Magnolia Falls — Local services in Arkansas

Review current as of June 2020 (I've since moved):

I wrote this long review and realized that the thing that gave this place that fifth star was at the end. So, I'll say this first:

The staff in the neighborhood is bar none the best I've ever had in my years of renting. I have had nothing but positive interactions, smiles, and help with any issue I have had. Everything that I have ever brought to their attention has been resolved and I truly feel respected and valued. The entire team is great, but one individual stands out; he both lives and works in the neighborhood, and it was readily apparent that he really cares about doing a great job, and having a great place to live.

They threw a pool party a few weeks back with food, a pinata for the kids, gift card prizes, a DJ, etc and it was obvious to me that it was largely planned by employees who went well above and beyond because they love their neighborhood. I've not seen the like before.

So, back to the rest of the review:

I've lived here for nearing a year and a half, and I'm happy. Overall I feel these apartments are an excellent value for the money paid. Here are some thoughts in no particular order.

The apartments were built in the 80's I believe. They show their age slightly, although some have been "remodeled" with more modern appliances or lighting.

That being said, if there is a problem, a simple service request online has led to the issue being fixed very quickly. I've had minor issues three times, and I tend to file my requests at 9 or 10pm, and twice, they were repaired the next morning. The last was 48 hours because it was slightly more involved. The maintenance team is pleasant and above all, proficient. From everything I've seen, they do it right the first time and take pride on what they do.

There isn't a lot of wasted space, which I enjoy. The bathrooms are smaller, but the closets are larger. I can adequately put to use nearly every square foot in the place.

-The utility bills are acceptable. and the major appliances seem to be at least somewhat energy efficient, they don't seem to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find a water heater or AC.

-My carpet, however, does seem to be the bottom of the barrel, having (seemingly) very little stain protection, and it just feels lower quality. However, I don't have an issue with this, as this is in keeping with the value of the rent price for the area.

-The neighborhood is quiet. Almost too quiet for me, although my kids have managed to find the few kids that are around. There are no neighboring complexes, no people wandering through, nobody coming here that doesn't belong here in my experience.

-The pool and gym are both small but very serviceable, they meet my needs.

-Some people complain about parking. This is an issue depending on where you live, as the buildings all form squares and some apartments aren't as close to as many spots as others. I have a dozen open spots near me. Choose your apartment appropriately if you don't want to pay a monthly fee to reserve a spot.

-I finally moved out in June of 2020 (26 months total stay). I fulfilled all my responsibilities as a tenant to the best of my knowledge as far as giving notice and cleanliness, and the move-out was painless. Received my deposit 3 or 4 weeks after the move at the forwarding address I provided (I'd imagine they wait until your final water bill comes in to settle...

My husband and I were interested in renting an apartment here and almost signed a lease today. While the property manager and the assistant property manager are friendly, the property manager is VERY inconsistent. We set up a meeting with her to go over some details about the application/leasing process that were somewhat confusing. When we arrived to the meeting, she stated that she had forgotten about our meeting, despite setting it up that same day. When we started talking, she stated that we would be charged a certain amount in rent (which was different than what we were told) because we were moving in on the 11th. After we told her that we never had a move-in date for the 11th, that it has always been April 2nd, she asked if we were sure about that and said that we must've selected the wrong date in the system. Then, she looked at her paperwork and stated that she was thinking about someone else. So, we proceeded to ask her specific questions about the security deposit, as well as, receiving the $300 that we already paid if we decided not to sign the lease. The property manager stated that they would refund the $300 within 72 hours. We also inquired about one of the monthly fees that we were told (via the application process) would be $30 per month. She told us that there is an issue with the online program that they use for the application process, that it is incorrect, and that the fee is actually $43 per month. When it came time to sign the lease today, the security deposit had drastically increased from what we were told, due to "conditions" that have never been explained to us despite asking for clarification from the property manager. Since this process was so convoluted, we decided not to sign the lease and requested a refund for the $300 that we had paid already. However, the property manager stated that she is only refunding $200 to us (which is NOT what she told us when we met). I don't think that the property manager is intentionally trying to be deceptive or anything like that. I just think that she is not as organized and consistent as she should be when it comes to dealing with people's hard-earned money. So, my advice to anyone who wants to rent an apartment here....maybe talk to someone other than the property manager or just go someplace with more...

RUN AWAY! ZERO STARS!! Not luxury apartments AT ALL. It is a really old apartment complex that was renovated but the place is run down. *Amanda Bencs is a really shady property manager. Typical Bait-and-Switch. You will pay the $250 application fee and she will say "you are approved with conditions and have two options. Either pay the standard $1,000 deposit PLUS one months rent ($1,600) as an extra deposit PLUS your first months rent totaling $4,200 to move in, or you can just pay $50 extra non-refundable monthly." Back story, I have great credit and make 5 times the monthly rental amount monthly. When I went to a real Luxury Apartment Complex (Silver Collections at Celebrate), they told me that I was approved with conditions because I still have an active lease on Fort Belvoir and that because I didn't move out yet it shows that I owe money because my lease didn't end yet. If you are not familiar with the Military, they automatically take the money out of your check so I wasn't behind on rent, my lease just didn't end yet. Amanda basically penalized me for not being homeless (I wasn't going to move my stuff into a storage unit THEN look for housing, I wanted to make a smooth transition). The actual Luxury Apartment Complex (Silver Collections at Celebrate) went above and beyond and did a rental verification with fort belvoir housing so they could waive the conditions and their deposit is only $100. The crazy part about it is, I have way more than the $4,200 to pay up front and Amanda was shocked that I would rather pay the $4,200 refundable deposit up front instead of the non refundable $50 extra a month. However, I stand on principles, and if she does things like this on the front end, then at move out I know she would try to re-coup some of that deposit money back. So no thanks. Everything happens for a reason and I'm glad Amanda was money hungry so that I found Silver Collections at Celebrate because my apartment at this Luxury Resort is AMAZING! STAY AWAY FROM MAGNOLIA...