The Element Austin

After waiting and waiting, they finally sent me a check for a partial refund. The check turned out to be bad.

This seems like an easy sell. They’re eager to have you move in and everything moves quickly.
Trust me, it’s not worth it. Everything in the apartment is made to look good but break immediately. The office hours are the exact hours that you work and there is zero support on the weekends or outside office hours unless it’s a plumbing emergency.
The one time that we did have a plumbing emergency we called the help line, they didn’t call back and didn’t fix the problem until the next weekday anyway.
Even when I did contact the office because my ac was broken, I had to call them three times to get it fixed.
Emails to the office often go unanswered but even when they are answered the information isn’t retained. We had to email them multiple times about our move out date and we never signed a new month to month lease.
The pool is listed as an amenity but was out of commission almost the entire time we lived there.
Overall this place is 100% not worth the easy move in or the amount of money you’ll be required to pay. Look elsewhere, you’ll be much happier in the long run.

This was the first place that me and my girlfriend were going to look at, didn’t bother looking at the others. Very relaxed atmosphere, spacious units, and the perks they throw in a very cool and worthwhile. My experience this the awesome folks in the office was very smooth and very helpful. A shout out to Oscar, he is wonderful at his job. You are a main reason we moved in here. (Well not main, but you get the idea). Cool place, quiet area, and management that actually helps as much as possible.

Its been almost a year since I’ve lived at the Element and I figured it’s due time for a review. As a college student, finding affordable housing in Austin will always be a challenge. The Element seemed like a good fit at the time, but I was not 100% sure about the location — so I only signed a 6 month lease and I sure am glad I did. The location turned out to be the least of my problems, even though East Riverside gets a mostly bad rep, you cannot beat the proximity to downtown, several restaurants and food trucks, one of my favorite Austin bars (holla, Buzzmill!) and ACC/​UT/​St. Ed’s all within 10 minutes. Not to mention Emo’s is literally across the street. An Über ride to/​from downtown cost around $ 5 – 7 at non-​surge times… awesome! Parking was also free here, huge plus. They get at least 2 stars for this.
Now, here are the cons:
— COCKROACHES. Oh God, the roaches. I am probably the most obsessively clean person I know, especially when I’m living in apartments for this very reason. Before I even officially moved my things in, I did the Borax border around my apartment, sealed any cracks under the sink/​door, and did all the roach preventative measures any pest-​hater would take. Yet EVERY SINGLE DAY, I saw at least 10 roaches all over my kitchen, closet, living/​sleeping area, in the dishwasher, inside my fridge, etc. I took my trash out daily, sometimes even twice daily, sealed all my food in airtight containers, did not even keep fresh produce in the fridge and did not cook in my kitchen because I was so grossed out, yet I still had this issue. It was bad. I complained a million times and they sent pest control to my apartment, but it did absolutely nothing. I spent the last 3 months of my lease basically living full time with my boyfriend elsewhere and just using this apartment for storage because I could not deal. This was the main reason I got the hell outta there, for my health and for my sanity.
— Office staff can be kind of rude. I’ve been ignored on multiple occasions just sitting in the leasing office after letting them know that I needed to speak to someone about issues. Other times, you can see that there are at least 2 people on staff physically inside the office but then they direct you to shoot them an e-mail…but why (??)
— They went to do a move-​out inspection 30 days before my lease was up, and were genuinely confused as to why all my things were still in there. They threatened me via voicemail that I could subject myself to be locked out of the apartment/​a hefty late move-​out fee per day if I was still there by the next day. This happened during finals week, so once I heard the voicemail, I did freak out a little. Turns out that one of the leasing agents failed to update my contract (mostly because correspondence was done via email… see first «con» comment… irony)
— The neighbors suck for the most part. They are mostly college students like myself, and I got stuck with a frat boy and his large dog in the unit above me. Parties, dog barking constantly, all kinds of things. I had to physically go up there several times and threaten with a police call for noise complaints to tell him to be quiet past 12am on a weekday. Who has parties in a studio apartment, anyway? (Ugh!)
— Like I stated, the location was the lesser issue with the Element. Sketchy people do hang out in the Bingo Plaza next door at night, and will solicit for money/​groceries/​etc from time to time. You can almost expect to see multiple cops there or around the complex nightly. These other apartments across from the west side of the complex also had some homeless residents living by the dumpster. This would obviously only be an issue if you walk that way/​are scared of homeless people (which you shouldn’t be — not all of them are sketchy) but if you’re not a walker, this shouldn’t bother you too much. I lived on the first floor and almost always found a parking spot right in front of my door so my car never got broken into and neither did my apartment. When I was moving in though, I felt weird because since there is no gate around the apartment, a pickup truck was driving around the complex for an hour or so just «observing» — I felt like they were looking at my belongings. Luckily, I didn’t (and still don’t, ha) have much outside of a small TV and my ikea furniture, but nothing of interest to them. TIP: Move-​in day, you should definitely not leave your truck unattended and keep all high-​ticket items packed away inconspicuously. Don’t keep new TV boxes or laptop boxes in/​near/​around your apartment either.
— When I moved in, there was no deadbolt installed on my door. I immediately requested this and stayed somewhere else until I could get one, and 3 days later, still no deadbolt. I finally got one after a week or so. Definitely an inconvenience.
So, in short, I would not recommend living at the Element, unless its your absolute last resort/you’re extremely low maintenance. Go elsewhere with yo money, honey.

