Catamount Run Apartments, burlington-vt

Rent is so expensive that you can find cheaper places in Los Angeles, and the construction quality is poor and cheap. Sometimes, the cheap drywall lets off a rotten egg smell, and you can tell the construction workers did not bother to cover anything before painting or to cover appliances before sawing wood. Exterior doors are often extremely difficult to unlock, especially in the winter. Management quality is poor and it's clear they just want to sit there and take as much of your money as possible. A maintenance crew once illegally entered my unit with their dirty shoes on for someone else's request because they couldn't properly keep track of who lives in which unit. Management's excuse was "our small team manages too many properties," and they don't care to have their maintenance crews wear shoe covers when entering units even though most tenants like to keep their floors clean. When winter comes and overnight street parking is banned until April 1, they pressure you to rent a parking space for $80/month in their underground garages that continue to be prone to car break-ins. For a long time, packages were prone to theft too, and it took a long time for them to try to solve that. Management also might sign you up for a renter insurance policy behind your back at your own expense, even if you already have a policy. They are also not transparent about additional surcharges one may incur on top of rent, such as the aforementioned $80/month parking fee, laundry and electricity costs, the $200+ lockout service fee that's more expensive than some doctor visits, and the $15/key replacement fee. For almost a whole year, they tried to pressure medical students assigned to clerkships in Connecticut into signing lease renewals that are double the length of their stay, and they ask you to renew when you've barely lived there for long enough. There are also strange restrictions, like forbidding tenants from using the laundry hookups, an amenity within their own apartment unit. That's like forbidding tenants from having a TV despite having the connections for cable. Obviously they just want you to use their laundry machines that charge you almost $5 total for a cycle of washing and drying. Avoid this place if you can.

I am truly grateful for my experience at Catamount Run. As an international resident, I felt welcomed and supported from day one. When I arrived, key pickup was well organized, someone was already waiting for me, and I was personally shown around the apartment, which made settling in much easier. The apartments are warm and comfortable, with reliable heating—especially important during winter. Maintenance requests were always handled promptly, and communication from the management team was clear, proactive, and respectful. I especially appreciated being informed well in advance about any updates or changes. The staff were professional and kind throughout my stay. Email communication was always clear, and the move-out instructions were simple and easy to follow, which made the transition stress-free. Catamount Run is a beautiful, safe, and welcoming place to live. It is strategically located near major shops, pharmacies, and convenient bus routes. To international learners and residents in particular, I highly encourage you to consider Catamount Run. I felt 100% safe, supported, and welcomed here, and I truly enjoyed my stay. Thank you to the entire Catamount Run team.

Highlights from Catamount Run: 1. The parking garage was broken into, the package room was broken into, and the door locks were constantly broken. It took all the packages being ransacked/stolen for them to consider putting in a camera. We had to get the locks on our doors fixed 2-3 times each just because they weren't installed correctly. One of the hallway doors locks from the inside, so we had to unlock it to be able to leave the building (?) 2. The A/C units weren't installed correctly, so they break all the time. And the maintenance team takes months to fix them. 3. They spared every expense when building the rooms. The windows have no screens, the tub has no caulk, the flooring and baseboards don't match up so there are random gaps everywhere. All the appliances are cheap. 4. YOU ARE GOING TO PAY 10 MONTHS OF RENT FOR 8-9 MONTHS. In a 10 month contract, you move in mid-August and move out mid-May. Trust me, they tried to charge me for leaving the day my lease ended because they claimed it ended "at 8 am" or something. You are going to pay rent for all of August and all of May regardless. 5. There is constant construction in your building and in the new buildings across the street. They leave the lights on in the new buildings all night and the blinds don't fit the windows, so you'll be up all night. You may think this is a better deal than another place, but with the amount you pay in other charges and the amount of time you spend sending maintenance requests, it's not worth it. The location is pretty convenient, but a $200 lockout fee is highway robbery.

Avoid at All Costs – Overpriced, Unsafe, and Poorly Managed Catamount Run looks like a shiny new apartment complex from the outside, but don’t be fooled — living here has been one of the most frustrating and disappointing experiences I’ve ever had. From security issues to shoddy construction, this place is a mess. Security is basically nonexistent. The parking garage and package room are frequent targets of break-ins, and exterior doors often don’t lock properly. There are no working security cameras in common areas — it literally took multiple thefts before management even considered installing one. People who don’t live here regularly wander into the building, and it’s not uncommon to find homeless individuals sleeping in the lobby. It doesn’t feel safe, and management does nothing. The apartments are poorly constructed. A/C units break constantly because they were installed incorrectly. The flooring doesn’t line up with the walls, tubs are missing caulk, windows don’t have screens, and every appliance feels like it was the cheapest option on the market. If something breaks — and it will — don’t count on maintenance to help. Requests often go unanswered or get closed without ever being addressed. Rent is absurdly high for what you get. They add on mandatory hidden fees parking ($80/month if you have a car), coin-op laundry ($30/month), and electric bills ($40/month), and suddenly this “student housing” is costing you luxury prices with none of the benefits. They also charge 10 months of rent for only 8–9 months of actual living time — good luck arguing with them, they’ll hit you with technicalities buried in the lease (like your move-out time being 8 AM). Location? Inconvenient and isolating. Surrounded by highways and empty new developments. If you’re a grad student, parking on campus is banned — so your only option is a deeply unreliable bus system that stops running after 10 PM. Thin walls and zero soundproofing. Hope you’re a heavy sleeper — you’ll hear everything from your neighbors' conversations to them watching tv at 4 AM. There’s no community here, just a bunch of stressed-out tenants trying to make it to the end of their lease. Final warning: This building is a textbook example of cutting corners. Redstone clearly prioritized profits over people — and it shows. The lease is restrictive and unforgiving, the management is indifferent, and the overall experience is not worth the money, stress, or safety risks. Expensive, poorly built, unsafe, badly managed, and isolated. Don't waste your time and money....

Horrible Experience — Stay Away Living here has been nothing short of a nightmare. Homeless people regularly sleep in the lobby and management does absolutely nothing about it. The mailroom has been broken into multiple times — good luck getting your packages safely. Half the exterior doors don’t even lock, so anyone can walk in at any time. It’s a total security mess. Maintenance is a joke. You can submit request after request, and they’ll either ignore it or close the ticket without ever showing up. The place is falling apart and no one cares. On top of all that, they somehow manage to charge you 12 months’ rent even if you only stay for 10 — buried in the lease, of course. Complete scam. Do yourself a favor and look literally anywhere else.