The James Madison, madison-wi

The apartment itself is pretty nice and I don’t really have too many complaints. However, there are a lot of other things I don’t like which is why I’m giving it one star. This place is pricey and the service and experience does not reflect that. Some of the staff (not all) are very rude and treat you poorly. The company also tries to extort as much money as possible from you by adding random monthly fees that they assume you just pay as well as ridiculous cleaning fees when you leave the apartment. People will always live here because it’s college housing and people don’t really have many options and the James knows this. Thats the only reason they are able to get away with their behavior.

Be cautioned: The James management is untrustworthy, unresponsive, and will extort money from you after you terminate your lease and move out. My daughter leased a shared unit at The James for one year. We are very pleased she's no longer a resident. After moving out, she was double-charged for utilities the last billing period and excessively charged for "damage to the unit" which entailed painting a portion of one wall after she lived in the unit for a year -- painting is normal wear and tear, not damage. A debt collector came after us after we challenged The James on these charges (and we did not receive a response from The James). When I visited The James, my daughter and I found a dead rodent near the elevator in the lobby, which smells of rat poison or something else equally unhealthy to all living things. That says it all. And anyone can walk in and out of this place. Staff freely enter units unannounced. Thank goodness my daughter moved elsewhere in Madison. I reside in another well-known college town where such practices are unacceptable. Avoid The James - a rat hole.

Do not live at the james, find a better apartment that doesn't constantly try to screw you over and take your money. They also made us pack up most of our belongings so they could do an unasked for floor replacement, without letting us opt out. The installment date was also 2 weeks before finals and before my roommate and I move out. You would think they would wait for leases to be over or for most residents to leave for summer, but no. They came knocking on our door at 7:30 in the morning and demanded we be out by 8:00 or it would be a $100 charge for every 15 minute. This is absolutely ridiculous and was not made clear in their emails regarding the floor installment. When I asked the maintenance person (our usual person who is also rather unpleasant and rude) if anything was said in the email about this, he said "we don't technically have to." Just overall shady and scummy. Their communication about the project was very unclear and when I asked management about changing out dates, they said they couldn't do anything but also that "it shouldn't be too much moving or too much or an inconvenience." I would like to hear their definition of an inconvenience because this was more than that. Having to uproot my whole room toward the end of the semester when classes are busy and I'm about to move out anyways has caused a great amount of stress and taken away time and sleep from my daily routine. I understand that building maintenance must be done, but the way they conduct their business makes me genuinely feel like they do not care about me living there. Go somewhere that does care and that won't try to screw you over like this. There is so much other stuff that I hate about this place but this has been a recent development. They have terrible internal communication which makes the communication to the residents even worse. Genuine bullshit and I can''t wait to leave :D

Add on a whole bunch of fees for no reason at move out. Usually cannot see your room or even a video/photos before moving in. Our room ended up being super tiny. Hot tub closes super early so they can save money on heating. Rooms are super overpriced considering there are other apartments across the street with cheaper, nicer and bigger rooms.

I do not recommend renting here. They offer free t-shirts in exchange for 5-star reviews, which feels misleading. Although they say there’s no security deposit, they charge a non-refundable $300 maintenance fee upfront. Expect additional unexplained charges every month. They seem to target college students and parents who autopay rent by adding extra fees without clear explanations. Besides utilities, I had $50–$100 added to my rent monthly. I highly recommend disputing any suspicious charges. Maintenance staff perform unannounced checks during breaks and have used these visits to threaten lease violations. I was told to move my belongings or face a lease violation, which felt invasive and unacceptable. The apartments are outdated, dirty, and overpriced. The only bright spot is a very kind maintenance lady—hope she finds a better workplace. Parents of freshmen: please consider other options. Avoid at all costs.