University Cottages, clemson-sc

Had a rough start with University Cottages. We had been communicating (when they would answer their phone) for a couple months before move in. We drove almost 10 hours to see it and said we couldn’t even though no one lived there. On move in day, we went to the office to get our keys and start moving in. We again had driven for almost 10 hours to get there, we were tired and hot-it was the middle of summer. They gave us our keys about 45 minutes earlier than they said they would before and we were excited to move in. There was confirmation before move in day that the property was ready and had been checked. When we got there, the fridge and freezer were FULL of rotten meat and trash, the power was off because no one was living there.There were bugs, roaches, and flies everywhere and the smell was nauseating. The toilet was broken and held together by duct tape and didn’t even flush. The apartment had not been cleaned. I tried to call because I was furious at this point and they did not answer their phones. I drove to the office and told them what I found. The head manager told me she didn’t believe me. After I showed her pictures she said “well you shouldn’t have gotten your keys early”. That mess would not have been cleaned in 45 minutes. Granted they did send nice maintenance men to give us a brand new fridge and toilet and had cleaners come, it was ridiculous that they didn’t have the place ready. A few months into living here, they sent a text message saying they were showing our apartment. That’s aggravating because we couldn’t see it when there was no one living here. They are supposed to give a 24 hour notice and we only got about half a day notice. They showed the other two apartments in our triplex but didn’t come to ours. We called to see if they were coming because we have plans for the day and they said they didn’t come because we didn’t respond to the text. We had responded to the text and got nothing in return. I wasn’t upset that I didn’t have to have people walking through my home, but I spent time cleaning so it looked extra nice and canceled plans. They could have called if they really wanted a response. Very unprofessional and no not recommend.

I just signed my lease with this property management and it has been the most stressful. From not showing up to my apartment showing to giving me the wrong information about my move in date and rent amount. And they never answer the phone!!! One day I called all afternoon and never got an answer or a call back. They Always want to text but never respond back in a timely manner. I feel like I have to beg for information just for it to switch up on what was told to me! This is the most unprofessional property management place I have ever encountered. I’m just trying to find a place for my daughter and I and it has been a headache.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Extremely unprofessional leasing staff. Drove an hour to our morning appointment only to be ignored. Leasing staff said they could not meet due to social distancing. They told me they would unlock the rental so I could do a self guided tour. The rental was locked when I arrived. I called again to have it unlocked and they said they would be right out. Per google maps it is only a 6 minute drive from leasing office to rental property. Yet somehow after a hour had passed since our appointment they still had not returned to unlock the rental. Then they refuse to answer any phone calls. Does not seem like they want to rent their places out. WASTE OF TIME.

Dealing with university cottages has been a nightmare from the start. The first interaction I had with university cottages was trying to view an apartment, easy enough right? Apparently not, after using their online check in portal and emailing them, I received absolutely no response. So I attempted to call them. After several days of being sent to voicemail I finally received an answer. The process of trying to sign my lease was a monumental task, we, my roommate and myself, called every single day for a week during their open hours just to ask about paying our security deposit. Several emails were sent, met complete silence. Little did I know this would be the norm in dealing with these people. Over the summer before my lease started I wanted to contact them because I had questions about move in day. So you know how July fourth is a one day thing? Well apparently not to them, or atleast to their voicemail because for two weeks all I got when I called was a voicemail saying they are out of the office for July fourth. Once move in day finally came, that's when it gets really funny!! Walk in to get my key to my house, they say “oh we already gave it to your roommate, “never had to show any form of ID by the way, so we only had one key. Well when we arrive at the apartment, low and behold it was the wrong key. So we had to go back to get the right key. Once we finally got into the building I was greated with the lovely sight of dead bugs, rotting carpet, rooms full of mold and a kitchen full of grease and a stove that looked like someone took a hammer to it. So odviously we couldn't live there. Thankfully, they let us move into a different unit, but its clear they never even checked the apartment before letting us see it. Good luck doing laundry. All throughout this year I've used the laundry rooms in the neighboring apartment complex also run by university cottages. The dryers straight up never work no matter how long your clothes are in there. I wasted five hours simply because they are completely busted and no one has ever come out to fix these machines.

Lived here for two years and would only recommend for students who do not plan to spend much time their unit Pros: Affordable, newer/updated units, decent property management company Cons: Units are cheaply built. The HVAC system is horrible. A/C and heat will run 24/7 leading to unbearable hot or cold rooms and upstairs unit will leak in summer. Property is full of dogs, majority of which are either off leash, tied to leads in grassy areas and left unattended or left to roam freely around property, this leads to many bad run ins with our dogs. The property is also not exclusively students, this became an issue as it seemed there were many older individuals who rented here due to the cheap price but who were sketchy to put it lightly, one neighbor was clearly on drugs and eventually removed by police. One neighbor was an elderly couple whose home smelled so badly of smoke it could be smelt from sidewalk and they let there dog roam free. The pool was pretty much unusable in the evenings as many people who do not live there would party and smoke weed. We also noticed a strange man who seemed to be living in club house/pool late at night. Overall this would be a decent place to live during the semester to save some money but if you are a parent worried about your child being safe and comfortable, spend the little extra money and go somewhere else. Property manager would be smart to keep a closer eye on who is at pool and tenants obeying rules such as keeping up with their pets waste and keeping dogs leashed.