Apartment Review for Retreat At Wells Branch - Austin, TX

Yes, they look good, and teh grounds are pretty nice. The courtyard is well kept. BUT. . . . The parking lot is not secure (the 'controlled access' gates are rarely in working order). They pretty much force you to get a gate clicker, as the gate access keypad hardly ever works, and it's also the only way to get into the gym after hours (the clikcer opens the gym door). They charge you $25 for it, it's a cheap piece of plastic that WIL break within a few days, making it easy to lose. Utilities are outrageous. They have the highest utility billls in the Austin area. A lousy 2 BR apartment will cost about $150/moth int he summer, and almost as much in the winter. Water is also as high. They grant 'concessions ' on the rent, but truthfully, it's market rate. It's just an excuse to jack up the rent to outrageous levels if you are a day late. Fortunately that never happedn to me but I know someone it did happen to; his rent went from $740 to $980/month. All for a simple oversight. I never epxerienced any problems with crime, but others did. Pissa Hut refused to deliver to The Retreat for a time because drivers were getting robbed. As far as your depoisit goes, kiss it good bye. First, they tell you up front they will only give you $50 (out of $200 or more) back, as the rest is kept for a 'cleaning fee.' Then theywill do all they can to keep the remaining chump change. The office is slow to respond (unless they are after more of your money) to requests. The pools is supposedly closed at 10 p.m., but parties go on into the wee hours, esp. in summer. the onsite security guard is never available. I had to call the police to get one party to quit making noise at 4 a.m. on Thursday. The clubhouse is too expensive for most people to use, and is in poor shape anyway. The