Monterey Ranch Apartamentos

I spent 25 years renting in Austin and Monterey Ranch was BY FAR the worst rental experience I ever had. Now that I’ve moved and received my deposit back, I feel comfortable posting this review.

Let’s start with noise! For my entire 14 month lease the two people living above me would regularly play extremely loud electronic dance music, stumble around and fall down throughout the night and early morning, make loud knocking sounds multiple times a night, stomp from one end of their apartment to... another for 30+ minutes straight (I am not exaggerating), and send clouds of pot smoke into my apartment. I have no idea what was going on up there and don’t want to speculate, but it made my apartment unlivable. I spoke with management about this via email, phone, and in person 20+ times. I sent them 14 different recordings, some of them 30+ minutes long, taken from inside my apartment, which no one listened to. The music was so loud it would give me a headache and the framed pictures on my walls would vibrate. I was told that these were “normal sounds of daily living” even at 3am and that I needed to stop complaining. My lease said that residents should not behave in a loud or obnoxious manner or smoke on the property, but my neighbors were fully allowed to do this. Management told me they could do nothing and that I should call 311, but APD is overwhelmed and didn’t follow up on a single call I made. I had trouble sleeping and working and felt tortured for over a year. My only comfort was knowing that I’d be able to write this review after I moved.

Maintenance requests sometimes took weeks to be addressed. They obviously don’t have enough staff and don’t care to address the issue. There are regularly people inspecting the apt for various reasons and it feels invasive. Sprinklers in my apartment were replaced and no one came to repair the drywall afterwards, so I just lived with holes in the walls.

Rats or mice destroyed my belongings and plants on my patio. The A/C ducts and vents were filthy and would shoot out pieces of black stuff everywhere. The pools and gym were often closed. The gate worked a few days every 3 months, then would break again so I couldn’t even get out. There was always trash everywhere, and so many flies and mosquitos. I spoke with management about these issues and nothing was done. They didn’t review my move-in checklist at any point, so they tried to charge me $65 for blinds that were already broken when I moved in. Lee mas

The good: Amazing gym, nice pool when it is open/ accessible. For me the location was good and the layout of my one bedroom was good. When I first moved there in 2019 most of my neighbors were families with young children. During the pandemic there was a mass exodus and the culture of the complex changed. I no longer felt safe. Screaming, disrespectful neighbors, parties, fights in the parking lot, multiple break-ins.

The bad: I have lived here w/ 3 different "management" situations. ... They were all pretty bad. Minor repairs would get "bandaid" repair right away, but big things (like my AC going out every 3 months) would require multiple contacts (like 5-10 contacts). The mailboxes were broken for a year, the gates are nearly always broken, many of the amenities are perpetually out of order, the internet went out every few weeks, there were roaches and so much mold. They will do nothing about loud, abusive neighbors (even though that is a clear lease violation). They will do nothing to increase security, or have someone on call for after hours emergencies... but boy howdy are they "on it" with the extra fees and fines. Not a week went by without a threatening email about some new fine or another... Watch for a bait and switch both with the units they let you see vs what they let you rent, and with the garages (saying you can have one, and then not having one available on move in day - and not being willing to let you know if/ when one comes available). After all this, if you still decide to live there? Watch your bill CLOSELY. I was double charged for something nearly every month for 3 years. It was exhausting. So glad to be out of there! Lee mas

This property looks nice outside looking in, but once you move in, you start to see all the issues with the property. Like many people have already mentioned, the gates never work and many of the amenities are constantly broken, reduced hours, or simply dirty and simply unpleasant. They have 3 peloton bikes, but don't be fooled, none of them work. I have never seen anyone clean the gym, not patrons or a professional and there is dirt and dust everywhere.

When I moved in, my windows were stuck... shut, but I didn't realize it until Fall when I tried to open them for fresh air. Maintenance said they needed a contractor to come replace them and it would be 4-6 weeks. No big deal. Except when the 'contractor' came, all they did was spray some WD-40 and replace a spring. They told me maintenance could have fixed it.

I have had numerous issues with maintenance not doing what they should. I had a smart thermostat that I had installed with permission from the front office staff (TIP: get everything in writing) about 4 months later Maintenance had to come because my heat wasn't working and instead of looking at the unit, uninstalled my thermostat and left a mess in my apartment.

About 6 weeks ago, an outside contractor was sent in to repair sprinklers in the units, in doing so they had to cut holes in the walls. I am now 6 weeks out with no timeline for repairs. There are just gaping holes in the wall and nobody will do anything about it.

The office staff is also incredibly untrained, and nobody can give you a straight answer on anything. They also never respond to emails and have 'office closures' on a weekly basis making it extremely difficult to talk to anyone about anything. Lee mas

Front Office is nice, will give you a great tour, but it’s all down hill from there. The grounds are not kept up, the gates never work and are left open constantly. Dumpsters over flowing and amenities always out if order, closed or dirty. You can find places in the area for much less and get much more. Don’t waste your money.

Tl;dr - Read reviews from people who have lived here. And don't have high expectations if you decide to move in.
We have had nothing but trouble from the management of this place as soon as the lease was signed. The leasing agents were awesome and we were excited to move in, but they don't give half as much attention to current residents as they do to prospective residents.
The apartment smelled strongly of spray-paint for 2 months after moving in despite our heavy use of baking soda and candles... .
The amenities (movie theatre and lounges) which came so highly recommended by the leasing agents close at business hours, are never open on Sundays, and therefore are unusable for regular workers with no option to reserve them after hours.
When we have asked for information on when we will be able to use the amenities, we have been repeatedly ignored and a mass email was sent out telling us to stop asking, with no further information provided.
They have also made it a hassle to vacate, claiming a 60 day notice (which I know is normal) but not providing the paperwork in time to make that happen, and losing our communications with them giving notice that we were moving out. Lee mas