Maple Ridge Townhomes — Local services in Blacksburg

DO NOT LIVE HERE. LYING MANAGEMENT.

Maple Ridge is a corporate owned community under "Coastal Ridge" based in OH. The management here, as nice as they are, are only looking to maximize margins and appease their corporate office. They have very little ability to do anything their corporate offices don't tell them to, its like an office of robots. I had a number of shady experiences at this location including downright being lied to and a lack of lease enforcement (unless it was to their benefit).

Firstly, I was overcharged throughout my entire stay here due to mismanagement of my complaints regarding my unit's thermostat. From the months of January to around April, my utility cost was nearly double EXACT SAME unit layouts (end unit, three bedroom, same street, etc). Many months had average utility bills as high as $140 PER PERSON (3 person unit) even as the weather warmed up. During this period, the thermostat was set to reasonable temps between 70-72 degrees and set to AUTO after the excessive bill in January. The house remained to get between 68 up to 78 degrees regardless of the setting. However, management continued to blame the issue on unit differences, weather, and blamed us for excessive use of AC. As the bills continued to stay high months later, our house even installed a thermostat lock on our thermostat unit to ensure temperatures would stay reasonable. The management then blamed this installation with "damaging" the thermostat citing that "Removing the lockbox with a hammer from the thermostat resulted in damage to the thermostat needing to be replaced". HOWEVER, our house literally has the lockbox intact and had removed the lockbox before the unit had ever been replaced. Once I caught them in this lie, they then told me that "regardless" it was still our fault somehow. I called the utility providers themselves and they informed me that our unit's usage for the year was excessively high and indicated a problem. They even gave me the reports which verified the usage was exceedingly higher than average. I showed all of this to the office and they still insisted it didn't matter. What is interesting here is: Once the thermostat was FINALLY replaced, our bills for June and July dropped down to normal levels. In fact, I received a refund from the utility service for over $100 due to miscalculated billing for ONLY the month of July. I tried many times to be compensated for previous months of overpaid utilities, but the management team would rather lie and deflect than do what is right.

Secondly, everyone I knew in the neighborhood was assessed around $200 each in charges upon move-out. It didn't seem to have any rhyme or reason as to why. They were sure to give us VERY particular instructions on how to dispute such charges, my favorite term of which stated management will NOT be accepting phone calls related to move-out charges, you must email with documentation, and are given only ONE chance for resolution. It was an absolutely ridiculous set of guidelines obviously aimed at filibustering you out of any attempt to get your deposit back.

Lastly, this neighborhood recently had a major fire incident in another unit as the lease was ending last year. I would be sure to bring a fire extinguisher if you plan on living here, and I hope you like your house around 68 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees...

One of the apartments burnt down, but I am not leaving a review about that. It’s just a bit of information that I would want to know for the next person that leases here.

My other concern is with the following: • Partial inaction toward a roomate that broke lease agreements several times. (Bringing over guests more than the maximum amount per month, holding pets not authorized in the lease, being loud repeatedly during the night such as wall hammering, and more). I truly don’t expect a leasing office to handle every conflict, but when parts of the lease are violated, I expect more help toward its constituents. Especially when paying 800+ a month on time and considering that the office has several years of reputable experience. • High utilities bill in comparison to other apartments in the area that are similar size. • Uptick in rent (not exclusive to Maple Ridge however) • Being requested to pay $75 for a new car permit after replacing an old car. Not asking for two car spots at all but to replace a preexisting car spot. I don’t recall other cheaper places in Blacksburg doing this.

Yes, when everything goes well (no conflict, no fires, etc), the houses are spacious and maintenance is quick. The bus route comes right through, and the parking lot is maintained well. But if things go wrong even with matters involving the lease, you feel like you are on your own. Because you are.

And yes it is common for any leasing entity to justify not having your back. They will make a million reasons on why they can’t do anything about a problem that isn’t easy to fix. I am just saying that this is one of those places, despite paying hundreds in rent. I really hope students are a bit cautious if they sign this place. If students are paying nearly 1k to live somewhere, it’s reasonable to expect a proportional level of effort in getting help. If the office isn’t getting paid proportionally for how much this place coasts in comparison to the service/other rent in Blacksburg, maybe that’s a sign that something’s up with the company anyways.

Heart goes out to the person whose house burnt down too and others who have had similar conflict problems.

For prospective students, it’s really not the worst place in Blacksburg. But I seriously just cannot recommend living here after hearing and having to deal with the off chance when...

I recently moved out of an apartment in Maple Ridge, I have lived in this apartment for 3 years and it was a fine, until move out. My experience with the management during the move-out process has been extremely disappointing. After vacating the apartment, they attempted to charge me a $50 "trash removal" fee for a roll of toilet paper that was supposedly left behind in my private bathroom. The issue? That roll of toilet paper wasn’t mine, and I have time-stamped photos proving that it wasn’t in the bathroom when I moved out.

I contacted the management team, providing clear evidence that the toilet paper (which appeared to be industrial-sized and not even something I would use) was not left by me. Despite this, my photos and my explanation were completely disregarded. Instead of addressing the issue fairly, they shifted the blame to me, and my roommates, even though I locked my bedroom and bathroom before leaving and returned all keys to the office, meaning no one—including my roommates—could have accessed my private space.

To make matters worse, they suddenly claimed there were additional items included in the trash fee, like paper towels in the kitchen and stickers on the door, which were never mentioned or photographed in the initial report. These new claims conveniently appeared only after I disputed the toilet paper charge, which raises serious concerns about the transparency and accuracy of their inspection process. Here’s where it gets even more absurd: they charged all of my roommates the same $50 trash fee for these tiny items as well. That means they are collecting $200 total for garbage that won’t even fill a single trash bag! Charging this much for a roll of toilet paper, a paper towel roll, and a sticker is completely outrageous and shows a lack of integrity in their management practices.

If you are considering moving here, be very careful. Their move-out procedures seem designed to unfairly charge tenants with bogus fees, and they appear unwilling to review legitimate disputes. I would not recommend this complex due to their unprofessional behavior and inability to handle...