The Zone At East End

This place is f — ing awful.
I’m currently in my 3^rd lease because I apparently didn’t learn my lesson the first two times — or maybe this place is actually getting worse? All of these upgrades going on are pathetic. Just like a facelift on a dead person.
I wish I could sum up all of my issues with this place but there are too many to even remember them all. Just this morning I got an email that they would charge us for fixing my front door, which I reported after a break-​in attempt, if I did not email them a police report. I had put in a request for the SAME DOOR back in October, before the break-​in attempt.
Apparently now it’s only of value to fix because they decided they can charge me for it if I don’t provide my police report? What the hell do I pay rent for, then?

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly… My experience at The Zone began rather ugly. But over time, the management has responded to the super-​majority of concerns in a timely manner. Some things still haven’t been taken care of. However, I actually think they will at some point soon. My biggest concern is that about half of residents are not part of an academic community. There is a value to being in a true student/​faculty community. I misunderstood the intention of The Zone to attempt to simulate that environment. I can’t say that I am happy here. However, I can say that I am content here.

This was the first apartment I ever lived at, and a few months in I couldn’t wait to get out! Management is rude and unavailable. I had a manager yell at me on the phone once when I tried to call to inform them that we never received our dining room chairs. Also, my shower knob broke and it took 4 MONTHS for maintenance to come fix it. I had to use my roommate’s bathroom to shower because mine was broken for so long. Upon moving out we cleaned out the whole place, I scrubbed everything with bleach and cleaned the carpet. I got $ 4 back from the deposit…

I don’t blame the community, the location, the neighborhood. Lots of places in Austin are worse. But this place attracts people that are desperate and poor. No one in this world is more dangerous than someone that has nothing to lose. And a lot of those people live here because it’s all they can afford and they have no other option.
I would imagine that every negative thing you read is true. It is filthy, broken, crime ridden and unsafe. I had no idea what I was getting into when I rented here. I know this is college student living but anyone can live here. College for many people, myself included, was about a whole lot of partying and experimenting with life. This place allows for all of that but it’s dangerous because it’s not just college kids out to party too much. There is so much more going on. The police can stay there every single night and still have no visible affect on the crime.
I was robbed twice and assaulted in my apartment once. The assault was the last straw. The police didn’t even take it seriously because it happens so often here. It was implied that I had somehow brought it on myself, by both management and the police. I had to bring the Austin Tenants’ Council in on my side to fight the lunacy that goes on in the office. It is so unsafe and it only takes one time of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I saw so many horrible things happen. I called the police for help and to protect others. I even hit a huge man on the head with a large object to protect the man he was beating to death. The victim was jailed and his wounds left his face scarred and misshapen. I couldn’t just stand there and not do anything but it was terrifying. It was comical to some of the residents that were more hardened than others. They thought it was justice.

First thing first, this place is dirt cheap. That said you can’t expect the Ritz, but the management are unresponsive and ignorant to the actual state, decrepit is the word that comes to mind, of this poor excuse for an apartment complex.
After months of requesting maintenance, I finally talked my way into a walk through with member of «upper management» after pointing out very minor things including but not limited to; the sliding door not closing due to the building shifting and swaying daily, my window not only refusing to close but also leaking in the rain (never fixed), the entire unit being completely filthy on move in, oh and a minor thing of the AC not working in the middle of a Texas summer, her response was «Have you ever lived in student housing?» Sounds like a legitimate excuse for the neglect and negligence by the staff of this hole in the ground…
The last point I would like to make;
It is a commonality to see police lights and peace office in the complex. It took all but a week and a half of living here before I found a notice on my door alerting of a shooting in the complex.
To sum up, this place is detrimental to not only your mental and physical health, it is also a serious safety risk to lay your head down here.
But! You’ll save some money ;)

