Monterone Steiner Ranch Apartments (Formerly Mansions @ Steiner Ranch) BAD PLACE?!?

[cmiller1014]

I have been looking more at the rental stuff and it is expensive. I just dont want to own more furniture that we have to turn around and sell in a year. Moving is not cheap...we paid $5000 to move last time just 30 mins from our old house. At some point it seems like its not worth it to own furniture because after moving or storing it once, and then selling it for 1/2 what you bought it for, you are at a loss anyway.

I checked out Onion Creek. They have a lower approval rating than Steiner Ranch! 1 person out of 24 rating would recommend it to a friend. That's scary too.

Thanks for the reply!

[TexasHorseLady]

I did a quick check of the MLS and found that most of the rentals (that are on the MLS - many apartments aren't) with your specs in your price range tended to be houses, though there were a few townhomes, condos, and duplexes thrown into the mix. Would a condo or townhome suit?

Also, depending on your taste in furniture, if you don't have to have all new, you might find some success with Craigslist down here. You'd be amazed what you can find there that's very nice furniture, for a LOT less than either renting or buying new. Then, if you do move soon, you can turn around and sell it on Craigslist, sometimes for what you paid for it, if you take care of it.

[cmiller1014]

TexasHorseLady,

GOOOOD point about the furniture. I think we may go that route instead of buying new. LOTS of stuff on Craigslist for this area.

We are open to any type of housing. Would really like some amenities though. The priorities are #1 - Schools #2 Amenities # 3 Easy access into the city.

Thanks for the reply!

[CarnivalGal]

If you like the Steiner area, check out leases for zip 78734 - that's Lakeway, just down 620 from Steiner and on still the lake. It's in the Lake Travis school district which is one of the best in the area.

And I agree about checking Craigslist for furniture. You can get good stuff for not a lot of money and then re-sell it when you move and get a lot of it back. Cheaper than renting in the long run.

[Trickmystir700]

Originally Posted by cmiller1014

I have been looking more at the rental stuff and it is expensive. I just dont want to own more furniture that we have to turn around and sell in a year. Moving is not cheap...we paid $5000 to move last time just 30 mins from our old house. At some point it seems like its not worth it to own furniture because after moving or storing it once, and then selling it for 1/2 what you bought it for, you are at a loss anyway.

I checked out Onion Creek. They have a lower approval rating than Steiner Ranch! 1 person out of 24 rating would recommend it to a friend. That's scary too.

Thanks for the reply!

She meant "The Cottages" at onion creek, the development "onion creek" apartments are trashy

[austintilelady]

Sorry about that the Cottages are new and very nice and gated. Go look at them we had to stop reading and start really digging and looking. By the way the craiglist thing I sold a 56 foot trailer full of new furniture on craigslist you will be able to find some really nice stuff there and when your done you can sell it on craigslist. I did decide to sell everything for the same reason as you it just did not make since paying out 5000.00 to move it all around.

[austinkmomma]

I used to live here, and yes...the rumors are true. You have to be very, VERY careful when you move out, because they will try to charge you with everything!! I never lived in an apt before where they tried to charge you for painting the apt for the NEXT tenant! It's absurd! Also you are responsible for cleaning the carpet....they charge you a mandatory carpet cleaning fee, or you must have it professionally done. And if you are really unlucky....you can get hit with fees to replace the entire carpet for normal wear and tear.

A lot of my neighbors got hit with these ridiculous charges, and some fought it. Some won, some gave up.

Midway, the property was sold, and name was changed to Monterone. I had a hope that they may change the previous company's crazy ways, but they seemed to keep in line with same previous company, with regards to their move out fees.

Final straw was when moving out, and I was trying to get my deposit back. They kept giving me the run around, I called and called, and was put on hold, told that the accountant would call me back, etc....I could not get anywhere. Even when I called corporate. It finally took me having to file a BBB complaint on them, and 4 months later, I finally got my check in the mail.

Btw, management did not do much about issues regarding neighbors....we had some crazy neighbors that had violent, abusive fights in front of everyone, and management would never do anything about it.

Mainly because the leasing agents, or office folks, are young, twenty something yuppies who really don't care about the folks...just want to put in their 8 hours and go home.

Because the way the apts are set up....you can hear your neighbor talking across the street...it is loud. I did not have problems with noise with my neighbors next to me, but the neighbors across the street...I could hear them talking on their cell phone and it was annoying.

It also gets very, VERY, VERY hot in the top bedrooms (3rd floor).

Something to consider. I would stay away from here.

[cmiller1014]

Well we did end up avoiding Monterone Steiner Ranch. We went to them with all of the complaints and they tried to defend them but it was not convincing at all. I read between the lines, and they were basically admitting that the property has had problems...

We ended up at Riata and after a month now we're really happy here. Nice apartments, nice insulation, good people. Maintenance people can be seen ALL day jetting around the property on golf carts, cleaning stuff, fixing stuff, etc. Rent is reasonable, lots of amenities, etc. If all ends well, we'll go back and rate them highly on apartmentratings.com I wish others would use these rating sites to share their GOOD experiences too. It's sure hard to pick an apartment when comments are all negative.. you're left comparing properties by number of negative comments vs number of positive comments.

Thanks to all who chimed in!

[Rtenant508]

Originally Posted by cmiller1014

We were real close to moving into this place when we came across a TON of poor reviews. Anyone have any recent experience?

Real ratings from real people:
Monterone At Steiner Ranch Apartment Ratings, Reviews, Map, Rents, and other Austin apartments for rent from ApartmentRatings.com

Better Business Bureau Report on the Property:
Austin, TX: Check Out a Business or Charity

Better Business Bureau Report on the Parent Company (CNC Investments):
Greater Houston and South Texas: Check Out a Business or Charity

This just scares me......

Chris

Worse appartment I've ever lived(monterone steiner ranch). VERY POOR management ,no parking, had my car towed once. The manager is playing hide and seek. I called to talk to the manager she hung up the phone and totally ignored me. The management have no respect for residents. sauna Always ''OUT OF ORDER'' . Kids all over the place. High rent with zero quality staff. Monterone has the potential to be a good place to live but unfortunatly with unprofessional staff there is no chance for it. I've Never received any of my deposit. I called and talked to the manager and she said I supposed to getten a check for it 6 months a go but I never did. If you like to get ripped off move there. Absolutley ''THE WORSE'' experience ever.... I'm living in a different appartment complex and happier than ever. DO NOT MOVE IN TO MONTERONE STEINER RANCH . You will regret it...

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Rtenant508

Worse appartment I've ever lived(monterone steiner ranch). VERY POOR management ,no parking, had my car towed once. The manager is playing hide and seek. I called to talk to the manager she hung up the phone and totally ignored me. The management have no respect for residents. sauna Always ''OUT OF ORDER'' . Kids all over the place. High rent with zero quality staff. Monterone has the potential to be a good place to live but unfortunatly with unprofessional staff there is no chance for it. I've Never received any of my deposit. I called and talked to the manager and she said I supposed to getten a check for it 6 months a go but I never did. If you like to get ripped off move there. Absolutley ''THE WORSE'' experience ever.... I'm living in a different appartment complex and happier than ever. DO NOT MOVE IN TO MONTERONE STEINER RANCH . You will regret it...

Some folks are leery of postings(especially a FIRST posting) that dredge up 14 month old threads in order to bash a business. Just sayin'.