-
June 2024 by riley breach
I recently moved into Elle West and they have been nothing but great. All the leasing consultants have been easy to work with, knowledgeable and have a great response time. The director, Colleen, made it super easy and stress free to switch units. My favorite people have been the maintenance crew! They are incredible and timely. I have only been here for a short amount of time, but it seems like the new leasing company is completely turning this place around.
-
June 2024 by Troy Davis
Elle West has undergone a couple of changes in management over the last several months, but I think that, ultimately, the current management team (Kairoi Residential and Community Director Colleen Pritchard) have been exceptional.
We, unfortunately, had a major maintenance and safety issue under the previous management team. Our ceiling began to leak with rainwater very severely in the kitchen area each time that it rained. The water intrusion was extensive and the damage required us to move apartments so repairs could be completed. Under the previous management team, we had almost no response or any timeline on the repair or any updates on the extent of the damage. As soon as Kairoi took over, they immediately worked with us to resolve the issue. Within a few weeks, we had a new (upgraded) unit for a similar price. They worked with us every step of the way to ensure that the problem was resolved in a fair and beneficial way.
These apartments in the downtown area are not cheap, however the location and the service provided by the Kairoi team is easily the best I’ve seen in an apartment.
Highly recommend touring this place. No apartment is perfect, but Elle West is a fantastic option if you like the downtown Austin area.
-
June 2024 by Jeremy Campbell
Avoid at all costs. This complex is not functioning. I’m frequently locked out of my building due to malfunctioning systems, and management doesn’t seem to take issue. Even the person working in the main office told me “I’m only here for two weeks and then I’m leaving.”
-
May 2024 by Kayla Moffatt
I am not one to write a review of this nature unless I feel strongly, and I find it truly important to share my experience with others in hopes of saving them the energy & financial drain and probable mold exposure. My boyfriend and I moved into Gables West Ave under previous management in 2021, and ever since ZRS Management took over and changed the name to Elle West Ave, our experience drastically suffered.
Within five months of our lease under Elle (ZRS), we experienced multiple active ceiling water leaks, three in total, one spanning roughly 4 feet long over our living room. During this time, we initiated every single recovery effort and communication to get these 3 leaks resolved. This process of calling, visiting the staff in person, and putting in multiple digital service requests and messages went on for almost two and a half months to no avail. The rent we were paying for this apartment was $3,500 a month.
The ZRS management team did not provide any clear communication, correct information or any solutions - long or short term - until after roughly two months of persistent communication on our end. We had to initiate asking for any buckets or tarp in the meantime to collect the water leaking onto our living room from our 4 foot long leak, and were offered a drop sheet and old freezer ice containers to act as buckets. They were generally unapologetic, unclear, hard to pin down for clarity and extremely difficult to contact and work with. Most of the time, the people we were referred to to speak with were not in office or we were provided stories that did not add up.
To reiterate, we paid a rent of a large sum of $3,500 a month (increased rent when ZRS management took over) for a one bedroom two bathroom, and no rent was deducted during the 2.5 months we had 3 spots in our apartment leaking water and almost certainly growing mold - in our bathroom, above our bed and in our living room. We were each offered a $125 gift card as an apology. Our rental rate did not equate or feel fair to the product we were paying for - a ceiling that was falling apart and an unhelpful and unresponsive management team.
After this incident, the management team, roughly 7 months into our ‘lease term,’ claimed to have misplaced our digitally signed lease and addendums (which we had signed at the beginning of our lease to our agreed $3500/month in June 2023), and after receiving much communication from us regarding our leaks, they sent us emails with a threatening undertone and a tight deadline to resign our lease and addendum papers or we would be up-charged a month to month rate.
They stated that if we didn’t resign our lease (time is now Jan. 2024) we would then be considered month to month and be up-charged to roughly $5000 a month and also have to pay that difference of the previous months we had lived there already - threatening us with a outstanding balance of $12,000 (a MTM rate of $5000 for the 7-8 months we had already lived there) as they had lost or not properly collected a signed lease from us in June when we were under the impression we did.
