The Lyfe @ Missouri — Attraction in Columbia Township

This complex is possibly the worst student housing in Columbia. If you ask any student about the lyfe they either cringe or have never heard of it. Listed below are the worst things about this place.

1. somebody in the building next to us overdosed and unfortunately passed away inside the building. There was about a 4-5 hour time period where there were police, fire, and Medic personnel outside the building, along with the county coroner. When I brought this to the attention of the office staff the next morning they had no clue. This would be understandable except they say that security patrols each night and that particular night there was nothing to report from the security officer. So that security obviously wasn’t even there. So safe.

2. The hallway to the building I lived in was constantly flooded with water. At sometimes it was a large puddle, at others it was a whole stream. You couldn’t walk through it most times without getting your shoes wet. It would even pour over into the flood below up through the stairwell. Pictures are below.

3. whatever amenities you see go ahead and cut that in half because most of the don’t even work. Tanning bed? Hasn’t worked in over a year. Gym? Good luck finding working equipment. The barbell alone broke multiple times while me and other residents were using it. Also, there is never cleaning equipment inside of the gym. The wipe/ paper towel holder wasn’t filled once while I was there.

4. The shuttle broke down so many times it was comical. They did offer Uber reimbursement, however I had to go into the office multiple times to make them aware that I hadn’t been reimbursed for months. It only got solved when the property manager overheard me complaining. Also, we all know Uber can be hit or miss so you never knew if the driver you got was going to hit on you before you 9 am class.

5. Trying to get a timely response (or any) from the staff was actually painful. There were many times I’d go in after having no response for 48 hours and they would have already read the email just not responded, which sounds dramatic but they would say ‘oh just haven’t gotten to responding yet.’

6. I ended up subleasing because, why would I want to live there? That process was extremely painful. It was obvious they had no idea what they were saying when I’d ask questions about it. One girl told me it would be final in a week, another said it would take a month, another one said it would be 2 weeks. Like I understand things take time but can’t you just give me an answer? Yikes. The leasing manager was unresponsive to any inquiries for me to talk to her as she was just not there or busy. My sublease candidate contacted them about how long it took them to send over their new lease and they said “you still have to sign the lease” and for some reason whoever they were talking to couldn’t understand that a new lease couldn’t be signed if they don’t send it? also a side note on this: they would get incredibly rude when I would constantly ask them to keep the process moving.

7)The only helpful staff members in that building were Ricana and the maintenance guys. Property manager was helpful from what I saw but couldn’t judge him as he was trying to pick up the pieces from this place.

8. the place smells like weed most of the time and there is tons of trash around. The garbage piles up at the dumpsters. If you park near one your car will smell too. People don’t pick up dog poop. Gross.

9. my bedroom had carpet in it and when I moved in there were clumps of cat hair. When I vacuumed more clumps of pet hair and dust came up. When I moved in there was a black trash bag stuffed into my bed frame. You can imagine what was in that trash bag. The place wasn’t even cleaned well. From what I understand it isn’t cleaned by professional companies because when I moved in there was a lady with her children inside of our unit still cleaning and told me to come back in a few minutes. I can’t make this stuff up. Seriously. Pics are below.

This place is cheap but you really get what...

Edited after living here for a full year:

It sucks. Some kind of mold is growing in the hallway in the third floor of the 9th building. Dishwasher never worked once while we were here. Parking isn’t great and the shuttle is not reliable at all. We have to get a cleaner for the apartment before we moved out even though it was absolutely filthy when we moved in.

If you can afford it, go somewhere else. If you have to live here, request an apartment where all of the previous tenants are moving out. Good luck.

Original review:

My first problem is that I have pretty bad arthirits for my age, and I put that on the form because me and stairs don't mix very well. They put us on the third floor despite my consistent requests to give us at least second floor. So, if you're physically disabled, don't expect much sympathy. I can power through since I'm still young, but I would be concerned for someone who cannot. I also requested a room that hadn't had a pet living there for quite some time. The room we were put in had a cat last year. Almost asphyxiated my first night here. Horray!

We were moved into an apartment with a tenent who hadn't really cleaned the apartment in 3 years. Fridge was full of moldy meat and condiments that hadn't been used in years. Dents and tiles coming up on the floor, dirty faucets, DISGUSTING COUCHES, moved in with a clogged sink and broken dishwasher, floors are sticky and gross no matter how many times we power washed them. Rotting cardboard box outside... I'm still throwing out things from old roomates. I found out the painful way that our oven light and stove light do not work correctly. This is all on move in day!

The outside is absolutely filthy. Stairs crumbling, mold and moss, cement platforms crumbling, lightfixtures are all either cracked, broken, missing a lightbulb, or shattered. No in between.

People tend to walk in without notice. They texted ME (not the other two roomates) that someone would be coming to replace out washer and dryer on 9/14 which I did NOT put in a request for. Morning of 9/13, someone comes in to take a look at our sink that was fixed a week ago. Still no new washer and dryer! This happens a lot, though.

Haven't had to deal with moving out, yet, but I'll update my review when I do. I've heard some awful things, like being charged 2 years afterwards or being charged hundreds of dollars with no explanation.

There will be a lot of dust, crumbs, and other stuff between the cracks in the appliances. I have a feeling this would've been fine if we did not have an apartment that hadn't really been cleaned by previous tenants, but I'm not sticking around to find out. I've been to friends place at Canvas, Central House, and The Rise, and they're all quite nice! Check those out instead. Can't wait...

PSA to students: DON'T RELY ON SHUTTLE If you're a student, you need a parking pass or at the very least a roommate with a parking pass who can drive you to class and pick you up with little to zero notice. The shuttle seats only 20, while there are several hundred students living in the complex, so when they run out of room at busier times, drivers will depart earlier than the scheduled time. The shuttle service is not very reliable, often leaving one stranded on campus without a way to get back home. I was told by management that The Lyfe is the only apartment complex in CoMo that doesn't contract with a company, meaning if one of the two drivers is sick or has outside obligations, the shuttle simply doesn't run (there is no substitute driver like in other complexes). This happens several times a month, sometimes with a day's notice, but more often with a few hour's notice or letting residents know several hours past when the shuttle failed to show up for the shift.

PROS OF THE LYFE Besides the unpredictable shuttle service, the apartment in general is fine. The kitchen is large, and both the kitchen and bathrooms in my unit has a LOT of storage space. The appliances work great (we did have to get our AC fixed and dishwasher replaced in the first month, but after that it's been smooth sailing). Our furniture, floors and walls are also really nice and in like-new condition. Maintenance requests have been resolved fairly quickly in my experience, and the maintenance team is very friendly. The clubhouse gym has functional equipment, and I particularly enjoy the hot chocolate (and coffee) machine. The display unit is nice to hang out and study in. The clubhouse frequently puts on cute events with free food for their residents, and I've had a lot of fun and made friends at those. Parking is generally convenient (and uncovered is free). Location is great! Next to Walmart, Alid, HyVee and lots of restaurants, and not a long drive to campus. Haven't used the pool yet, but it looks really nice. The hammocks are nice to lounge in and the balconies are fun to chill on when it's warm.

Overall, I would say if a shuttle to campus doesn't matter that much to you, this is a good option for the...