Real opinions of these apartments... (Plano, Highlands: sales, leasing agent, appliances)

[badr]

Been looking at apartments in plano and i dont trust apartmentratings.com, I think some of the "reviews" seem to be planted if you know what i mean.

If anyone could give me their opinion on these I will appreciate it =)

1. Riachi at One21 9600 Coit Road, Plano, TX 75025
866-436-5078

2. Estancia at Ridgeview Ranch 10200 indenpendence Parkway, Plano, TX 75025
972-727-7700

3. Camden Highlands formerly Highland Trace Apartments 2525 Ohio Drive, Plano, TX 75093
972-867-2913

4. Tribeca 8401 Memorial Drive, Plano, TX 75024
469-362-8600

5. Independence Crossing 6501 Independence, Plano, TX 75023
972-208-5349

6. Highwood Apartments 2401 Ohio Dr, Plano, TX 75093
972-985-0116

7. Carrington Park 3001 Communications Pkwy, Plano, TX 75093
972-378-0224

8. Avendale On Preston 6820 Preston Road, Plano, TX 75024
972-618-3463

[yjc281]

Originally Posted by badr

Been looking at apartments in plano and i dont trust apartmentratings.com, I think some of the "reviews" seem to be planted if you know what i mean.

If anyone could give me their opinion on these I will appreciate it =)

I visited the following two in addition to the very expensive KIA-ORA (inspired by New Zealand). I chose Riachi for a two-bed room. Average cost per is about 1000 per month for a 12 month lease.(not including electricity)

1. Riachi at One21 9600 Coit Road, Plano, TX 75025
866-436-5078
I like the layout of the apartment. Phase 2(brand new) has even better layouts and they have a 6 weeks free promotion. Expect some minor issues like you always see in new constructions or new hotels. Maintenance is reasonably responsive if not super quick. Parking is easy to find. Neighbors are generally quiet except for maybe 1 or 2 young guys that like loud music but I've seen them only twice in the past 17 months. Try to stay away from the street side facing COIT unless you want to keep windows closed all the time to block the noise. The leasing agents are quite helpful but sometimes they may forget things when they get too busy. Workout center is very nice. They recently added two public PCs and free Starbucks coffee.
Overall I am quite satisfied. The cost/benefits ratio for a 12 months lease is pretty good. As in any apartment community, your experience may vary depending on your neighbors.


2. Estancia at Ridgeview Ranch 10200 indenpendence Parkway, Plano, TX 75025
972-727-7700
Estancia seemed okay and was cheaper at the time I looked. I could have ended up here if I have a smaller budget.

Apartmentratings.com does have some value. You should look into the details regarding what they complain about or what they praise instead of just the ratings. For example, if someone says the apartment is great just because the agents are friendly without any specifics then the rating may not mean much. On the other hand, if someone complains about not having enough parking space, you can pay attention to that during your visit.

[badr]

Originally Posted by yjc281

I visited the following two in addition to the very expensive KIA-ORA (inspired by New Zealand). I chose Riachi for a two-bed room. Average cost per is about 1000 per month for a 12 month lease.(not including electricity)

1. Riachi at One21 9600 Coit Road, Plano, TX 75025
866-436-5078
I like the layout of the apartment. Phase 2(brand new) has even better layouts and they have a 6 weeks free promotion. Expect some minor issues like you always see in new constructions or new hotels. Maintenance is reasonably responsive if not super quick. Parking is easy to find. Neighbors are generally quiet except for maybe 1 or 2 young guys that like loud music but I've seen them only twice in the past 17 months. Try to stay away from the street side facing COIT unless you want to keep windows closed all the time to block the noise. The leasing agents are quite helpful but sometimes they may forget things when they get too busy. Workout center is very nice. They recently added two public PCs and free Starbucks coffee.
Overall I am quite satisfied. The cost/benefits ratio for a 12 months lease is pretty good. As in any apartment community, your experience may vary depending on your neighbors.

Would you mind if I asked which layout you chose? We are thinking in a one bedroom apartment, we ahve been looking at the Milan, Milano and Napoli.

Also I wanted to ask you, what kind of internet service can you get in Riachi? Is it open (meaning whomever is available) or do you have to pick a particular company?

Originally Posted by yjc281

2. Estancia at Ridgeview Ranch 10200 indenpendence Parkway, Plano, TX 75025
972-727-7700
Estancia seemed okay and was cheaper at the time I looked. I could have ended up here if I have a smaller budget.

We are actually considering this as our 2nd option or plan b... I guess we will see how it is once we get there.

Originally Posted by yjc281

Apartmentratings.com does have some value. You should look into the details regarding what they complain about or what they praise instead of just the ratings. For example, if someone says the apartment is great just because the agents are friendly without any specifics then the rating may not mean much. On the other hand, if someone complains about not having enough parking space, you can pay attention to that during your visit.

I do, but sometimes when they praise the apartment it feels like a sales pitch, I prefer down-to-earth reviews or opinions, like yours.

=)

G.

[yjc281]

Originally Posted by badr

Would you mind if I asked which layout you chose? We are thinking in a one bedroom apartment, we ahve been looking at the Milan, Milano and Napoli.

We chose Florence but we preferred Calania.
Calania was unavailable except for one that's directly adjacent to Coit...(noise issue) Basically we got a smaller kitchen but saved about $100 a month.

Originally Posted by badr

Also I wanted to ask you, what kind of internet service can you get in Riachi? Is it open (meaning whomever is available) or do you have to pick a particular company?

