Ridgecrest

I should have listened to all these reviews regarding how rude the mgt is here. I applied for an apt and was denied based on past issues. They never even called my last 2 landlords which had a 3 yr history. I was never told they keep all of the 155.00 app and admin fee. So basically I was lied to and I am out 155.00
I recommend you run not walk to another property and avoid this one. They also refused to show any of the non upgraded units, makes me think it is as bad as everyone wrote about.
Read these reviews, they are telling the truth. Do not rent or even apply here.

First and foremost, This complex does not even deserve one star! When «Camden» changed management and renamed the complex to «Ridgecrest» the apartments changed drastically. The office staff are very ignorant, and unprofessional. They never answer the phones, or return your phone calls which is very unprofessional. The apartment grounds are filthy, the gates do not work, there is trash and dog poop everywhere. One night my water heater caught on fire, then it burst. Maintenance did not show up and when they did, they left blow fans in my house for 4 days (using my electricity), leaving me with no water in my apartment, and blisters on my feet from burning myself with the hot water that was all over my apartment. I could not break my lease and management never co tatted me to apologize for this mishap because they never do the right thing! I just broke my lease and turned my keys in and still have not heard from management, yet they have cashed my checks, and continue to charge me for electricity. DO NOT MOVE HERE. These apartments are the slums of Austin.

I always wonder about people’s backgrounds when I read these reviews. For example, when someone says a place is «expensive», what is their point of reference? Cheap (to me) Tennessee or expensive (to me) New York City? So I’ll begin by sharing that I moved to CR from the Phoenix, AZ area. I rented a 1750 square foot townhome that was 3 bedrooms, 2−½ baths, 2 car attached garage, and huge upstairs loft for $ 1055 a month which included trash. That was a deal even by AZ standards, and the place was rented for $ 1250 after I moved. I’m single, had a cat when I moved in that passed away while I lived at CR, and have no kids. I’m a professional woman in her early 30s. Now, on to the review!
Location: Conveniently located between Mopac and I-​35, but closer to Mopac. Everything you need is a short walk, bike ride, or drive away. You can get downtown in 20 minutes in typical weekend traffic, but the weekday traffic is another story; I work 18 miles away just south of downtown near Congress and Oltorf and my drive is anywhere from 35 – 90 minutes depending upon how many accidents there are.
Grounds: The grounds are fairly well maintained. There are some darker areas in the parking lot that could use some better lighting. Some residents and/​or their guests seem fond of littering, but rude, disrespectful folks are everywhere these days. There are lots of mature trees and shrubs, providing ample shade. Some parts of the sidewalks are uneven and pose a tripping hazard, so be alert when you walk around. (That’s a problem around the entire city.)
Parking: Only residents are allowed to park within the gates. Guests must park outside the gate in front of the clubhouse, call you from the directory, then get buzzed in by you. This can be a hassle for your guests if you live in the back of the complex, as they will have a bit of a hike to get to your apartment. There is ample parking for residents. Covered parking is also available for an additional $ 30/​month. I don’t think it’s worth the cost. I had it, and my car still ended up with tree leaves and junk all over it after storms. Also, a spot near your place isn’t a guarantee. I started out kind of far from my apartment and then got a close spot after a few weeks when one became available. My advice is to park under one of the many trees and save the $ 30.
Mail/​parcel deliveries: Locked mailboxes are located outside the clubhouse. Residents are constantly sticking mail that incorrectly lands in their box in various places near the mailboxes. I hope no one has gotten their identity stolen that way, as many pieces of mail I’ve seen are credit card apps or bills. Management has provided large garbage cans in the vestibule for people to throw away mail they don’t want. I really wish they’d provide recycling bins instead. This is Austin, I pretty much expect it. If you have outgoing mail, it goes in a basket sitting on the counter in the clubhouse. Yes, this means you have to go in during regular business hours to drop off outgoing mail. I take my outgoing mail to a secure box right up the street from the complex because I don’t trust that my mail won’t get tampered with in the clubhouse. The mail basket is not closely monitored; I have gone into the clubhouse several times and noticed many times no employees are near it. Parcel deliveries will never be left at your door if you’re not home; they are always delivered to the clubhouse and you’ll get an e-​mail stating you have a package to be picked up.
TV service: If you want TV service, this complex gives you only one choice, which is Time Warner Cable. I wanted expanded basic service with a DVR. $ 53 was added to my rent, plus I have to pay an additional $ 50 on top of that. I was forced to get HBO channels as part of their digital package, even though I only wanted the DVR. The service is not only expensive, it’s unreliable. The DVR constantly skips programmed recordings, which means I’m always unplugging it to reset. I also have to reset the internet often.
Trash: If you’ve lived in Austin rentals before, you know about valet trash. If you’re like me and are coming from outside the area, you probably have no idea what this is. Valet trash means you throw your garbage/​recycling outside the door and someone comes and takes it away. That sounds nice, but they only pick up Sunday through Thursday evenings. I usually clean my house on Saturday. That means I’m always taking out my own trash, which I don’t mind. But here’s the thing; valet service is going to cost you $ 30/​month whether you use it or not, and you can’t refuse it, so you may end up paying for a service you don’t need or use.
Feel free to message me for the rest of the review, Unilocal likes to keep things short and the rest won’t fit here.