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER LIVE HERE. Do yourself a favor and check out the 30 «not recommended» reviews, then run for your life. In the last year there has been rape (IN THE PARKING LOT!), murder, and endless drug dealing. In the lease it states that they do not perform background checks on their residents, and it clearly shows. Check the APD website for the criminal activity that has taken place at this address. The also have an F rating from the BBB.
My sister is a current resident here, and she and her roommates are scared to go home. They are frequently offered drugs, followed to their doors and hear violent fights, gunshots and sirens on a near daily basis. I lived on the eastside, a few blocks away, for years-it’s not the best area but most companies at least make an attempt to stop the crime. The apartment will also look NOTHING like the model they show you, the interiors are worn down and falling apart.
Prior to moving in, a member of the staff stated that to break the lease you simply had to pay the reletting fee and give notice-​to no ones surprise when they felt too unsafe to stay any longer they would not honor this, and in the lease it states they do not allow early breaks-​this is one of the many lies that were told to get them into the apartment. Upon renewal they were told they were signing the same lease they had had with the previous management company, another lie; it is not even remotely the same.
Please do yourself a favor and read the lease-​the entire thing is full of shady blame dodging-​I worked in property management for years and have read the entire lease; had I read it prior to her signing there is not a chance in hell I would allow her to renew. It basically states that no matter how terrible or unsafe your living conditions are, they are not at fault. And I promise you, they are not telling this to the 18 year old kids who sign the lease and counting on the fact that they will not read it. It is not a standard TAA lease, but something they have created. It even states that any statements (oral or in writing) that they made prior to the signing of the lease are null and void after the lease has been signed. It does not outline their responsibilities as a management company, simply places all the blame on the residents-​down to replacing their own smoke detectors. They will even charge the residents for standard repairs-​even if they have no fault.
There have been long stretches where their apartment went without heat (the entire winter), air conditioning, a shower (nine months) or water. Due to their lack of action on the shower, their bathroom has a serious mold issue which they still have not addressed. When they first moved in they were placed into another apartment, without any warning, because the one they had leased was infested with fleas, an infestation that struck the building several more times.
The gate is constantly broken, and was only «fixed» when someone was murdered. They claim to be a student housing complex, though it is clear there are few students here-​something the office staff admitted to. They have no timeline on when and how they will fix maintenance issues, my sister and her roommates have put in a shocking amount of service requests (upwards towards 100), which sometimes take months to fix (see above). Don’t even get me started on the roach problem.
The staff has no sympathy or compassion-​I understand you must do what’s best for your business, but when three girls who have never caused an issue or even paid their rent late are scared for their lives because of your lack of action, something must be done.
There are many other student housing options in the area-complex’s that are actually for students-​please, chose one of them. I cannot reiterate enough, DO NOT LIVE HERE.

I mean the price is decent. I believe my roommate and I paid $ 595 each for a two bedroom. Pretty great compared to West Campus prices.
Management was horrible when I lived there. Very unorganized.
Pretty dirty when we first moved in even though they claimed to have cleaned the carpets and such.
On the plus side they have free parking.
Wouldn’t live there again. But if you’re looking for affordable… this place is pretty cheap.

