Mesh Apartments — Local services in Austin

You might be tempted with the cheap[er than average] rent and the location, but this is the worst apartment complex I've ever lived in. They will bait and switch you, lying about the availability of the apartment to show you an online video of "a comparable unit," then stick you in an old, gross unit. This has happened to multiple neighbors, so it's not just me. EDIT: Some of the former issues I listed before have been addressed, so I have removed them from the review.

CONS: Homeless people that don't live here have access to your apartment. I've lived here 2 months, and I've had multiple people passed out and overdosing in the hallway of my apartment. I've had to call an ambulance twice from people ODing outside of my door. Mgt refuses to set up any additional prevention, just tells you to "call the police". People have tried to break into my apartment while I was inside 3xs, maybe more, but I wouldn't know. Cockroaches, everywhere. I keep my kitchen clean, but the bathroom is so dark, damp, and dingy that there's always roaches scurrying around. You'll be charged a $5 pest control fee, but they don't come to spray. $16/month trash fee to carry your own trash across the complex into a dumpster - assuming you're a considerate person and not one of the people that randomly hurls their trash bags and rotten food over their balcony. I've paid valet trash fees before, that's understandable, but never paid for the "pleasure" of discarding my own waste. EVERYTHING was broken when I moved in. A list: the handle broken off my fridge, the racks [still] missing from my oven, [still] no blinds on my windows, the tub faucet leaks and had no stopper, the toilet continuously flushes like it's possessed by a ghost, there was poop smeared on the floor of my closet and kitchen upon moving in, dead cockroaches PAINTED OVER on the walls [multiple times], holes in the bathroom door, moldy a/c unit, and an electrical outlet was catching on fire - which they didn't even replace. The complex smells like must and mold. It's in poor condition, ripped up floors/mystery stains on the walls/stained carpet everywhere, bc they never upgrade anything. Walking down the hallway feels like you're in a horror movie and about to be murdered. Half of the laundry units don't work or work very poorly. Maintenance, while nice and prompt, doesn’t fix anything correctly. I’ve had my shower leaking for almost a year now, they’ve replaced it, but now it’s worse. My toilet has been “fixed” 6+ times, even replaced, but they can’t figure out the issue. Towing fees for guests. I’ve had a guest towed twice here, resulting in $500+ fees. 1st tow was fair, but the 2nd, we registered the car but was still towed. Management and the towing company refused to work with us. A homeless woman graffitied insane ramblings all over the hall doors/floor, it’s been 6 months and no repair. She’s tried to break into my apt, smokes cigarettes inside, and tried to light the complex on fire more than once.

PROS: Kim and Jose at the front desk are a treasure!! They're always very kind, considerate, and take pride in their jobs. I love interacting with them, but whatever they're getting paid, it's not enough. They are SO helpful with any questions I have and promptly address any concerns I bring to them. Maintenance is very friendly and promptly responds to any work orders, usually same day. Mesh will sometimes have social events with free food at/catered by local restaurants. Sometimes, they do raffles and you can win a gift card for social media interaction. Cool? I suppose? Good location, convenience-wise. Close to downtown/Town Lake/entertainment options. The neighbours are fantastic. I’ve become good friends with a lot of them. It’s a very friendly, welcoming community of very nice people. The neighbours make this place, which is a strange thing to say, but much appreciated.

All in all, there are plenty of problems here, like any cheap complex. It’s old and falling apart, but managements seems to be making strides in repairs and...

[UPDATED REVIEW AT BOTTOM]

WTF IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT?

I've lived here since May and I'm looking at renewal options right now.

When I looked at the place and got here, there were some issues. Definitely got off to a rocky start.

They had my paperwork all screwed up.

They had the wrong locks/keys on my door.

They had the wrong move in date for me.

There were things wrong with the apartment...

But you know what? These people did EVERYTHING they could to fix it and fix it quickly.

Since then they've been on point with everything.

Their staff at the office is awesome. I absolutely love my apartment. The location is stellar. And I think what I pay is an excellent value for how much space I have (2/2, fireplace, vaulted ceilings).

And best of all? No breed restrictions for dogs. Do you know how rare that is??!

There's a nice little dog park in the neighborhood. It's nothing fancy, but it's there and all the dog owners here use it. You actually meet people here and the dogs get to play.

No one complains about a pit bull, which is great since I just adopted one. And speaking of adoption, this place gives you a huge discount on pet deposit if you're rescuing.

What else?

Well, they know me by name and always say hi when they see me. Maintenance is always on point when you need something, even if they're just passing by.

