Cedar at the Branch

Unfortunately, my experience at this apartment complex has been consistently disappointing from move-in to the end of my lease. When I first moved in, the apartment was not properly cleaned and several items were broken. I had to submit numerous maintenance requests immediately upon move-in. Despite raising these concerns, no one reached out to follow up or ensure the issues were fully resolved, which set the tone for my experience here. Now, at the end of my lease, I am dealing with serious noise issues caused by a new tenant living above me. I have contacted the leasing office repeatedly—calling numerous times a day, week after week—and my calls are rarely, if ever, answered. When I do manage to get in touch, there is little to no follow-through, and the issues continue without resolution. The lack of communication and accountability from management has been extremely frustrating. From unresolved move-in issues to ongoing disturbances and an unresponsive leasing office, this complex has failed to provide even a basic level of tenant support. I would not recommend living here to anyone who expects a clean unit upon move-in, timely maintenance follow-up, or reliable communication from management.

Do not live here unless all you need to do is party at SMU. First, the flood: Within a month of my move in my apartment drain that connects to the toilet, bathtub, and shower of my unit and those above me flooded. It ruined a rug that I had and stained it brown. This flood came from "hair in the pipes" after the plumber came and told me that the pipes were chosen very cheaply and could not handle hair. The property manager told me I wasn't at fault, luckily, because the hair didn't match my color. I guess I would've been in trouble if it was a match! The apartment did not help me clean my rug because it was not part of the "shell" of the apartment, but they kindly placed 2 large, loud fans in my apartment to deal with the mold that was developing. Essentially, do not live on the first floor if you have hair. Next, the ants: My kitchen and floor boards all became covered in ants for 3-4 weeks, and it took multiple trials to finally get them to leave. They were crawling all over all of my furniture because there is no building insulation. Then, the sounds: I had a group of 2 move in above me that stomped around all day, played loud music, or "built furniture" as they claimed because either one of them were there at all hours. You can hear every cabinet close, every toilet flush, every door close, the washing machine, dryer, sinks, and every step in the above apartments if you live on any floor except for the top. There is absolutely no sound insulation in any of the units here. My nextdoor neighbor would blast music and scream along to it for 3 hours every Thursday and Friday. I was able to move into a unit on the top floor and the insulation is so bad I can sometimes hear my downstairs neighbor. Additionally, the pool pump is old and developing bad bearings which the apartment will never fix and it can be heard through the windows as they are also paper thin. I can hear someone having a conversation on their balcony across the complex and down a few stories perfectly clear in my bedroom. I cannot imagine how it will be when the parties at the pool start happening again, which I know are frequent. Additionally, my nextdoor neighbor on the top floor began blasting EDM music with bass and I could hear the song as if it was playing in my own apartment on my first day. Continuing, the fire alarms: The fire alarms have gone off about 40 times in the past year, probably more. There are multiple speakers in bedrooms that blast the sound. Additionally, it usually happens at 3-4 a.m. It takes 30 minutes for the fire department to come and turn it off. It has gotten so dangerous that I have not heard a single person leave the building when the alarm goes off in over a year. The apartment claims this is from people "vaping in the hallways" which is ridiculous as I have never had an alarm go off in any of the 5 complexes I have lived in, including a college dorm and undergrad student apartments. Furthermore, the packages: I do not send packages here because they either sit outside the locker area or sit fully outside the building. This happens while management sits inside and texts residents to "come get their packages." At other apartments I have lived at, management would hold the packages and make you show id to retrieve them. Sadly continuing, my unit: I was told I would be able to move into a certain apartment and that if someone desired it a few days before my hold started, they would place it for me because of the situation with the neighbors and the noise. Well, I'm sure we can guess how that turned out. 2 days before my apartment was going to go up for transfer, they rented out the unit I had requested without informing me so that I could start my hold or pay my deposit. Finally, this place really tried to charge a $75 refresh paint and a $70 carpet cleaning after my experience, while paying $2,000. I spent days scrubbing that apartment. And they kept $60 for no reason. Very interesting that they charge this because when I moved into my new unit, there was feces in the toilet and orange stains in the tub.

My apartment itself was beautiful and spacious. There were random fire alarms that would go off quite often in the first year that I lived there, but they pretty much stopped. One of the garages malfunctioned on a somewhat regular basis. Gym and pool are great.

If you want to spend your hard earned money to live in a glorified dorm where college students run and scream in the halls every Friday to Sunday. Where there are soaked in stains in the carpets that no one cleans and hear screaming on a random Tuesday (see attached video) Not to mention the complete lack of insulation in the walls and floors so your constantly surrounded in noise …. Be my guest. As for me I will never ever live in this disgusting apartment ever again.

Lived at Cedar for two years, and during that time, management changed twice—each time for the worse. At this point, the only selling points are the location (for students), the pool, and the gym. Management The biggest reason I’m not renewing. Their response time for time-sensitive inquiries is terrible—took them nearly a month to address my renewal question. They only prioritize issues that affect them, while tenant concerns are met with the bare minimum effort or ignored entirely. Security The apartment's IT system is functional, but security is a major concern. Too often, I’ve noticed doors left unlocked after hours, meaning anyone can walk in and access the apartments. Cleanliness Zero effort beyond the main common areas. Outdoor spaces, especially those with turf, are often littered with dog feces. If you enjoy walking while holding your breath, this is the place for you.