Review History for anonymous

Great Hills Apartments


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anonymous

Resident 2009 - 2013

4/19/2013

There are many things I loved about this complex. And I think my husband and I would have stayed there for the next two years before we bought a house but certain things really made us angry. To start with the good things: This complex is beautiful on the outside. The landscaping and tree line is gorgeous. The two bedrooms back up to the greenbelt, which makes for a lovely backyard view. Deer often stroll by, which is very charming. Better than that is this apartment's location. Despite the fact that it is in a wooded side street, all cozy and quiet, it is literally a block from the Arboretum, 183, Mopac and more. There are no less than five grocery stores within walking distance. I loved the convenience of the property. I miss that... That's pretty much where the good things stopped. I wouldn't know where to begin on what was intolerable there. Let s start with the plumbing. The beautiful property has a disadvantage: lots of trees, meaning roots, on a property that's advancing in years. There were serious issues with the plumbing here that were never resolved. I had sediment, sand and mud gurgling into my bathtub every couple of weeks. Sometimes so bad I had to all maintenance to scoop it out. The toilets would burp and gurgle constantly. When this happened very loudly we knew they would overflow so we would lift everything off the ground (bathmat - we replaced several, trash can, etc.). Then they would overflow, spewing sediment and water everywhere. In the 3 years I lived there this happened, oh, every few months. This would flood the carpet area by both bathrooms. I had the carpet replaced there six times. Other times they just brought in big fans. One time the maintenance guy said, "You know you shouldn't put hair in the toilet, right?" Suggesting it was MY problem. What an ####### idiot. What am I, Chewbacca? The very night I moved into the place we had a terrible Texas rainstorm and my bedroom ceiling literally caved in. I mean GUSHING water. I should have seen that as a bad omen. In hindsight I just didn't know better. But they fixed it of course so it was fine. But just further indication they had serious plumbing issues. Our neighbors had the same ridiculous problem with constant flooding. They complained about it to us all the time. Several months after they moved out after a one-year lease, the prior tenant called me and told me Great Hills was suing her and her roommate for mold damage. She asked me if I kept careful records on the constant flooding and wetness and I said, yes, I did. I gave her copies. She didn't keep good records but I did and we share a wall so hopefully that helps her. Bless her heart - mold damage? In an apartment that could second as a dry creek bed? We lived there a long time because the price was good however and we loved the area. It seemed tolerable to deal with the issues when you can save a few dollars. Then the new manager moved in. J*** H*****... what a ridiculous manager he makes/made. He hikes up the rent 11% (which is the legal limit for rent increase depending) every single renewal (my neighbors too), regardless of your loyalty or how long you've been a tenant. When I tried to call him about our second rent increase when we renewed, they told me he didn't have a number but would call me back. (Right.) It was better to email they said. Very non-confrontational of him, but fine, I'm game. When I emailed him he responded with: "The 11% increase is due to the market conditions and supply/demand. We conduct weekly market studies compared to our competitors and the rents in Austin have grown significantly over last year. In fact Austin is ranked as one of the top 10 cities to live in the US. I am very confident if you go out and shop around you will see our pricing is in line with like-product in the market area. I have double checked renewal rates with my corporate office, and these are the approved increases from our corporate office. I do hope that you choose to stay with us, and maybe if you look around at the competition, you ll see that for the area, and for the additional expenses for moving, Great Hills is a great place to call home." He wrote me this I guess overlooking that I work for an Austin tourist guide in my signature. I know more about what makes Austin fabulous than he does in his pinky finger, no doubt. I doubt he seriously gave me any consideration at all, but copy and pasted his prepared dummy speech he gives everyone. Austin is ranked one of the top 10 cities to live in? Why, thank you, J***, I was so unaware of that fact. Thank you for reminding me that I should want to live in my own city. And that has exactly what to do with your apartment complex? I double checked "like-product" in the area too, J***, and I found a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom (garden tubs, le sigh) just down the street for a mere $100 more than you wanted to charge me. And guess what? No plumbing issues, no gurgling toilets, no wet carpets to wade through. A little consideration for being a loyal tenant would have been much appreciated. Also, FYI, actually editing your emails would show that you cared to read what you wrote more than just spewing out nonsensical information with grammar errors and hitting send. What further annoyed me about the rent increases was how expensive the apartments were already. See, you might be paying $100 or $200 less than the guy up the street for your rent BUT you will pay for that in the utilities and water. Oh Lord, the water bill there is sooo outrageous averaging $50 a month. At my new apartment I paid $16 last month. That's right. With the pipes on the property constantly needing to be fixed (yes, meaning water turned off without notice all the time) it just meant ridiculous water bills. The office said we weren't paying for the leaks but what other explanation is there? Also, being that it's an older property, the a/c just wasn't up to par. Our a/c ran almost constantly, nearly year-round, at a ridiculous and expensive 68 degrees and always felt hot and stuffy. Our bills averaged $250 every month. I had maintenance out so many times to look at the a/c unit and they would say it had ice in it and that was the problem. They would fix it but it was always stuffy and hot regardless. At my new apartment, I keep it on 76 and it feels cool and light, even on the third floor. My March bill arrived yesterday ... ah $75!!! Isn't that a lovely $175 difference?! So I guess when you compare like-product on the market, you will find Great Hills is not a cost-savings, no sir. I wish they would have spent our 11% increases on the plumbing and the insulation but no they chose to have the parking lots paved instead less than two years after it had been done. That is atrocious for the environment and a complete waste of resources. That s super smart, J***!! Once again, that was a true light bulb moment for you. When we got our move out bill we noticed that they actually charged us several hundred to replace the carpet. WHAT?! We lived there nearly four years on that shoddy, cheap apartment-complex quality carpet and experienced constant plumbing issues. OF COURSE it would have to be replaced. I feel like they would (or should, right?) have replaced the carpet anyway so I was sooo annoyed to pay this bill. Of course you have no choice, right? They ll mark your rental history if you don't pay it. I was thinking so if the carpet wasn't stained you would have, what? Shampooed it for the next tenant? GROSS! I lived there for years and that carpet should be freshened between tenants anyway. So watch out, potential renters. Apparently this is not their policy. So you will get to enjoy someone else's dust mites and skin cells and mold. Unless you get my old apartment with the fresh new carper I paid for. The only thing I miss about Great Hills is the ample parking for my friends (new place has tough guidelines) and the location. Otherwise, I couldn t be far enough away. Au revoir, Great Hills!

    Review 62 out of 134

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