No other apartment I've lived in has compared to the miserable conditions of Balcones Club. The buildings are in severe disrepair, the staff is lacking in quantity and competence, they market the place for way more than they can offer, and the move-out process was unnecessarily stressful.
Balcones Club was built in 1983, and was 34 years old at the time I lived there. This place had recently had renovations done to the rooms’ interiors. This sounds impressive until you realize that the
...buildings’ structure was left untouched and the interior renovations consisted of little more than a paint job -- black so defects are hard to notice. The aged climate control system and building insulation made for a hot and expensive summer when the electricity bills came around.
After learning of all of these issues, I became disgusted with their marketing tactics. Their “Resort Style Swimming Pool” is nothing more than a standard backyard pool with some aged beach chairs, and their “Cyber Cafe” consists of two lone computer kiosks in the corners of the leasing office, open only during business hours. They gloat that they won TAA Apartment of the Year for 2017, but it was for the Ruby category that consists of buildings constructed prior to 1989.
When it came time to break news that I was moving out, the office staff member’s face turned from a hollow smile to stone cold sour. They would no longer cooperate with me on any matters. At the end of the last day, they requested prompt return of the apartment keys that they had not previously asked for. Being unable to return them by close of business, they charged me for unreturned keys. I instead mailed the keys to them. Despite my best effort to make the place presentable for the next resident, they assessed damages for roughly that of my entire security deposit. To twist the knife, they refused to remove the charge for unreturned keys, citing that I was lucky they didn’t charge me more for damages. Unless you plan to live here for life, this is what you have to look forward to when you move out.
To the manager: you have apologized countless times for multiple issues, taking action upon none of them. Nothing short of financial compensation will make up for the financial and emotional toll that living here has had upon me. A mere additional apology will provide neither of us with any benefit, and if you invite me to follow up with you on these issues, you better have a check ready for me.
Property Manager Responded