Reviews
you can likely do better
Here's my rundown on Terrawood:
1) On a positive note, the property is pretty in all areas that are visible to prospective guests, the neighbors are friendly, and there's a convenient walking path nearby. The maintenance crew was always responsive and nice, too.
2) We requested a washer/dryer unit when negotiating the lease, but they weren't in our unit the day we arrived (after a 3-day trek across the country). The leasing agent said snootily that if we had asked for them, we would've had them. She signed us up then, but said they'd arrive in a week or so and in the meantime, we could use the local Laundromat (which she said was 20min+ away). We were frustrated and asked what the additional cost would be, but the "new" price matched the price she had originally quoted us, which indicated that we had originally asked for the washer/dryer. She didn't once apologize for the inconvenience and was just generally very rude and condescending about the whole situation.
3a) The batteries in the thermostat were dead when we moved in.
3b) The battery in my front gate clicker went out the first week I was there. (This happened at least on a monthly basis, too, sometimes in the middle of the night when other residents weren't going in and out which meant that I had to sit and wait for up to half an hour until I could piggyback off of someone else going in. I've lived at other places with gate clickers where I never had to get a new one. I suspect that they keep bad ones in circulation to save on costs.)
3c) The battery for the fire alarm went out after business hours less than a week after we moved in. I was home alone and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to change the battery, Google wasn't helpful, and I couldn't detach it from the ceiling, either. All of these incidences would've been minor if they were isolated, but given that it all happened within the first week, it seemed to reflect a general lack of attention to detail a problem which perpetuated itself over our time there. It was also just kind of annoying to lose sleep because of the fire alarm, and to have to repeatedly go talk with the same leasing agent who had been so impolite our first day there.
4) Our unit was situated right by the only recycling area in the complex, and it was 100% of the time overflowing with garbage. The leasing office never made any attempts to clean it up, and anytime the wind blew, the trash would get redistributed all over the surrounding area. There's a partial wall to somewhat hide the trash from view, but because of the sheer amount of trash, there was a constant trashy landscape. Literally, the bins were always overflowing and there were giant piles of trash on the ground because of it.
5) The landscaping in the back of the complex is sparse and not well kept.
6) The bark park is about the size of a bedroom. There's almost no grass, so it's always muddy, and it was also blanketed in dog poo, all of which rendered it useless.
7) This next point isn't the fault of Terrawood, but it is something to make note of if you're planning on renting here. The traffic is horrendous. There's only one way in or out of the complex and due to the mall and massive area construction, it can take forever to get in or out of the complex.
8) We noted that the carpet appeared worn and not-dirty-but-not-clean on our walk-through when we moved in, and we were still charged for it. None of the fees that we paid for applied toward this cost.
9) We were charged for 7 light bulbs @ $7 each upon move-out because they didn't match the brand that the complex prefers. Be sure to ask about this when you need to change a light bulb so that you don't end up paying 2x for the stupid things.
Again, so many of these are fairly minor, but it all added up to just leaving a general bad taste in my mouth. I've stayed at properties that were much less expensive with much better experiences. I know that this is apartment-living and this is just how it tends to be, but for the price, I can guarantee you can do much better.
1) On a positive note, the property is pretty in all areas that are visible to prospective guests, the neighbors are friendly, and there's a convenient walking path nearby. The maintenance crew was always responsive and nice, too.
2) We requested a washer/dryer unit when negotiating the lease, but they weren't in our unit the day we arrived (after a 3-day trek across the country). The leasing agent said snootily that if we had asked for them, we would've had them. She signed us up then, but said they'd arrive in a week or so and in the meantime, we could use the local Laundromat (which she said was 20min+ away). We were frustrated and asked what the additional cost would be, but the "new" price matched the price she had originally quoted us, which indicated that we had originally asked for the washer/dryer. She didn't once apologize for the inconvenience and was just generally very rude and condescending about the whole situation.
3a) The batteries in the thermostat were dead when we moved in.
3b) The battery in my front gate clicker went out the first week I was there. (This happened at least on a monthly basis, too, sometimes in the middle of the night when other residents weren't going in and out which meant that I had to sit and wait for up to half an hour until I could piggyback off of someone else going in. I've lived at other places with gate clickers where I never had to get a new one. I suspect that they keep bad ones in circulation to save on costs.)
3c) The battery for the fire alarm went out after business hours less than a week after we moved in. I was home alone and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to change the battery, Google wasn't helpful, and I couldn't detach it from the ceiling, either. All of these incidences would've been minor if they were isolated, but given that it all happened within the first week, it seemed to reflect a general lack of attention to detail a problem which perpetuated itself over our time there. It was also just kind of annoying to lose sleep because of the fire alarm, and to have to repeatedly go talk with the same leasing agent who had been so impolite our first day there.
4) Our unit was situated right by the only recycling area in the complex, and it was 100% of the time overflowing with garbage. The leasing office never made any attempts to clean it up, and anytime the wind blew, the trash would get redistributed all over the surrounding area. There's a partial wall to somewhat hide the trash from view, but because of the sheer amount of trash, there was a constant trashy landscape. Literally, the bins were always overflowing and there were giant piles of trash on the ground because of it.
5) The landscaping in the back of the complex is sparse and not well kept.
6) The bark park is about the size of a bedroom. There's almost no grass, so it's always muddy, and it was also blanketed in dog poo, all of which rendered it useless.
7) This next point isn't the fault of Terrawood, but it is something to make note of if you're planning on renting here. The traffic is horrendous. There's only one way in or out of the complex and due to the mall and massive area construction, it can take forever to get in or out of the complex.
8) We noted that the carpet appeared worn and not-dirty-but-not-clean on our walk-through when we moved in, and we were still charged for it. None of the fees that we paid for applied toward this cost.
9) We were charged for 7 light bulbs @ $7 each upon move-out because they didn't match the brand that the complex prefers. Be sure to ask about this when you need to change a light bulb so that you don't end up paying 2x for the stupid things.
Again, so many of these are fairly minor, but it all added up to just leaving a general bad taste in my mouth. I've stayed at properties that were much less expensive with much better experiences. I know that this is apartment-living and this is just how it tends to be, but for the price, I can guarantee you can do much better.