Willowbrook West Apartments

My personal experiences: 1. Took over 4 weeks to send someone to fix my garbage disposal; 2. I always have to go there two or three times to get all my packages if I receive more than one at one time; the staff "refuse" to give me all at once; 4. No matter how carefully you use the utility, if you turn on the heat in winter, you would receive utility bill around $180. I live in a two-bed room alone; I turned off lights and heat when I was out; I set the temperature at 65 degree. Guess what! I got utility bills $170 on average last winter!!! 5. I decided to replace the carpet only in living room and already got two carpet stores' free estimations; both were around $700~$800; but Willowbrook has contract with some store and forced me to replace carpet with them. I understand that they might be afraid that the new carpet would not match the other rooms', but they would not allow me to PURCHASE the carpet ONLY, BUT ALSO FORCED me to do ALL THE THINGS WITH THEIR CONTRACTOR which would cost $1600!!!! Wow! Willowbrook would get $600 if I change that carpet!!! more

This place is indeed the WORST place I have EVER lived in. PLEASE PLEASE stay away. Do not be tempted by the supposed "low rent." The price will only be dramatically increased because of a plethora of external fees (which they do not ever advertise or mention until you have signed your life away on the leasing contract). Furthermore nothing ever gets fixed. Internet service is utterly and completely horrible. Additionally, management is very bad. Most of the staff are ill informed about the complex's policies, regulations, etc. Every time I call and ask a question, what I hear is: "Sorry, I don't know. I've only been working here for 2 months..." The only good change they made was to the gym. After years of a horribly equipped gym, they finally upgraded. However, the horrible internet service has not been upgraded. I would never EVER recommend this place to anyone. more

Living at Willowbrook West apartments has been hell and back the past two years. The management is basically a group of inexperienced, incompetent, lying con artists. We have been charged with many random fees. Every year a tenant stays here the rent increases. The furnace equipment is not maintained correctly so they have to run harder which makes our electric bill higher. All the appliances are name brands I've never heard of and run horribly. The fans in the bathrooms and the shower heads all make really loud squeaky noises because the maintence always pretends to fix them but in reality they never get anything done. We were randomly assigned a roommate at the beginning of the year without the consent of our roommate matching forms and they completely ignored the fact that we already had a dog living here and the new roommate had a cat. The new roommate has put us through hell and back because of her unsanitary and carefree way of living. I've had some things stolen by her friends including being harrased by a friend of her's. Willowbrook has done absolutely nothing to solve the problem. They say they can't do anything about it. The only thing they are concerned about is the 200 dollar moving out charge and how it is going to be paid. They don't care about the comfort and security of the tenants who have been living here for two years but they will happily stick a random new person wherever she wants to go including the waivering of all her up front fees such as re-decoration and pet fees while my roommate is still paying for her dog to be here. The stair wells are in horrible condition. There is dog poop and urine all over the side walks and trash everywhere. Ever since there has been new management, the appearance has gone downhill. If you choose to live here, be prepared to be charged with a lot of fees and be prepared to have to fight for any right that you may have. THIS PLACE SUCKS. more

Living at Willowbrook West is a constant battle. Problems range from taking months to have a window fixed, to paying more for electric because the equipment is not well serviced, inconsistencies in rates, what you are told, fees, given random roommates where theft and security become problems, etc. Management is incompetent. That is why they put up the under new management signs in the fall. However, the people are still the same. They are there to take advantage of and intimidate students. They are not there to service the students. Most students do not stay there longer than 2 years. Ask why. Read what you sign, save what you sign, etc. No matter how nice the facilities are, they are not worth the trouble. more

Willowbrook West is obviously intended for college students, both in good and bad aspects. Good ones - there's a bus to campus (not on football Saturdays, though, beware), lots of similar-aged people around, separate leases on one apartment for several people are available, and the apartments strive to be upscale (huge, huge kitchens - you can all cook there at the same time... if you want to!). Negatives - management counts on fast turnaround and inexperienced lenders: there's hidden fees everywhere, and "deals" get forgotten unless you get them in writing. Do that. more

First of all, every change in managment conveniently "forgets" what the deals offered by the previous shift were. Everything has to be in writing, and every check has to be tracked down. Their advertising is also not very true - on top of the "1 month free rent" if you sing up early, there's a $275 "remodeling fee" PER PERSON (that's $825 for a 3-bedroom apartment!). Remodeling consists of re-painting the wall, which they should do on their own anyhow. Otherwise, a bus to and from campus, swans on the lake, fountain as well, spacious kitchens... Nice place. more