The Woodlands

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

<p>Hearing that some of son’s friends without housing scholarships are moving over to the Woodlands for next year. I’ve heard mention on here about The Bluffs and The Retreat, but never heard mention of the Woodlands.</p>

<p>For those looking for off-campus housing next year, wonder if anyone can give insight on this community.</p>

<p>Is it mostly Greeks? I think the boys moving out of the dorms have since joined fraternities, but not moving into a house, if there is one. Wonder if maybe their Greek affiliation is their reason for the move as well. Of course, they’ll be juniors, so maybe they’re just ready to move off-campus now.</p>

<p>(Not looking at this for my son, just curious about it since we have friends who are moving there next year and their parents have asked me about it. I never heard of it, so thought I could get info here and pass it on.)</p>

2

<p>The Woodlands apartments are off Hargrove Road (located behind Target).</p>

3

<p>DD’s boyfriend lives in the Woodlands and has recontracted for next year. He is Greek as is his roommates. I am not sure if it is predominately Greek but both DD and her boyfriend know lots of people there. He loves it there…uses the work out facilities, the pool and has had only great things to say. Their move-in is similar to Bama’s in that you are assigned a time and a specific day. That gave him fits because it was a week after DD moved in and he tried to get it changed but they were pretty firm on that date and time. The insides are very nice…his is furnished and quite modern. He got an ipad2 for signing his original lease last year :).</p>

4

<p>My son lived there for one year with some random roommates. The places looks very nice, but some of the furnishing are cheaply made - so be careful. His parking sticker fell off in the heat (of course, he did nothing about it) and they towed his car on a Friday. It took them 5 hours to figure out that they’d done it, the tow yard was then closed for the weekend, so that was painful. Also, he and his roomates were pigs and got several fines for having trashbags on the porch (all their fault, but know that there are many ways to rack up fines). He did really enjoy the pool and workout areas, but it’s not really walkable to get to campus.</p>

<p>Move out - be very careful because I have heard from MANY former residents that they really nit-pick on every little thing. You will pay for ANY chip, nick in the paint and at a rate that will astound you. Take pictures and make sure that the place is SPOTLESS. Each of the 4 roomates was charged $420 in “damages” mostly about repainting trim and stairwells for the common areas only. Over $1200 seems a bit much for paint…</p>

5

<p>A parent just asked me if you pay for the Woodlands through Bama or through the facility. Also, are you charged a rent that you split among the roomies, or are you responsible only for your rent?</p>

<p>As for damages, from reading my son’s contract for the dorm, it seems that damage is split between the suite mates for common rooms, so I’m guessing it’s the same at The Woodlands. But what about damage for individual rooms?</p>

<p>Is there a shuttle to campus, or are students who live there expected to have cars?</p>

6

<p>*A parent just asked me if you pay for the Woodlands through Bama or through the facility. Also, are you charged a rent that you split among the roomies, or are you responsible only for your rent?</p>

<p>As for damages, from reading my son’s contract for the dorm, it seems that damage is split between the suite mates for common rooms, so I’m guessing it’s the same at The Woodlands. But what about damage for individual rooms?</p>

<p>Is there a shuttle to campus, or are students who live there expected to have cars? </p>

<p>*</p>

<p>This is a private apt so payment and arrangements are made thru the apt complex. The Bluff is a unique situation because Bama didn’t have enough honors rooms at the time, so it contracted a block of apts and then handled them.</p>

<p>The school doesn’t want involvement with these off-campus complexes because of responsibility that comes with that. …legal, safety, etc. </p>

<p>Some student apts are individually contracted, which means your lease is for YOUR own room…that’s what you’re contracting for. Common rooms are shared responsibility for damages. </p>

<p>Some apts are handled in a traditional manner where there’s one total amount for the lease that is split. </p>

<p>As for payment and shuttle, what does it say on the Woodlands website.?
It’s not on the Crimson Ride route, if that’s what you’re asking. </p>

<p>Is there a security deposit or application fee?
There may or may not be a security deposit depending on your Credit Score and Guarantor rating. There is a $200 application fee.
What type of on-site security do you provide?
We have courtesy officers who live on site to assist office staff after hours. In addition, homes have security systems with additional monitoring service available upon request.
What utilities am I responsible for?
It depends… Cable and internet are FREE. Plus, The Woodlands offers a utility package where all the residents of a unit can upgrade to have a utility allowance included in their monthly rent.
What size are the beds?
They are size Full XL, which means the width of a full and length of a queen. Queen-size sheets fit best.
Are the clubhouse and other amenities open 24 hours a day?
Yes! We allow our residents full access to all clubhouse amenities. However management reserves the right to limit this based on resident conduct. 24/7.
What appliances come with leasing a home?
The following are included: washer, dryer, dishwasher, disposal, stove, self-cleaning oven, microwave and a refrigerator with an ice maker.
Is parking assigned?
No, it is available to everyone on a first come, first serve basis, and parking is free.
Are pets allowed?
Yes! There is a $150 non-refundable fee and $15/month additional rent. There is no weight limit. </p>

