Villas at Tech Ridge

UPDATE #2 5÷26÷16
DO NOT RENT HERE! This place is horrible and gets worse by the day. In addition to the previously posted occurrences and situations, last evening between 6:30pm and 10pm our bikes were vandalized while locked up directly under a bright light in a busy area right outside the door of two apartments. The low life thieves cut brake cables and gears, stole the bike seat, stole the entire handlebars, stole a side view mirror and basically left only the frame cause they couldn’t take that. The management here just keeps saying «crime has no address and it can be expected anywhere». They say they manage the complex and don’t police it. Anything brought to their attention gets lip service and no action or concern. They can’t be bothered to come out of their office and see what’s going on in the apt. complex. They sit in the leasing office and paint this rosy picture of a beautiful property with a pretty pool. But all they want to do is fill apartments. Whatever goes on behind the gates is of no concern to them. We have lots of theft and vandalism, junk cars with tags expired for 2 – 3 years just sitting here junking up the property, rock throwing, drug deals going on openly day and night, homeless people wander into the property. It may look pretty and the inside of the apartments look nice, but that’s it. The rest is trashy and becoming a rough place to live. Take your money and your desire for quality of life and pleasant living to a better place. Management here and the regional management over this place suck.

Place has gone down hill very very fast. Apartments themselves are very nice. That’s where it ends. The application for tenants are definitely a front. They are letting everyone live here. Getting close to section 8 living. Pet policy is there too, but NOT enforced at all. Several breeds that aren’t allowed live here, and two attacks that I know if have happened within the past 6 months. Front office had not given them violations of their lease, nor told them to remove the dogs. Drug deals have gone on repeatedly in broad daylight. Police are investigating. Front office people don’t even leave the office to take it upon themselves to worry about it. Bikes have been vandalized and pieced apart. Dogs have been found swimming in the pool. Maintenance is so-​so. Front office people have flat out said they only «manage» the property, they are not here to police it. Begs the question… what is the lease agreement 25 pages deep for? If it doesn’t matter? Do NOT live here.

Villas Tech Ridge in Pflugerville is not a horrible place to live, but it does have issues. I lived in a 1 bed 1 bath unit, the A1, 712 square feet. It was the middle unit on the ground floor, so I had neighbors to the right and left and directly above me. My right and left neighbors were never really a bother. My upstairs neighbor always was.
The reason is that the apartment complex, though nice on the outside, is so shoddily built that I could hear every footstep my upstairs neighbor took when he/​she walked around their apartment. I could hear when they walked to the bathroom, flushed the toilet, blasted their music in the living room. It didn’t help that this person was prone to mood swings. I know this because I had to hear this person (I guess it’s a man) stomp around, yell and scream at someone. I don’t know if it was a girlfriend, someone on the phone, or just someone in his imagination, but he would throw tantrums sometimes in the middle of the night, and I could hear it all through the ceiling of my unit.
I complained several times through email and through voice messages to the courtesy officer. When you called your only option is to leave a message to the courtesy officer, who is supposed to call you back: the courtesy officer never did. I never heard back from the property manager either. My complaints were never acknowledged. The property was run by a company called the Morgan Group.
Around February 2016 a new company took over the property (Alliance Residential Company), but by then my upstairs neighbor had so soured my experience living here that it didn’t matter. It didn’t help that when the time came for me to turn in my move-​out notice, it turned into a chore because the Alliance employees in the management office don’t know the first thing about customer service and how to communicate clearly.
For the price of this place, you can find a better property manager and a better living experience overall. I finally did.

This review is based on two tours. My significant other went to visit the Austin area before me, while I was in NYC. This place was in our top 2. So its pretty easy not to fuck it up and you’ve got a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance of us moving in.
They fucked it up.
My SO says on his first tour without me the employee (Justin maybe?) was really uncomfortable to be around. then I arrive to Austin to see Villas. We get there, the dark-​haired female employee has mascara out on her desk (extremely unprofessional) and hardly greets us. She seemed bothered we were there. She then tells us that she does not have any apartments available for us to view/​rent and hasn’t for awhile.
Justin did not record the apartment we looked at. Justin apparently gave my SO apartment information that was not available for rent. I was super frustrated, all we wanted to do was look at a model because I had not seen one yet and what if one opens up? After a long exchange of words, she finally shows us a model. She required both of our ID’s. My SO and I had looked at 12 other apartments and no one else had asked for my ID. So I get it from the car. When I come back in I hand it to her, and she says nothing. She does not say ‘thank you’, or ‘got it’. Nothing. The property is nice, not amazing for the price or lazy employees.
I strongly advise anyone who is considering this place to also look at Austin Midtown apartments.
Basically, the employees we’ve encountered are either bad at documenting (Justin) or unmotivated to actually work (dark haired female). I do not know her name, but her desk is the first one on the right.

