Lakeline East — Local services in Austin

I moved here in 2019, and this complex has steadily deteriorated in quality since Willow Bridge took over. I hope my experience will make prospective tenants out there think twice before deciding to sign a lease at Lakeline East.

When I first moved here everything was great about this complex: the maintenance staff, the office staff, and how quickly they were to resolve issues. As of late, maintenance of the complex has gone down in quality. The units are aging fast, and things are starting to break down. The front office staff have been rude, condescending, and just overall unpleasant to work with.

First some of the pros:

The apartment is in a great area. There is an HEB within walking distance, plenty of great restaurants, an Alamo Drafthouse, easy access to a major highway, and even a shopping mall. There are trees everywhere, and it makes for a great place to go for a run or walk.

Now for the bad:

It took them several weeks for them to replace the A/C unit that went bad in our apartment. We were without water this whole time. After days of complaining about how long it was taking, they finally loaned us an empty unit on the floor below so that we could take showers and wash clothes. This happened in the middle of the summer and the beat-up portable AC units they provided us with did not work. They were held together with duct tape.

The complex is not gated, and cars are being broken into. Even my roommate's car was. Thieves are stealing catalytic converters and breaking into the detached garages. I am constantly worried someone will break in and steal bikes and other things we keep in our garage besides my car. Recently, even the complex's golf carts and tools were stolen from one of their garages.

I have been charged for not having renter's insurance ever since they switched to a third-party insurance verification provider called Assurant last summer. When they first announced the change, they even sent multiple emails to correct errors they made in their communications. The verification process has been a complete mess since then. I submitted my documentation to Assurant, and despite them telling me I was "good to go," I am still getting charged. A friend that lives in the complex was also getting charged until he went to complain at the front office. This feels like a scam to stack fees that most residents will not notice unless they check the specific line items being charged every month.

The appliances are outdated and old. It took them weeks to replace our dishwasher. The unit they replaced it with must be the cheapest you can get in the GE lineup. It has missing features that our old one had, and it was not even installed properly. They broke off pieces of the cabinetry where it sits, the brackets were haphazardly installed, and it left everything exposed. It was a rush job, and it looks terrible. They are trying to cut costs by replacing appliances with the cheapest ones they can get, and they are not great.

The amenities in the complex are in a sorry state. A leak sprung once that took out the club house for a long time while they replaced the flooring and other water damage. The pool is very often filthy. The equipment in the gym is very old. It took them several months to fix one of the weight machines that broke.

Rent prices in Austin have been decreasing these past couple of years. Despite this, our rent has been steadily increasing to the point where our exact same unit is available at the complex right next door for 500 dollars cheaper (at the time of me writing this review). Rent is also cheaper for new lessees than current residents. We tried negotiating with them when it came time to renew our lease, and they would not budge. They would rather lose a multiyear tenant that always paid rent on time over reducing or not increasing rent.

We do not intend to renew this time around, and I am dreading moving out because of the horror stories in these reviews regarding fees and other issues. Please look at the other properties in the area. There are much...

I MISS Lakeline East! I thoroughly enjoyed all the years I lived here and wish when moved out of Austin I could have brought the whole apartment complex with me in the process. :D

First time I lived here was in 2014. I left Austin and came back straight to Lakeline at the end of 2015. I really dislike driving so coming back, during the first 2 yrs - specially coming from NYC, I was stubbornly trying to make it happen without a car. And I did! I work from home so there wasn't an issue regarding commute to work AND the location of Lakeline East helped me last for 2 whole yrs in Austin w/o a car. Yes, by the third year I gave in and got a car because as time went by downtown wasn't getting any closer, but for those two years that I only could do things by foot, it all worked perfectly. Literally within minutes of walking distance there's HEB, lots of restaurants - SnowPea {you need to go check that restaurant! Skip Cedro thou ;) } - Michaels, Starbucks, a Pet Shop and even Alamo, all right there, handy. From the back entrance, again, within minutes I'd be at Lakeline Mall - Macys, Dillards, all that good stuff. So for day-to-day living I was perfectly fine on those 2 years without a car because of the apartment's location.

