Element Austin Apartments

Lived here for many months now, and here's what I would say I wish I knew before moving in:

Pros
- Great location - easily on I-35 within 5 min and nearby HEB, gas stations, restaurants, and walking distance to the river
- Fast maintenance (although they don't tell you when to expect them)
- Fees are low, about $10 for pest control monthly, $18 for trash collection, and $13 for renter's insurance.

Cons
- The actual floorplan neither matches their website or the one in their videos.
- The so… called "plank style wood flooring" is poorly-installed vinyl flooring that is peeling up with lots of glue gunk. The filtered water spigot also doesn't exist.
- The units were renovated 8-9 years ago, so lots of wear and tear, and the only energy efficient appliance is the combo washer/dryer.
- They do have a roach problem, and the pest control isn't automatic, so you have to request visits.
- You're billed collectively for water divided based on occupancy and sqft of your unit, so if your neighbor has a leak, you could end up with a hefty bill.
- The water heater is outside the apartment in a non-insulated wood shed, so a 1/3rd of my electricity bill goes to water heating costs.
- The furnace is probably 20 years old, but it does heat the apartment well, just slowly.
- There are over 100 units all sharing a gym with 5(?) machines

- Finally the sound proofing - what I most wish I knew about before moving in, as it's non-existent. I expect sound from my neighbors. However, I suspect given the water stains, the Element flooded at some point, needed to gut the walls and ceilings, and cut costs on re-insulation. Why? Because I know the health status of my upstairs neighbor's prostate, because we have the same floorplan, and I can hear him both walk to the adjacent bathroom due to creaking floor boards, as well as the quality and delays in his stream, followed by the clanking of loose pipes whenever he flushes. I can also hear the words, not simple murmurs, from his television and can easily hear the tune my next door neighbor is singing. Finally, the windows are thin enough to hear normal conversations 10ft away, so if you chose a unit near the dumpster, be aware trash pick up occurs between 12AM-4AM 3x per week, and even my soundproof curtains barely touched the noise levels.

TLDR: Can find better for the current price point, and definitely has some serious sound-proofing issues, but otherwise a good location and fast maintenance. Read More