I’ve lived here for a while now, so I guess it’s about time I shared an opinion or twelve…
Apartments/​Grounds — The units are nice and smartly laid out, and the grounds are relatively well kept. Black appliances, pretty fixtures, garden tubs (though the hot water heater is too small to fill it with warm water more than a couple of inches), 12″ tile, faux French doors. Nice pool/​hot tub & patio area, clubhouse has computers you can use, small gym with good equipment, and pool table.
Pet Policy — No weight restrictions, 2 pet limit, typical breed restrictions. Nice dog park that a lot of dogs and their owners enjoy on a daily basis. Lots of green areas with bags for picking up after your dog — and most people do!
Neighbors/​Noise — Never had a problem with noise, though I imagine it might get loud near the pool in the summer. Occasionally a car with loud base will come through the parking lot, but this isn’t the kind of place where they loiter. Also, unless you’re on the top floor, you’re going to occasionally hear your upstairs neighbor, especially if they let the heavy front door slam or drop something in the bathtub. But normal walking around the apartment, etc, won’t be heard downstairs.
Maintenance — Old maintenance guy was super quick and friendly. New maintenance guy is super-​nice but doesn’t seem as knowledgeable. Overall good guys, though.
Trash — The big compacting bin wasn’t enough for the whole complex once it filled up, so they’ve added two standard dumpsters. Those tend to overflow on weekends, though.
Parking — Complex is nearly full, so they’re strict about parking after hours. If you don’t have a parking tag, they WILL tow you. This is great if you work late and worry about being able to find a space, not so great if you double-​park or don’t have your parking tag hanging from your mirror. However, if someone parks in your paid/​reserved carport or garage part, the staff wants nothing to do with it, and you will have to call the tow company yourself. I don’t understand why they monitor the unpaid spaces but do nothing for renters who pay extra for parking.
Security — There is no on-​site security, though I believe a cop lives here, since I see his (her?) marked car in the same space all the time. Even so, it’s always felt like a fairly safe place. The only people wandering around who don’t really belong are leaving coupons on doors or trying to introduce you to Jesus. I’m sure there have probably been some car break-​ins, but that’s typical for apartments anywhere. Never seen any «undesirables» hanging around, so that’s a plus, and I’ve never felt unsafe walking to my car in the dark. Most of my neighbors seem to be typical Dell/​Samsung/​Tech Ridge workers, not many kids or partiers.
Staff/​Management — They’ve never been rude to me, but most of them seem incredibly unhappy most of the time, and I imagine they must hate their jobs. They’ve also given me bad information regarding the required renters insurance (no, it doesn’t cover flood damage; check the federal flood laws), neglected to call me back when they were supposed to, and told me my maintenance issue was resolved even though no one even came by. I don’t think they’re trying to be dishonest, just missing some basic customer service skills. Oh, and they often lock up and close early with no explanation. I really just wish they were as friendly and helpful to residents as they are to those thinking about signing a lease.
Price — Rent has gone up considerably each year. I know they’re simply raising prices because they can — there’s a bit of a housing shortage in the Austin area, so it’s a landlord’s market. It really sucks, though, since my salary isn’t increasing nearly as fast as my rent here is, and I expect I won’t be able to afford to stay in another year or so. My rent is now only $ 20 below market value, which is a really bad deal.
Etc — They say they give you 24 hours notice if they’re coming into your apartment for some reason, but that has NEVER happened. What they used to do was leave a note on doors when 90% of the residents were at work, announcing they’d be coming in the next morning. The problem with that is that everyone with a day job wouldn’t see the notice until 6 or 7 at night. Now, though, they send emails, which should be better but is actually worse. Their last notice was sent out after 7PM the night before, announcing that they’d be barging in at 9 the next morning. And no, these aren’t emergency situations. They’re routine inspections of fire systems and whatever else they do one or twice a year. Obviously, this is a problem for someone who works nights and sleeps days, has a pet who isn’t fond of strangers walking in, or simply doesn’t want people they don’t know in their home when they’re not there.
VTR is a pretty good place to live, but just a little effort by the staff could make it great.

I live here now.
Great square footage for the price.
Management is absolutely retarded & rude.
Grounds keepers are great, pool is great, appliances are great.
They won’t let you have anything except for patio furniture on your patio, not even a pet carrier or a citronella candle, wtf?

I lived here for a year. I loved my apartment, the space was great. I did not like that the parking was bad after 7pm. Since I worked late I ended up getting a covered spot. I never had any issues. execpt a loud neighbor that moved in and blared the music at random hours of the day and night. After a complaint to management that stopped. The pool area was great. The grounds were cleaned daily. As I hardly saw trash. It was great for evening runs around the complex. Even going out in the neighborhood around was good. I felt safe which is always a positive. They did want to increase the rent after my 13 months was up. If I was going to live in Austin still then I would have paid the extra $ 100 a month.

The quality of this complex is declining. The office staff were never helpful and always provide incorrect information. They never helped with my noisy neighbor. They would write down my requests and they were never entered. This place is unsafe. Trash is always pouring out of the compartment. I had a mosquito and fly infestation. This place is the worst.

