Lark in the Woods, tuscaloosa-al

Lived here for 3 years in a 3bed/3bath! Never had major maintenance issues, especially in the last year or two. Fridge seal was broken at one point and fridge was completely replaced, maintenance guys were always polite and quiet. Our front load washer had some mold or mildew on the belt that eventually got replaced; we couldn't get it off through cleaning alone. Gym was solid and pool was good. I think there was one year where it was completely drained during the spring for maintenance but as someone who thinks public pools are gross i never had issues with it. I saw one review with a complaint about green water and algae but maybe that was only in one area of the pool or when it first opened up from the winter? The shallow area could get yucky sometimes w/ leaves and such but it's an outdoor pool. Apartment itself was a good sized space and we didn't hear out neighbors very often, certainly not enough for it to be a genuine complaint. We lived on the 2nd floor near the railroad and really only heard upstairs neighbors our last year when they had people over or were wearing heels or something, and the train never bothered any of us much, including my roommate who was a light sleeper. We saw a few roaches (maybe 4 total) over the course of 3 years so there's not a bug problem other than the bugs that come with living in Alabama. I will say the front gate has never worked in most of the time I've been living here, but me and my roommates (all female) never necessarily felt unsafe. No incidents with car break ins that i know of but other than that just don't open the door for strangers or leave your stuff unlocked, common sense stuff. By the end of our lease we were paying around 800-850 per month total, if you're going to resign do it early because it will hike up.

Honestly, I didn't have any problems until things started breaking. The good: Decent complex, knocking on wood but generally bug-free, decently quiet (considering it to be a college apartment), decent amenities, room style is nice, big kitchen and big living room, also close to campus and has a bus. The bad: The complex really does not care. They have been non-responsive and it's hard to get in contact with a real person unless you go right to the front desk, and even then the employees have said repeatedly that they don't care about tenants complaints and that they think that the tenants are either spoiled or don't know what they're talking about.. maintenance requests take forever to be fulfilled and even then it's a really crappy fix sometimes. The ugly: they do have routine inspections, like many college apartments. However.. during spring break this year they did an inspection in the bathroom when no one was here. I put a camera in my room because I would be away, a younger maintenance gentleman came in and rummaged through my drawers, the awkward ones, and was TOUCHING all of my stuff... Awkward. And on the way out he made direct eye contact with the camera. They haven't done it since but be aware. On the topic of maintenance, we had a wet spot on our ceiling in our laundry closet coming from upstairs, we called emergency maintenance and they proceeded to tell us they could not do anything because they did not have the keys to the apartment upstairs. We had a bucket under it for weeks. And when they did fix it they did not cut out the portion that was moldy. Instead they painted over it... Twice after we complained. This one is on me a little bit but I dropped a cup in my sink 2 months ago, it left a hole about the size of my fist it rendered my sink almost entirely unusable in my bathroom. It has been 2 months, I have checked in with maintenance, and made calls to Lark themselves, and made another request, I still have a hole in my sink. I expect I will still have a hole in my sink next month. And a continuation, we did have some problems with neighbors but otherwise it hasn't been too bad. The trash service is basically everyday almost but they don't take it unless it's in a bag or easily grabable. We had one of our neighbors throwing open Wingstop containers and just loose spaghetti and more disgusting stuff in our trash. It filled the bin entirely and the trash people would not take it. We reported it to Lark and they were generally good about the situation. However, the only reason she got evicted was because she just never paid her rent. It seemed like they just gave her notices and that she was talked to but there were no actual consequences. In general: not a horrible complex, if I could do it all over again I would probably pick somewhere else. But I don't care enough to leave right before I graduate so I'll be staying here another year. My only hope is that they can get their stuff together and hopefully maintenance improves. That would be my biggest gripe. Because some of this stuff is genuinely disgusting. Oh and also our gate hasn't worked out here.. so that seems kind of important.