The people who own this company are crooks who do not care about you. This apartment complex makes Austin a worse place. The rent is already too high, and they increase it at every turn, and the fees are exorbitant. They didn’t email me back for days at a time when I inquired about ending my lease, and then counted my lease ending notification as weeks after my initial email. This allowed them to charge me $ 44 extra dollars per month and another $ 200 month to month fee for an extra month I didn’t even want to live there. They knew by January 2015 that they had to fix the two pools for code reasons, and they didn’t do that until mid June. They did both pools at once, so that no one could swim at the apartment from mid June through early September. Really, everyone who works there should quit their job, and the people who run this place need help. How do they sleep at night? How can people treat people this way? We who rent are poor. We want to own homes one day and have families, and these people squeeze us for every dime they can sneak with fine print and delayed correspondence. All I can do is warn others to stay away from anything that Presidium Property Management owns. See a complete list here:

I have lived at The Element since June of 2015 and I can agree with what most people are saying here.
First off, the location is awesome. Although it can be kinda of sketchy at night (a lot of homeless people tend to linger near the Family Dollar plaza), you can’t beat the proximity to downtown at this price. That is the main reason why I moved here. However, location seems to be the only upside of this complex.
You can tell the apartments have been recently remodeled because everything inside is pretty modern, however these improvements were obviously cheap. We moved into an apartment with crooked cabinets, loose towel racks, peeling (and horribly scratched) flooring, as well as many other quirks. While this bothered us some (since the model looked nothing like this) we decided that the price & location outweighed all of these ‘cosmetic’ defects so we decided to put work orders in rather than fighting the lease. Another upside is that work orders tend to be acknowledged pretty fast, although the work may not be done.
Things started to get pretty bad when we started seeing rat droppings all around the apartment. We put in a work order for this too and they sent over pest control, which essentially did nothing. They kept coming back during work and leaving notes that said «checked trap on [date], nothing caught… They did set a trap behind the stove, but everyday nothing was caught. While we did not see the rat, we knew we had one because of the droppings and the paper and gum we found shredded in the middle of the kitchen floor. We decided to go out and buy a more expensive trap and after a few days we caught the biggest rat I’ve ever seen. (We have pictures that I will upload later). Finally we thought the rat saga was over, until we found more droppings a few weeks later. So basically we’re living with rats on a regular basis while management takes their time to try and remedy the problem.
Currently we are now having an ant infestation problem inside the apartment. My roommate and I have plugged up holes with tape while we wait for management to decide to figure this problem out (we also have pics of this). Every other day there is a new hole and hundreds of ants crawling on the walls and ceiling.
Additionally, the pools were filled once since I’ve lived here so they might as well remove that as an amenity. They make no effort to keep the dog park clean, so they might as well remove that (I do not own a dog, but the park is directly next to my apartment).
I will update this review throughout the rest of my months here.

They allowed me to break my lease without a re-​letting fee, after a few emails — I ended up combing through the lease and was able to prove that they did not uphold their commitment. I do have to say that the managers are nice people, just not very responsive or proactive. I don’t think they understand the importance of open communication, especially when a tenant of theirs is expressing concerns about health and safety.
Tip: Make sure you provide «written requests.» Email may not cut it if you don’t have proof that the intended recipient has seen/​received it. Always request a read receipt, file a formal maintenance request online where it can be tracked and also send in a letter to cover all bases.

I haven’t lived here, only visited. Very cute little apartment complex in a good location. Plenty of parking. Each unit seems to be completely different. My friend’s apartment flooded though so be careful you get a unit up on a hill instead of in a valley. Also, both pools were closed for resurfacing during the summer, which seems like the worst time to do that project.

