Brexx at Blacksburg — Local services in Blacksburg

I'm sure that this place is lovely from the resident point of view (other then being a disgusting mess on move in) - as long as they're not the ones paying.

As a parent who is paying for this, my experience this first month has been terrible. I could not be more disappointed.

Despite that they had the summer to clean the place, when my son and his roommates moved in the placed was disgusting (see pic of carpet on move in) even having items of clothing left over from prior tenants. Without question had my child left the place like that I'd be forced to pay an absurdly inflated fee.

Then, I go to set up ACH payment as there is a "convenience" fee for CCs. No problem, I thought. That's what I did for the last place. However, they make the ACH payment most inconvenient. Instead of simply being able to enter one's checking info into the payment portal, one has to link their bank account online to the company that processes their ACH payments. If, for security reasons one does not have their bank account online this is not an option. Thus, they make ACH especially inconvenient and then charge a convenience fee for CCs. When I asked about waiving the fee on the first payment as I could not set up ACH as noted above I was told that only the local manager could waive the fee. That manager said only the company office could. There was no resolution to this with each saying that only the other could.

The on-site office does not accept checks. Thus, if one wants to mail a check and the USPS takes longer than expected to deliver there is, naturally, a late fee.

After all of this frustration, the icing on the cake was tonight when I went to look at the payment portal to see how much to send & I see $5 for a lease violation. I asked my son about this. He said "They have a system where you leave trash bags outside and they come and pick them up everyday, our bag had a rip in it so they fined us" - amazing how quick they appear to be to nickel and dime over anything (despite how expensive they are in the first place) yet, they leave the place trashed for our son when he moved in and I don't see any credit for that. The fees clearly only go one way. One might think that, especially for new residents, they'd let them know about the trash the first time instead of the fee, but clearly they're out to squeezed out ever last dime that they can.

Thus far, one month in, I am very sorry that I signed a lease here. They clearly have zero regard for the customers figuring, I assume, that student housing is limited and they can take the customers for granted. I can already see that they look for any excuse to add on fees like this $5 at every opportunity.

I suggest that parents/payors be very cautions and understand that underlying the luxury appeal that they'll get when they visit to consider renting, this place is difficult to deal with having management who will nickel and dime you at every opportunity. They will hit you with every conceivable, contrived, inflated fee that they can while holding themselves totally unaccountable w/not so much as an apology for the disgusting condition of the place on move-in much less a fee credit by way of one example. How disappointing!

Reply to owner's comments to my post:

As you can imagine, I tried very much to resolve these issues prior posting my experience to warn others. I found the management and staff to be unhelpful.

Any company can make mistakes, etc. That is not really the issue so much as the incredible lack of resolution given the issues and the high cost and luxury façade of this property. Being fined $5 (for each resident of course) for the trash w/no warning to new residents only a few weeks after our kids arrived to a disgusting and dirty apartment w/no compensation nor even apology by the staff speaks volumes about your company. This is not to mention the difficulties with payments and "convenience" fees detailed above.

I would be glad to speak with someone in management who has the authority and desire to make...

Rather than just complaining about the internet, here's an actual review of everything good and bad from my first semester here.

What am I paying? $695/mo

Pros: Amazing Amenities (Pool, Hot Tubs, Luxury Clubhouse) Beautiful Houses & Scenery Still Cheaper Than The Edge Great Gym Awesome Study Areas Townhome-Style Housing Decent Kitchens Relatively Close to Campus Network/TV Service + Water Included in Price Awesome Maintenance Staff Great Front Desk Staff

Cons: CHEAP Construction. Clearly a quantity over quality situation. Some doors won't even close because the foundation has shifted so much in two years. Not to mention the ceiling in my second-floor room is caving from an improper weight distribution. Half the trim isn't painted and the siding rattles in the wind. Wifi is Unreliable. They are constantly "working to get it fixed". It is usually fine, but the one time you need to take a test from home it'll be down. Absolutely NO Parking After 10:00PM on Weekends. I'll come home some nights and have no choice to park in the "premium" covered lots. NO INSULATION. All of the outlets, windows, and doors have a hefty flow of cold air in winter months. You might as well just turn off your heater and start burning dollar bills (it'll be cheaper). Our dishwasher doesn't clean. At all. So go ahead and buy bulk paper plates. Trash is EVERYWHERE. If they'd invest in some garbage and recycling bins, people may feel motivated to throw their beer cans and wrappers somewhere other than the ground. TERRIBLE roads to drive on. There is ZERO visibility around corners and stop signs, so you need to creep forward to avoid getting t-boned from every angle. Either add some 4 way stops, or put some mirrors in.

Closing Statement: If you have the cash, there aren't very many better options in the area. That's not saying its 'the best'--but it's all we have to work with. It's clear they are all talk about actually fixing the network...it simply can't handle the amount of residents. Come in with low standards and you'll possibly be impressed. It's...

Don't judge a book by its cover, and this goes for the Retreat. It looks great on the outside and at the clubhouse, but don't fooled. The clubhouse is nice (probably why rent is sky high), but there is very poor placement of study rooms right next to the pool tables where patrons love to come and play. Don't bring your parents to the clubhouse Saturday or Sunday mornings unless they love seeing solo cups and bud light beer cans across the lawns or floating all over the pool, along with glass handles laying around. Don't walk outside barefoot, you might step on broken glass (literally everywhere) or discarded trash/food/God knows what that litters the streets and sidewalks. Good luck sleeping on the weekends, college parties thrive here. Don't take important quizzes online at home, your internet will drop at the worst moments. Yes, the internet sucks, don't listen to these people saying it's not bad. It's bad. Apartments were built in a rush. Many of our appliances were wired incorrectly, and they even forgot to put any insulation on the doors (hence our many friendly stink bugs that decided to visit the house and lovely electricity bill to go with them). Talk about paper thin walls... Staff is extremely friendly! That's a plus. Most are young students though who do not know many answers to questions. Hopefully they will figure that out with time. And 10. My roommate's tires got slashed the first few days here so be weary, there are no security cameras anywhere except by the clubhouse.

If you are a party hard college student looking for a place that cultivates drinking and bad judgement, this is the place for you! If you actually need to be in a productive environment, I suggest you...