Bent Oaks Apartments

I recently moved to Bent Oaks Saturday September 5^th and am already experiencing problems. My welcome letter mistakenly stated that my unit number was #142 when in fact it was not. I had registered with Time Warner Cable, Austin Energy, and my renters insurance all under the wrong unit number. When I realized this, the assistant community manager didn’t even bat an eyelash about it. She hadn’t even apologized for the inconvenience. I had to call each place and was on hold for several minutes before being able to correct everything. Austin Energy was closed for the weekend including Labor Day so I couldn’t get a hold of them until Tuesday. I also have to go to the Time Warner Cable store in order to switch out my modem. This is less than ideal.
As for my apartment unit, it sits right next to an AC unit that is incredibly loud. Okay, I can let this go. But the other issues I am facing with my apartment is very inconvenient. For example, ironically, my AC unit doesn’t even seem to work. It can be set at 73 degrees but it will be 78 degrees inside. I have to consult with the office about this, but every time I have talked to them, they are not helpful. The place was also quite dirty when I moved in. The floors obviously haven’t been swept or mopped recently. My balcony door shutters are stuck and one even fell off. The pros about living here has to do with the area. HEB is right next door as well as a UT shuttle and other bus lines. I am also near a lot of places like restaurants and the Alamo Drafthouse. Although, I would say it’s not worth it.
I would advise looking into somewhere else unless you want to deal with interchanging leasing agents that don’t seem to care at all about you.

I lived at Bent Oaks during my last year of graduate school, and as I wanted to be at the first or second stop of the Far West shuttle, it was a very strategic decision.
I had a larger, ground floor one bedroom that I shared with my 16-​lb dog. He is a very clean animal, but between the two of us, keeping the carpets clean was a full-​time job.
I loved the saltwater pool, deep and sunny on one end, shady and shallow on the other. The patio area was a favorite space of mine to come and read or socialize with some of the neighbors. The gym was laughably small; if there was even one other person in it, it felt claustrophobic.
The fenced in dog area in the back was also great. I would let my dog run all over the rocks and play in the grass three or four times a day.
The maintenance guys were both great, promptly dispatched and able to fix all of my problems, which were mostly related to the outdoor light, garbage disposal and shower drain while I lived there.
Water, sewage, etc. sometimes ended up being almost $ 40 a month. I heard several other renters complaining in the front office about this, but to my knowledge, it was never universally addressed.
I had a small storage closet off my porch with a wooden door that had expanded and shrunk with the changing weather, and the changes in size had made it difficult if not impossible to close and keep latched. I reported this on move-​in, but this issue was never addressed.
I came to understand that there were and had been several problems in the administration while I lived there, a leasing officer that quit, a new manager that took over but was more evasive than helpful, then a new leasing officer who was hired, but took a while to figure out what she was doing. I left town for Thanksgiving and gave this person a check for my December rent a week early so I wouldn’t miss the Dec. 3^rd due date. When I came back on Dec. 6^th, I had a nasty note on my door saying my rent was due in full ASAP. I had to physically go to the office and explain things to Terry, who was finally able to set them straight for me. When i left again for Christmas, I left my rent check with the same woman and reminded her of how she’d botched it up the last time. Instead of getting her act together, her solution was to ask me to email her in the beginning of January, to remind her to cash my check. This was my first experience in having to BEG an incompetent leasing officer to take my rent money. When I did her job for her, things went predictably smoothly.
Early in the year, a new neighbor came to live on our side of the complex who had an alcohol habit, a couple of kids and two unruly dogs that she let wander. On three different occasions, her 80-​lb loudmouth dog came charging at me and my 16-​lb dog en route the fenced-​in dog area. I bitched her out for it, reminding her of the leash law on the premises, but that changed nothing. A neighbor of mine also turned her in to the front office at least once for her public drunkenness and irresponsibleness with the dogs, but neither one prompted any response by the administration.
When I moved out, I meticulously cleaned the apartment, but was still slapped with several cleaning and repair fees. I would have assumed it was all routine, except the total amount of my security deposit was $ 350, and once my final water bill and all of the mysterious extraneous charges were added to it, the total equaled EXACTLY $ 350.
I moved out mid-​June, and by early August still hadn’t heard anything. I emailed Terry, and he very promptly send me the ledger for the expenses, but it was so cryptic and without verbal explanation that it required a follow-​up email to even make sense of. Basically, despite the fact that I had taken great care of the apartment, I would be getting none of my $ 350 security deposit back because they had found a way to nickel and dime me for what was left after my last water bill in what looked like legitimate charges.
Bottomline: This property has a great pool, a great location on the Far West shuttle, a nice fenced-​in dog area, great maintenance guys and a front desk that’s mostly competent, if you keep on them for exactly what you want.
If you are not assertive, take things personally or can’t stand a little drama, you probably shouldn’t live here.