I moved into The Element Austin June 2015 and my experience has been nothing but amazing. I want to send a special thank you to Lindsey and Lindsay in the leasing office for always being so professional and caring. As many times as I called they were always very helpful and willing to get my work orders processed if it had been a couple days from initially requesting.
Management and staff at The Element were instrumental to making my first apartment experience a memorable one. I am not moving because of anything negative, but because I found a house, otherwise I would continue to live here.
With all things, some stuff did need to be fixed. My dishwasher was not closing properly and not working, I cam home to a brand NEW one!!! A panel on my ceiling fan in my bedroom was loose, again I came home to a brand NEW one!!! Lastly, I had water coming up from under my bathroom floors, but it was due to a leak under my sink and maintenance and staff worked together to get the problem resolved in a timely manner. Although all these things were «bad» in some eyes, I viewed it as things just needing to be updated. I was never frustrated or angry with how staff handled any of my work orders that I requested.
Now that the «bad» is out of the way, there are numerous perks to living at the Element. Most important, rent… is reasonably priced! For the location and proximity to surrounding areas you can not beat it. You will pay upwards to 500 – 600 more if you were to look around and you would get less for your dollar. I work downtown Austin and it takes me 10 minutes to get to work even if there is traffic. Coming home though is a different story, but you can not dwell on the negative things in life, you have no control over it, keep moving. There are many restaurants near by and a HEB just down the street. Safety may be a concern for some of you, but I can honestly say that I have never felt that my life was in jeopardy. I ran around the area at night, and neighbors were all very nice. That leads me to the next topic of PRIVACY, and they have many different layouts to choose from. If you have a room mate or if you are living by yourself like me, they have these options available.
I know you have read prior posts before mine and think no way I am going to live there. But new management has come in and revamped everything. Price, location, and safety were big for me and The Element covered all those factors. Not to mention here is a CHIPOTLE within walking distance. That sealed the deal for me! So whether you are a college student or young adult such as myself I would recommend you check out The Element Austin!

I moved in May ’14 and some of then bad reviews were up at that time. I decided since the price was good and new management had come in to give them a chance. I worked with JJ (who was a pleasure to work with and is no longer here) to get the apartment. Upon moving in I noticed a few things were off from the model and what I was promised upon signing. The cabinets in my kitchen are not of the same quality and seem to be black lacquered plywood. I have similar problems with the bugs that others have mentioned and due to my travel schedule and having a pet have not been able to schedule the magical pest control team. My building appears to have structural damages as a crack has appeared in my bedroom wall and the floor has acquired water damage due to water collecting outside and seeping in. I have had repeated a/​c and heating issued that only get the band aid treatment and are never fully resolved.
Overall I have stuck it out this far because I like my proximity to town and highways but am seriously considering moving due to the poor quality of upgrades, pests and repeated issues.
One should also note this place currently has no manager and is run by a sour faced little girl and her blonde sidekick. (To be fair the blonde sidekick is new and I have only had one interaction with her. She does seem to be a bit better at the customer service but not by much.) The longer standing employee is cold and generally turn your concerns around on you, never assuming any responsibility or taking action to resolve.

The maintenance is sub par, the management, aside from Amy, have been very disrespectful. To be clear, there are 2 Lindsey’s that work in the office and they have both been very rude. We handed a cashier’s check for rent to one of the lindsey’s on Aug, 3^rd and she rudely requested we pay online and that this would be the last time they accept a check even though our contract does not obligate us to that. To be clear once again, we pay our rent on time, all the time. She wanted us to make her job easier. We received a notice to vacate the premises with no attempt to reach out and contact me. On the day we went to the office to address this, the other Lindsey was also very rude. She claimed I was rude and threatening in order to gain sway in the ordeal, which I was not. She was insulting and tried to throw me out of the office stating they don’t even open til 10. Their voice-​mail and website clearly stating they open at 9, which according to her, is «wrong». She tried her best to make me seem rude and threatening so she could have sway or say in the conversation so I decided to record the rest of the conversation. Once aware she was being recorded, she hardly spoke and was sure to not be rude when she did. Turns out the bank had our check and it had not been processed. I attempted to show her how this impersonal approach to property management would make residents feel like nothing but a bank account and how they could just reach out and actually handle resident issues. Her reply to that was, and I quote, «do you know how busy we are» «We don’t have to call you». I asked her how many hours she works, as I work 60 to 70hrs a week and she became defensive and said «it’s not tit for tat». Then why bring it up? She means to tell me she is too busy to do her job efficiently or with any passion at all. Not that I believe any amount of time would fix her lack of professionalism or compassion. This is all aside from the fact that I’ve lived here 3 months and not one of the maintenance issues on my initial walk through have been resolved. I don’t even have a toilet paper rack cause it was installed wrong and found broken my 1^st day in. I have a wasps nest I requested be handled a month ago that is now the size of an egg on my patio above my door, just hanging overhead. I don’t come from much, I was raised in New York project living so I take those aesthetics with a grain a salt. I do however expect integrity, reliability, accountability, honesty and above all to be treated like a human being and not a check book. The neighbors are great, the atmosphere excellent, the location is perfect for us but the Management has completely disappointed. If the 2 Lindsey’s get fired or moved I would recommend this place as Amy, the head management is a dream to work with. The Lindsey pair however give two sh**‘s how you feel and just want you to do what they want
I have contacted corporate and intend on taking my complaint all the way to the owner of the complex. Live here and enjoy it so long as you don’t have to deal with the Lindsey pair.

