Brightside Properties

My experience with management was largely negative, but the value of what they do is pretty indisputable; affordable rents, in desirable parts of town.
The above shouldn’t come at the expense of pretty baseline expectations (working A/​C, lax on notifications about violent crime on the property, virtually no upkeep of the buildings), but one can’t expect much for the cost relative to that of other properties in the areas they currently serve.

The reviews that are posted for Brightside on this site are questionable??? I have been a tenant since 11÷1÷12 and I can say that this company is a mess. I will preface by saying that all is true that rent is reasonable there are no application fees for most of their listings, no background checks, and they are very pet friendly and charge no pet deposits. Come with deposit and rent and you are in. There in lies the problem with their practices. Because tenants are not vetted you may be living next to a criminal, drug dealer, or all around freaky weirdo. Lauren Landmark has been mentioned in a couple of reviews and I will admit that she is a very friendly lady to a point and that is where it ends. A couple of months after I moved in she told me that a new property manager was taking over and then these words came out of her mouth, «I don’t want to deal with you people and this property anymore.» She still is a prop manager at Brightside but not sure what she manages. Certainly not her manners. The property managers are rude and unprofessional. The new property manager for Montrose listings is Daniel Ellison and he is totally useless, evasive, and very unfriendly. These properties are mostly old and they have many scattered throughout Montrose and the Hieghts. Very desirable locations in Houston.
Maintenance is a joke and trying to have something fixed is like be on a waiting list for an organ transplant. I had leak in bathroom ceiling that dripped on me as I took a constitutional. SOOOO GROSS, I was livid. They finally came and cut a hole in ceiling fixed the leak and left. Did not bother to patch over the mesh that covered hole just took globs of plaster and troweled it over. It was a mess. I lived in fear every time I was under it. It took a week waiting for that… repair? Calls and emails go unreturned and when they do come out to fix the problem the crew mostly does not speak English. They come in and put a band aid on it without fixing the problem which leads to more useless calls and emails that go unreturned. My complex has a huge roach problem and the solution was maint came out a brought me a box of foggers. REALLY??? There was a problem with a gas leak and they said to call the city which I did. City came out and said I need to call the owners because it was something they had to fix before they could come in and do work. Management told me to call them back. So now I am doing their job? I was afraid to sleep for fear that I would never wake up in my gas chamber of an apartment. I could go on and on. For those that think I am a terrible tenant that was just a pest and always late on rent I have proof that is not the case because I paid rent on line to them through a third party paysite and for every month except one I paid my rent five days before the first and the one time exactly on the first. I have proof of everything I am saying because I started a folder for every email I sent them. They are numerous and detail every request made and show the time frame for their replies. My advice is while it may seem like good rent and easy move in and a pet lovers dream think twice. Also review on Google the website The Truth About Brightside. I wish I had.

I tried to infiltrate Unilocal’s cyber-​infrastructure to refactor the rating system just so that I could give Brightside six stars (to no avail). Pet friendly, best rent rates in Houston, extremely quick maintenance turn around; sometimes I just call so that I can see their dreamy head of maintenance. Accessible to restaurants, thrift shopping, dance clubs, hipster coffee shops, and everything else a young twenty-​somethings feels they should be a part of. The property managers are attentive and on top of it. I’m going to continue my pen-​testing and see if I can find a backdoor into the site. If I figure it out, Brightside will be the first 6 star rating. Ciao Bella!

Pretty good experience so far, especially for the $$ rent. Nowhere I can afford is perfect. From experience, It takes some time to improve an older property, and they seem to be doing their best.

Have been a tenant for 6 months. Has been a mixed experience. The area is better than average, my girlfriend walks her dog around the block nightly. There are lots of professional white collar folks who live in the area. And you are near River Oaks, Hyde Park, and St. Thomas University.
However, my apartment is old and falling apart. The management only provides one window A/​C unit where two would be needed. Summers are unbearable. There are 6 kids, ages 4 – 9, currently living on the property and they litter and are unsupervised. Parking is «1^st come, first served «basis. I park on the street 50% of the time.
The Rent is low, $ 690 /​month. Pet friendly. You have to be flexible and be okay with hot summers in your pad. We enjoyed the low rent but are now ready to move on to an apartment with central Air and better parking!