Crabtree Lakeside — Attraction in Raleigh

NOTE: The management company asked renters to review in order to be entered into a contest.

Beware of thin walls and floors! We lived under a couple who fought the whole time we were there both day and night. We heard tons of stomping and shouting and it seems like every single step they took upstairs we also heard. We sent some messages to the front office and never got a response back. We see the police circle around or stop in the apartment complex. One thing to note when looking at the units is to see where the street lights are located because they caused a lot of light to flood into the apartments at night. We moved in and there were problems with the floors, some door frames were scratched or unfinished and we could feel staples in the edges of the carpet at the door frames for example. There was a management change while we lived here and it took a couple months and multiple times asking to find out when the amenities will reopen after office hours, which means we were not able to use the clubhouse and gym facilities after 6 PM on most days which is frustrating as it was advertised as 24 hours. When the gym and clubhouse re-opened we noticed there’s tons of residents and even staff members walking around with no masks on within the clubhouse. We’ve also witnessed at least three or four car/truck accidents happen in the parking lot during our lease, one of them was potentially life threatening causing a police car and ambulance to show up.

Overall the location isn’t terrible and there are a lot of events run by the office. Maintenance is friendly and quick. The units look nice but not necessarily quality. We signed a lease for the A4 unit and enjoyed the floorplan and the large windows in the bedroom and nice kitchen. The apartment complex is a mix of families and couples and it seems a lot of owners have dogs which may be a problem for some considering the walls are pretty thin. Both me and my partner have lived in many different college apartments that were better than this in terms of living quality. This place is surface level nice but comes with problems. You can see in the images attached of how the unit was when we first moved in and we were the first tenants meaning the builders left it like this. We will not be renewing our lease here and probably recommend...

Update a few years in: Still loving Crabtree Lakeside—and now with a story worthy of an update. Somehow, a snake had found its way up to our third-floor patio (not exactly something you plan for), and the team responded right away. Wahkeem showed up fast, handled the situation calmly, and had the snake relocated with zero fuss. Not exactly the kind of amenity you expect, but it’s reassuring to know the team can tackle just about anything. Five stars, no notes.

Nothing but positive things to say about Crabtree Lakeside. My wife and I moved into the complex about a month ago, and it has been wonderful so far.

To give a little context, we were coming to Raleigh from across the country and couldn’t fly out to see any properties. I ended up looking at 20 or so different apartments, and the staff at Crabtree were so professional and so thoughtful throughout the whole process. For example, I had asked for some apartment dimensions prior to moving so that we could see what furniture we could and couldn’t bring with us. Lily not only responded within a few hours, but she had marked the dimensions of nearly every nook and cranny in the apartment. And again, this was all before we even moved in.

Now that we’ve been here for a bit, we’ve continually been impressed with everything. There’s a great pool, a fantastic lounge, a nice dog park, etc. Honestly, all the amenities are as advertised. The gym can get a little crowded at times, but I suppose that’s to be expected being an apartment gym. Also, the staff put on a number of events each month that are always fun—bingo nights, plant sales, grilled cheese nights, Bark Box giveaways. Echoing what others have said in their reviews, the staff here are stellar. We’ve worked mostly with Lily, but Morgan and Michael are both so, so friendly and helpful. No hesitation reaching out to any of them with any questions I have.

The apartment itself has been great so far. Super spacious; really tall ceilings; great finish on everything. I love to cook, and the kitchen is awesome. My wife is a big fan of the space in the bathroom and the oversized tub. It’s been a little cooler lately, and we love having dinner out on the patio. I’m sure that every apartment and layout is different, but we’ve been really satisfied...

To start, I originally toured the apartment by myself and loved it. At that time, there was a 2-month free promotion and a certain price for the 2-bedroom. I then emailed them and told them that my partner wanted to see the apartment 2 days after I did, before we signed. I then asked if they could leave the price and the 2-month promotion for two days until she sees it, and then we would sign. There was never an answer to that question, but then they scheduled a tour for 2 days later. This gave the impression that it was okay and they would hold it. They had mentioned that day that the promotion would be leaving soon, but did not specify when. We then both saw the apartment and applied. Little did we know, they raised the price by $150 and got rid of the 2-month promotion. After we paid to apply, of course. ALL WITHIN TWO DAYS. This was especially frustrating because I asked specifically if they could hold this price, and they never said no. After getting ready to move, we called three times (no answer) and then finally got an answer on the 4th. They the manger got extremely aggressive, saying that our move-in date would not work anymore and that no one ever told us it would. (We've heard from 3 people who work for them that it would work.) Instead of accepting the fact that it was their fault that we were led to believe the move-in date would work, they blamed everything on us. We were promised a certain deal and then lied to; we were misled about the move-in date, and to top it all off, he was extremely rude about it. There seemed to be just too many hands in the bucket with getting a lease, and it needs to just be the ones in the office.

Don't get me wrong, our in-person experience was nothing short of great. Both leasing agents did a wonderful job, and we loved the apartment. However, the actual process of getting the lease was nothing short of frustrating and confusing. We applied a couple of days ago and still have not heard anything. At this point, we are moving on because, as seen in previous reviews, you can be approved in a day, and they claimed they...