Campus Estates Austin

Pros:
1) It is dirt cheap. It was also one of the newly renovated places (at least at the time I lived there which was 2 years ago) so everything had been repainted, rebuilt, updated, etc. Fully furnished, washer/​dryer provided, etc. for like, $ 350 I mean… can’t beat that
2) It has a kick-​ass pool. It’s so big and yes, on the weekends it can get too crowded to enjoy for sure BUT I always went on Sat/​Sun before noon and during the weekday when I had no classes and other people did, so I never had a problem. It also has other cool amenities (tanning beds, workout room, etc. but most places over there have those things)
Cons:
1) It’s the biggest complex in the Riverside area, totaling like, 50 buildings. It’s insanely huge, which means there are a ton of people (ie, students), which means there are a ton of parties. It’s definitely loud and people party hard on the weekends so I suggest either 1) buy some earplugs, 2) join the parties and stop trying to sleep or 3) dont’ be shy in calling the police AND the apartment security people. Because believe me, after you call the cops a couple of times, the parties will die down.
2) The people who «run» the office are complete idiots. They’re just young kids who dress fancy. They have no idea how to really handle a business or people paying for a service. They tried to screw me over after I moved out, charging me for damages that my roommate’s dog had made (which she kept in the apartment illegally, w/​out paying the required deposit & I informed them of this ahead of time warning them I would not be held responsbile for any damages the dog might make) and I raised hell. I threatened to sue and they dropped it.
Suggestions:
1) Document EVERYTHING. If someone says, «you will get this floor on this level» you write a handwritten note real quick and have that person sign and date it. The only way to win with unorgnized and careless people is to document it all so you have back up. The only reason I was able to get them to drop the charges was b/​c I actually convinced the girl in the office to a sign a handwritten doc that stated I would not be held responsbile for the damages made by the dog, haha… I bet her boss hated her for that one!
2) The bus stop is the last on the route and it is CROWDED. So get there early and be prepared to maybe miss the 1^st bus and catch the 2^nd. You can walk down the street to the bus stop ahead of CE’s and you’ll make it on but it’s also busy cause everyone living at Crossing Place goes to that stop. My roommate actually drove up the street and parked on the side to catch the 1^st bus stop on route so I suppose you could do that too.

I ended up driving to campus and paying for parking b/​c the bus was totally inconvenient… maybe I’m just lazy.
My biggest problems
1. The internet service was total shit, never rely on it!
2. They use hotel-​style card keys, which de-​activate constantly for no particular reason… therefore, you are constantly getting locked out of your apartment and the office isnt open consistently to have your cards re-​activated.

I really hated living here. First of all, when my friend and I signed our lease, we signed up for an apartment with the «upgraded floors» option where we would have wood flooring instead of carpet. However, when we moved into our second floor apartment, we found out that there was only wood flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms. Feeling gypped, we went to the office to complain. The girl there told us that any second or third floor apartment would not have wood flooring, as the noise from people walking around on said floors would disturb ppl underneath. We told her that’s not what the CE rep told us when we were signing our lease, and she said that there was nothing she could do about it. Strike one. The second complaint I have is that CE is so noisy on weekends. Since it is a student-​oriented complex, there are lots of parties going on at all hours during the weekend. Also, CE is huge and their numbering system is weird. It’s hard to find apartments and easy to get lost once you enter the world of CE. Another thing that made me despise CE was their roommate matching service. Somehow, they managed to stick us with a crackhead. Not happy about that. So if partying is your thing, and you like long commutes to campus via the CP bus, live here. (Note about the CP shuttle: CE is the last stop on the route. If you have morning classes, you’d better bust your ass to get to the stop early or you’ll have to wait for the next bus, because the first bus will be full.)