I rented for one year and my overall experience was ok. I had to complain a few times to management about the neighbors leaving their trash outside their doors. One of those neighbors would leave it out for days at a time and it would stink up the second floor hallway. The only time management took action for this issue was when the trash had leaked onto the floor. They had maintenance clean it up. The other issues with this complex are typical of any apartment rental, i.e., tenants not picking up dog poop, hearing people yelling or their dogs barking.
On the other hand, the inside of the apartment I rented was nice for the $. I never had an issue with parking and was never concerned about anyone breaking into my vehicle. The best part of renting at this complex is its close access to IH35.
You should also be aware that management/​office staff are not very competent. They are literally as smart as a box of rocks.

I stayed here for 2 years and never ran into a problem before.
I know apartment complexes are subjective and hit or miss with everyone. It seems everyone either has a great or terrible experience.
While I was there, I had a great one. I was in my apartment when they offered the free wood flooring upgrade and I jumped all over that. I loved the hardwood floors.
I never had an issue with parking, but I only had 1 vehicle. I also lived on the 3^rd floor so I didn’t have stomping above me.
The noise in my building was decent, out of 10, I would give it a 7 (where as 10 would be like your own home/​no neighbors).
The person below me was hardly ever home but would turn up stereo about 1 hour/​day around 5−8pm, so this was hardly a bother and I am sure he probably heard mine when I had movies going on my surround (although I was very respectful about the bass)
I never ran into any actual apartment issues so I never had to contact the office, well I did once, but that was because my gate clicker battery died and they replaced it.
Actually come to think of it, I locked myself out once, lol, they gave me a loaner key though I could go unlock and bring back though.
The main reason I moved out was pricing, every year it went up 50 bucks or so, and figured I could own a home for around the same price or a bit more.
Overall, I liked this place and had minor minor issues.

I agree with Donna. The management sucks! My husband and I have lived here for 4 years and have gone through an ownership change, all around the people in the office are incompetent, rude and genuinely don’t care. On top of just how stupid they are, they have the most ridiculous office hours and sometimes aren’t even open for the full business day. I’ve encountered on three different occasions going down to the office with 5 – 20 minutes before their posted closing hour and they already had the doors locked with the signed saying closed. It’s just so thoughtless!
We have loved our apt, it’s nicely updated with lots of natural light from the windows but my goodness, I’m so glad we are moving because the management is worthless.

Hardwood floors, granite counter tops, lots of sq ft and storage in the 2b2b floorplan. I feel this property gives you the most bang for your buck. Management is excellent. Specifically Dorothee. She promptly took care of all our needs as they arose. I would recommend this property to anyone.

For a one bedroom apartment, the rent here is very high. I thought it would be worth it to have a large apartment close to work. And the models were very impressive.
Only after signing my lease did I realize that the back of the property turns into a «river» of water when it rains, which turns into a cesspool of mosquitoes at my back door. Mosquitoes literally SWARM in CLOUDS outside my doors, and fill the hallway to my apartment.
I had to call SEVERAL times and threaten to have the city come investigate it, to get them to come spray– and that only helped for a week or two. I can’t sleep without wearing hooded PJ’s (like Kenny on Southpark), because mosquitoes buzz and whir incessantly around my head all night.
Next, a terribly scary, seedy drug dealer moved in across the hall (our doors are about 2 feet apart– creeeepy!) He was not on a lease, but clearly staying there for several weeks, and when I asked the apartment to have him leave, they told me there was «nothing they could do.»
Then the 100 people moved into the 1 apartment above mine. They are rediculously loud. And scary. Will I call and complain about them? No way. I don’t want to get shanked in my parking lot.
Then my car got stolen. They towed the loaner car I had gotten from a dealership, because I came in late and forgot to put the parking tag in it. They’ve towed my guest’s car, and every morning at the towing facility there is a line of Villas Tech Ridge residents. They’re TERRORISTS about parking.
And as every review here states, the office staff AND manager are HORRIBLE. They are rude. They are heartless. They do NOT listen. No matter what happens, it’s your fault and it’s not their problem, before you even ask. I cannot IMAGINE how the property owners would let such awful people represent them. Maybe they’re awful too.
Their online payment system broke. When I told them that was the only way I could pay my rent that day, they launched an inquisition against my finances to make me prove, and explain, and re –prove and explain, why I didn’t have another method of payment. They were SO rude to me.
They have weird thermostats that reset themselves every few hours to 87 degrees, so plan to wake up every night at 3 am and reset that too. No matter how many times you fix it, it will revert. I hate this apartment!!!
AND, with 3 months left on my lease, it’s $ 5000 to break. Are you kidding me? Once you sign, you’re stuck. Because NOTHING is their problem here.

Two stars for nice updated appliances, and the maintenance staff does a great job keeping up the grounds. Aside from that, don’t move here. Management staff is fake and rude. I was a prize winning tenant; causing no problems or issues and I always paid my rent early. When my renewal rolled around, those greedy jerks increased my rent by a ridiculous amount. My neighbor’s offer letter was around $ 100 less, for the same floor plan and fixtures, etc. When I went to speak to the management staff, they told me they were «cutting me a break» and the apt was actually leasing for more. Bull. She even went on to tell me that she increased her rental property house by $ 250 and her tenants paid it. The parallelism didn’t make sense. So, there’s a brand new complex being built next door to this complex. Try them out. They may not be so greedy!