Meadowbrook Apartments

Don't live here because it's too expensive for it's quality and the apartment is in poor condition. Everything is old, from the furnishings to the quality of the apartment, the staff is rude, unprofessional working. They only want your money and won't help you with the issues you have: U need to pay more for electric bills because all machines already too old, u need to pay more addition fee for rent even u don't know why... Be alert that here is complex apt so ur package will be delivered wrong… apt or someone will steal your package, be alert that you will face with noisy neighborhood and they always let the dog poop near your door, be alert that around apartment will have a lot of bugs and spiders.....have a tons of terrible reason make this place is not worth to live. Now that so many new, reasonably priced apartments have been constructed in Lawrence, everything is better. BE SMART about where you decide to live. Meadowbrook- A terrible place to live especially for students. Read More

Before I get into the details, I highly recommend you keep looking. You'll find better places elsewhere. I've lived here for multiple years and I would like to share my experiences.

The good stuff first:
The place is actually nice despite being your typical cheap quick build housing. Landscape is well maintained. Front desk staff are some of the nicest people I have met. Pool and exercise equipment are decent. The maintenance staff are good, nice people.

The bad stuff:
Other office staff are… slow to respond. When they do, you get a generic response or promises to look into the issue further with no actual action taken. The after hours security service takes forever to respond. Roughly about 30 to 45 minutes. Complaints aren't dealt with. Maintenance department is severely understaffed often having 3 or more days turn around time for simple task. Major maintenance requests are the same. This has been experienced with multiple cases over the years.

Utilities are high here. With the buildings being your quickly built cheap apartments, there is plenty of energy loss. On some months, I've upwards of $250-$300 for power and water combined.

They will raise your rent every year you are here. You may pay a lower rate at first, but it quickly jumps much higher as you live here. You must turn in an intent to move at least 3 months before you need to move. You are required to hire a PROFESSIONAL carpet cleaning service before you move out. Which means you are technically already losing $100 to $150 out of your deposit. They will nickle and dime you for every single little thing they can find, even if it is normal wear and tear.

Sure, this is a business, but these people take an extra step to get as much money out of you as possible, no matter the implications.

I would give this a one star review, but the front desk staff and maintenance guys are such good people, I had to add an additional star. Read More

The apartment themselves were perfectly fine. The staff is friendly and helpful, the location is nice, I enjoyed my time living there. Except one little thing.

I cannot express this clearly enough. If you sign a contract with them, state clearly and plainly that you are not interested in automatically renewing your apartment lease. Write it on a piece of paper, and give it to the property management. It doesn't have to be notarized, just trust me, don't make the mistake I did.

I forgot to… cancel this automatic renewal and now I've been paying for an apartment that I don't even live in anymore. I can't even get a key for the place. I have published ads on multiple websites and have directed 37 people (at the time of writing) towards the office as potential renters. I am not claiming that there is any malice whatsoever on the behalf of the apartment complex, but having some kid pay for an apartment that will go untouched seems like a much better deal than having someone else come in and possibly damage it by living there.

At the time of writing, it has been on the market for at least 3 months. Three months of which they state no one is interested in renting apartments. The three months of summer where all of the new students flood into a college town for school. Again, I'm not claiming intentional malice, but it seems like they aren't even trying.

I get it. I messed up. I was issued a proper notification and I didn't get around to it. I'm not blaming my problems on them. I'm just trying to help other people out from getting in the same situation that I'm in.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT assume that the apartment complex cares about you or your situation. They are a business, plain and simple, and they will rely on predatory real estate tactics like automatic renewal contracts in order to make an extra buck.

I mean it, write it down on a piece of paper after you sign rental contract - "I am not interested in automatically renewing my lease" and tie it up with a bow in the form of your signature and the date.

Besides that, the apartment was honestly great and I enjoyed living there.

Oh, and one time someone stole my package in the mail, tried to turn it into the office, and then the office said they couldn't hold it for me, so they let the guy walk away with it. This resulted in me losing a rather valuable item in the mail and no one from the office could remember who it was who took it. Read More

I don't think I could have found a better location to rent in Lawrence. Top floor with a view of the Lied Center and a fire place. My neighbors are quiet. My apartment is spacious. And all maintenance requests are handled quickly. Plus they allow larger pets. Dollar per square foot, I couldn't find a better deal for me and my dog.