They do regular happy hours with the nearby bars, and fitness classes at the little pool ...

It's just a really solid place.

Is it perfect? Not at all.

I wish there was a bigger, better pool. And a fitness center. There's nothing for that.

And sometimes there are some less than savory type folks around, But keep in mind that this was NOT a nice area a few years ago. Mesh is doing its part to improve the area with renovations and adding a security patrol.

The new management who has come in since I moved in has absolutely won me over after a really bad start (looking at you, Shannon).

They worked with me to get me in, pay attention to me, and actually give a shit.

No place is perfect, and there are always issues that pop up. The reason I recommend this place so highly is because that if you actually take these issues to them, they WILL address it - and quickly.

Also, for whoever was bitching about the application/processing fees...

Yes, there's a $75 app fee (pretty standard) and then a $400 admin fee once you're accepted.

But there's no security deposit. No first/last. No BS.

Highly recommend, and definitely suggest at least exploring Mesh as an option.

Cheers,

Itay

UPDATED REVIEW

Took it from 4 stars to 5 stars.

Why?

Because I renewed my lease and went from a 2/2 to a 3/2, with washer, dryer, backyard, and tons of space for my dogs (no breed restrictions!!) to be healthy and happy.

But I didn't just switch apartments... the office called to let me know the specific model i wanted was opening up.

They worked with me to make sure I got the unit I wanted and worked around my dates and my existing lease to make it work.

What can I say, I love it here.

The maintenance team is on top of everything, the location can't be beat, and the price is phenomenal.

Is it perfect?

No.

But this was an old building, and they renovated it beautifully.

The AC definitely leaves a lot to be desired, but honestly if that's the worst thing I can say about a place ... I think that's a pretty solid recommendation.

Anyways, the place is solid. I dig...

Want to pay nearly $1400/studio apt (plus monthly trash & trash admin fee, stormwater drainage fee, water fee, sewer allocation fee, pest control fee, gas & gas admin fee, plus a fee to pay rent -- no, you can't walk your check to the onsite office) AND have all the contemporary features of a modern apt complex, from a beautiful pool to dog-wash stations, gorgeous & well-maintained courtyards & grounds & more? You can have all the good things in life, just not at Mesh (owned by Roscoe). Onsite laundry room: You'll share your laundry room with another building because theirs burned down about before the summer. According to a resident who lives in that building -- who I spoke to in October -- not a lick of work has begun to repair their laundry room. For 4 months, a washer was out of service. So several dozen residents were sharing 3 washing machines. There's an amazing dog-wash station in the laundry room. But in June, they removed the faucet. I submitted maintenance tickets, but they never fixed it. Several months after my 1st ticket, someone emailed me and apologized for the delay (in getting back to me or fixing the faucet??) She said they were waiting for a part. Here's the thing, I've been to Lowe's a few times, & they have an entire aisle of faucets and washers and pipes and all kinds of plumbing supplies. They have new sinks too. Roscoe could have fixed the station in 24 hours. They simply don't care.

The laundry room does not have a working AC. There's no fan or ventilation either. I submitted a work ticket in June asking Mesh to repair the AC & they marked the job complete. Since then, I've submitted additional tickets. The owners and management at Mesh literally do not care about the people who live here. They just want your money. This summer an outdoor staircase separated from the building. At an old building, structural issues are inevitable (though regular maintenance can prevent them). For about 2 months, they tied a piece of yellow caution tape across the bottom and top of the stairs. It looked like a crime scene. It "appears" as if the issue is fixed now. There are some brand-new 2x4s holding the staircase to the building. The wood isn't painted. This is how Roscoe does everything: halfway. Actually, that's not true. Mostly, Roscoe doesn't do anything. They don't care about the people who live here, they simply want your money. Residents here dump garbage on the property.Throw rugs, old TVs, white boards, indoor garbage cans. They're just abandoned on the property. Mesh employees walk past the garbage for 3 or 4 days and pretend there's nothing to see (fyi: we pay a monthly $13 trash fee and $3 trash admin fee.) I recently found a resident's package stashed behind my building. I called the office to contact the resident. No one called me back. I called again after an hour. Someone picked up the phone and hung up on me. Nice people.

About 5 months ago, someone broke into our mailboxes. Roscoe fixed it, pretty speedily for them. But they were broken into again, almost immediately. Roscoe said, "Ef-it. We fixed it once. We're not doing it again!" So, just know, if you rent a unit with a broken mailbox, you'll have to retrieve your mail from the post...