To anyone in Tuscaloosa looking for housing: do not sign a lease here. This is my third year living at this property, and every year the experience has only gotten worse. I encourage you to read my previous review and the other low-star reviews, they accurately reflect what goes on here. On the website, the complex advertises clean facilities, a luxury clubhouse and pool, gated entry, 24-hour security, and a smoke-free environment. None of these claims are true. The property is dirty year-round, with trash, used products such as Zyn patches, and vomit throughout, and management makes no effort to clean or hold residents accountable. They only enforce rules when it benefits them financially and ignore violations from certain residents. The “smoke-free” claim is also false. Residents openly smoke both tobacco and marijuana, and despite repeated complaints from myself and others, management refuses to act. The assistant manager selectively chooses who he enforces rules on and who he lets get away with things. Marijuana is illegal in Alabama, and the smell fills the walkways and even seeps into units, affecting residents’ comfort and health. Safety is another major concern. The front gate has never stayed functional for more than a couple of weeks and is usually left wide open, allowing anyone to enter. In previous years, nonresidents have come onto the property: one misfired a gun shooting himself, and another assaulted a resident after breaking into multiple apartments with a knife. Despite this, there are no security cameras and management has tried to downplay these incidents… thankfully residents had ring cameras to advocate for themselves. Even locking my own door wasn’t possible for months. My apartment key (and my roommates) didn’t work from August until recently, and management showed no urgency to fix it despite knowing I live on the first floor. The so-called security officer is rarely visible and the only thing he is recognized for is revving his engine late at night and not following the own guidelines he enforces.The emergency number connects to an AI that hangs up. Between the broken gates, ignored safety issues, and lack of real security, I do not feel safe living here. The “luxury” pool is also neglected. During the summer, the only time residents actually use it, it’s green, cloudy, and unsanitary. I have attached measurements of low chlorine and high pH truly showing how unsanitary and how much of a health risk it is. It’s clear the property doesn’t invest in proper maintenance or care for resident health. Management and staff are extremely unprofessional. Since the general manager left, there appears to be no supervision to hold the current assistant manager accountable. The assistant manager has repeatedly mishandled situations and treated residents with disrespect. When I was overcharged for rent far beyond what was written in my lease, he refused to look at the lease or get assistance. Another time, after a package went missing (in which I had proof of delivery and a photo of where it was at in the mailroom) , he sat on his phone and refused to help, saying, “I don’t work for you; I work for Scion” as well as “Residents think they are little know it all’s, when in reality, they don’t know a single thing.” It’s only gotten worse since his promotion. He’s violated resident confidentiality multiple times, once by revealing who filed a marijuana complaint and forcing us to “talk it out” with the residents involved, and another time by sharing my maintenance request with my information to those same individuals (Those residents showed me the exact screenshot they were given). The suspected residents later confronted my boyfriend and I outside my apartment keeping us from entering until we talked with them. This property is unsafe, unsanitary, and poorly managed. Complaints are ignored, residents are disrespected, and safety is not a priority. Do not rent here.

Lark in the Woods has got to be one of the worst places in Tuscaloosa. I have 2 roommates and pay around $850 a month yet my appliances are constantly breaking without actually being replaced, the wifi is out at least once a week, the a/c has been out for days, the gate has NEVER worked in the two years I've lived here, the people in the office don't seem to know anything, and so much more. Take pictures of EVERYTHING when you move in because management will try and say they don't have to fix something because you broke it. I can not recommend enough that students live elsewhere and I can not wait to leave this place at the end of the summer.

Everything said about the state of these apartments lines up with what I've been seeing this year. The pool is barely maintained, internet is awful and they've just switched providers from "WhiteSky" to "Latigo" and still the network is 🐌 at best and still not loading at worst. I'm stuck staring at 300Kbps-1Mbps on a ethernet connection right now... [Edit] And upon move-out, they've assessed the wrong room for damage charges, it's a different bedroom visible in their own pictures, and have yet to address it despite me calling and emailing. Just bad business practices all around.