The Domain at Columbia — Attraction in Columbia Township

this place is pretty bad. Lived the past leasing year and couldn’t wait to get out. But as with any student housing complex and/or residence in general there’s also some pros, and I’m an equal opportunist so I’ll list everything here:

-the buildings themselves are falling apart. They’re poorly built and they’re sinking into the ground. I give it a few yrs before they crumble. They have plumbing issues and my window wasn’t caulked right at all.To the point where there might as well not be a window there, which drives utilities way up for such a small space bill should’ve been way lower. I have no caulking experience & could’ve done way better

PARKING: -PROS: you can pretty much find a space SOMEWHERE, even if you have to park in front of the clubhouse and walk several minutes to your apt. Reserved parking is a thing here though so you could do that CONS: Reserved parking. It wouldn’t be such an issue if The Domain followed their own protocol & wasn’t in some sort of agreement with a company by the name of Doug Perry Towing. By “agreement” I mean this tow company primarily comes to tow vehicles out of spots. And when you’re fined you don’t pay The Domain (even though you’re violating The Domain’s policy, you pay Doug Perry....in cash....typically right away...or things get messy. I’ve heard them request $250 $150, $100 from residents, whatever they can talk you into giving them to not tow your car out of fear. There’s no “warning” call from the manager on duty that they promise you with a smile when you sign a lease and I even witnessed an incident where a staff member saw a note that a person who owned a reserved spot that another resident parked in and take a picture with her phone. Soon after, I look out the window and there was no trace of the note (not saying the staff member took it just telling you what I saw). I’ve seen parking incidents escalate to where police were called. Situations that are probably very stressful for the resident who owns the spot and all parties simply because the Domain doesn’t seem to have effective problem solving techniques most likely because of my second point: STAFF: pros: -they’re nice when you sign your lease -they try their best to answer your questions -they’re reliable when it comes to small tasks -they’re very willing to help if you lock yourself out of your apartment -overall they’re very kind people cons: -they’re college kids so they don’t really know the answers to any complicated questions (which isn’t actually their fault. Probably whoever trains them is to blame) -their lack of knowledge is frustrating at times -the manager and assistant manager are also not helpful. It’s like they’ve been told “just try to indirectly answer the question and don’t EVER talk about finances”. that or they’re just as clueless as the college kids on staff. Either way it’s frustrating MAINTENANCE: pros: -they’re fulfill requests accurately and the on call guys are great no matter when you call. 24/7. -they do a great job overall and when they don’t it isn’t their fault which leads me to... cons: -staff seems to sporadically relay maintenance issues to maintenance. I requested maintenance on my sink and it was serviced in a few days. However I requested maintenance on a tv (which are all cheap and not worth the title of “amenity”) and it took about 50 days for them to replace it and by then my roommates and I just bought a new tv AMMENITIES: pros: -the pool is nice -Workout room(s) are super nice -the golf simulator is ok -coffee on site is cool -shuttle service is reliable and the shuttle drivers are nice. Even when the shuttle is out they try to replace it ASAP -washer and dryer work -fridge, stove, and dishwasher were cool -the utility package helps a lot cons: -TVs are terrible. Quality is lowest of the low -Apple tv’s don’t work half of the time -whatever internet/cable company they use is terrible. Didn’t have internet for about 2 months during the year. And as a student that’s a huge inconvenience.

Overall it wasn’t worth the rent or hassle and I’ve stayed at MUCH...

Don't let the 5 star reviews fool you- they give out t-shirts and raffle entry's in exchange for a review. This place has really gone downhill. Leasing agents are nice and do what they can and maintenance will always get any of your problems fixed fast but management, the only people who can actually fix your issues, are hardly in the office. You are more likely to get a robot or out of office hours answering service that cant actually help you than a legitimate worker to answer the phone. They will try and charge you more than your agreed rent amount whenever they can. They will increase your rent every year, and wont guarantee a specific amount, forcing you to sign early if you want to obtain a decent rate. Plenty of students cars have been broken into and their solution was a private security company that makes a drive through the parking lot once a night and will look more at residents coming to and from work more than people actually doing crimes. Most units have water damage due to pipes bursting last winter but they wont fix them until you move out and who knows if they'll actually fix them. The hallways are full of mold and smell awful. They haven't been cleaned since I moved two years ago and but the floors were repainted to cover up some of the sights. They rave about the amenities during tours but almost every one of them ends up being closed. The pool will the last pool in Columbia to be opened and the first to close so you probably wont be able to use it unless you stay the summer. They completely removed a movie theater and replaced it with a "library" that doesn't contain anything but tables and wallpaper that looks like books. The computer center printers will always be broken so you are better off going to campus and paying the $0.05 to print there. The WIFI goes out for weeks at a time so hopefully you don't need to turn in any assignments. They installed a "starbucks" coffee machine in the clubhouse that gets refilled a maximum of once a month. They promised to fix the golf simulator when I first moved in and only got around to it a year and a half later when they remodeled the clubhouse. It already has holes in the screen and you need to buy specially marked balls for it to work properly. Honestly its probably the cheapest simulator they could find. You'll still be able to have just enough fun with it that you're glad it's open. When it is open that is as they wont let you enter outside of the hours the front desk is occupied. This placed used to be great and worthy of a 5 star review when I first signed but you can definitely see the effects of the company selling out to corporate. Do yourself a favor and live...

The Domain is great until it isn't. While the leasing agents and maintenance staff are always friendly, go above and beyond and are super responsive, the same cannot be said about management. They will get you with the amenities and the opportunity for a game day and bar run shuttles (you'll be shocked to find out that most complexes do that).

Management will charge you for so many hidden fees without telling you about or explaining them. They also oversell parking and stress you out about resigning, so "You don't pay more than you did this year." There are multiple car break-ins, stolen cars, and catalytic converters stolen. When we complain and ask for cameras, no one in the office GAF. I can't tell you how many times my mom and I have called management. It's exhausting.

OH and their RLP doesn't cover your property just theirs, so go sign up for your own renters insurance through Progressive or whoever your insurance company is, and OPT OUT of theirs for which they want to charge you $12.99/month!

Also, the ceilings are so thin that if you're below someone, you will 100% hear the person above stomping, scrapping, dropping, and vacuuming every single day. I have called the office many times about what we can do about the multiple noise complaints, and again, no one GAF. My upstairs neighbors keep me up till midnight and wake me up every morning at 2, 5 and 8 a.m. You can also hear the people beside you - TVs, chatting, radio, etc. I've lived elsewhere in Columbia, where I would forget I had neighbors.

Speaking of ceilings mine started leaking multiple places to which they patched it and blamed it on the sprinkler system that they have yet to replace? Don't tell me the issue and then not take the time to replace old, leaky pipes so that I continuously have to file maintenance requests (which they always come to fix but the complex's management won't invest in new systems).

They host a lot of resident events, but even those are typically when no one is home.

I have enjoyed my time at The Domain, but you would do better to shop around before signing. No student living is perfect, and every complex here in Columbia is gross and has its issues, but look and talk to residents...