We moved out last September after living there for a year. Overall, our experience was good, but there are a few negatives I will share. We rented one of their larger 2 bd, 1.5 ba units with a little front yard. The yard was perfect for our little dog.
The reason we left was strictly business. The owner insisted on a 10% rental increase for our renewal. After talking to my neighbors, it looks like this increase was across the whole complex. Although completely legal with no rent control, this was a rediculously insulting amount to me.
The other reason we moved is NUBS (Northwestern Utility Billing Service). What a racket! This 3rd party billing service added over $70/mo in fees for trash, water, and sewer. From what I gather, they average those costs amongst the tenants. When we first moved in, there was a decent amount of vacancy and our bill was over $90!! When more people moved in, our rates dropped closer to $73/mo. Then it would vary several dollars for no apparent reason. Here is the worst part, they do not offer automatic bill pay, they have egregious late fees, and they charge you several dollars if you want to pay online. No doubt a huge profit generator for the owner. It irked me every time I paid.
That's the business side of it, the living side of it was great. What an amazing location walkable to downtown Lafayette, 3 grocery stores, shops, and Bart. A very quiet, safe, well-kept facility with a great community of neighbors. Pretty good storage and parking. The little gym with cable TV was very enjoyable, too.
Ryan and Ashley were great managers. We had a baby while there and Ryan brought over a bottle of whiskey and 2 cigars. Wow. During my wife's labor, he let us stage our car in the guest spot close to our front door. Ryan and Ashley always had an open door policy and were always easy to get ahold of via phone/text. Kalin, the engineer, is very good and fixed a few of our things, never leaving a mess in our home.
Over the process of moving out, I learned that Ryan and Ashley have moved on, so I cannot say anything about the new manager.
When considering this place, look at the business case of the variable rent and NUBS. It's the reason I moved my family away. read more