My lease ends Sept 11, 2014 and I’ve been here since Oct 12-​ish, 2013. My overall experience, this place has been good to me. I enjoyed my stay here, but unfortunately I am moving not because of the apartment, but financially just need a cheaper place. I am single with a dog and I felt safe in this apartment. There are always workers doing up keep on the buildings and grass. Majority of the time it is clean. The staff are always nice to me, friendly, and always greets me. As far as payments I didn’t have any issues. They went through everything with me in detail and I understood what was needed, always asked questions if there’s something I didn’t understand. Had to add that because the previous reviews even if they’re from last year, I feel like some things could’ve been better and if they owned up to their personal mistakes.
What I didn’t like were some of the kids. The skateboarding and they kept passing by my place, but then of course they were just kids, so that I just let it happen. There was a time I thought they were rude. They just saw me leave my apt door and they walked up to it and started knocking and I was watching them like «what do you want?» and they said sorry wrong door… But they just saw my leave. I also don’t like these kids that keeps passing by my window and I can’t keep my dog out on the balcony coz he barks at their big dog and there’s also like a 4yr old, they know my dog barks at their dog but two minutes after they will pass by again.
So with the apartment I am happy, besides some kids. The garage pick up, I don’t really use them but I think they can do better. Sometimes they don’t take every thing. If the bag broke I think they just leave it. They seem to work half a*$ from what I’ve seen when I walk my dog. Only thing I would change is the mailroom, they need to have a system for return mails or wrong mailbox or something.
I don’t think the issues I have were big issues. I enjoy living here. It’s been relaxing. I appreciate the staff :)

At first i was very interested I really had no negative opinions on this property except that you have to pay $ 30 for vallet trash, i was interested enough, that i applied. I went through the process, paid the fees, and was approved right away. We knew our move-​in date and all the other information that went along with it. About 2 weeks before our move-​in date they called us and told us that we can not move in to that apartment anymore because the residents who put in notice to vacate were staying there!!! immediately i knew that this was bullshit because i myself am a leasing agent and you can not do that. Once a resident puts in notice to vacate that apartment is up for lease and they have to move out!!! We were told that this decision was made by the manager of the property. That is obviously a poorly managed property, if that is how you choose to treat your future residents! We were told that the next available apartment was not until September 21^st. We were stuck, we had already put in our notice at our apartments, so we had no choice but to search for another apartment, not that we wanted to reside at this poorly managed complex anyway after that! I would stay away from this place if you don’t want to be searching for a place to live days before you need to move-​in!!!

I pay attention to the reviews of others but take the good and bad comments in stride.
One of the reviews I read mentioned about this place mentioned «white trash and beer cans» all over the pool area. When I arrived for a viewing there it was… Empty beer cans and white trash all over the pool.
One of the employees was named and in true form turned out to have a difficult personality to deal with. She’s been there for a few years and the complex is near full but with 4 other complexes on the same block I’ll move on.
I’m not interested in dealing with such a person or trying to spend time at the pool surrounded by empty beer cans and cigarette smokers.

I went here during an apartment search for myself. I’ll pass. I do believe that the staff doesn’t understand that they are the face of that complex and how they treat people affects their bottom line. A course in hospitality is highly recommended for the staff here.

The Good:
The apartments are nice on the inside. Ours was tiny but we had a great kitchen and bathroom. Maintenance repairs are almost always fixed the same day or next day.
The Bad:
Management and staff are all terribly rude. Angelica is the only exception, she has been pleasant and kind in every interaction. Christina and Naomi have been nothing but snotty and off-​putting the entire time I lived there. I’ve even seen one employee smoking in the pool while holding her child. Smoking in the pool is against the rules, smoking while holding a child is just wrong. I’ve also had my work out ruined because Christina let her child run a muck in the fitness center. Letting children in there unattended is also against the rules. Apparently rules don’t apply to staff.
The amenities are okay. The fitness facility has about 5 cardio machines and a few weights. Weak, at best. The pool is beautiful. It’s the hook. Don’t fall for it. You won’t get to enjoy it much. Unless you like to spend your time with beer drinking white trash that doesn’t watch their screaming kids who will run in front of you and ask to borrow your pool toys (with their hands almost on the item and without saying please).
The Unforgivable:
These people want to rob you blind. They will come up will all sorts of fees and fines that you get to pay. For example, we just moved out and have to pay a carpet cleaning fee. Okay, fine. Now they also want to charge us an additional fee to clean the carpet because we have a pet. We already paid their fee to have the dog there (twice, possibly). An now an additional fee? Another surprise… upon move in, they told us water was included in our rent. What they meant to say was that we can pay the water bill with our rent. This is just the tip of the iceberg on the whole fee situation.

Do not move into this property. The management is awful. Christina is rude and extremely inconsiderate! You can tell that she is on a power trip, I guess being the manager of a low end apartment complex makes you grand. During the Thanksgiving holiday, every single mailbox was broken into! It has been nearly a month and they still have not repaired it. I have to drive to the post office to get my mail. There is constant rash of cars and apartments being broke into. You cannot find parking anywhere after 6 pm because most of the spots are taken by people who do not even live there. Dumpsters are an awful eyesore with furniture, trash and waste over flowing from them. Last but not least… you NEVER know when your water or electricity is going to be shut off! During the summer I lost the number of times the water was shut off. It would last HOURS! One time nearly 24 hours! Management kept saying it was due to a busted pipe/drought…but i never would see anyone doing work or repair on it. If you are looking to move into an apartment and are reading this… MOVE INTO SOMEWHERE ELSE! NOT HERE!!! They will go up on your rent every time you renew your lease! You will thank me later that you chose not to move here!