The Flats Apartments — Local services in West Des Moines

I've rented a number of units in the past, and my experience here has been by far the worst.

During the application & tour process we were asked if we have a preference for an upper or lower apartment. I explained that I'd prefer a lower apartment in the interest of reducing the strain of moving. I was told that the apartments have "concrete subfloors, so noise isn't an issue". That couldn't be further from the truth. The tenants that moved in above us are not of considerable weight, but it sounds as though they are forcefully recreating scenes from The Ministry of Silly Walks sketch. I've informed the tenants in the upper unit, and they've attempted to mitigate the noise, but a loud fan is still required to get a full nights sleep. To be clear, I can appreciate that noise is an issue in community living, but misinforming tenants of noise reduction measures only serves to exacerbate this issue & ensure that management further lines their own pockets.

Within the first 6 months my wife and I were subject to 6 "quarterly" inspections. Either the management staff does not understand the meaning of quarterly, or they can't be bothered to apprise their tenants accurately of the nature of inspections performed.

During the winter months ice & snow accumulated rapidly with seemingly no attempts by management to ensure safe & clear walking paths were maintained. At one point there was an individual walking the grounds taking photographs of the poor state of the lot & walkways, which is presumably the only reason nominal measures were taken. The management had the audacity to send out an email explaining that it was the tenants responsibility to clear walkways & to use caution when walking. Snow removal is not tenants responsibility anymore than grounds maintenance any other time of the year.

The landscaping & grounds are in constant disarray. There are exposed wires, tubes, broken & damaged electrical boxes, trash piled about dumpsters, accumulated mud & debris, and forgotten safety signage present nearly everywhere. There are pet waste disposal stations which are often without waste bags, surprisingly, considering the amount of feces that indifferent pet owners have chosen to leave wherever it lands. If you do not feel like cleaning your shoes, stay to the paved walkways. Even then, be sure to watch your step.

The valet trash service is laughable, or it would be, were it not for the $30 per month fee & the fact that tenants may not opt out of the service. During inclement weather, holidays, and every Friday & Saturday there is no trash pick up. This would be understandable were it not for the fact that no prorated reduction is offered in instances of cancellations. While the management has sent out emails regarding community guidelines for leaving trash unattended, these are flagrantly violated with seemingly no repercussions. This results in a further unsavory community appearance and sometimes offensive odors. Additionally, the smell of trash, among other prohibited odors, often enter the apartments due to poorly sealed doors.

Most recently, I've placed a maintenance request for service to our central air unit, which turned out to be a frozen condenser coil due to an air filter which appeared to not have been changed for years. Scheduled maintenance was set for early January of this year, so I complied with management's request that I contain my pets. I waited until 2 PM to release my pets, expecting to corral them into the bathroom once maintenance arrived. No service person materialized, so I assumed our filter had been changed prior to move in, and the email notice was sent to each tenant regardless of whether a filter change was necessary. I was horrified by the volume of dust and black material present on the filter & floor of the closet where the unit is kept. My wife was bothered by the appearance of the closet, which is inaccessible to us, and stated as much in her review of the service performed. I awoke to a maintenance man in my apartment, without sufficient notice, in violation...

I would not recommend leasing here to anyone I know. Yes, they are newly updated and close enough to some amenities, but it is not at all worth the amount they charge.

The only good thing has been maintenance. They do come promptly (within the hour) when there is a major issue.

When I moved in, the place was dirty. I had to scrub the floors and vacuum before I could even move stuff in. I have a patio, and the patches on the doors are not installed correctly and difficult to lock.

The snow removal contractor they use is horrible. So many people have gotten stuck in parking spots and in the driveway. They don’t clear parking spaces, even when they are left open for them to clean. They didn’t clean the sidewalks around my apartment building for weeks. The steep entrance off of university is treturous if there is any snow.

The office management is a joke. They don’t answer the phones regularly, they basically make you go in to talk to them. I have walked into the office, the phones were ringing, and they were just on their phones.

The laundry rooms are not maintained or cleaned regularly, and there are no mats, so if it’s wet or muddy outside, it’s wet or muddy inside. People aren’t respectful and leave their stuff in there for days sometimes. You also have to buy a laundry card just to put money on it to do laundry, which I am not a fan of.

In the summer, there are bugs in your apartment. I had everything from ants to stink bugs to a few hornets this past summer. They had a pest guy come once every few months I think, but I still had to buy my own indoor pest spray to deal with it.

Also, the garages are not secure and manual, so not worth the amount they charge. They use cheap locks, so the keys to all of the garages are very similar which is not very secure.

If you have gotten this far in my post, I would just reiterate that there are better maintained and managed places that you can live it near by. Look at those before you sign...

!!!!DO NOT LIVE HERE!!!! Upon moving in we were promised a dishwasher with our unit. They showed us the really pretty model unit and not the unit we were planning on living in. When we moved in the floor was peeling up and the carpet was stained. The apartment itself had 1 closet of storage and nothing else. Definitely more of hotel than a home. We immediately went to the office to express our concerns and they were quickly shut down because there was no other choices to live in. So we stayed in our VERY OVERPRICED tiny apartment and delt with the size and lack of amenities (dishwasher, dryer) for as long as we could. When we tried (and failed) to get our security system set up we eventually found out it was still in the previous renters name (still charged the fees to have it the whole time) time and time again we needed maintenances help with a leaky drain and shower. It took them 4 visits to get it fixed after my belongings got wet and moldy. When the electric locks, gas and leak sensors were installed we had issues with them. At one point we got maintenance to take a look and he just took the battery to a sensor and never came back claiming he was “gonna change the battery” but never returned. Not the mention the FEES FEES FEES for anything and everything. When ICS internet came into town and installed equipment on our wall. It was never officially set up and functional yet we got charged monthly for it (along with the provider we actually had) now we’re moved out and paying 100 dollars more for an apartment twice the size with a washer and dryer AND. A dishwasher. But they still wanna keep in contact and try to charge me for minimal apartment fixes. Calling holes for screw and thumb tacs “above normal wear and tear” charging 125 dollars for a brand new complete paint job. Again NEVER LIVE HERE if you...