Well, the choices:
Internet: AT&T DSL, TimeWarner Cable, Satellite
Electricity: CoServ(www.coserv.com) only 1 choice.
Cable TV: TimeWarner or Satellite (FiOS or Uverse not available)

Hope it helps.

[Trespassers W]

Originally Posted by yjc281

1. Riachi at One21 9600 Coit Road, Plano, TX 75025
866-436-5078
I like the layout of the apartment. Phase 2(brand new) has even better layouts and they have a 6 weeks free promotion. Expect some minor issues like you always see in new constructions or new hotels. Maintenance is reasonably responsive if not super quick. Parking is easy to find. Neighbors are generally quiet except for maybe 1 or 2 young guys that like loud music but I've seen them only twice in the past 17 months. Try to stay away from the street side facing COIT unless you want to keep windows closed all the time to block the noise. The leasing agents are quite helpful but sometimes they may forget things when they get too busy. Workout center is very nice. They recently added two public PCs and free Starbucks coffee.
Overall I am quite satisfied. The cost/benefits ratio for a 12 months lease is pretty good. As in any apartment community, your experience may vary depending on your neighbors.

Originally Posted by yjc281

Well, the choices:
Internet: AT&T DSL, TimeWarner Cable, Satellite
Electricity: CoServ(www.coserv.com) only 1 choice.
Cable TV: TimeWarner or Satellite (FiOS or Uverse not available)

Hope it helps.

yjc281: Thanks for the helpful information!

We were also looking at Riachi recently. The Phase II apts. look great and I liked the LowE windows a lot. The guy from leasing office told us that Phase II apts are Energy Star certified. I am wondering if the energy and water bills would be significantly lower. Do you see much difference in your utility bills as compared to other apartment communities?

Thank you!

[yjc281]

Originally Posted by RK73

yjc281: Thanks for the helpful information!

We were also looking at Riachi recently. The Phase II apts. look great and I liked the LowE windows a lot. The guy from leasing office told us that Phase II apts are Energy Star certified. I am wondering if the energy and water bills would be significantly lower. Do you see much difference in your utility bills as compared to other apartment communities?

Thank you!

I suspect most newer apartments have newer appliances that are generally more energy efficient.
As far as electricity goes my bill for a phase 1 2 bedroom apt range from 75 to 159.
I did notice a significant increase on water/trash bill since phase 2 was open.(probably like 30%)
I suspect they allocated the extra costs from phase 2 to all current residents. The water cost may keep going
up due to the planned 18% increase in City of Plano...

Overall, I think it was a good place to stay for a year or two just like a brand new motel. The materials are cheap and probably won't stay good in the long run. The apartments are very nice while being brand new, though. The workout center was great, too.

The only not so pleasant part was the move-out. I was charged an unexpected $150 carpet cleaning fee upon move-out even though I vacuumed the carpet throughly. They sent out a very threatening e-mail saying if you don't pay the $50 in 15 days they will send it to a collection agency. It's really unfriendly especially to a resident who usually pays rent before the due day and paid a month-to-month fee($125) without any discount for 6 months.

[Trespassers W]

yjc281: Thank you very much for your answer! It is really helpful to get information from someone, who actually lived there.

[badr]

Hi all;

Well we finally moved to TX... We chose Estancia. They were offering a killer deal on a 2br 2 bathroom, with the washing machines included, for around $800.

We saw Riachi, some things we didnt like straight off the bat, like the supposed "Granite Counter Tops" They are not granite, they are formica look alike to granite lol.

The better offer was in Estancia, it obliberated anything Riachi had.

The service has been very good, the quality is very good as well... I have not negative input to say right now, then again we have only been here a month.

But we like it a lot, its quiet, and relaxed, looks and feels like a Caribbean Villa, if instead of Expressway 121 I had a beach in here it would be the best... We havent met any of the neighbors, but they seem cool, quiet. The sales guy Matt was quite nice to us and upfront.

We really got a good deal...

Just wanted to report back since it has been a while since I wrote in here.

Thanks!

Badr

[wannabeaTexan]

Originally Posted by badr

Hi all;

Well we finally moved to TX... We chose Estancia. They were offering a killer deal on a 2br 2 bathroom, with the washing machines included, for around $800.

We saw Riachi, some things we didnt like straight off the bat, like the supposed "Granite Counter Tops" They are not granite, they are formica look alike to granite lol.

The better offer was in Estancia, it obliberated anything Riachi had.

The service has been very good, the quality is very good as well... I have not negative input to say right now, then again we have only been here a month.

But we like it a lot, its quiet, and relaxed, looks and feels like a Caribbean Villa, if instead of Expressway 121 I had a beach in here it would be the best... We havent met any of the neighbors, but they seem cool, quiet. The sales guy Matt was quite nice to us and upfront.

We really got a good deal...

Just wanted to report back since it has been a while since I wrote in here.

Thanks!

Badr

My friend lives there. I think she likes it ok. She had some loud neighbors move in though. I like Matt...he used to work at the apts I live in. =)

[yjc281]

Originally Posted by wannabeaTexan

My friend lives there. I think she likes it ok. She had some loud neighbors move in though. I like Matt...he used to work at the apts I live in. =)

Well, it's pure luck. You could have loud neighbors in any apartment community. That's just the way apartment life is... just like cheap materials and cabinets. I might have gone with Estancia had they offered me $800 with a washer and a dryer. That's a really good deal for a 1.5 years old apartment!