Vie at University Downs, tuscaloosa-al

I am writing as the parent of a former resident to express my strong dissatisfaction with your management team's conduct and to demand a prompt resolution regarding missing property. Based on our experience, I would never recommend this community to prospective renters. Prior to official move-out, management improperly entered the unit and removed personal property—including a mattress and bed frame—without authorization, falsely claiming the items were abandoned simply because an interior bedroom key was left on a counter. After promising reimbursement, management then claimed the items had been recovered and placed back in the apartment. She drove 1.5 hours to retrieve them, only to find the unit empty. To make matters worse, I have attempted to contact the leasing office for over a week regarding this issue without receiving a single reply, leaving my child without a bed. This neglect mirrors our experience during the lease, where basic maintenance issues like a broken air conditioner were handled with temporary portable units rather than timely, permanent repairs. The lack of communication, mishandling of personal property, and poor maintenance standards are entirely unacceptable. Communication is poor. Replied to this Google review with information that was not relayed any other way. Was not told the bed and mattress were in storage. Was told it would be back in the apartment and it wasn’t. No accountability being taken .

I would not recommend living here based on my experience. Before I officially moved out, I discovered that several of my belongings, including my mattress and bed frame, were missing. I was told they had been thrown away because my bedroom key was left on the counter. I lived in a one-bedroom apartment, and the key left on the counter was only the bedroom key—not the front door key. Despite that, my belongings were removed without my permission. Management initially told me they would reimburse me for everything that had been discarded. Then, two days later, they contacted me saying they had actually found my mattress and bed frame and that they would be placed back in my unit for me to pick up before my move-out date. I drove an hour and a half to retrieve them, only to find they were not there. Since then, I have been trying to contact the office for over a week to get answers, but I have received no response. This entire situation has been a huge inconvenience, especially since I have already moved away and have been left without a bed to sleep on because of their mistakes and lack of communication. To make matters worse, when the air conditioning goes out, the solution seems to be placing a portable window A/C unit in the apartment instead of fixing the underlying issue right away. That is not a long-term solution and is frustrating when you’re paying to live in a properly maintained apartment. Overall, the lack of communication, poor handling of residents’ personal property, and delayed maintenance responses have made this one of the worst renting experiences I’ve had. I expected much better professionalism and accountability.

if i could give 0 i would. apartments themselves are nice. everything else sucks. water is gross. ac/heat was broken the entire time i lived here. 45° F in my apartment all winter. random charges to my account for absolutely nothing. just a total scam.

If your HVAC unit fails and completely breaks, they will drag out getting a new one for over at least 6 months in the middle of summer. Your living room will be uninhabitable at 82°, and no matter how many maintenance requests you put in, they won’t fix your ac. You will never get a new HVAC and you will be happy. You will never get a straight answer from anyone and you will be happy.

My daughter was able to be released from the lease in November 2025 but we weren’t given back any money from being put in an uninhabitable apartment in the first place. We were concerned about the sandbags in the patio of the first floor apt. We were told that it’s just Tuscaloosa and it always floods. This sent alarms off immediately. Then we had several leaks and it prompted us to get a mold test by a professional that was highly recommended by a mold remediation company. It came back positive and the apartments called the remediation company that serviced the problem while my daughter still lived there. The only thing that got us out of the lease was the fact that the apartment was flooded during remediation and needed to be repaired extensively after even more mold was found. Her clothes and furniture smelled like mold when we moved her to another apartment. It was a nightmare and I hope this helps others make an informed decision as well as encourages the management to thoroughly inspect and treat each unit every year if it’s a known issue. These kids pay more than enough to have a clean environment at the minimum.