University Trails

The Good — They are close to Campus
The BAD — Everything else safety cleanliness responsiveness with a little bit of shady thrown in
Speaking as a parent your child would be safer in the dorms don’t let the low rent lull you in they will find a way to take advantage of «those rich college kids» and their parents
My son stayed in Lubbock over the summer and he was told by the staff that they routinely turn off the air conditioning since most people have moved out.– Even if they were not present if you are paying rent (which we were) and the rent includes utilities they don’t have the right to turn them off
He spent the entire summer asking for the air to be turned back on every week It was a nightmare The summers are hot in Texas and they have no scruples
Also they will find a way to charge you with something even if you didn’t break anything once you move out despite their shoddy business practices I’m surprised they are still in business just read the reviews and stay away. Your kids are better off in the dorms

I have lived here for a year and it was a very bad experience. It is very expensive and small. The water and electric bill gets higher every month and the staff member isn’t efficient at problem solving. They have me and my roommates moved out early before the official move-​out date on our contracts because their error of telling the wrong moving dates to new attendants. Many of my property was lost including a router, a lamp, and other personal items, due to the carelessness of maintenance staff. The communication process of reimbursement was painful afterwards and they gave 40 dollars for all we have lost.

The cool thing about living at University Trails is when you sign your lease they don’t tell you that it comes with free pets! When you walk into any room in the apartment chances are you will be greeted by a giant spider. Really cool thing is they like to cuddle in bed and shower with you too! They’re pretty clingy though… no matter what University Trails does the spiders always come back within a few days. SO MUCH FUN LIVING IN CONSTANT FEAR OF SPIDERS!!! aka don’t fricken live here unless you have a spider fetish.

My commentary is informed by 3 years in Lubbock, of which, approximately 2 were at University Trails (UT).
I’ll first start with the benefits of living at UT.
1) Location: Texas Tech University is located several blocks west of UT and is extremely accessible. UT is located near Broadway which offers nightlife options and a variety of restaurant options. At this point, I believe there may be a local grocery store option as well. Tailgating and the stadium are all within walking distance.
2) Relative safety: In Lubbock, there is a fine line between the rent and safety you are afforded. Consider these two statistics:
10÷5÷2011 — FBI ranks Lubbock as the 6^th most violent city in the UNITED STATES.
9÷16÷2013 — FBI ranks Lubbock as the 8^th most violent city in TEXAS.
Certainly there are many socio-​economic and cultural factors that influence these statistics but the simple fact remains: Lubbock crawls with no good, ghetto lowlifes that want to rob, steal, fight and burn. UT offers a buffer between the criminals with a «community resident» setting. Your vehicle and domicile will be safer relative to stand-​alone houses. During my time in Lubbock, houses’ of many (i.e., ~10) graduate student colleagues were vandalized and robbed. I have too many stories to share but it is a real and present danger.
3) Facilities on site: Gym, pool, basketball and volleyball court are all available on site. There are makeshift briquette BBQ grills surrounding the buildings (you are not allowed to BBQ on your deck), but no self-​respecting grill master takes them seriously. Typically the hot tub fills up with belligerent undergraduates (many non-​residents hopping the fence) so good luck if you’re looking for a clean tub and quite soak.
Apparently I’m running out of «benefits» so I’ll continue with words of caution.
1) Your neighbors will probably suck. Mine were not too awful at UT but likelihood suggests you may end up with a bunch of degenerate stinkers. There are many here. When I rented a house directly 8 blocks south of UT my neighbors fought dogs, sold drugs and drank incessantly on their driveway (See #2 above). But I also lived next to one of the kindest, interesting person I’ve ever know — I was lucky in that respect. At UT: prepare yourself for undergraduate douchbags.
2) Management and staff are completely and utterly disorganized and incompetent. Their «bookkeeper» Elizabeth Marimon has on more than one occasion incorrectly billed our unit for utility expenses, instead of correctly reporting the positive balance. Upon move out, she incorrectly billed me for pre-​existing damages that were noted on my move in form and could not provide any evidence of the other charges (missing smoke detectors). Her correspondence during this time was laughable and when first questioned about the charges, she threatened me with collections despite her inability to provide an updated, itemized list of charges. Who does that? A bookkeeper who can’t keep books.
3) Mostly run by under undergraduates, there is no direct line to real management; instead you need to deal with a sort of community liaison. These liaisons can’t even take the time to drop you a quick note to say you’ve received a package in the main office. You’ll waste your time and there’s by routinely checking in for packages.
4) Maintenance is a joke there. They are pretty in tune with picking up the trash every morning from the previous nights’ parties but they’re mostly concerned with making the landscaping look good. Updating the landscaping reaches a feverish pitch just before the start of the semester or before parent’s weekend. Several requests to fix broken bike racks and their gated entry (the thresholds loudly bang every time a vehicle enters or leaves the complex — perimeter gates are the same) were ignored. If you are located near these gates it becomes impossible not to notice the constant noise. Citing a contract dispute with the gate owners, UT has repeatedly failed to fix this simple issue despite many complaints from me and other residents. If the owners and management tout their complex as «luxurious, academically-​oriented student housing» their goal to provide a quiet, clean environment where students can study has been overlooked.
Yes this was long, but I hope this comes across as objective. I’ve tried to provide real, concrete examples of why you may want to consider other options before settling at UT. I believe It’s not worth your time or money, but unfortunately most of the other community-​style complexes in the surrounding area are owned and managed by the same parent company — American Campus Communities. Good luck and happy hunting.