. Pay attention to which direction your apartment faces. There isn't much in the way of awnings or shade in a lot of places around the complex, so you could be looking at heating/cooling/insulation issues if your windows face west. There are at least two laundry rooms on the grounds that work well enough. Mailboxes are kind of tiny, but they're apartment mailboxes. You can't turn left out of the apartment, so if I-35 access is really important, you should take that into consideration. You'll end up having to turn right, then pull a u-turn at the light to get to I-35.

Overall, I've had a good experience here and would recommend it to those who don't expect more than they pay for.

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates