The Lodge at Stone Oak Ranch

We were almost ready to sign a lease here until something didn’t feel right, glad we didn’t! We toured the apartment and loved it but when it came time to discussing prices, we got three separate stories and answers ranging to about a $ 500 monthly price difference for the same place. The individuals also stated their main concern is getting people in and out of these apartments… it doesn’t seem like people actually stay after signing their first lease. After their employees not being able to give us an honest answer we walked away… happy we did!

Lived at the Lodge for about 14 months. When I first moved in the management staff was awesome! They were very friendly and super helpful. About 4 months in there was a turnover in staff, and that’s when things started declining. Don’t expect to get someone on the phone. Ever. Maintenance was always spot on, never a real issue there. The new office staff was RUDE and not helpful at all. They never notified when packages were delivered and when I asked why (after birthday surprises sat in the office for almost 2 weeks) one agent replied, «Amazon gives delivery notification». Bc Amazon is the only place anyone purchases from online.
Our upstairs neighbors had 2 adults and 4 kids in 1 apartment. They were so obnoxious that the jumping and pounding would rattle our walls and make our lights flicker. I reported it, and was told to «take video and record the noise» and show them. Then they would address is.
The dumpster area is disgusting. Period. Trash seems to only be picked up once a week and there is a mountain of garbage constantly piled up outside the dumpster. Finally, upon moving out I was told to «come in to the office to have an associate figure the final rent payment», which I did, and wrote my check for exactly what I was told. After the move out inspection I was not notified of anything. After 2 calls I finally was given a deposit refund amount, but the associate wasn’t sure about when to expect it. She left a message for someone to call me back, and after I called 2 more times and emailed I finally got a response. The manager (or whoever replied to my email) told me a different amount, which was about $ 100 less than what I was originally told, and blamed the discrepancy on «You calculated the wrong amount for your final rent payment, so you didn’t pay enough». When I told her Lodge staff calculated my final payment and maybe they should train their staff on how to properly calculate prorated rent, I got no reply. This place is not worth what you will pay to live there.

UPDATE: I received a call from Sam, the manager and he was extremely helpful and professional. He apologized for the incident with Anne and I really didn’t think I was going to be contacted. I’m changing the stars b/​c of Sam’s courtesy and professionalism. Thank you Sam.

I really had a good experience here. The unit was great, lots of space for the price, and actually nice looking. The office staff was great, all work orders were completed within the same day of putting them in. I never had any trouble with parking, even without paying for a covered spot. The landscape was maintained, and despite how many people seem to own dogs, there was never any poop just laying around.
I had to break the lease about 3 months into my 14 month lease (room mate issues) and the office staff was actually pretty great about it. I actually was aware of the terms before signing the lease, and so nothing came up as a surprise. The re-​letting fee was only 80% of 1 months rent, which compared to other places that charge you a fee plus 80% of the remaining lease, is actually pretty reasonable.
They also didn’t screw me on the move out, there were no «questionable» service charges on my move out statement, and despite only being there for a few months, some very bad damage was listed as «wear and tear». They didn’t charge me anything past the re-​letting fee, and it was a huge relief.
All in all, place is pretty great for it’s price.

I think this place is a great value (good bang for your buck). Nice, clean, updated, and safe. I have had nothing but great service from management and maintenance. Orion in the front office went above and beyond to ensure my apartment was ready and my move in went smoothly. He made sure damaged carpet was replaced, storage was available in my building, and a carport was reserved within close proximity to my apartment. Jason in maintenance was responsive and knowledgeable and fixed my A/​C within a very short period of time. Sure there are nicer, newer apartments with fancier fixtures and amenities, but you would be hard pressed to find anything in this price range better than the Lodge at Stone Oak Ranch. If you want a nice affordable apartment, this place is worth checking out!

