The Groves Clemson, central-sc

After two years here, I can confidently say this is not a place worth your time or money. Maintenance is a constant battle though the maintenance man and the kid that works with him are fairly nice people. The dishwasher was broken at move-in and sat that way for six months, when I reported it, I was asked what I put in it to break it. At one time, our washing machine was out for two weeks. When our upstairs neighbor’s washing machine broke and flooded our apartment, we were partially blamed and told new carpet would come out of our security deposit. The AC went out in the middle of summer and somehow that was partly our fault too. There’s a clear pattern of pointing fingers at tenants instead of just fixing things and the process is drawn out. Maintenance also enters your unit unannounced with no warning, which is both uncomfortable and likely a tenant rights issue. The amenities are a joke. The WiFi is unusable for most of the day and multiple residents have complained and nothing has changed. Very hard to get school or work tasks done. The pool is rarely cleaned and has been shut down before by the government for being a health hazard. Package theft has happened multiple times with no real response from management. On top of all that, management plays obvious favorites when it comes to handling requests and concerns. They have a friendly relationship with a towing company and will use any excuse to tow your car. Power outages happen once a month or so and any time it’s too windy. Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.

I lived at the Groves for three years and absolutely loved it! It is a family owned apartment complex and I appreciate them so much! You will not find a more reasonable price for a one bedroom in Clemson. The only down side is the guest policy and parking. Each tenant gets their own assigned spot but guests have to park on the street and fill out a form. I was in nursing school at the time and this prevented college parties which was much appreciated! The neighborhood is very quiet, safe and close to downtown Clemson. Great place to live if you are looking for a quiet, and affordable place!

The low rent and the availability of a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment are about the only advantages of living here. If you have read similar complaints in other reviews, I can confirm that most of them are accurate based on my experience. Although my car was never towed, I personally experienced the slow maintenance, security-deposit problems, poor communication, and irresponsible attitude described by other tenants. First, I was told that non-U.S. tenants were required to pay a $2,000 security deposit, while U.S. tenants were required to pay only $1,000. A deposit policy based specifically on whether a tenant is American raises serious fair-housing concerns. Getting my deposit back was also extremely difficult. My lease ended in December, and I moved to Houston for work. After that, I called three or four times and sent three or four emails almost every month. Each time, the property manager told me that the check would be mailed immediately, but it never arrived. In May, after calling three times in a single week, I was once again promised that the check would be sent. I finally received my $2,000 deposit near the end of June—almost six months after my lease ended. The entire process was exhausting and required far more effort than should ever be necessary to recover a security deposit. Maintenance was another major issue. During Hurricane Helene in 2024, my roof leaked heavily whenever it rained. I repeatedly asked the property manager to address the problem, but it took nearly a month for anyone to respond. Even then, the underlying problem was never properly repaired, and I was left living in an apartment that continued to leak during heavy rain. During the summer, both air-conditioning units in my apartment stopped working, and the indoor temperature reached approximately 89°F. Despite making several phone calls and explaining the situation, I still had to wait another week for the problem to be repaired. I was forced to stay in an 85°F apartment for an entire week. Package delivery is also poorly managed. UPS packages are commonly left in a shared area near the first building, where anyone can access them. I had packages stolen twice. When I reported the theft to the property manager, he simply told me there was nothing he could do. No solution, investigation, security improvement, or other assistance was offered. Prospective tenants should also carefully review the lease’s early-termination terms. In my experience, there was no standard option to end the lease early by paying an early-termination fee. I was told that I would remain responsible for the entire lease unless I found another person to take over the remaining rental period. This is an important condition to understand before signing. The internet was also unreliable and frequently unstable. The electrical service did not feel dependable either. On at least one occasion, strong winds caused the electricity to repeatedly flicker on and off. I believe the reviewers who had positive experiences here were fortunate. Experiencing even one of the problems described above can completely change your impression of the property. I experienced several of them. Overall, if saving money is your highest priority, you can take your chances and see how lucky you are. Otherwise, I strongly recommend paying a little more for a better-managed property. The additional cost may be worth the peace of mind and the time you will save dealing with unresolved problems.

Edit 2: This place has lost it's charm for me. Rent is going up and the pet fee is now a yearly expense. The direct tv has been cancelled, and the Wi-Fi is not reliable enough to stream with. Edit 1: The WiFi has been upgraded! The apartments are very nice and you get quite a bit for what you pay for! Currently the WiFi is pretty weak, but maintenance told me they're working on it. Chuck is a strict but fair man.

In all my housing experiences, this place has to be the WORST I have every experienced due to the lack of good management practices. The property manager whose name is “Chuck” is a complete condensing jerk that will try his best to rip you off at any opportunity he has. He practices very little communication with his residents and is conveniently never in his office located on site. Whenever you email or call him about an issue he will say it is not his problem and to contact maintenance. When contacting maintenance you will have to deal with a woman who is one of those jack-of-all-trades handyman, who needs to be called twice to fix a simple sink leak that she makes worse the first time she attempts it. Now on to the apartments, which are cheaply made and small. There are four small apartments cramped into one little townhouse with thin walls. You will be able to hear your neighbors at all times of the day. There is literally no guest parking and guest who do park on the premises are likely to be towed. Receiving mail or packages here is a terrible idea for the reasons listed in other reviews. Packages are left out in the front of the complex for anyone to grab. Mail is also placed in your mailbox by either Chuck or maintenance who will mistakenly place your mail in someone else’s mailbox. The only positive thing about this place is the rental price and the internet. The internet was recently upgraded and provides decent speeds (glad management finally got something right). Also due to the lack of one bedroom apartments in Clemson this is one of the few choices for a decently priced one bedroom apartment. Lastly, the move out inspection here is a complete joke Chuck will charge you whatever he wants even if it is completely unreasonable. One hundred dollars to "clean" an apartment that was already cleaned. This guy has no clue on how to manage a property and I would suggest anyone who he tries to cheat out their security deposit challenge him on it. If you have any other housing option, I would strongly suggest you not to rent out here.