The four-unit townhouse I live in is the perfect place for me and my roommates. The Falls’ main-floor setup consists of a large living room connected to the kitchen. The first floor also has a small half-bath. Like most off-campus living accommodations, we have a laundry room, which in our case is connected to our two-car garage.
The bedrooms are where these townhouses find some fault. Two of the four are decently sized. The third, mine, is a bit cozy, and the fourth is pretty tiny. The three-bedroom units are a bit more spacious, but that comes with a bump in price. The setup for the bathrooms in the four bedrooms is quite nice. They feature a shared toilet and shower, and each bedroom has its own sink and vanity.
One of the many issues you’ll have with living this far off campus is transportation, and you should be concerned if you don’t have a car. The complex offers a shuttle, but the schedule isn’t very convenient. For example, if you had to get to an 8 a.m. class, you would have to take a bus that leaves at 7:17 a.m. from The Falls, which gets to campus at 7:40am. It takes 23 minutes to get there because you have to take a detour to other apartment complexes on the way. If you plan to rely on the shuttle, you should also be aware the last shuttle leaves campus at 5 p.m. If you plan on driving, be prepared to pay for it in gas. An eight-mile round trip starts to eat at your wallet after a while.
My biggest regret of living at The Falls is the management. They are incredibly hard to get ahold of. This was an issue when The Falls changed ownership over winter break. We were notified by email and later with a different online site to pay rent. As tenants, we weren’t made aware of the change until the day rent was due. With many people using a form of auto pay, this was a major issue for my roommates and I. With this change, I wanted to either talk on the phone or meet in person, but The Falls’ management dropped the ball on both these communication methods. Their website shows office hours, yet I have rarely been able to visit their office at the posted times. They are typically only there a bit in the morning and a bit before they are supposed to close in the evening. However, they do respond to emails lightning fast.
The one area the management excels is its maintenance. At the beginning of the year, one of our sinks was clogged. I filed a report in the morning, and that afternoon maintenance was there and more than happy to fix it. The yard work is done regularly and, depending on the weekend, the development is nearly trash-free.
Parking can be bothersome. My garage gets blocked in on a regular basis and driving through The Falls on any Friday or Saturday night is scary due to number of parties that go on.
I would recommend The Falls to anyone who needs a good, cheap, spacious place to live and can deal with some of the inconveniences that come with living in a large complex.
