University Gateway Rexburg

met living there at the time were kind and helpful ⁃ If you’re a member, the ward was also really nice but obviously it’s probably not the same with so much time having passed ⁃ The ESA approval process is relatively painless (more info in the cons section) ⁃ We loved having the canal right outside. It was so fun seeing the baby ducks and fish in the spring and summer. It absolutely made it more bearable having that view as it started to get cold there ⁃ Laundry room on site with an easily downloadable app to pay and keep track of the time on the machines ⁃ A very nice gym and pickleball court is available for use at the complex’s sister location Campus Courtyard ⁃ This gym space has a kitchen and can be reserved with the front office ⁃ Snowplowing was done pretty regularly in winter and usually the sidewalks were clear too. ⁃ There is lots of parking and the cost for parking isn’t horrible. We had two vehicles and parking for one was included in our rent. ⁃ We really liked the heated flooring during winter and felt it kept the apartment warm enough ⁃ The deposit really wasn’t a ton for what the rent price is. This was a plus for sure. ⁃ This spot is fine and . It was a good first apartment for us. If we had had more money, we would have gone elsewhere. CONS: ⁃ Bugs. Bugs covering the stairwell, bugs in our apartment, in a friend’s apartment in another building, spider nests, etc. The stairwells are outdoors so *of course* there will be critters. This was not a normal amount of bugs. ⁃ The dumpster was almost always overflowing (bags of trash and furniture were frequently piled on the ground around the dumpster) at the end of the week ⁃ The recycling “bin” is an open trailer you put cardboard in. Rexburg is windy and this combination often resulted in recycling (and trash) strewn across the parking lot and grassy areas. ⁃ I did not personally meet any actual management members to my knowledge, but the experiences we had with them via the office staff and through email were not positive. ⁃ WiFi is slow and the same Optix internet used by many many other Rexburg complexes. You are not allowed to have a router. This is especially tough for students in Zoom and other online classes. ⁃ There were no amenities at the University Gateway location- just the laundry room ⁃ The storage space in the apartment, aside from the cupboards, is lacking. There’s no pantry or broom closet. Just the cupboards and the bathroom cabinet under the sink. You can see how overcrowded the one closet is in the picture. One bedrooms have a closet space I believe but we were in a two bed. ⁃ We had so many people living in this complex with kids that tried to move out as soon as they could. We do not have children but I wouldn’t recommend it for people who are looking for somewhere with a playground, picnic tables, etc. It’s not far from Porter Park though if you did have kiddos. ⁃ Front office hours changes frequently and were kind of odd hours. Residents did get an email notifying us of changes which I did appreciate. ⁃ You can’t put anything up on the walls. Pins, command strips, tape, nothing. There are screws in some spots that you are allowed to hang things from but they’re pretty sparse. ⁃ The previous maintenance team changed a couple times while we were here but we weren’t notified when those changes were made ⁃ Overall, it’s pricey for what you get. The addition of the gym our last year there was a huge perk that definitely made the increased rent more worth it but I would still say it’s pricey. I know everything has gone up in cost so we certainly weren’t surprised when rent did too. It’s not an awful first apartment all in all.

The apartment was in fine shape when we moved in. The carpets had recently been cleaned but weren’t dry. Whatever they use to clean them has a funky smell and it sort of smelled like pee for a few days while the carpet was drying. Not amazing but not bad at all. It was pretty clean for the most part. - Kitchen/Dining/Living Room: This is all one large room. There is adequate space for a small table and couch, but if entertaining is your thing, then I would not recommend this complex. The ethernet outlet is in an awkward spot to have a TV plugged in it so it limits where your couch can go (if of course you want it facing a TV) We did really like the spacious stone countertop and how much cupboard space there was. Our stove, oven, and fridge worked well. - Bathroom: Just a bathroom. Certainly not roomy but everything worked just fine in the years we lived here. The shower screams and you can hear when neighbors have their showers or bathroom fans on. - Bedrooms: My personal description of the 2 bed is more one bedroom and one office. If you were living here with a roommate and each wanted your own room, it would be unfair as one room is definitely larger than the other. We chose to use the smaller room as an office. There was comfortable space for two desks and a storage rack. The main bedroom had large closet. The shelves worked great, but the big brown curtains used to cover the closet were frankly just ugly and bulky. It was great having a window in the bedroom and there was comfortable space for a queen bed and small side tables on each side. If you live here, I highly recommend getting a tall bed frame to create storage underneath. - We needed maintenance on/had problems with our AC unit, kitchen and bathroom sinks, carpet, power breakers, blinds, and heating. - Move out: Although we had quite the handful of maintenance requests, we left everything in great shape when we moved out. I would have been content with how clean we left it if I was moving in. There were maybe one or two things we could have cleaned more thoroughly and we saw that reflected in what we got back of our deposit. Of course, though, we weren’t actually told what we were charged for. Just that about two additional hours of cleaning were required. And we went back and fourth multiple times with management about the charges and what we were getting back. It also took the check quite a few weeks to get made and sent to us. - We went a summer without AC (widow units) and the heat (heated floors) went out multiple times during our residency. The power breakers would turn themselves off randomly and sometimes multiple times in a day. Optix said this was because the building was a decade old and “couldn’t handle” that kind of power. - Our carpet was separating between two sections and we made a maintenance request to hopefully patch it so the carpet didn’t tear more. The maintenance team told us we would not be charged for the damage as it was “normal wear and tear.” Upon move out, the tear was blamed on our senior ESA dog and management attempted to charge us for this. Thankfully, I was able to put the maintenance team’s word to management’s and we did not get charged for the carpet damage. It certainly didn’t help the situation as our pet had passed away already when management blamed him for the carpet damage. - Most of our maintenance problems were fixed within a reasonable window, which we especially appreciated as there were quite a few problems. - The ceilings on the top floor are really spacious- that was a huge pro of our apartment. The other levels have low ceilings and feel cramped. We did get the perk of an additional window from being on the corner. PROS & CONS IN PART TWO