I really do love living here. Compared to my last place, this one is a dream. I live in one of the larger one-​bedrooms, and really enjoy the space. The patio is the perfect size and doesn’t take up too much of the square footage. The neighbors are quiet and very nice. It’s an old complex, so there are things you have to understand about that: the cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom are older, the front door sticks, and it’s a little creaky. The kitchen is a little small, but it’s nothing unmanageable, and the brand new appliances are a nice bonus. The closet/​storage space is nice, and the rooms are an excellent size. The pool is awesome (salt water!) and spacious, and I love spending time out there. The gym is a little small, but I’ve never had a problem with it not meeting my workout needs. There is a bus stop right outside both entrances to the complex, so it’s also really conveniently located.
I LOVE the people who work here. Terry in the office is amazing. He knows me by name but never makes me feel like I’m annoying him. He’s very friendly and makes sure everything is taken care of for me. The maintenance staff are likewise wonderful people, and I feel very comfortable talking to any of them at any time about my apartment’s needs. I just signed on to live here for another year, and I’m very happy about it.

The apartment grounds are nice. Management is professional and helpful. Maintenance is prompt and efficient. The apartments themselves are pretty small. The kitchen is tiny so it’s hard to cook large meals. The appliances are old. The saltwater pool is awesome. The gym is small and doesn’t have much to offer besides one treadmill and a few weights. Overall it’s an okay place to live.

So disappointed with this apartment complex’s management. My boyfriend and I were going to move here. We put the deposit down, paid the application fees, and totaled out to over 300 $. It too them over 10 days to even process everything and get us a welcome letter which we never received. It was never clear to us whether we were even accepted to move in. We have been trying to contact management but no one seems to answer the phones or return our messages we’ve left. It’s been over 2 weeks now and contacted management who doesn’t seem to want to return our money because we were forced to look elsewhere after never seeming to get in contact with them. Our old lease with our current apartments is up in 2 weeks and had we not found elsewhere to live we’d still be left in the dark with Bent Oaks unknowing if we’d have an apartment to move into or not. Very unprofessional and completely discourteous. Why would you treat potential residents this way, wouldn’t you want to establish a trust relationship with your customers? And if this was a reflection of what was to come I’m glad we are going elsewhere with our money. BUYER BEWARE AND STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPLEX.

billing nightmare
living there was okay from January 2013 — July 2013. Interiors are extremely dated. Moving out was NOT okay.
several months after moving out, I am still owed $ 68.38 that they overcharged me at move out (on top of the already excessive and unjustified cleaning fees — I left that place spotless) This debt has been acknowledged verbally and in writing — however they never seem to get around to that crucial detail of actually paying me back the money that I am owed. Just runaround stalling emails that say they are «making sure everything is correct» — after the settlement has already been agreed upon.
Expect to be blown off here, and you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve lived here since November of 2009 and I am so sad to be moving. This apartment complex is AWESOME! Proximity to HEB (I can walk there in 60 seconds), pharmacy, dry cleaning, food, etc… it has everything. Only thing I would have liked would be a washer/​dryer in my apartment. The staff is friendly. Love it!

