Arba, san-marcos-tx

My experience with ARBA Apartments ended on a very sour note due to unfair and suspicious move-out charges. First, they claimed I owed $220 for carpet replacement due to stains. This made no sense, as I had thoroughly shampooed the carpet myself and took clear photos showing it was in great condition. When I asked for proof, they changed their story—now saying the carpet needed to be replaced due to an “unpleasant odor.” They attached a cropped, unprofessional “invoice” for $293 from an unnamed company, with no date or real details—just a price and the apartment number. Different amount, different service, different excuse. It felt completely made up. To make matters worse, they turned my account over to an aggressive collection agency without giving me a real opportunity to dispute the charges or receive a proper explanation. I’ve always paid rent on time and left the apartment clean and in good shape. This treatment is unacceptable and unprofessional. If you’re thinking about renting here, be prepared to fight for your security deposit and deal with shady practices when you move out. Document everything. I would not recommend ARBA apartments to anyone.

Do not rent from this place! Maybe they were good under the old management, but this new management has been horrible. First, they tried to raise the rate by $200 every though we had a contract Second on move in, the air conditioner was broken and it took days to fix. Third, we paid for a covered parking spot. They told me daughter to submit the spot she wanted in the portal. Then they told me daughter that no parking would be enforced until September 8th. So my daughter parked in a covered parking spot and they had her car towed. When she talked to the front lady, the office said "Oh, you shouldn't put stuff in the portal it gets lost." Then she was told parking wasn't enforced until the 8th and the lady Eliana said that not really true, but there is nothing they could do. Then she said I couldn't talk to a manager. She said that my daughter should have assumed there were more steps to assigned parking and she just should have come in to the office. I asked where in writing she was told all this and I was told we just tell them and they should assume some things. Find somewhere else or you too will be upset

I stayed here for a year and put up with way more than I should have. The WiFi was constantly down, the elevator barely works, and don’t even get me started on “security”. The main gate is literally open all the time. And the crazy part? I DIDN’T EVEN COMPLAIN. I stayed patient the entire time. But the SECOND they tried to play me with these move-out charges, I lost it. They’re out here charging $150 for “paint damage” that DOES NOT EXIST, with random blurry photos as “proof.” No explanation, no real evidence. Just throwing charges and hoping people pay without questioning it. I was actually recommending this place to friends before. Not anymore. After this experience, I’ll be making sure people know exactly how this place operates, especially after you MOVE OUT. If you end up moving in here, TAKE PICTURES OF EVERYTHING before and after. Document every little thing because apparently you have to protect yourself from being charged for damages that aren’t yours. Don’t assume they’ll be reasonable. Protect yourself.

There have been several issues with communication on behalf of arba’s side. There has been hardly any communication on the topics of management coming by, cleaners, or notification of roommates being added to the apartment. Another issue I’ve had is management or cleaners leaving the lights on after being in the unit, while this doesn’t seem like the biggest issue, it is an issue when I’m the one paying for the utilities. While my experience hasn’t been horrible, it could definitely be better. I do recommend this as the perfect place for someone looking for their first off campus apartment, though to stay long term, possibly look into other options.

lived at Arba for the past two years and just recently moved out. My first year was lovely, then new management came in. Not only is all of the office staff unprofessional, but the assistant and general managers are very unprofessional. Everytime I went to them with a charge issue, they blamed it on previous management and would say the exact opposite of what I was told by the office student leasing agents. I know they are college kids, but EVERYONE needs to be on the same page with charges, maintenance information, and simple apartment information they should know working in an office. I was told wall repairs would be a small price given the pictures I showed them, then got charged almost $200. On top of unprofessional leasing agents, on in particular, Megha, is very upsetting. In the beginning of the year, I was taking my dog to the restroom outside. When we walked towards the bushes, and guy was squated down, pants around his knees, and poop all over his pants. I look around, and see his frat brothers on the second floor laughing at him. Assuming he was getting hazed, he then proceeded to leave his poop-filled pants on the front lawn for almost a week until I asked maintenance to remove them. This is the type of unprofessionalism that upsets me. Not knowing your new hire, the things he has done around the community, and the reputation is very harmful to the Arba apartments. To add to this, he had all of his frat brothers write fake 5 star reviews to help mask the genuine AWFUL experiences all past Arba residents have had. I hope they take this information, and move forward with a more tedious hiring and training routine going forward.