apartment keys, requiring us to keep someone in our apartment at all times until management finally got back to us almost 24 hours later and maintenance got us a couple room keys. This was all after we had informed them we would be moving in later than the date that they gave us, which was plenty of extra time to get things in order. We also had an extra bed frame just chilling in our bedroom. Aside from the pure negatives so far, the apartment was mostly clean when we moved in, water heats up nice, laundry runs you about $3.25 a load at this point (not sure what the average is for the area), and the walls seem to be pretty soundproof. We also have yet to actually meet the management for the complex. All in all, I was extremely disappointed with the move in experience, but aside from that the first couple days here haven’t been too bad.

to be 550). We rated the individual categories and averaged it out for the overall rating. The location: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The apartment itself: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -The bug issues we had were atrocious. -Our shower squealed when there was any water running in our apt or in the apts above us. -CLR was our best friend. -Sideways, we hardly heard anything. Vertically? We heard just about everything. Two floors up. -The carpet was crunchy when we first moved in. -Our AC unit was loud. Overall cleanliness of the complex: -1⭐️ -Dog poop everywhere. We complained to management a few times; nothing changed. -Garbage and cobwebs in the stairwells. -The bike rack in front of our window had abandoned bikes sitting there at move in, Apr ‘22. Still there on move out Dec ‘23. The parking: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -FCFS parking. -For us, the first vehicle was included in the lease for free, and an additional tag for our second car was an extra $15/mo. The parking lot in the winter:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -They plowed regularly, and would give us ~24hr notice to move cars. -Sidewalks were always clear of snow/ice. The trash: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ -Overflowing by the end of the week. -One dumpster for 5 buildings. -Recycling is in a trailer, so on windy days, cardboard blows about the parking lot. Management: -2 stars⭐️⭐️ -Office hours constantly changed and were very inconvenient. We always sent a text. -When we renewed, we had to get the dates fixed on our lease as they were wrong. -We paid for electricity through RMP. Maintenance: ⭐️⭐️ -Changed companies multiple times during our tenancy. -Took 1-3 months for service. -Took 6+ months to complete the sealing around our AC unit, a shelf for our freezer that was missing, and the leak under our bathroom sink taken care of. They never finished fixing the AC unit. Internet:⭐️⭐️⭐️ -In the evening it was frustrating to stream anything. -There is no access to the router. Most of the time, internet was passable. A couple times it would be unusable. -When internet went out, we had to contact optix directly and hope they could do something. Additional commentary: -Read other reviews about the laundromat. We bought our own W/D. -It’s advertised as “married student housing” but it wasn’t while we lived there, based on our observations and interactions with neighbors. -It’s a quiet community. -$100 of our $400 deposit was non-refundable for carpet cleaning (outlined in our lease). -We spent around 8 hours cleaning our apartment and completed (most of) the checklist, had friends that were professional cleaners help, but still paid for 2.5 extra hours of cleaning. This cost $125 which came from our deposit ($225 total lost of a $400 deposit). I hope this crew did a better job cleaning than the crew that cleaned before we moved in did. Despite all the quirks and features, the price and location were hard to beat for newly-wed students. If we had been able to spend more, our money would have gone much further elsewhere. We would have done things differently if more options were available to us at the time. *Rented from April 2022-December 2023

when sending announcements ahead of time, for example, letting us know about any changes in office hours for some days, etc. Neighbors are also sweet and kind. Overall, it's been a great experience! I do recommend living here and taking a tour just so you can see what the apartments look like. They have its own charm in a way. One con that is important to know is that the utilities don't include electricity. You'll have to pay for it separately. Other than that, everything has been great!