I have lived here since Dec.2009 and i have seen a lot of improvements; sure the building itself is oldish and old pluming that acts up now and then but for the most part i haven’t had any issues except some A/​C problems but maintenance is always very helpful & friendly to fix anything.
They have remade the office into a business center for the residents to use with free WIFI and an amazing theater/​movie room-​i just wish it was open later than 6pm.
They are Finally redoing the fitness room which was pathetic before and now looks hopeful so thats a plus! i do wish they would redo the laundry room because it is unsanitary-​the appliances do work most of the time and my clothes get cleaned/​dried properly i just wish it was cleaner in there.
The grounds are nice and well maintained and the pool is salt water! and has all new patio furniture. I also love my neighborhood it is very green and has a woodsy feel to it which reminds me of California. Being close to an HEB and 24hour CVS are nice too ;)
I’ve had a few run ins with my neighbor but that was awhile ago and seems like everything has calmed down and really the people below me are fairly quiet and i really don’t hear much from neighbors around me so i got lucky in that sense. Also no roach problems here that i have seen which is a huge relief! I do wish they took care of some more of the utility bills and itd be nice if a pet fee wasn’t a monthly thing because i put down a pet deposit up front.
Anyways i would reccomend this place to others because the location is awesome, the price is right, and they are fixing up/​remodeling alot of stuff-i’m happy here :)

Background:
I lived in this complex from December 2008 — May 2009.
Positive Features:
1) 1^st stop on Far West UT Shuttle, also off the #19 & #323 bus routes. This location is nice so you don’t have to stand or wait at a stop only to watch a full shuttle pass by. (However, #19 only comes by 1x an hour, #323 2x/​hr weekdays & 1x/​hr weekends, neither run on Sunday). If in car, quick access to Far West & Mopac and 2222, making it pretty good location that’s only 15 mins from downtown and popular Northside destinations like Arboretum & Domain.
2) Walking distance to HEB, CVS Pharm, Post Office, Public Library Branch, and several restaurants (El Arroyo, La Salsa, Quiznos, Wendy’s, etc.) & other stores (Blockbuster, Radio Shack, Liquor Store, etc.). All of that is less than 1 – 3 blocks away!
3) I also like that inside the apartment walls are not painted white.
Now the negatives:
1) No basic services included with the rent. Another Unilocaler noted the inconstancy with water. My rent was $ 675/​mon, but my total ranged $ 715-​$ 730 a month. The extra amount is trash, water, and sewage. Unlike another poster, I’ve lived in complexes which charged for water before, but never have I had to pay $ 45+!!!
2) The apartment is an older complex with older appliances/​plumbing. My oven doesn’t heat evenly either. The pipes leak constantly. I can’t even keep anything underneath the kitchen or bathroom sinks. I won’t use the left side of the kitchen sink because of it. Sometimes water drips down from upstairs down the cabinets above the kitchen sink, too. The heating went out once over the winter, and maintenance had to come repair it, but they didn’t have the right pieces to fix it so I had to wait an additional day for them to go to Home Depot or wherever to buy it (they did provide me WA small heater that kept my feted warm that night, I will give them props for that).
The laundry room doesn’t work correctly. Every time I go use it (which isn’t often anymore, I learned quickly to take my stuff to laundrymat) there are at least 1 or 2 machines broken with «out of order» signs on them. The dryers don’t dry properly either. Each small load has to be dried at least twice. The machines cost $ 1.25 per function (washing or drying). So one small load towels (e.g. 10 or less) can cost about $ 3.75 to wash & dry (elsewhere you can do twice as many for the same price or less!).
3) Never really experience the thin walls that another people mentioned, but I can hear my neighbors opening their patio door (when mine is closed) and sometimes I know what they’re watching by listening to their surround sound. My roommate has told me he has heard me on the phone inside before he opens the door outside. I can hear neighbors on my floor talking outside, even if they aren’t being loud.
Summery:
Because of the positive features, this complex has a lot of potential to be one of the best unknown/​undervalued spots in Northwest Austin, but only if it undergoes a serious overhaul. While management changed hands during my lease, I don’t see any new major changes, other than what was started on the extior [which in itself, doesn’t make much sense, either. Maintaince repainted some buildings from tan brown to tarquoise blue, another building from tan to vivid purple, another to mustard yellow, and some areas have all four colors painted on walls]. I don’t see how they can address the plumbing issues without completely installing new pipes, same with the appliances (oven, public washer/​dryers, gym equipment) without purchasing new ones. Overall, I can’t wait for my lease to end.