The Abbey at Barker Cypress — Local services in Houston

Overall I liked my time at the Abbey at Barker Cypress, but there are definitely pros and cons:

Pros : Good location just off of I10 near Katy. It's also a short (7 minute) drive to the Addicks Park & Ride if you're looking to commute downtown on the comfy Metro express buses.

There are also plenty of restaurants and just about every kind of grocery- and box-store you could need within a 5-10 minute drive.

The location also feels quiet and isolated even though it's just about a quarter mile off of the interstate.

If you're the type who wants to ride your bike or go jogging, first of all hats off to ya. I don't know how anyone can spend more than 15 minutes outside in Houston without turning into a puddle. That said, there are large parks with bike paths just north and about a quarter mile south of the property. There's also a relatively quiet neighborhood to the north to walk/jog through.

The management was exceptionally friendly and nice and great to work with

The property staff also does an impressive job at trying to foster a sense of community, with a web site for meeting your neighbors and snack/dinner events (taco night, movie night, etc.)

Cons:

The elephant in the room: The property is on the outskirts of the Addicks reservoir and on the wrong side of the dam wall. I was living there during the Tax Day floods of 2016 when the six western-most buildings on the property (including the clubhouse) were flooded, displacing virtually everyone on the first floor of those buildings for months as well as sending about half of the cars in the complex (including mine) to a watery grave. The complex was hit worse during Harvey a year later and apparently they had some flooding in 2015 too. That's 3 damaging floods in 3 years. It's entirely possible that it's just a statistical anomaly and the complex will be flood-free for the next hundred years, but if you're thinking of moving there you'd be wise to consider a 2nd or 3rd story apartment or at least be aware of the potential risk on the first floor.

While the staff was great to work with once I moved in, it was pretty difficult getting in touch with them when I was looking for a place to live. I was doing my apartment shopping from several hundred miles away, trying to arrange visits at various apartment complexes on the 1 day I would be in town to find housing. My emails and phone messages inquiring about availability went unanswered. I had to show up in person to get someone to talk to me.

There's only one garbage dumpster and it seemed to overflow a lot. It wasn't a big deal for me because my apartment was a minute walk away from it. But if you lived on the far west or far east side of the complex it was a hike to get your garbage there and often times once you did you'd find it overflowing. It would have been preferable if they had more locations and/or emptied out the one they had more frequently

A little of both:

The apartments that sit directly above the garages are a great deal in terms of space-per-dollar. HOWEVER at least in my building there wasn't much in the way of sound insulation between my floor and the garages below. Every time one of the five garage doors opened or closed below my apartment it sounded like a coffee bean grinder going off somewhere. It was a little annoying that the person who had the garage directly below the master bedroom always seemed to be coming home at around 2AM, but it was something I got used to eventually. I found it was worth the trade off of having a bigger apartment for a smaller price, but if you're especially sensitive to sound you may...

I submitted an application a few days ago. My application was not approved. Therefore, I called the agent that was assisting me with my application. Her name is Jeannette B. I asked Jeannette about my application and she stated that it was denied. She then went and stated that my social came back as 'fraud'. Quite interesting to me. Furthermore, Jeannette B. stated that their system was showing my social as fraud and that the social administration was stating that the social I put in my application had never been issued. The interesting thing is that Jeannette asked me if my social had been issued after 2011. I stated that I have been here for the past 24 years. The three reasons for the denial of my application that are stated in the email letter that I received are; Credit history unsatisfactory, Fraud Alert, No SSN/No Credit. Still in the same conversation, I stated to Jeannette that I have a social security number and we verified it to make sure I had typed it correctly, which I did. An unfortunate thing is that someone broke into my vehicle a few weeks back and I am in the process of obtaining all my personal documents back. I asked Jeannette if I could provide a picture of my social. She declined. She stated that it will have to be a hard copy. I then offered to show proof of the police report concerning my vehicle being broken into. She said that was not going to help. To all this, I was a bit confused as to why the main reason for the decline was due to my social security showing 'fraud' in their system. I have a corporate job. I have credit cards and just a few weeks back I was in a dealership for the purchase of a new vehicle. Well after hearing nothing but being declined. I told Jeannette that I will have to wait. The call was hung. A few minutes later I called back and spoke with Jeannette and I asked her, "What if I was to get a cosigner," Jeannette B. then stated, "it does not matter, we do not deal with people like you."

I did not appreciate that comment. I believe that was not appropriate to say in a conversation where business is being conducted. Jeannette obviously did not care a single bit about my application being declined as she had other candidates in the pipeline. Nonetheless, Jeannette B. did not use professional service and I do not appreciate it. Only, because your system flagged my social security number for some odd reason, does not mean I do not have a social and why are representatives asking if my social was issued after 2011?

In conclusion, I am disappointed and extremely upset about the choice of words...

The apartment is great and all that.

My only issue is the neighbor above me. The parents have 2 dogs and two sons & live on the second floor.

The noise that comes from there is beyond normal. They keep throwing something (like a ball) on the floor that 85% of the times shakes the ceiling fan and lights of my sitting room. I personally feel like this is pure wickedness. I have tried talking to them early 2019 but it wasn't successful.

I also remember calling the leasing office in 2019 to report the noise but nothing happened. When I called the leasing office, a lady that was covering up for the day answered but nothing was done. I doubt that I have a complaint on paper.

But I remember when I had a birthday game night in 2019, they called the cops on me. And the office was so quick to issue a warning notice.

I have never been late to pay no bills but I cannot sleep in peace in my bedroom or study in peace in the place I call home and pay for. I find myself turning my music loud in order to avoid the noise coming form upstairs (they also reported me for my loud music but when the management warned me about the loud music, they never asked why.)

Please if you have kids and pets, consider others and live on the first floor; the world doesn't revolve around you!

This apartment is lovely and cozy but I don't see myself resigning my lease after this one expires. And the ugly fact is that I just resigned my lease this past Summer.

I'm in my final year as a Chemical Engineering student. That is the only stress I need but I can't concentrate since classes are now from home. But my home is no longer a home with the inconsiderable neighbors upstairs.

Seriously waiting for...