WHATEVER YOU DO. DONT RENT HERE
the management staff is rude and ridicules
they said i was signing to hold an apt, but after months of waiting, i gave up and found something else\
they said i had to pay 250 fee for not going in them
they put me into collections for 1000.
I NEVER EVEN LIVED HERE.
RUN AWAY FROM THIS PLACE

What to expect when moving into the Element. This self proclaimed «sustainable» apartment complex does not offer recycling, if you want to recycle you must pay for it out of pocket, by the bag. And if their two pools tempt you to move in, think twice because they are rarely available … this place is perfect example of a terrible renovation at it’s worst, it may seem like a good price now, but wait til you move in!!! It is WAY too good to be true… I have lived here for over a year :((big mistake) its a SHIT hole. beware!

I can not say enough about our new apartment. The office and maintenance staff is the most professional, friendly and efficient staff I have had in my many years of renting. Except for the poor placement of the toilet in the bathrooms, I can’t recommend these apartments for the price.

DON’T RENT HERE! I rented a ¹⁄₁ for 5 months in 2015 and had constant plumbing issues in my bathroom & kitchen, along with other problems. Plumbing was never fixed, just patched, and I ended up with NO BATHROOM for 4 days! When I moved out because I needed an apartment with a working bathroom, they wouldn’t let me out of my last month of the lease, even when I had NO TOILET OR SHOWER.
Front office personnel was always rude, like I was a bother whenever I brought issues to them. In my 5^th month of a 6 month lease, when I finally requested to be let out of my lease because I couldn’t live with water coming up through the floor boards, constant mold, a leaking toilet, and a sagging shower ceiling, they said they would fix it.
A week later, bathroom was torn apart for days, so I made plans to move at the end of the month. Manager told me she had called to offer me a free stay in one of the show units, but that’s not true. I never received any written or verbal messages offering me a viable living option. Even after moving out, I drove by the apartment to see when they would finish the bathroom so I had info for a lawsuit if I needed it. 3 days after I moved out, the bathroom still wasn’t finished.
They have turned my 1-​month lease exit over to a collections company, which requires me to continue fighting this ridiculous apartment company. No doubt I will win since I have proof of tenant law violations & witnesses, but who has time and energy to deal with illegal rental situations?
Overpriced for what you get, terrible management, and plenty of other places to rent in the area.

I’m starting to dread the walk from my apartment to the laundry room :(also all the people in my building use more water than I do. I wish it could be split by unit rather than allocated throughout.

Despite what some of the reviews on here say, The Element is a great place to live.
The management and office staff members are excellent — I have had nothing but great experiences with them. They have helped me on more than one occasion with issues with my apartment (all minor) and my online payment account. Always patient, friendly and kind.
The apartments are older, so yes, you can expect to deal with pest control. But, this is Texas, and you can expect that anywhere. They are always on top of pest control and will setup an appointment to have your unit sprayed as soon as possible. They also are very expedient in their maintenance requests.
I love the location and the price. It’s great.

