West Towne, ames-ia

I feel like the staff don’t know what they’re doing. Move in day they handed me the wrong set of keys. Maintance was supposed to fix our pipes but left giant holes in our ceiling and in our wall after it was “fixed”. We still haven’t received our 500 dollar gift card that was promised 60 days after receiving the lease and it feels like my 3 other roommates are each receiving different information on how to receive said gift card. The list goes on and on and it really just isn’t worth it. If you can find something cheaper I would sign the lease there.

I do not post these with my personal information, it will not come up in your records. Please just focus on the message, not the person. Off the bat: I don't recommend living with this company. I lived here for two and a half years in a studio apartment- and honestly, while it had its good moments (layout is awesome, nice high ceilings, kitchen, the amenities), the overwhelmingly bad was just astonishing. Let me just start by saying that the leasing staff and maintenance (mostly) are amazing, and for the most part just doing their jobs. Management, however, could have been improved, and hopefully has by now. First off, on the ground floor, there is a serious bug problem. The units were clearly built cheap and fast, as there is about an inch between the floor and the floorboards. When it cools down outside or warms up post-winter, guess what that attracts? Yup, ants and flies. I came home one day and they were everywhere, not even ant traps could help it. Secondly, there were multiple incidents where maintenance came in to fix something, left my place an absolute mess, and then couldn't fix the issue. One time, one of the guys took a dump while fixing my washer (which is fine ig, when the moment strikes or whatever), but then left his feces ALL OVER MY BATHROOM. It was gross, and while I hope his gut health is better, that wasn't the greatest impression. There are smaller things as well - the metal doors freeze in the winter because they condensate, constant lights from cars shining in and people looking inside because it looks commercial (not all units have reflective coats), and I got charged for having a cat (never had one, deathly allergic) and it took them two more times coming into my unit to figure out that it was the unit NEXT to mine. Granted, everyone's experience is different and I highly recommend you check everyone's before signing; just know that this experience is a common one, and hopefully, you get one of the nicer units.

Living here is okay, quiet and safe. But all those reviews about your deposit are right. I moved in a studio in 2024, and the studio had a lot of painting issues and other stuff. Luckily I took pictures because after moving out (to transfer into a 3b) they charged me $141. $75 were from the painting, I sent them all of the pictures I had from when I moved in I explained them that those printing issues were there even before moving in. After all the proof I sent, they gave me $329 first and then refund me the $75 fro the painting. (Thank you) The 3b I’m living in now has A LOT of painting issues and carpet stains as well, and I also took a bunch of pictures. They probably charged the previous tenants and didn’t even fix anything at all. If you move in to west towne, make sure to take as many pictures and keep them until you move out. Because they will end up charging you if you don’t have proof. They will charge you and never fix it and charge the next tenants as well. So take pictures always!!

They are great until you move out. We filled out the move-in survey when we first got here, documented issues with the walls and carpet on the move-in inspection. Upon move out, they charged us $150 in addition to our $500 security deposit for the same wall and carpet issues, and they said they had no record of us ever turning the inspection in.

I would not recommended West Towne at all. I have lived in Ames for 4 years and this is the worst renting experience I have ever had. I had issues with my lease before I even moved in. They somehow lost the email that confirmed my early move in date and tried to tell me that I had to wait until August first to move in. I would have had nowhere to live for 2+ weeks if my parent hadn’t called them and insisted that I be allowed to move in on the agreed date. When I finally got the keys to my apartment I opened the door and was greeted by the strong odor of cat urine. Come to find out the previous tenant had a cat who would pee everywhere in the unit. I found cat urine on the burner of the stove. There was also mold growing under both sinks and in the dishwasher (I have a severe mold allergy). The ceiling was covered in layers of dirt and cobwebs and the floors and walls were disgustingly dirty. There was also an ant infestation when I moved in. The management staff here DO NOT clean anything before you move in! I had to beg the office for a bleach bomb in order to get the cat urine odor out of the unit. Due to this bleach bomb I wasn’t able to be in my apartment for 24+ hours after starting it. Snow removal is awful. I had to dig my car out several times because the plow would push snow up to the back of each car so high that I couldn’t drive over it. I had to have my dryer fixed and in the process of doing that the maintenance staff left a huge mess. There was dryer lint dust and a sticky substance all over my clean hanging clothes, sink, floor, shower, etc. Generally this has been a very disappointing experience and I don’t think that these units are worth the money at all. ***Also I am not posting my full name as I don’t want that on the internet, so please don’t say, “we can’t seem to find your name in our system.” It just looks bad on you. Take the reviews and improve on it.