Usually I only read review from Unilocal and till now never posted any review but I would like to share my experience with everyone. I have a very bad experience with this guys. Initially when I visited Lodge and I was impress with apartments and services those guys provided. They are very smart and know how to impress customer. They are giving huge discount (like $ 500.00 to $ 600.00) for first month rent and $ 90.00-$ 110.00 in every month rent with included washer/​dryer. I visited all the apartments on Parmer and Mcneil lane and found that these guys are very cheaper so, I took the aprtment. They are keep saying that they will refund your deposite and I have only me and my wife in family so, I thought we will take care of apartment very nicely and nothing will be happened so, I gave deposite. When I moved in my apartment I noticed that they give me worst carpet and charge me huge deposite. I complained that and also gave paper work to them that what kind of damage in the apartment while move in so, they are not charged me when I move out. They said ok we will keep all record in file. My job is movable so, I asked them at least 7 times that explain me lease breakage fees. They told me that 60 days noticed or two month rents and there is no additional charge except this. While laundry time my wife noticed that dryer is not working if she is doing dryer for 3 – 4 times still all cloths are wet. We complained continued 3 – 4 months and they changed dryer 2 times and fixed something for 5 times but still result is same. All units has oven like $ 10.00 one and not woking properly. My wife complained me a lot of time but I keep explained her that this apartment has lowest rent and all utilities. There is lot of other incident those I can’t mentioned here.
Once I got new job and I went to apartment office to ask them about lease breakage fees then I see real picture of these guys. They are telling me that I need to pay all discounts which I got in first month rent and every monthly plus two month rents and the newest thing is there is additional charge for $ 800.00 for lease break charge. I was surprised and told them that I asked you guys many times and you didn’t tell me this additional charge and all discount I need to pay you back. Those guys are laughing in front of me and telling me that If I told you before you will never sign lease. This is our policy to impress customer and getting money from them. I was shocked but I can’t do anything and while signing lease I trust them and I asked them 7 times and clearly told them in future i need to break lease so, explain me lease breaking procedure clearly if there is any hidden charge and they saying there is no any charge except 2 month rent. I talk to my company and ask to pay them this charge. They told me that they will pay two month rent only. I gave him notice and remind them that I already gave some damage paperwork when I moved in and can I see that. Those guys told me that they don’t have any paper work and I did not submitted to anyone and if I submitted whom I submitted. When I told them I submitted to one lady after 2^nd day when I moved in. They are said that she works for us no more so we don’t know and consider that everything is good when you moved in. I realized that what they want to do so, I agreed with them and these guys charge me something $ 4000.00 for breaking lease. My company paid me $ 1700.00. Before moving out I requested to them t come to my apartment and tell me if something is wrong coz I am leaving this state. He told me everything is perfect and we will not charge you anything else.
I gave them cashier check and moved to new place and waiting for my deposite check. Story is not ended here. One day I got mail from Lodge and I am eagerly to check my deposite check. But when I opened envelop and found out that these guys charge me for something like thermal fog and some additional charge which I don’t know what is that. I called and asked them can you explain me so, they talk very rudely and telling me that there is some scent in your apartment and we need to pay to remove that. I swear I took care of this apartment like my home and there is nothing wrong with this apartment. I told them I being nice to you and paid all charge still are you guys not satisfied to robbed me? Rudely lady is telling me that you got the invoice that’s it. Pay us back. I checked invoice and search that company in google and noticed that there is nothing register on that business name and found out that address is some PO BOX one and email is some gmail address. I search that email address and I found Facebook profile registered on that email address. I called that number and some lady answered that call and when I asked her she told me that she does not know what I am telling. She told me give me my number and some one will call you. Within one minutes I got call and one guy is telling me same thing which Apartment lady told me. I paid everything.
Beware of this guys

Overall, I’ve had a pretty good experience here. Most of the people in the management office are nice and helpful. There are a few that are particularly friendly, and I enjoy chatting with them.
The maintenance workers have been very responsive and fixed my issues in a timely manner. They also document everything and leave the documentation in your apt if they come in while you’re gone.
The amenities are nice and under-​used, so I often have the gym to myself or see just a handful of people at the pool. Nice little movie theater where they occasionally have movie nights.
The apartment itself is nice. Very comfortable and spacious. Well-​maintained. The appliances are not top of the line, but they are new, efficient, nice looking and work well.
My only complaint about this place is that it needs an additional dumpster or to have trash picked up more frequently. The trash compactor is always overflowing, which I see as a major concern.
If you’re looking for a «community» vibe where residents and neighbors become friends, this is not that kind of place. It’s quiet and people mostly keep to themselves. If that’s your lifestyle, you’ll like it.

this is my 3^rd apartment complex upon living in Austin. by far, the best, and most accommodating i’ve experienced so far.
i’ve been here 2 and a half months and i’ve only had 2 problems.
upon moving, my boyfriend was ATE up by fire ants and on two seperate occasions! outside my building was super infested. i called the front office and by the next morning, no trace of them at all. recently i had a problem with my air conditioner freezing up, and they had someone to come look at it, before i had even made it back from walking from the front office.
my last apartment, dakota springs, it took them two weeks to fix my air conditioner when it had messed up on me last summer.
all my interior appliances and fixtures, very new and everything about the interior is lovely. the front office staff is friendly and always willing to help.
swimming pool, gym, theater room, and clubhouse always at your disposal. at the end of every month they like to show movies in the theater room, where they supply drinks and food. very cool.
and as far as the people i live aroun, d all respectful people. i have nothing to complain about when it comes to the lodge.