Before even considering living at The Elements, I read through the previous Unilocal reviews as well as any other reviews on this place I could find from a simple google search. Just from reading the reviews and looking through the pictures that others posted, it seemed clear that this was not the place to live. I was looking for a studio/​efficiency that was less than $ 800 a month, was on the highest floor, had hardwood floors, had parking, and was within a 15 minute drive to the UT campus. In addition to that, the area had to be relatively safe and have a major grocery store within a 15 minute drive.
After going through an apartment specialist and seeing at least 5 different apartments, this was the best one compared to the others. The leasing person in the front office (who is currently not there anymore) took the time to show me a newly renovated studio. After living here for at least two months now, hopefully I am qualified to give an accurate review of this complex.
Pricing: I currently pay $ 765 for the smallest room they offer (420sqft). The pricing now is much higher as shown on the website. With utilities, I pay about $ 850 a month. This is definitely pricey to me, but apparently that’s considered affordable in Austin. Every other apartment complexes I looked at around that price or lower was carpeted (I’m allergic to carpet) and just old looking. Other studios/​efficiencies that were similar to what I was looking for were over $ 1000. With the new pricing that The Element prices are showing, I would definitely hesitate a lot longer before renewing my contract.
Spacing: 420 sqft for one person sounds small, but I love it! I am able to fit a couch, bed, and shelving without feeling cramped. I have a foldable table that I take out and use when needed and fold it back up not needed.
Utilities: The electricity is handled by the city. The water bill is given in a separate bill on top of your rent. The complex takes the total water bill and split it among square-​footage as well as residents. Since I am in the smallest sqft and only have 1 person occupied in it, I would get the smallest water bill amount (usually around $ 40-​$ 50). I don’t like this process to much because it does not encourage water conservation. So even if you use a small amount of water, you can still end up with a large bill if everyone else in the complex goes crazy with the water. Also in relation to the water, my water has turned off without warming at least a few times each month.
Location: The Riverside area is not too bad as other people have mentioned. Everytime I tell someone that I live in East Riverside, they give me a «seriously?», «what were you thinking?» kind of response. Honestly, it’s not bad for the pricing. There have been a couple of times that someone has tried breaking in. Someone would just go around trying to see who left their doors unlocked. Just lock your doors people. Also, be very vigilant about walking in and out from your apartment. Just make sure there aren’t any shady people around! As for the resources around that area, there’s an HEB 5 minutes away, gas stations everywhere, as well as fast food places everywhere. The Elements is easily accessible to I-​35, so that’s always nice. However, I-​35 is ALWAYS packed.
So in summary, good place for the price I’m paying for! Hopefully this review helps!

Everything here has gotten worse and worse. Roaches continue to worsen, no matter how clean my apartment is. No screens on windows. Ceiling have leaked three times. Wall is mildewing, literally swelling with water, and they’ve failed to fix it. Instead, they drilled a piece of cardboard to the ceiling, and left it there with the mildewing wall all week. I asked for this to be repaired (a second time, I might add) early this week and now it’s Saturday and nothing has been done. They’re closed Sunday, so nothing will get done tomorrow. Could not be more glad to be moving out this week.
You might be tempted to sign here because it has relatively low prices, although they’re rising. It is not worth it. I can absolutely account for what this Unilocal page has to say about Element Apartments. These reviews are not an exaggeration of what I’ve seen, at all.

HORRIBLE!!!
DISGUSTING!!!
MONEY HUNGRY AND PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE!!!
These are just a few of the wonderful attributes of the complex and management team I have learned of from the 4 years I have lived here.
First, the roaches, You will pay every month for pest control and will have roaches every single month. Let’s hope they even get out to you.
Next, hope that you fit the bill of the «type» of person they are trying to rent to.
Me and my wife stayed here for 4 years, and after the new mgmt company took over they made it very clear that they wanted to «clean house» and fill it with a specific clientele. Not very Austin-​like IMO.
Some fun facts:
When they put in new windows, they neglected to install screens.
And then proceeded to tell residents that it was our «opinion» that bugs were getting in.
They stone wall in front of our door collapsed with the rubble stopping just in front of our door, crushing our patio furniture and numerous plants.
Not only did they make a very strong attempt not to reimburse any of the losses, during the repair, THEY JUST BUILT ANOTHER WALL OVER THE COLLAPSED ONE WITH NO REGARD FOR FUTURE SAFETY. Most of the old wall and rubble is still there, just cemented and bricked over.
If you are not liked on a personal level, they will lie to other others to prevent you from renting elsewhere. Which I believe is illegal.
The amount of bad energy and ju-​ju here is palpable and hopefully NOT what my Austin sees as progress.
I am so happy we washed our hands of this place before the health board and housing authorities get involved. Because with the amount of mold, bugs, and sub-​par business practices here, I AM SURE THEY WILL.
Oh and all of these «Remodeled» units are just new coats of paint, some granite tops over the same wood-​rotted counters, and bad karma for TWICE the amount I paid when we first moved here.
Now we have a wonderful place to live, where I can breath mold-​free air without bugs crawling on my face as I try to sleep. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED