Dakota Springs

This is not a bad place to live. It had some issues, but I think they are improving under the new manager. The apartments are very spacious and have a nice layout. I had some issues when I first moved in with the apartment not being clean especially the carpet, but I got over it. Parking is a issue here and you will get towed, so don’t buy a new car and forget your permit sticker on the trade-​in like I did :). I give them a 4 because I think they try/​care to make the place good and are pretty honest. When I moved out, they didn’t make up charges and fees like most apartment complexes do.

My wife and i where prospective tennants. We showed up at Dakota Springs at around 130 on a Wednesday. We where quickly turned off by the sounds of a resident cursing and dropping f-​bombs and racial slurs on her porch right near the office. We pressed forward and walked into the office only to be ignored by the staff, and having to pull them off the cell phones to help us. The person whom «helped» us did absolutely nothing to sell the apartment, or the complex. They only told us they had nothing for us. Wouldn’t you want to at least sell your complex to prospective tennants? ask to be shown the model apartment. We were not impressed the apartment felt old and run down water damage evident on the ceilings, the toilet has brown stains all inside it. As if nobody had cleaned it in months. The person whom toured the apartment knew nothing about the features. We heard stomping upstairs from the tennants. The tour could not have ended fast enough.

*** Do Not Move Here, there other places that are much better for the price***I moved here in September of 2015 and the complex may look good on the outside but looks are deceiving. I am use too rent in Pflugerville where it is nice and new. These apartments are old with no upgrades and for 750 sq. Feet $ 925.00 1 bedroom oh my. The problems started after I moved in with tub… the tub in the bathroom that has latex painted over to look brand new and once the hot hit it started to peel. The next problem was the electric sock it pop with electric while in use and you have to keep pushing the button in the middle several times to keep the electric sock it on. The electric gate that supposed to keep you safe does function at all. They give you this remote get in that does not work because the gate is broken… I had run into this guy who just on the premises. I ask him how he like jiving over here. Come to find out that he did not live there and was convicted felony just got a month ago and lived at the apartment around the corner. Then today 1÷25÷16 which is my last straw for this complex ***Heed my warning… do not move here*** I was towed by this complex that I live in for being on the line. The spaces are so compact that SUV cannot park in these tiny spaces and people double park to where you cannot open the door. With no Warning today, I came out today to go to work and I thought my car was stolen. Nope Dakota springs has a contract with Elite towing that tow your where reside for being on the line where you parked your car. It was told to me this ever happen and I can see if you were parked in handy cap. I was not. The towing FEE was $ 205 not the complex or manager wants to take responsibility that almost cost me to lose my job. I will not let this go because this the reason you have a sticker to NOT BE TOWED! I put in my notice to break my contract because I cannot afford to pay another $ 200 for a parking issue this complex has (no parking spaces) … I will be taking them to court for compensation and call the Regional manager. Also the noise from your neighbor above is like WWF Smack Down.

I moved to Austin and to here in August of 2014 and generally like it here in Austin and where I live. I have not had any issues with staff or management, maintenance has been pleasant and quick.
I was quite unhappy about the parking when I first moved in but they opened up more parking right in front of my door. YEAH! It eased the parking issue but now it has gotten a little bad again. I feel that each apartment even if they have a garage, should be allowed a visitor parking tag. I have a short driveway on the corner. Parking in it leaves my car or a visitors car sticking out and on numerous times my car or my visitors car almost got hit.
The ammentites in the apartments (appliances) need to be updated for the price I am paying. I looked into moving just because of that and still may once my lease is up.
The other issue is pet feces around the complex even though they provide stations throughout the complex. I am a dog lover and own one back home so I am not hating. However, they sent out notices pertaining to it but the tenants seem to not use the stations anyway. Besides those issues I am quite happy.

I generally like living here. It’s a nice complex, the layout in or unit is cool, our neighbors are pretty quiet. Maintenance is pretty quick and efficient. I actually like their towing policy because parking was a huge issue at the last complex I lived in. It seems they’ve added several spots for guests in the south complex, by hunters chase dr. My biggest complaint. our water bill exceeds $ 100 every month. We have a 2br. Wtf. And, there are several people in our building with disabled parking permits, like 3. But only 1 disabled spot. Which is fine when the people who live here and need it are the ones using it, but people invite friends over who park in it (albeit legally) for days at a time to get around the overnight policy. I mentioned it when we first moved in but nothing came of it. It’s more a thing that pisses me off about people, but I feel like the complex could do a better job of advocating for their disabled residents.

Overall I love living here. only a few things I would change such as more visitor parking at least on the south side. it seems like many residents park or stay parked in visitor parking as I see the same vehicles morning and night and sometimes days in a row without moving. Also just the wiring in the apt seems a little wonky as I have a gcfi that trips in the kitchen and shuts things off in the bathroom and dining room. Otherwise it’s quiet and peaceful with my neighbors being very kind and respectful.

Have had a good experience so far, apart from a leak problem that forced me to switch units.
Management was very quick to work with me on either moving units or ending my lease amicably, but we chose to stay and were compensated.

I don’t live here thank goodness as the community isn’t exactly excelling with their customer service as shown by the stellar reviews on here lol. I’ve only had the «lovely» experience of dealing with the office staff.
On ⁹⁄₉ hubby & I applied. On ⁹⁄₁₀ we were denied (which ended up being a blessing for a few reasons). As with any application fees we knew they were non refundable. We were both assured that despite the system charging the $ 320+ up front, if we were denied the difference would drop off & only app fee amounts would charge & go through.
Not true. Well, that’s what’s SUPPOSED to happen. At this moment, we are entitled to a refund of $ 200 ($ 201.95 actually) but due to «a glitch» (oh how convenient) we DID receive a third charge of $ 201.95 on ⁹⁄₁₅ seemingly out of the blue. It took me a couple days to connect with Cecelia & make her aware of this & that we required a refund ASAP. She informed us of the «glitch» & that no one knows why this mysteriously sometimes happens. She said she would send it to accounting/​corporate & they would cut a check. This is also the only business or corporation I’ve ever heard of that can’t credit back the card & do a traditional refund. That was Thursday, ⁹⁄₁₇.
On Friday, ⁹⁄₁₈ in the mail we received an envelope from them. No check. Instead we received about 10 pages of a «move out notice» citing we had a credit owed to us of $ 200. Ok… So they can expedite a bunch of garbage paperwork to us BUT NOT OUR MONEY THAT WAS ERRONEOUSLY CHARGED!
Saturday, no check. Monday, (today) still no check. I’ve called three times today. First time– «Sorry, Cecelia isn’t here today. You need Kelly the property mgr. She’ll be back in an hour.
Second time– «Sorry– kelly is still out. Wait until 3:00 and then call.»
Third time– «Oh sorry– Kelly got held up at a sister property. Call back tomorrow .»
I’m done dealing with them & told them that. If this money is not in our hands by Thursday afternoon (two weeks after being denied & 10 days after it being STOLEN from us) we’re going to our bank & disputing it. We’re a family of four. We just moved. We’ve been bleeding money & they feel it’s ok to just hold on to OUR funds without acceptable answers or actions. WRONG!
I can’t tell City of Austin when my bill is due «Sorry– it must’ve been a glitch.» I can’t tell my landlord «Sorry– due to a glitch I don’t have all the rent.»
THIS NEVER SHOULD’VE HAPPENED TO BEGIN WITH and they’re acting annoyed with ME because I have the nerve to be upset THEY STOLE FROM MY FAMILY!

I lived here for three years and it’s great! Never have any problems with neighbors or the office when I needed something. They seem to be responding to the biggest complaint which is more visitor parking because they just added some spots which is nice!

Short version: know that tractor beam from science fiction movies? Yeah they’ve installed one here and it takes your car to a far away galaxy.
CONS
* Parking: As other users have pointed out, the towing situation is really, really bad. I get that there is limited parking here and there has to be a system in place to manage that. I really do. My concern comes from the fact that it’s unclear where you can and cannot park and the speed at which they tow after dark. The signs talking about parking and towing are small and infrequent. Guest parking spaces aren’t just tiny, they’re miniscule. There is NO indication of how much you’ll get charged should you make a mistake on this (you’ll pay upwards of $ 200 for a compact car, probably more for a truck, and the price has probably gone up).
Just do yourself a favor and don’t invite friends or family over.
* Noise level: had frequent problems with a loud neighbor and loud cars. The way the bedrooms were positioned at my place FACED the parking lot. It was worse than I thought it would be.
PROS
* Maintenance did a good job, efforts were made to be green friendly
* As you can probably figure out for yourself, they keep the place well manicured and clean. Though a lot of the foliage on the back of the apartments looked diseased/​dying … I guess they figured that was shared with the other property so I get why they didn’t try to fix that.
OTHER (didn’t figure into my rating)
* Speedbumps speedbumps speedbumps … I knew this was here at the beginning so that’s on me but wow did it get old
* Obviously the location is good with access to 183 and so forth but there are LOTS of good apartments in the area. They’ve gotta come correct if they want to compete.
* I actually preferred that people set stuff they didn’t want out by the trash can, but I can see how other people would dislike this.

Will definitely NOT sign a lease here again, worst management EVER. Outside of the fact they don’t address resident concern, they pick and choose who they will enforce rules with. I have never been so frustrated with an apartment complex before in any state In all my life.
good side of living here: it is close to everything, grounds are well maintained, maintainence team responds quickly and community building has nice amenities.
Bad side of living here: on site management lacks customer service skill, not enough parking, non exsistent security and they have contracted with a towing company that is on the ready to take your car or your visitors car as soon as the sun goes down.

Do not and I mean do not have Any Visitors parking unless they park in an actual visitor parking space. My sister visited me and she was told that I could park against the fence. My car was towed by Elite towing. Let me just say this isnt normal towing there are no signs that make this clear when you are parking and as a new resident she wasnt given proper instructions about their towing policy. Terrible and inconsiderate as a staff and apartment community to not do your due diligence especially if you have an aggressive towing company. There must be a connection with the owner and the towing service somebody is getting a kick back somehow some where. Lastly if you plan to have visitors DO NOT LIVE HERE!!! One of the worst parking set-​ups, worst then parking down town. Im disgusted!!!

We have called Dakota Springs home since 3 years. Ill try to give the good and the bad. They have two complexes, they call it the south (the one with the club house) and North. I have lived on both sides, I personally liked the north more.
Pros:
The apartments are nice for the price.
Close to 183
Safe area, we have left our locks unlocked overnight a couple times and nothing happened. (try not to do that though)
Quiet complex.
I cant say whether the walls are thin or not because we do not have an apartment next to our apartment. But our neighbors above us are pretty annoying, sometimes they are too loud in the middle of the night I can hear their conversation clearly since they leave their windows open and then they are running around at 2am! (this does not happen a lot but it does, Im used to it now)
Gated (just for cars, anyone can walk in but like I said its safe)
I have not had any roach/​insect issues.
Rent does not get raised too much.
gym
indoor basketball court
no trash issue
Management is okay, I do not go to the office much but I think the staff has changed. Last year some employees were a little bitchy but recently they have all been friendly. And our requests get fulfilled in a timely manner. (it did not before but since the last couple months they have been good)
Cons:
PARKING is an ISSUE, like other reviewers said they will tow your car if its parked wrong and there is not enough parking spots for residents let alone guests. Try to get a garage with your apartment will make your life easier.
When you first move in you may feel itchy, although they do clean the apartment.
The things I do not know,
the pool (im not sure whether its clean or not)
dogs poop, I know people have complained about this but honestly I have not noticed any but then I dont walk around the complex much.
Overall, I love it here. Hoping to call it home for the next few years.

So that I don’t come off as being a total jerk I will give the good and the bad so you can make your own informed decision. The good is that it was quiet and safe. The gym is OK and so is the indoor basketball court. I never used them because that’s just not my thing. I have left my garage open once or twice and nothing was gone when I got home. Great location for me to get on to 183 and places north. The pools are nice and have good furniture surrounding them.
The bad, and my biggest complaint, is how you are treated by the staff. Had I known I would have been treated like a second class citizen I would have immediately bought a house when I moved to Austin instead of renting.
I lived on the North side and there were only 6 parking spots for guest parking and they are always filled by tenants. I know this because I see the same cars there day after day. I brought this to the attention of management but they said there was nothing that they can do about it. Conversely you will notice they will tow your car at the drop of a hat if it is left in the tenant parking past 10 PM. I have accidentally done that twice to the tune of $ 200 each time. Once was when friends were over for Thanksgiving and we lost track of time. When we went out at 11 their car was already gone. There is no courtesy warning to remind you, they just tow. I guess it is easier to tow people than to work on their customer relationship skills. Those friends have not come to visit me since.
Moving is expensive so I put up with a patio door that they could never align properly. This left a nice draft in the front room. Yes, I put in service orders and maintenance came out, fiddled with it and said nothing could be done. There we also blinds for the same door that were broke. Again I placed a service order and was told that they could not be replaced or repaired. There is also dog feces all over the lawns. It is a big problem that they are finally addressing but really disgusting. There was a patch of lawn outside my front door in which I would pick up other dogs droppings three to four times a week for the past two years. The carpet in my unit was cheap and old.
I finally received my move out statement and found that I had left a set of bed sheets in the counter. I had wondered where they had gone during the move. For this I was charged $ 25. Really? After 2 ½ years of on-​time rent payment they are going to charge me for throwing out bed sheets but can’t get the dog droppings picked up? Did I mention that the date of the statement is 5 days before they sent it to me via Email? They warn you that you will be immediately sent to collections if the payment is not received within 30 days of the date of the move out. What a farce, I moved out on the 21^st, statement prepared on the 23^rd and finally sent to me on the 28^th. That means that I have already lost a precious 9 days to send them final payment. Now who’s fault is that?
Don’t ask to speak to someone at Alliance corporate headquarters to complain because they will say that they don’t have that information to give you. If you care Alliance corporate headquarters is in Arizona.
Be sure to look at all the reviews on here, not just the ones on the first page and you will see that you have other choices to live in Austin.

I have lived here for a year. I will be moving in a month. The main reason? Location. Here’s my review. The staff isn’t very friendly. Getting management to take care of something is a hassle. They will make it seem like it is your fault. Not cool. Also they have only like 6 guest parking spots. And are VERY strict on towing. I have seen someone out there every night checking for parking permits. Rain or Shine. It is a quiet neighborhood and they are pet friendly. The rent isn’t too bad. Another thing I didn’t like was the location. These apartments are right by 183. Which is great for getting to work in a hurry, but bad for when you want to go on a nice walk with the dogs. There are nothing but businesses around you. 15 min away is the nearest park. Which I am not a fan of. That’s not really their fault though. Just something to keep in mind if you are a dog and nature lover like me. One thing that I really did like though was how close it was to HEB, and when ordering takeout, the location made it easier for places to deliver. All in all, give it a go. Just make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

Lived here for two years.
Living accomodations were pretty good. Maintenance was slow to respond, and repairs were poor and shoddy.
Main problem was upon move out, however. After we moved out, the management performed a walkthrough and charged a inflated fee for cleaning the apartment despite the fact we left it very clean. And although we left a forwarding address and two phone numbers, we never received, or were informed of a bill. My wife and I are now being called 5+ times a day at work and home from a collection agency.
Do NOT live here.

This place isn’t half bad. My in-​laws live here.
The good:
The pool is very nice. We didn’t look around much as we were only there for two days and one night but we did take advantage of the pool and the grill nearby. Both were working great and we had a good time.
The apartments seem to be in good shape. At least the one my in-​laws are in is just fine. The one that they have howls when the wind is pretty strong so that’s kinda annoying.
The bad:
When the in-​laws moved in they noticed they had fleas in the carpet. Not good. They did send someone to treat, but they made it sound like they were doing my in-​laws a favor. «We won’t charge you for the treatment,» they said.
The ugly:
They will tow your car at the drop of a hat. If your car does not have a Dakota Springs sticker on it and it’s not in the visitor parking spot and it stays overnight (heck, they towed our car just after 11pm, that’s not even overnight) they’ll tow it. It happened to us and it cost us $ 215 to get our car out. Beware, Elite towing, the company that Dakota Springs uses, has some unscrupulous tactics to get more money out of you. Our car sat in their facility for under 15 hours and they charged us 2 days of storage fees. Ridiculous.

Beautiful, Expensive Nightmare
In September 2012 I moved into a 2 bedroom Dakota Springs Apartment at 12 220 Hunters Chase Dr., NXXXX in Austin. Early on I noticed noises throughout the apartment, especially in the Master Bedroom and Kitchen/​Living area. I thought it was the house «settling», additionally it’s granted that most apartments are going to have a reasonable amount of noise. Progressively the noise got worse in the Master Bedroom and I began losing sleep. In early January when I found myself dosing while driving or at work I decided to give the rental office a call. I explained to the Alliance Residential Property Manager, Greg that the noises sounded like very loud ticking followed by loud knocking and that often before the sounds started I’d hear water (maybe a toilet flushing or shower draining). I told him that I was sleep deprived because the loud noise happened throughout the night. Greg dispatched maintenance to my apartment however they couldn’t re-​create the noise nor determine what caused it.
Not only did the noises continue but they progressively got louder. I tape recorded the noises and again (in person) spoke to Greg and Lead Maintenance staff. Both clearly heard the noises on the tape recorder. Collectively we agreed that we believed the noises were plumbing\piping related. Greg then stated he’d have contracted specialist to come out and assess the apartment. A week later the contractors still hadn’t come out and I again visited the office and told Greg that I was sleep deprived to a dangerous level. I also left a message for Alliance Regional Manager Austin however I never received a follow up call. On 01.31 Greg, along with the maintenance staff, moved my bed from the Master to the second bedroom. Eventually contracted specialist did visit however Greg explained they, like local maintenance, couldn’t recreate and identify the noise. I suggested to Greg that I either needed to be financially compensated or relocated because I was paying full rent but living in half of my apartment. He said he had to speak with Alliance Regional Manager Austin and would follow up with me. I never heard back from Greg so I followed up with him. He then explained that Austin said I could possibly be moved but they wouldn’t pay for professional insured movers. I told Greg that this was unacceptable because I paid professional, insured movers to move into the apartment. Additionally, how could I be guaranteed the new apartment didn’t have the same issues? I was concerned because per speaking with neighbors they also heard the noises I described but not to the loud extent. Because I understood that Greg was taking directives from Austin I requested a conference call or face to face meeting. I believe that Greg and the local office and maintenance staff are doing all they can however they are not in a position of power. Greg told me to expect a call during the week of 03.04. To date, 03.09, I still haven’t received a call and am still paying full rent and living in half my apartment. I asked but was told that the prior renter didn’t complain of noises however I find that hard to believe because the noises are so loud that they can’t be ignored especially considering they happen at all hours of the day and night. I believe Alliance management rented the apartment full aware of the noise issues however don’t want to financially invest in fixing the problem. It’s a given that tearing open walls to identify and fix the plumbing issues and having vacant apartments would be costly however it doesn’t cost anything to rent the apartment. By the time the renter realizes the issue their locked into the lease. As soon as the lease ends and the renter moves they are replaced by a new unknowing VICTIM and the cruel cycle continues. Rent UN-​rentable Apartment, Move Out and Repeat… The entire time Alliance is paid and does not incur any expense of fixing the issue. A win win situation for Alliance. I’m exhausted, literally, with the entire situation so I’m not reaching out to Alliance management anymore. Furthermore I’d prefer to break the lease, without penalty, and move opposed to being relocated into a different apartment. I’m considering contacting a Renter’s Rights Group and hiring a Real Estate Attorney (yet another expense) as I believe I’m being cheated and that the law has been broken.
Please do NOT rent any apartments in the Dakota Springs as it’s a beautiful, expensive nightmare. As a matter of fact if possible don’t rent any property managed by Alliance. I have a close friend who resides in City North in Round Rock which is also managed by Alliance and Regional Manager Austin. My friend constantly complains about the lack of service.

Okay, let me start of by saying there are a lot of very enjoyable aspects of this place. Like some of the other reviews have mentioned, they have a good gym and a nice pool.
The indoor basketball court is great and I like the theatre room and game room (although I have never used them). My apartment itself is really nice. I really like the layout and I feel like the price I paid was very fair.
This is why its getting two stars. All of those great things and only two stars? Why oh why would you be so cruel?
Oh, I will tell you why.
The thing that really kills this place for me is the absolutely terrible management. I mean really terrible.
Here is one particular story that, albeit unusual, illustrates why I feel the way i do.
For about three weeks we were complaining about a bad smell in our apartment. It was getting worse and worse and we tried everything to fix it. Every week we would beg maintenance to come out and take a look. After hassling them a few times they would come out, bang around in the vents for a while and leave.
Turns out our neighbor had died and the smell we were smelling was him. This is terribly sad and unfortunate. And by no means the apartments fault.
But there was a lot they could have done after to help us out. We left for a week (to our respective parents houses) because we could not stand the smell anymore. We came back and turned in our rent check a day late. They knew the situation but still charged us a late fee.
Ok fine. Thats protocol. Still, can’t you work around it considering the odd situation?
Then we asked if we could be moved to a different place for a little while until the smell went away (note: the poor man had been dead for probably close to three weeks so the smell was pretty terrible). We own a moving company so we would just move a few things over for a month or two.
No dice they said. The manager explained to me how she had stayed in her place when her a/​c went out for a week so I could stand the dead rotting smell for a while.
I told her that I didn’t think those situations were the same but she didn’t agree with me.
Fine. That was a long shot anyway I guess. Well, if you won’t help us out with rent for the days we had to leave because our apartment had become unlivable and you won’t move us somewhere else will you at least help us get the smell out?
Yes, the lady told us that they would drop a deodorizer bomb in our apartment and that should help. They didn’t come for another week and a half and only after I reminded them again.
This was absolutely ridiculous.
Now, I understand that Unilocal is not a toy. I am a small business owner myself and I realize how important it is not to slander or falsely accuse anyone of anything here. Still, I think two stars is very generous.
This is not the only situation that we have had to deal with the management. They threatened to tow my girlfriends car after it broke down and wouldn’t start. It had been there less than a day but they apparently have a very strict parking enforcement.
The parking situation in general is terrible by the way. I think there are 10 visitor spots in total across the whole complex and unless you are driving a mini you won’t be comfortable parking in them.
Obviously I could go on for quite some time about my issues with this place.
But really it all comes down to management.
Again, I like my apartment. I enjoy the amenities, and I like the general location. 4 ½ stars for all that.

There are definitely some good things about this apartment. It has a nice pool and gym which are major selling points, however, there are by far more negatives than positives. The worst thing is the parking.
There is an extremely small amount of parking, not just for visitors but for residents as well. There are only a handful of regular sized parking spots and the rest are barely large enough to fit a smart car. Do not even attempt to have a visitor over because they WILL get towed. The complex must have a sweet deal with the local towing company. Not only has my truck been towed here but it has been keyed. I talked to a female leasing agent and she just shrugged her shoulders and walked away. Definitely not the best customer service to say the least.
Get used to taking cold showers since the hot water is almost non existent. I had more hot water in Iraq. I would not recommend this complex to anyone!