The James Madison, madison-wi

The James is a bit expensive, but the staff are incredibly friendly and the building is well-managed. I'm leaving now, but I've been satisfied with the service during my stay. Maintenance was always quick to help, and everyone was so kind. However, since it is a student housing complex, it can get noisy around 2 to 3 AM, and the hallway soundproofing isn't the best. If you're a light sleeper, you should definitely bring some earplugs or white noise options. +) Edit, there weren't any additional fees when I moved out. Not sure why some reviews had this issue.

The James is perfectly located — easy to walk to shopping, food, and events. The apartments are gorgeous and clean, and I always felt safe. The office staff is friendly and helpful; I would recommend living here!

Just finished moving my daughter into her 5 bedroom 4 bath condo and was BEYOND disappointed. The condo was absolutely FILTHY. We were on our hands and knees scrubbing floors with visible dirt coming up. Walls and trim were full of scuff marks, showers and toilets were dirty, and the list goes on. We pay a PREMIUM price for this unit and was nothing like we saw initially nor was the layout. Biggest red flags so parent beware-two bedrooms had no window or a fire escape, when we called to complain they said it was approved by the city. They put six 19 year old girls on the main level of the building with a door/patio the has direct access to the sidewalk which is only a block from bars/restaurants. It is a busy walking area and in move in day we learned the lock on the door from the living room/kitchen to the patio was BROKE. Maintenance told us it would be a few weeks before they could fix it-and also failed to tell us about it prior to move in which they admitted to knowing about already. PARENTS BEWARE! Safety and security is NOT a priority and the units are run down and poorly maintained.

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.

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.