Capstone Quarters — Attraction in Urbana

I’m leaving this review from an anonymous account because it feels like Ramshaw and Capstone Quarters literally digs up who writes reviews and cross check them with their resident records and respond to reviews. Regardless, I lived here for almost two years and recently moved out, so I have the right to share my experience. Whether this review stays up or not, these are my genuine thoughts.

In my 9 years of renting experience, this has been the worst experience I’ve ever had, and I severely regret moving here. I only wish my roommate had been present during my initial tour. He later told me he would have immediately warned me not to move in. He himself is a long term resident and has also regretted living here, finally deciding to leave this term.

Starting off, the unit felt like it was falling apart. Blinds were breaking, lights didn’t work, and the AC failed multiple times. The first major AC breakdown lasted four months despite multiple maintenance requests. I was only stuck with it for one month, but my roommates endured the entire summer without proper cooling until an HVAC technician finally came. A year and a half later (Spring 2025), the AC broke again, and we waited another week or two for repairs. When I first moved in, my room was filthy and nasty. Mold in the bathtub, thick dust everywhere, carpet stains, and some broken furniture. Management claimed the unit was “fully cleaned." Yeah... I don't think so... I had to eventually clean it all myself. When I did my first tour here, the staff treated me like royalty. They were incredibly friendly and helpful until I signed the lease. After that, the support and responsiveness dropped dramatically. It felt like I fell into a trap.

Based on my experience and the many rumors I’ve heard, I doubt I’ll see my security deposit again. My roommate also agrees with this because Capstone Quarters seems to find any excuse to charge residents, especially students, when moving out and never fix it.

The only positive thing here is the neighborhood itself is relatively quiet. I never witnessed any suspicious activity or crimes. While fireworks and parties are common, that’s mostly due to The Linc next door and not something Capstone can control. I also met a new roommate here who became a close friend, which was the only truly positive personal outcome.

Here is my tip if you're ever considering to move into Capstone Quarters. Capstone will be extremely friendly and welcoming during your tour like you're the royal highness.

If you move in, I sincerely beg you, inspect every single detail of your unit and fill out your move in checklist thoroughly. They will charge you for any damage, even pre existing issues, if not documented.

Be prepared for move out to be difficult. They will likely try to bill you regardless of how clean you leave the unit even if you hire professional cleaners (also mentioned in the older reviews).

Bottom line, please please please do not consider this place. If you value transparency, proper maintenance, and fair treatment,...

It's really odd that Capstone gets nearly 5 stars in Google while it only gets 2 in Yelp.

IF YOU ARE ALREADY A TENANT OR ABOUT TO MOVE IN, MAKE SURE YOU TAKE PICTURES OF EVERY SINGLE CORNER OF THE APARTMENT. OTHERWISE THE MANAGEMENT TEAM WILL LIKELY CHARGE YOU FOR WHAT'S ALREADY BROKEN.

TL;DR

I lived in Capstone for 2 years. When I received my post move-out charge sheet last week, I got a 85 bucks penalty for breaking their mattress spring box. THE SPRING BOX WAS ALREADY BROKEN at the time when I moved in. The reason why I didn't note it in the move in inspection is that unlike other furnitures, it's really hard to differentiate whether the mattress is broken or not. From the outside, a broken mattress looks just like a functional one. It took me some time to realize the central part of the mattress does not hold my back and my sleep quality was really bad during my stay. I thought the mattress was just of bad quality, but I never thought the mattress was left broken when I moved in.

I tried to argue with the property manager and tell her the mattress was already broken before I moved in and I didn't even know it was broken. I understood it was tenants' responsibility to report any damage beforehand, but how can a non-professinoal sleep tester tell the difference? I kept asking the property manager to show me the post move-out charge sheet of the previous tenant. If they didn't charge the previous tenant for breaking the mattress, it could well be a proof that I indeed broke the mattress. The property manager kept telling me they didn't review previous report upon inspection and refused to show me the report. It looks really fishy when they avoided answering my question.

Also, if I really broke the mattress, how come they only charge me 85 dollars? Are they just charging me 85 bucks and left the broken mattress there to cheat the next tenant? Or do they just buy an ill-quality mattress with 85 bucks and let it break by the next tenant?

To be honest the utility and environment of the apartments are satisfactory, but the management team is just not honest. You might think I just don't want to admit it's indeed me who broke the mattress, or I broke the mattress but I'm not aware of it. You might be right, but I have 4 other friends living in Capstone also telling me they have the same issue with the mattress but never suspected it's broken right when they moved in. What are the odds that so many people have the...

TLDR: Great apartment, nice shared services maintenance, but RUN for shitty management that's gonna make your college life miserable in every aspect.

Lived here since 2021 when I signed with Green Street Realty. 3 nice leasing folks and 1 maintenance guy working down there. The property management was then shortly turned over to Ramshaw Real Estate. Do yourself a favor and RUN from Ramshaw Real Estate! My experience with them at Capstone turned into a complete train wreck.

First off, their management is incredibly unresponsive. I felt like I was yelling into a void whenever I reached out. They might as well have ghosted me!

They constantly abused their landlord entry powers, showing the apartment over and over again up to 5 times a day and 4 days a week. The showing wasn't just for the ending months; it starts December and lasts through a solid spring semester. They come in whenever they want just with a 24 hours advanced email. While Green Street Realty shows only a handful of empty, unoccupied units, Ramshaw shows every available apartment to each and every prospective tenant in one tour. It was downright invasive—like they were holding a parade in my living room. I lost track of how many times I had to awkwardly explain to random strangers that no, this is still my home, not a tourist attraction!

The move-out cleaning fees? Absurd! I was charged for a deep clean that should have been done before I even moved in. It felt like they were just trying to squeeze every last penny out of me. Because the unfair doctrines articulated in your lease (Ramshaw's version), you are liable to a lot of subjective charges after your move-out. An experienced attorney, that I could get a hold of, suggested me to just pay it off because litigation or arbitration would be an uphill battle for her because of the language in the lease.

To top it all off, I had to endure multiple municipal inspections because they couldn’t keep the property up to code. Seriously, who wants that kind of stress?

And if you think you’ll enjoy peace and quiet, think again! Despite countless complaints about loud parties from neighbors, Ramshaw did absolutely nothing. It was like living next to a never-ending frat party!

In short, don’t even think about renting from Ramshaw. Save yourself the frustration and find a place that actually cares about...