Additionally, the building is old and seems to be falling apart - the security gate doors to move around the building and garage gate are broken frequently, gym equipment often does not work, water leaks from the ceiling in the hallways, sneaky charges appeared on our account that we would need to get resolved, the key fobs stop working occasionally, our fridge has gone out multiple times. Wear and tear is normal and unavoidable, however, the lack of urgency and initiative amidst these challenges is frankly unacceptable and unfair considering the hefty rental prices. One star as the location is ideal, right across from Trader Joe’s. An honest word from our experience to anyone who might be considering ELLE.
Some other apartment ideas to explore downtown with comparable or less rent for a MUCH better product, amenities and environment to consider based
-
April 2024 by John Hofmeyer
The mess in the elevator occurred sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Although I submitted a maintenance request Sunday morning, the mess was cleaned the next day.
I overlooked the emergency phone number information, listed on the client portal. Response was timely, otherwise. The building is generally well kept and this is the only time I've seen an issue like this - one tenant as a bad egg.
-
April 2024 by Christian Horvath
It seemed like the issue was fixed but an hour later it started leaking again!
-
April 2024 by Danielle Taylor
James was awesome! I had an after-hours emergency maintenance request recently and he was more than happy to help. Quick response time and follow-up communication to ensure the issue was entirely resolved was very much appreciated. 5 stars :)
-
March 2024 by Amanda Marin
What a difference I have seen in the last few months, thankful to see such a more positive and safe and cleaner community here at Elle west Ave.
I wanna give a big thank you to our new property manager James for all the wonderful changes he has made, he goes over and beyond not only for the property but the residents as well.
The property looks better than ever, I see all the hard work day after day by the team, Maintenance is quick to respond and seems to always have a solution for everything. It’s nice to see friendly faces, warm and kind good mornings from the new staff, I’m happy to call this Elle my home.
Thank you to James, Jerry and Alex for all you do for.
-
March 2024 by David Gordon
The new leasing manager James at Elle West Avenue has provided exceptional service since day one! He has proven to us that people care about their clients and doing a job well done. In the midst of a significant leak James was efficient in responding with Alex from maintenance who has also been responsive. He was even climbing ladders and helping along with the crew. The follow-up after the leak has also been great.
We have leased three connected units for over 15 years at this property. James and this crew have been a wonderful and refreshing change. Thanks James, it should give anyone who is interested living or working here confidence they'll be in good hands.
-
March 2024 by Tanya Morgan
This place is in a great location, and I can’t think of much that’s not within walking distance. To put it lightly, things were a bit of a mess when the new management company took over, but the Property Manager James has really stepped up. I can already tell a major difference and improvement to cleanliness, work orders, and just over all response timing. He has been amazing and will actually take the time to sit down and speak us residents. He and his team are so kind and helpful now, so I’ve changed my mind and plan to renew my lease for another year! Thanks James and Elle Team! - TM
-
March 2024 by :Quasar
Love living here! Management is on point!
-
March 2024 by Jonathan Stoessel
James, Jerry, and Lisa are some of the best leasing professionals I’ve had the opportunity to interact with.
My unit was in excellent condition upon move in and all appliances are great.
Amazing location downtown with Trader Jos and Whole Foods within 2 minutes walking
Give this place a shot!
-
February 2024 by Colin Vandergaw
Where to begin? After having a previous negative experience (with AMLI on 2nd - I was flooded out twice in four years), I thought that a change of pace might be nice. After all, I still liked this corner of downtown, and anything is better than being flooded out twice, right? And the price seemed almost too good to be true. I was about to find out why..* After lease signing but prior to move-in, staff seemed disinterested in providing square footage information for storage units, prioritizing other potential residents over existing ones. At one point I was told that the locker I was in was unlocked, so “I could come over and measure it myself”. This seemed odd, but..* Upon move-in, the apartment was not cleaned - which not only left me with a dirty space but also incurred additional expenses as my movers had to remain idle while last-minute cleaning took place (see attached photos). I was denied reimbursement by Elle West. This should have been my 2nd red flag.* Maintenance seems borderline nonexistent. Despite three requests dating back over the last two weeks, my tub remains clogged, and I get to shower in ankle-deep dirty water.* I pay for secure parking in the downtown garage, but the system mainboard has been broken for weeks and there's no ETA on resolution. Until then, the residential garage is wide open. This corner of downtown is a bit sketchy after dark. This is not the security I pay for.* By my estimation at least 20% of the exterior doors don't function. Not only is this inconvenient, but it causes residents and contractors to prop exterior doors open - compromising security for all residents (as there is effectively no separation from street traffic).* As residents we are being told that things are being put in place to fix this, but all we seem to receive are excuses and promises. Nothing has materialized thus far.* While James and Andrew have been helpful under the circumstances, I fear that they are swimming upstream as the management is the definition of ineffective.* Beware of these ongoing issues if you're considering Elle West as your residence. In fact, just.. Don’t.* Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.EDIT - It would seem that this review has been taken down - editing for visibility.
