The Lantern

Regardless of how desperate you are for a place. DO NOT waste your time here. They will let you apply and pay the money to do so. Then they will give you the run around with communication about moving forward with the process to get the lease and move in. Spent a week sending emails and phone calls with no answer to either.

This apartment has been a nightmare experience, from start, and I wish I could say finish, but we still haven't received the deposit refund check yet, **after 4 months of being moved out.** They've already lied to us twice about it as well. After telling us the "check is in the mail on the way, I'll send an email internally to see if they can re-issue it". The 3rd time we called a new person actually told us they haven't issued the check yet "but should be soon" The first apartment we lived in we had to be moved from within 3 months because it rained and started leaking through the roof. Instead of actually fixing it, they told us they could move us to another apartment with more space for almost the same price. (By the way, their version of "fixing it, was literally painting over the soaked through bits in the kitchen, until the entire cabinet started collapsing anyways. That's when they offered to move us, when we asked them to get a mold test done and they refused. Unfortunately at the time, we couldn't pay for one professionally ourselves). The AC in the new apartment didn't work more than half the time, and their 3 bedroom plans have a two floor model, which did not get ANY cold air unless the door was left open with a large fan of the door to the inside stairs. We lost power during the winter storm intermittently which this isn't the complaint. The issue was during this time AND extended, we had NO water for 2 weeks. Even after the snow and ice cleared, they still didn't switch the water back on. Also, they WILL delete maintenance requests without completing them, and if you call to check in they tell you they can place a new request since it may have gotten lost in the system. If you place another one, they'll tell you they can't "move you up the list" since that's the date you submitted. Spoiler alert, there is no list. They just wait for Code enforcement to fine them to fix it *if* someone calls. Save yourself time, if it's been 2+ weeks without resolution and you unfortunately have to stay here, call code. I wish I could say there wasn't more but honestly, this isn't even a 10th of the issues we experienced. AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS.

I have lived here for 10+ years. I have seen alot of managers and office staff come and go and honestly most never cared when there was a problem. Recently I needed to transfer apartments so they can do the upgrades on my old one. There were a few hiccups along the way and I have to say the lady in the office now Lexi has done an amazing job helping to get these issues tackled. She is on the ball. Nice to have someone that actually cares about the residents and works hard to get problems fixed as soon as possible.

Terrible communication from the property staff. Parking is horrendous and nothing is clearly marked. The apartments are not level and there are exposed wires hanging out from the buildings. I would never recommend these apartments.

Terrible place to live since July I have given a deposit to move to a remodeled unit and September is ending and still nothing the unit that they were going to give me in August they rented it to a new tenant the response of the lady who attended me is that That unit is infested with roaches, I wonder? As it could be that they did not move me because the unit was infested and they rented to a new tenant they do not care that you live in terrible conditions among the cockroaches and other insects that must exist, in just one month four managers have passed through the property, nobody wants working here for all the problems that exist in the units and they do not provide solutions in hot weather the air conditioners do not work correctly inside the unit you will feel 82F it is unbearable you call for maintenance and they tell you that everything is fine that they do not know why It is like this they clean the filters a bit and everything stays the same and so you spend the entire hot season so that talking about some neighbors with pets they leave it outside and the poor spend the night barking some do not take them to relieve themselves in their area designated and you can find those of the animals even next to your car a lot of misinformation in these times of pandemic in the building in front of mine there was a per are infested and did not take preventive measures to safeguard the health of the tenants, they preferred to remain silent in the event of this being by a person who works for the entity which leaves due to the bad directive of the same IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A NICE SAFE PLACE TO YOUR REST AND THAT OF YOUR FAMILY PLEASE BE SURE IT IS NOT THIS .....

I came to Lantern Apartments because it was one of very few complexes that would rent to me being that I was still out of state. I had to take a risk as I was not physically present to do a walk through in the complex. The schools are good in this area and that was the main factor in my choice for Lantern Apartments as my son is still in elementary school. The “updates” and “renovations” that they claim to have made are all cheap aesthetics. I have a kitchen drawer that you can’t open all the way because it falls off the track and onto the shelf below it. There is absolutely no closet space or shelving space in general. The shelves in the bathroom and kitchen are filled with mold that was painted over. The metal toilet paper and towel racks are cheap and consistently fall out of the wall. Maintenance requests go ignored for days. I’ve made 4 requests for the same issue and they simply bandaid the problem. There was a banking error one month for my paycheck and despite speaking to management about it prior to rent being due I was still charged a $25 a day late fee, even though my track record shows I pay rent on time every month. The city of Austin and Lantern Apartments had a back issue with water charges, Lantern Apartments has decided to split the charge between the tenants, even though this is not our issue. My neighbor has been with this complex for years and is being charged $390 in back water bills because of this awful complex. The parking situation is a mess, the parking lots are terribly rundown. Most of the speed bumps are coming up out of the ground, which is really a hazard. Maintenance doesn’t discard hardware trash properly. I’ve had to fix my tire due to nails that are laying all over the parking lot. My recommendation, stay away. If it’s a last resort, try to get on the highest floor, as you can hear everything going on. Pest control is non existent, yet you’re still charged for it every month. Forget decent WiFi, if that’s necessary for your job, it won’t happen here. Really, the complex should have been torn down... there’s not much good here other than it’s a roof over your head. The investors who bought this complex and its employees absolutely do not care about its tenants or this living experience. Look elsewhere.

We moved in a few months ago and I have been very satisfied with our new apartment. The Staff has been very helpful with the process of getting settled in and making sure we are completely happy with our move. The apartment is an upgrade from where we just moved from. It is in much better shape. It is well maintained and clean. The staff worked with us so we could keep our washer and dryer by taking the one that came with the apartment and put in another vacant apartment, they were happy to do this for us. The staff is very friendly. I love the dog park, it is a great place to meet neighbors and allow our dogs to run for a bit off their leashes and it is kept clean. I love the fact that they enforce residence to clean up after their dogs by providing dogie bags all over the property with a place to dispose of the bags, super convent. I feel the rent here is reasonable compared to other Apartments in Austin, we looked for a new home for several months before we found Audubon Square. The location is close to shopping but far enough out of high populated areas so it is a quiet place to live. The property is lite up at night , I feel safe outside at night. For the price, location and staff I recommend Audubon Square to be a place you call home.

I don’t recommend this place to anyone specially if you have kids. Basically everything in the reviews about the insects fleas roaches spiders ..etc is correct and even worst . my kids the entire stay there were inching and having bites every night all over . I had to spry them with insect repellent before I put them to bed. We had Pest control every week and same problem . I can’t let my family be in this situation and too much toxin from pest control is not healthy as well . if you live there wait till the night come and you will see all kind of insect attacking you . Plus the place is very old and smell bad mold and old smell , it just horrible. And the worst part is the management . they were charging us between 160-170 $ a month for water bills. 2 bedrooms apartment 3 adults only . This is scamming people. If it would be right and this is their true charge for water none would like to stay in such a place where all the places around you they paying between 15-50 $ a month for water bills. Even houses there they don’t have 160$ a month for water And when we left the apartment they charges us 300 $ something for couple scratches on the counter top which was already there when we moved in and we have it written on the inventory list . which they saying we did not give it to them . So they are basically excellent at lying and scamming people this is their management and customer service skills . On conclusion I don’t recommended this place to anyone . It unhealthy full of all kind of insect fleas roaches spiders ….etc and mold smell horrible , it is very very old place and their appliances as well if you open the water faucet , it will fall in your hand . Management very bad they will scam you in a way or another . So stay away and healthy . By the way we had to trash our furniture after we left we don’t have pet but we got fleas after staying in this place that is another cost of staying there so be aware. If anyone want prove pls send me your email and i will forward u the water bills and pictues of the insects bites and couter top scraches ,every thing i wrote is honest and true review i swear.

Please, don't try to live at Audubon Square Apartment (12425 Mellow Meadow Austin). I really regret because live there 20 months. My lease apartment is old, small, no storage and I had 2 terrible summer with full fleas (I don't have any pet), Fleas and other bugs were in everywhere All persons in my family were badly bitten by fleas, I fear to have nightmare. And We moved out, They request we have to paid a lot of money but ok because we don't want a bad credit but like a gangster they are not only take all my deposit but also sent bill to bill continuous... I still have to send money to them now (after almost 3 month from the day I had to vacate) and I really don't know when the audubon square's bills will to end.

The overall vibe of the apartments is casual, but the staff and management work hard to keep the landscaping and amenities in good shape and appealing. It's close to bus stops, and a long walk from a cap metro spot. The grocery store that used to be a block away has closed, but other stores are in close driving range. The only downside is the limited parking close by some units, but I've had all my maintenance requests taken care of within 24 hours, and I haven't had any problems at all in my time here.

Our apartment is super awesome! The office staff are super nice and so are the facilities. We get access to all of anderson mills extra curricular things. We got a washer and dryer with our apartment and rent isnt outrageous. Its also very newly renovated. Class without all the cash!