Commons At Sawmill

Most unorganized, incompetent and rude office. Taking advantage of college students Many phone calls and still nothing is the same with each call. Change dates and rates at their leisure without much advance notice

I had the pleasure of living at The Commons September 2014-​March 2015. It was a great experience. I loved the location, being so close to down town, shopping, and NAU. Everything is right here. The apartments were renovated right before I moved in, so I had new appliances and the carpeting was new. I really liked the dark wood floors in the kitchen and bathrooms. I had one maintenance issue, and they responded that same day & fixed the problem. The office has donuts every Friday and had cool events for finals week. I was sad to move out, but it was a great experience while it lasted.

$ 820 for a studio? Totally overpriced. Combine that with a shitty staff and you know you cannot rent from here. The staff will jerk you around and there is something shady about the fact that they want you to sign a blank page as part of the lease contract. If I didn’t know a lawyer personally, they would have kept jerking me around. They told me that I needed to give them a notarized notice to vacate, the next day when my lawyer called, they told him that I had been mistaken. Seriously? Don’t tell me one thing and tell him something different the next day. They will try to take advantage of you because you’re likely going to NAU. The proximity to NAU is about the only good thing about this place.

The upsides to living at the Commons are the fact that it is within walking distance of NAU, downtown Flagstaff and part of the Urban Trail. I’m happy with the renovations and meb definitely did a pretty good job turning the previously creepy/​sketchy complex around.
I never had any problems with the management while living right above the leasing office for the past year. The maintenance guys tend to respond really quickly and have fixed the few things we’ve had go out. Minus the fact that the dishwashers were apparently installed incorrectly so water would collect on the bottom of the dishwasher and even after getting it hooked up properly it smells awful while running and stinks up the kitchen and living room.
My one complaint of the property is that it is grossly overpriced for NO amenities except «doughnut Friday» and the small grills at the end of the complex (fire restrictions during summer prohibit these, and it’s far too cold during the winter to use). They say it’s the market value of the apartment but there are plenty of other complexes that provide gyms and jacuzzis within the same proximity of campus. For paying $ 1,255 a month for a small 2 bedroom I should at least get my light bulbs changed for free.
Overall, I liked this complex and had no issues with management, just don’t like the price and lack of amenities.

If you’re looking for an apartment complex similar to the 7^th layer of Hell, look no further. The management did an amazing job ascending through Earth’s crust and embodying the Devil himself. Relax and enjoy the constant sounds of construction. Wake up to the soothing rhythm of construction workers ferociously pounding on your door at 6 in the morning every day for weeks on end. Be greeted and welcomed by the sneers and attitudes of disgruntled and incompetent employees. Watch your money disappear to all of the zero amenities of the complex: no pool, no gym, or anything that might make you smile or generally enjoy living in the crap-​hole that is The Commons.
The appliances suck, and everything is just painted white. It was a half-​hearted attempted to updating the place. It should have just been burned to the ground and sprayed with holy water, because I’m convinced it’s actually Hell. When I applied, management lost my application, which I had filled out three months prior to move in. When I called to see if my application had been approved, they told me they were «still processing it,» which is administrative code for: «We lost it and we don’t really care.» Finally I was informed three days before my expected move in day that my application was lost and I would have to fill out a new one. They didn’t even have me sign a lease, yet when I moved out they still made me fill out a «roommate release form» so I would not be held responsible for the lease I didn’t sign. They will try and blame you for their own administrative mistakes and generally be unpleasant and irritating. Please, I beg you, don’t ever live here. They’re like the ISIS of the housing community. Spend your money literally anywhere else, even The Grove is better than this moldy painted dump. SAVE YOURSELF.

They had old management under the same company that made a lot of promises. We paid about 400 on false pretenses and the refunded half. They will not refund the other money because it was a non refundable application fee, but it would be nice if their company made it up to their customers who were screwed out of a place to live. Their current managers are not doing great things for MEBs name as a management company. They’re just plain rude.

The Commons at Sawmill is a Joke. I have lived at my apartment for 5 years. The old management was bad and the property was horrible but god I wish I had them back. Now that MEB is on the scene they aim to change everything. The have raised rent from $ 975 to $ 1450 a month. Sure the renovated apartments are nice but that is all you get. They don’t have the amenities (a fitness center or a hot tub for example) to justify the increase in rent. The whole reason I have lived their was because they were affordable. If they are going to increase rent to the «Market Rate» they have to offer competitive amenities. I can hardly find parking close to my house on weeknights… To top things off every other day management will request you to move your car, clean your porch, sign paperwork, access your house, etc. I have been asked to clear 3 feet away from all windows in my house (which included moving 2 beds) twice because the first day they didn’t get the work done. Never once did they offer any compensation. Now they are closing my parking spot for two weeks so they can paint. This is the second time they closed my parking spot because they couldn’t finish it the first time. I understand they are remodeling the apartment complex but the way they are going about it comes across as very uncaring. I am moving out due to MEB’s tactics and I would highly advise against living here.

MEB is renovating the tired-​old Alpine Ridge. New insides, new outsides, and a responsive staff that’s not under the influence of Meth, like the last owners. I’m glad to see this perfect Flagstaff living space getting a make over. I’m not a fan of strict rules about what I can keep on my porch (no snow shovels, brooms, bikes, etc). The «mandadory» bike rack leaves my husband’s bike out in the elements — not cool, guys. I’m appalled at how much rent is going up. I understand markets and value, but good grief — maybe a few less, rather unnecessary cosmetic changes outside of the apartments could keep more money in the pockets of residents. One of the best things is the location, and no one can mess that up. Overall: I’ll be here for a while.

New management came in and wanted all residents to reapply ($ 35 a person, pretty good scam if you ask me) which we did, in APRIL. By JULY no lease had been presented to us, no 30 day notice to evacuate (Lease was up end of July.) We opted to move to Albuquerque and the office was nice about it, accepting a 30 day notice.
They are re doing the apts but while the office and maintenance staff have always been nice to us, they don’t think of the residence first. They changed the light switch in our bathroom to also turn on an extremely loud fan, if we wanted it on or not. They changed a window for «renovations» on a friends apts, they set it lousy and the window fell in a few days later. They felt no need to give her any fiscal benefit even though her animals could have escaped. Because they didn’t they felt no need.
They are also raising the rates by about $ 300 a month because they have a wait list and can. I think these apts are fine (Lax pet policy, W/​D in units) but its the little things like presenting leases to clients who you charge app fees to or telling them they are rejected, giving credits when your windows fall in, all these things need attention.
I would not rent here.
2.5 stars