Eastwood Apartments

Peaceful place to live, new property management company is very responsive when we have an issue.

Same issue as the other 2019 reviewer. Management changed in August and the new one (particularly Joanie our property manager) is HORRIBLE. Will not respond to emails or calls. We are in the process of going to legal services against them due to the parking issue (see below) and unfair fees. Only 1 functional washer/dryer in community laundry room and some idiot uses it as his own personal hotbox. Lots of outdoor smoking and partying.

This may be a little long, but if you're considering living here, I recommend you read this message.

I used to think if a place was alright, the quality of property management didn't matter. The past couple months have proven me horribly wrong. While the apartments may seem nice at first, there's a plethora of issues beneath the surface. Being right next to a hospital, sirens will wake you up at a startling frequency unless you're a very heavy sleeper. We've been dealing with a cockroach issue… for three months now they have failed to solve and practically ignored(In addition, we've been charged a separate 'pest utility fee' each of these months). A large hole has existed in our kitchen door since we moved in. The large bathroom has a leak through the HVAC system causing the entire bathroom to completely flood whenever it rains. While for the first month our utility bill was pretty high, more recently we've been charged an obscene utility fee, with no breakdown or reason for it. The amount is nearly triple the listed max utility charge on the lease agreement. All attempts to reach out to management have failed. More recently, we have attempted to go through our property manager's superior, but have never received a reply through email. Afterwards, we attempted to communicate through a phone number, but she has never picked up the phone, and after leaving three messages over the course of several weeks, I assume she avoids answering the phone on purpose. It appears we have no nonlegal options left. Lastly, my roommates and I entered this apartment under the agreement we would have four parking spots. It was one of the reasons we chose this location. As of a couple weeks ago, management has removed the parking spots of nearly half the garage to do renovations. While this may not be managements fault, we are currently still being charged $50 per spot, per month. The renovations shall continue till the end of December, during which we are having tremendous issues dealing with the placement of our cars, and with still no sign of any credit to our account for the price of the parking spots. I'm taking one of my hardest semesters at UT, and don't have the time or energy to fight a legal battle with this absolute demon of a property management team. The one upside is I can't argue the benefits of location. Close to campus and some bus stops, transportation is never an issue. Save yourself the time, headache, and health issues. Live somewhere else. I wish I had. Read More

I have lived at Great Oak Apartments for about two years and wanted to leave an updated review as my roommate and I prepare to leave for another complex. While we have not had a positive experience with 512 Realty and this complex, it is also difficult to find comparable apartments for the price in this area of town.

Pros:
- We have never had issues with any pests (cockroaches, ants, rats, etc.) *Note: we don't have a ground floor unit
- Pool is generally very clean and never crowded
-… Maintenance staff is pleasant and seems to care about doing a good job
- Location is the real reason to live here -- it's next to campus and 5-10 minutes from downtown, also conveniently placed on I35
- Our unit has all wood flooring and is relatively spacious (walk in closets, large living room, tiny bathrooms)

Cons:
- TERRIBLE move-in experience - unlivable... think filthy/black footprints all around the unit, a towel with literal s**t floating in the toilet, no electricity working (in Austin... in August... moving up flights of stairs with no AC or lighting -- also with no working refrigerator to store food)
- Parking-- not much guest parking and 512 Realty neglects to tell residents the parking policies. $50/month for a parking spot at the building and they do tow you for being in the wrong spot (they neglect to tell people that spots are assigned upon move in... makes for many mishaps)
- Recurring issues in my unit with the power (including AC/heat and lights) going out. It's happened about 5 times in under 2 years.
- Aside from the pool itself, common areas aren't kept very clean. Lots of broken glass around the parking area, random trash that isn't picked up...
- Noise is occasionally an issue. It's not bad from unit to unit, but you can very clearly hear people walking outside and in the pool area. Also some tenants enjoy running around on the roof, which is very loud if you live on the top floor.
- On-site laundry is pretty run-down. There are several broken units at a give time, and they generally don't post which are out of order. Annoying to come back to clothes sitting in a full machine of soapy, cold water or a dryer full of entirely wet clothes.
- They started asking to renew the lease 4 months into a 12 month lease. If you do not renew, they will show your unit for months with very little notice (often 1-2 hours in advance). So you can expect many realtors and strangers going through the apartment. Read More