The facilities itself, SO good! The resort style pool, all the hang out spots around the pool, the hot tub {I miss it so much!}, the gym, game room and club house {that I used to go work sometimes}, everything around is very comfortable and well designed. The landscape was excellent, it never felt like a cramped place, lots of trees and bushes everywhere, you can't tell its a "regular" rental condominium. More like a vacation one.

Regarding noise I never heard much from apartments around but I think I was lucky that my neighbor upstairs was a quiet one. In the very beginning I used to hear lots of movements and footsteps from above but within a few months it stopped which I'm guessing that person moved out. Other than that very few times I'd hear music coming from the pool but my apartment was really far from it so just when the party was really crazy over there that I'd hear something. Other than that it was mostly blissfully {and thankfully!} quiet.

The staff also all very friendly. In the combined almost 4 yrs I lived here I saw many staff members in and out and all of them were extremely helpful and friendly. In 2016 I wanted to move to a different apartment within the complex and the girl in charge at that time {can't recall her name} was extra patient with me as I took my time to decide which one to go with. I wanted an apartment with natural light and she actually let me go inside each apartment available throughout different times of the day, in different days until I decided on one.

Kelly was the last manager I worked with and she was great throughout my move. I was going back-and-forth on the final move out date and even after having it set I needed an extension since my new place ended up not having the apartment ready. Moving is a hassle and sorting out details can be a huge pain yet Kelly was super-flexible and helpful throughout the whole process and I couldn't be more grateful.

I MISS Lakeline East and I wish that every time I've moved out of Austin I could've just bring...

If I could give this place no stars I would! This is the absolute worst apartment complex I have ever lived in! First let's talk about the apartment itself. It's OK... It's modern looking, and at first very nice... Until you realize how cheap everything is.... Everything literally falls apart. So beware you might not get your deposit back for the simple flaws that this apartment is completely nothing but. Not only that but if you like to sleep, or better yet you are a light sleeper. FORGET ABOUT IT! You will have the worst time sleeping... You can hear everything!!!! Your best bet is top floor! Otherwise you will hear nothing, but stomping, and banging.... People talking, vacuuming, music or walking.... You get to hear it all!! It's like the walls are made of paper. My honey goes to work early comes home late, and gets little to no sleep. Location... It's nice, and convenient.. Our lookout from the balcony is nasty... We have seen poop, condom wrappers, and cigarette buds.. Did I mention this is right across from the main office!? And the road going across to HEB+ is dangerous... I swear there has already been two wrecks within a month, and a half. Also if you are one of those misfortunate people who got suckered into living here. Like me, and my husband) ..... I'll have you know that you get one guest pass to put on their car, if they don't have it on their car mirror then the car is towed for 200$. They go car less until they get a ride.... Yep I'm sure your friends, or family will never come to visit you again. They are better off parking at the HEB+ and walking over. The staff, and management is the absolute worst nightmare ever....they don't listen, and they don't care to... All your needs will be put aside. You can call in to get a bill payed alllll day long, and then before they close they finally answer. And they will tell you OK well you are late, and we were so busy if you come in right now, and pay money order you won't loose your apartment.... Me) Well we were going to pay online are you saying that you haven't set our account up? Then they say nope we couldn't we were to busy. Me) Then it would be your fault that we couldn't pay our bill cause you didn't set up our account, and then claimed to be to busy to answer one of many calls, and voice-mails right?! Them... Nope but if you bring in the money order now you won't be late I'm about to leave, and close out....So we rushed, and got the money order, and came back...the door was locked, and she says "I'm doing you guys a big favor staying late." ( To be completely honest she lived less the 20ft from the office she worked at.... Not only that but we got there 3min after they closed ) .... It goes to show how unwilling those people are to do their job. It's just a bunch of young people who could care less about you. Once you moved in you...