-
February 2024 by Alex Ritschard
One star feels generous....I have lived in a number of different apartments in Austin and this is by far the worst experience I have had to date, largely due to the management's disregard for very real resident issues. We moved in just as the new management company, ZRS Management took over and things have gone to hell from there. The staff is somehow both incompetent and rude. They are unwilling to help with even the easiest fixes, including maintenance requests, and are unwilling to address any of the larger underlying issues as well.First off, we were moved into an apartment with a different floor plan than we had originally signed for facing the oh so pleasant train, something that we had explicitly asked to avoid. The unit was dirty and the air conditioning didn't work. If you are familiar with the Austin summers, you will realize how relevant this is. We lived the entire summer in that heat without remedy from management. Imagine sleeping in 78-80 degree weather every night for three months. Not only was the air conditioner not fully functional, it was housed above the bathtub and leaked into it for MONTHS without any remedy from the management. This caused mold to grow in the apartment and rendered the shower unusable. Maintenance requests for the issue were ignored for weeks on end to address the issue and when I finally started going into the office weekly to check in on the problem, there was always some excuse or lip service and somehow never a solution. Also, on the fourth day in the apartment, I received a call from the property manager that our first rent payment "wasn't being reflected in their system" and they were going to start eviction proceedings. However, the money had moved out of our account and into theirs. A threat of eviction 4 days into a lease when we paid our rent early is terrible partnership and borderline illegal. I should have terminated my lease then....Since then, nothing has gotten better. The amenities are not maintained - the elevator is constantly broken for weeks on end - the garage door is always left open because it is broken allowing anybody to park there - fobbed doors can be opened without access code or a fob, resulting in seriously compromised security - maintenance requests are fully ignored - calls not returned.ZRS Management: biggest slum lords in Austin. Do not do business with them. Not at this property, not at any property.Lease end cannot come soon enough....
-
January 2024 by Grant Rollins
Hell West AveI’ve been renting since 2014. I’ve never had an experience like this.Took over 2 months for them to come up with our lease to sign - mind you we signed it days before moving in which was concerning not knowing if we would really have a place. They also wouldn’t let us see our apartment before moving in. We should’ve known better. This was the red flag to start out our journey.When we walked up to our apartment we realized not only was it a different floor plan, it also faced south (towards the train) when we were told it would face north (away from train). Also, our A/C was leaking into our tub. This ended up decaying the ceiling with mold which they had to fix. This was a month long process to fix which… whatever it was done. However, it continued to leak brown and orange into our tub and management told us ‘oh that’s completely normal for an A/C unit to do! You must not have lived in Houston before!’Management will ignore you.Maintenance will close your requests again and again without ever showing up. Could take weeks to have anything fixed.In the summer our A/C would keep our place at 78-80°. We talked to management 5+ times and they refused to do anything. They did however tell us they dealt with the same thing living there! Even though most neighbors we asked said their A/C worked great. There were a handful with 80° room temps as well. One neighbor said her place wouldn’t cool below 85° in the summer.Safety is a joke. The doors to our building have been broken and unlocked for MONTHS. Anyone’s allowed to come in. We’ve had so many packages stolen and have heard of many neighbors packages stolen as well. On top of this, the common area and the gym door also do not lock. People have said they’ve seen the homeless in both.Vending machine doesn’t work.Since July, the public computer and printer haven’t worked.Noise pollution (not their fault but might as well mention it) — get ready for the worst sleep of your entire life. The train comes 15-30 times a day -1pm, 9pm, 2am — doesn’t matter. It’s a tight turn and the screech is WILD. They’ll tell you it comes twice a day.Elevators break every once in a while for a week or so at a time.Garage door breaks all the time - anyone can come in and park. Towing not enforced.Management has told us in the past they would give us gift cards as an apology - never happened.It’s nice living across from a Trader Joe’s though.