I have been a resident for about three weeks and in that time I have given them their required 60 days notice that I will be vacating the unit. In doing this, I am subjected to a $ 1100 re-​letting fee, and approx. $ 240 extra added to my already $ 1239 a month rent for the next two months. I am more than willing to pay all of this to leave this place. I could just kick myself for not heeding the warnings of the others who complained about the rudeness and unprofessional manner of management at The Lodge at Stone Oak.
Unfortunately I did not and I signed the lease sight unseen for this unit. I relocated here with my little one for a job and since I have no family in Texas (Just me and my little one) I had to find a place for us to stay ASAP.
The last straw came when I was only allowed 1 and ½ hours to unpack and move my moving truck. I informed them that I needed time to gather some movers and that I would not let it stay overnight, they still would not budge. So I was forced to send my stuff to storage and I am looking for someplace else to call home because the Lodge at Stone Oak Ranch is not that place!!!
What I have experienced since being here:
1. In the 2 bdrm, 2 bath and 2 small dens units the walk in closets are not insulated and the master bedroom gets extremely cold no matter how much you increase the temp. For that matter, I venture to say that the entire length of the wall connecting the closet is not insulated. I keep my baby in a one-​piece sleeper and two thick blankets every night. I brought a thermometer and placed it in my bedroom and according to the thermometer, my bedroom has been 12 or more degrees colder than the rest of the house at any given time. So I have to crank up the heat to over 80 degrees just to keep me and my little one from freezing throughout the night.
2. The Master bdrm has 3 doors along one wall (2 for the walk-​in closet (allot of cold air enters from under both doors) and one for the bathroom), the second and third walls are regressed one for a window and one for a walkway and there is also a cut-​out for the den on the fourth wall. Every wall in the bedroom is limited or restricted in some way. The master bathroom is shared with the apt while the smaller bdrm has an exclusive bathroom.
3. In the living room there is a cut out on both long walls (opposite each other) one for the staircase and one for the kitchen. Again on the other two opposite walls; one is regressed for a window and the other is part of the walkway. Leaving very limited wall for anything like pictures or a television.
4. The security system is a fake. I was given a code to use to access the gates at night. In order to allow entry to anyone family, friends, or pizza delivery, I have to give them the code. There is no way for them to contact me from the gate or for me to allow them access from my apt. Management stated that the system is not set up to ring residents apts, so if someone wants to gain access they have to call you from their phone and you give them your code. This is not safe at all! Does the delivery guy really need to have the permanent code to the premises? So much for a gated community. Anyone who has had the code also still has it because everyone has the same code. That is a frightening feeling considering how unprofessional the management staff is.
5. Their rent payment system is very antiquated and they only take checks deposited through their drop box. Rent is due by the 3^rd no exceptions. None!!! $ 50 late fee and $ 10 every day after the 4^th day it is late. Life happens even to the best of us, how could there be a no excuses policy?
6. There is only one trash collection site on the entire premises and it happens to be located at the other end of the property which is about a 10 minute walk on a nice day from my unit. On other days I have to cart my garbage inside my car along with the baby. And there is a trash fee.
7. The maintenance staff was gracious and nice they also came in a timely fashion although they were unable to help with or remedy the lack of heat in the master bathroom.
8. You cannot schedule or manage the heating or cooling system. I work and it is not necessary to have the unit running all day. This is especially a sore issue for me since it is I who is paying the bill to run it.
9. The appliances old and pieces were missing. I am still waiting for a replacement refrigerator to be delivered. The one I have currently is missing all but one of the shelves. It slides toward me every time I open it. Renters Beware!!!

Nice place, very friendly helpful staff maintenance men quick and friendly. Parking is a nightmare. There have been a few instances where I decided to stay in just so I dont have to park a mile away from my place. People above me are loud but overall it’s a nice quiet community. The location is pretty nice, grocery stores close by, and even though its straddling the line of austin/​round rock, its still quick to get around town. I work off 51^st street and I35, and it usually only takes about 15 minutes to get between the two. The property is almost always quite, and its not unusual to not see a single soul during the day. Nice amenities if your into that stuff, nice gym, pool, pool tables etc. if your looking to live north, you should put it on your list of places to check out.

I lived at the Lodge at Stone Oak Ranch (5400 W. Parmer Lane) for a year and a half. It was a nice apartment complex but poorly managed. When things broke, it took a week to be fixed. The front office would sign for UPS & FDX packages and they would mysteriously disappear. They are still sending me water bills from 4 months ago, even though I moved out. I have tried unsuccessfully to get my deposit refunded. I have even contacted their CEO, Michael Smuck in Louisiana, but not received a response. There are other communities that are properly managed in north Austin and I encourage you to look elsewhere.

This complex has to be one of the saddest in town. The management is incompetent, residents speed through (i’ve been nearly run over several times) and leave trash out. A nice-​looking place, but don’t be fooled. The office staff changes every week and the management company doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone (the security gates haven’t worked for more than a year, there is one trash compactor for the whole place, potholes everywhere, and a section of protective fence on Parmer has been missing for months). There are much better places in the area, check out Riata and AMLI at Scofield Ridge. Make sure you aren’t moving into an MBS managed property.