<p>Montegut, you can refer this person to the Woodlands website for the most accurate info. There are forms, links, etc that the person can use to find out info.</p>

<p>[Woodlands</a> of Tuscaloosa](<a href=“http://woodlandsoftuscaloosa.com/]Woodlands”>http://woodlandsoftuscaloosa.com/)</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the info, mom. My friends were hoping to hear some info “from the horse’s mouth” as to what it was really like there. </p>

<p>One friend has visited the Retreat often and likes it, but some others were approached to room with friends at The Woodlands, and they were hoping to get some anecdotal info.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

8

<p>Ah, how could I have forgotton the utility package? S went over every month ($20-$30) and swore that the thermostat was set properly, but he is careless (along with being a slob), so who knows? It does seem fishy that you can’t see any info about the actual kilowatt hours used and if you multiply that by 4 it seems they are making bank.</p>

<p>The lease is like the dorms - by the room. Room damage, which S also partook in (and is still paying off $25/month) is by the room.</p>

<p>I am not sure about a shuttle.</p>

<p>Let me know if you have any other questions. : )</p>

9

<p>^^^</p>

<p>I can tell you this from my son’s experience at The Retreat…</p>

<p>The upstairs thermostat was in the hall, but there wasn’t a vent there, so the bedrooms would get very cold/hot because the hall was thinking that it wasn’t that cold/hot yet.</p>

<p>also, many kids like long hot showers and they open the fridge a lot. </p>

<p>So, at first, they were using too much energy.</p>

10

<p>My daughter and her two roommates are going to be living at The Woodlands next year, so no first had experience yet. They went and saw several complexes in Tuscaloosa and that was by far their favorite. </p>

<p>They were told on their tour about being fined if they left trash out. They plan on being energy misers, but we’ll see if it works out. That’s lame that they don’t give kilowatt usage, though. That just doesn’t seem right. How can they charge you for something and not prove that you owe it? I’ll make sure they take pics when they move in as well as move out, to help avoid extra charges.</p>

11

<p>That just doesn’t seem right. How can they charge you for something and not prove that you owe</p>

<p>=========</p>

<p>Good question. My son’s apt also charges extra if the kids go over usage. Each month, about $30 from each kid’s rent is dedicated towards utilities. There are 5 kids in his 5 BR apt…so about 150 each month is for utilities (I think that’s the amount…lol)</p>

<p>I was guessing that their apt does have its own meters and if their costs exceed 150, then they are billed for the extra. I never thought that they wouldn’t be shown the actual numbers. I’ll have to ask my son. It wouldn’t seem right that the complex could just say, “you used $50 more in untilities last month, so each pays an additional $10” - without showing actual numbers. Hmmm…</p>

12

<p>S just signed a lease for Crimson Place. There was so much you can get fined for- not changing the ac filter for example. I have never seen leases like this. On move-out they charge $5 per burnt out lightbulb, you pay for replacement of any appliances that don’t work, among the list of other things. Wow.</p>

<p>S roommate’s parents are from AL & they said it was a typical AL lease. I guess the big difference is these are relatively expensive condos they are renting. My older 2 always rented dumps & fire traps, so I am happy that these are nice places with safety features. But I don’t think we’ll see much of the security deposit.</p>

13

<p>^^</p>

<p>lol…I think it’s a big warning to a bunch of young college kids to take care of the place.</p>

<p>As someone with rental properties, I know how some young people can really destroy a place. And, often young people don’t quickly tell you that something rather serious is wrong…we once had an upstairs toilet leak and the renters didn’t promptly tell us…and it caused a lot of damage on the first floor. We’ve seen some odd things…so now we try to only rent to couples.</p>

<p>Even my own rather careful son started a kitchen fire last semester…the kitchen was fine, but he and a roomie were burned and had to seek medical attention. :frowning: </p>

<p>As for lightbulbs…that’s odd. Guess the kids need to make sure that they visit Home Depot before they move out and replace any light that’s not working.</p>