They don’t even bother being discrete about their shady business practices.
I logged onto the rent payment website to pay rent for November. My rent got jacked up $ 5.00 for no reason. They somehow went back and updated my billing history to say that I’d been paying $ 465/​month (instead of $ 460) for the last few months, even though: 1. My lease clearly states $ 460/​month, and I have a copy of my lease on hand & 2. I still have all the confirmation emails that say $ 460/​month.
$ 5.00 might not sound like a lot, but I’m a student and every penny counts. Furthermore, whether the amount is $ 5.00 or $ 500, it does not change the principle of the matter.
I left a voicemail asking for someone to call me back to resolve the issue, since I couldn’t make it out to the leasing office in person over the weekend. Nobody called me back all weekend.
Back in September, when I had been freshly disowned by my parents, I could not pay September’s rent on time. I went into the leasing office and showed them a copy of my email from my university, stating that a certain sum of financial aid would be deposited into my bank account on a certain date — a date which was about 3 – 4 days after the rent payment deadline. I asked them if they could extend the deadline for me, just this once, and take my personal circumstances into consideration. If not, I was more than willing to take out an emergency loan from my university, which must be paid back with interest. If I could get the extension, then I could avoid the interest. If I could not get the extension, at least the interest was less than the late penalty.
The employees in the leasing office said yes, of course, but come back at the beginning of next week and talk to the billing manager for good measure. When I showed up the next week, I ended up talking to the manager, instead of a regular employee. She asked me why I wanted to see the billing manger. I told her my story. She told me she would not let me see the billing manager, and that there would be no exceptions made, regardless of what anyone had told me beforehand. I asked her if she had any advice as to what I could do, then, other than sit around and accumulate late fees. Her reply was, «Well, you know exactly what the late fee rate is. You can calculate exactly how much you owe us by the time you get the financial aid, and pay us an exact amount without having to come back and ask us for the amount.»
The manager, by the way, is extremely rude and cold. She’s always smiling and trying to act friendly, but her actions are methodical; she will squeeze every last penny that she can from you. My room mate also had a bad experience with the manager. Long story short, she mailed checks to the leasing office a month in advance while she was on vacation in Europe. When she got back, the leasing office was trying to charge her hundreds in late fees because they claimed they never got the check. The manager would talk over my room mate, say goodbye, and hang up without waiting for a reply. The only reason the leasing office ever found the check was because: 1. My room mate’s mother had a tracking number & 2. My room mate’s mother went into the leasing office in person and threatened legal action.
This apartment complex also purchases their internet in bulk from Korcett, which is a trash company that provides trash internet. I frequently experience less than 1 Mbps download speeds and 20−40% packet loss. When packet loss is low, I get to spend half an hour watching a small Powerpoint download. When packet loss is high, that download always drops and never finishes. If you try to talk to The Zone about the internet, they shrug you off and give you Korcett’s number, claiming that this is the best they can do for you.
My advice is to not live here.
If you HAVE to live here, my advice is to get every promise in writing and ask for a copy of every single thing you sign ON THE SPOT. Document EVERYTHING.
Once, I asked for a copy of my room condition form after I handed it in. They told me they had to audit it first, so I should come back in about 2 weeks for a copy. When I went back, I was told they couldn’t find the form; therefore, I must not have filled one out, which means by default, everything in my apartment is considered «new» and therefore, even the smallest damage is billable. I wasn’t happy. I went back on a different day, when the manager wasn’t in the office and one of the nicer, more competent employees was present. He gave me a new form to fill out, and also gave me a signed statement saying that I was allowed to fill out a new form and turn it in past the deadline because management had somehow lost the original.
Record your phone calls too. Texas is a one-​part consent state. This means that only one party privy to the conversation needs to be aware that the conversation is being recorded, for the recording to be legal. It’s also a way to get around some employees refusing to put anything they say in writing.

I lived at The Zone at East End for 2 years. Oh, how I regretted releasing!
Recently, the staff at The Zone billed my rent twice to my bank account (I pay online). I wasn’t aware of the double transaction until I received a text notification from my bank that I overdrawn my account. Because of this, I received overdraft fees.
So here’s what TBRS (The Zone’s management company) did so far: NOTHING.
When I found out about it, I was the one who called to notify the incident. Apparently, management already knew about this because it happened to multiple residents who paid online. Management should have the decency to notify (via email or phone call) all who were affected by this, as opposed to the residents notifying management. It is not our responsibility to take care of the staff’s mistakes. On top of that, if the residents were not aware of the transactions, would management even take responsibility and call the victim? I HIGHLY DOUBT IT.
After I emailed management of the picture of the bank transactions, I called again to ask for an update. They told me I should receive the money back by 8pm or the next morning. The next day, I received NOTHING. I called that following evening to ask for another update. They, again, told me I should receive the money that night or by the next morning. Guess what happened fellow potential residents? NOTHING.
I have yet receive the money they stole back. TBRS is highly ineffective, unprofessional, and lack any customer oriented skills. YES, we are majority college students and YES, we are dirt poor. We are paying customers and we deserve the same respect and the same quality service that should be given in any service related field.
And for management who I KNOW IS READING THIS because they want to protect their brand, you’re probably saying «These college students are irresponsible and they demand things that are unrealistic. They are paying basically nothing for rent and demand perfection.» I would like to disagree. We ask you to take action where it is needed most. When you fail to do so, you are hurting the integrity of the company. There are two things we basically ask for: more efficient maintenance team and due diligence from management. That’s not asking for much. As a plead, we ask you: get your shit together.