Cedar at The Branch Apartments

Here are two videos of how my apartment sounded for 3 months before I moved out. The management came while this was happening and said these sounds occur in all units except the top floor. This is how it sounds when people walk because there is no insulation. Do not live here unless this is normal for you, even during quiet hours and 24 hours a day. Most of the tenants are SMU students, so they will be home all day. Now they want $6k for me to get out of my lease, and also they took money out of my security deposit for carpet cleaning in excess of what was in our lease agreement, and for fixing holes from nails in the walls, even though tenants are always allowed to hang pictures.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Living at The Cedar for the past 3 years has been a fantastic experience. The staff is top-notch, always friendly and helpful whenever I needed anything. The amenities are consistently clean and well-maintained, especially the gym which is hands-down the best in the area. There's a great energy with a younger crowd, including a lot of SMU students, but it never feels too loud. The location is perfect - tucked away from major roads for peace and quiet, but with amazing access to trails for when you want to get outside. I can't recommend The Cedar enough!

A resident here at Cedar for over a year. It has been a great experience. The staff upkeeps the property and management has been very informative when it comes to concerns in the building. The patrol on property is consistent. However, when it comes to the residents, they seem to have no respect for the property. They tend to leave doors propped open to avoid being locked out and trash outside of the trash chutes. The staff does a great job resolving this during hours. Overall Cedar has given a great apartment living experience. It’s a beautiful building and in a convenient location.

Updated: 10/2024 The fire alarm goes off multiple times a month in the middle of the night and during working hours (forget taking a meeting in the morning or afternoon). I have now lived here for 4 months and I have yet to get a full nights sleep in this apartment. Between the college students yelling and running through the halls in the middle of night, the stomping of my upstairs neighbours all day into the night and the fire alarm this apartment has been an absolute nightmare! Which is made worse because getting out of the lease is exorbitantly expensive even more than any other apartment I have ever rented in my adult life. I am absolutely positive at this point that my life expectancy is decreasing the longer I live here. Once again in 4 months I have not had a full nights sleep. Do not rent at this apartment! Original Review: I’ve only lived here at Cedars for one month and I have to say this is the worse apartment experience of my life. I’ve never lived in an apartment where the management do not take an active role in ensuring resident concerns are addressed. I should have known I would have issues from the onset but I assumed in a place that claimed to be “Luxury” that my hard earned money would be well spent. The words luxury apartment is a far cry what that this place truly is. Namely the construction of this building is absolute garbage! You can hear the person walking above you in the hallway so much so that the floor beneath my feet vibrates whenever a particular heavy footed person walks down the hallway. I’ve had issues with the neighbours above me stomping on end for days and instead of the management addressing the issue with an email and warning against noise which is what I am use to from my previous apartment management I am told to call security which isn’t onsite so it takes a while for them to appear then when the security writes a report that they don’t hear anything I am them told to call the police. Why exactly would I need to call the police when the management could simply send an email to end my issue. Calling the police gets people murdered so for an leasing agent to think that makes sense is absolutely insane. I will never rent from this leasing company nor will I ever recommend this place to anyone. If you respect yourself, your money, your sanity, sleep and time avoid ——do no rent here!!!!

Place has not been what I would've expected. 1.Hallways are always dirty, walls are all scratched up and have holes in some spots, in some spots things are even stuck to the walls 2. parking garage has dog poop in it that never gets cleaned up 3. the leasing office never answers their phones and when they do respond to emails about complaints they don't actually do anything. 4. There's been no parking in the parking garage for residents and supposedly they tow un registered guests. However guests park in the lower floors of garage and call their friends to get in and their cars are still parked there 3 days later which leaves the residents parking in uncovered guest parking. They clearly don't believe in parking stickers or towing. 5. Bike room has been broken into multiple times 6. While they have valet trash and have been strict with timing of placing your trash out, the trash never actually gets picked up on time leaving the hallways smelling terrible or getting sent emails about trash violation fines even though you followed the schedule 7. Cobwebs hang from lights in hallways 8. Elevators typically always have trash in them/ dog pee / spilt food or drinks 9. They don't consider water outages or ac outages an emergency and if you call the emergency maintenance line they most likely will ask you to wait till the next day because it's the middle of the night and they don't want to come out (happened to me and my friends that lived here) 10. Overall management isn't the most pleasant to deal with. One person in the office is. But everyone else, including the property manager, are unhelpful, rude, and condescending. It's just disappointing in the end....

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.

I would give zero stars. This place is dangerous, someone tried to kick down my door and break in, management did NOTHING!!! There are no cameras anywhere!!! My car has been hit 2 times, again NO cameras! My patios been vandalized and stolen from. There's throw up and dog shit in the hall ways! Packages will get stolen! Loud music and no Security guards anywhere !

I've lived here 3 years and i WISH i didn't live here any longer, it has gone so down hill it's not even funny. I like one person in the front office and a couple of people from corporate who are actually helpful. I sincerely USED to love living here! 1. The fire alarms will go off constantly, at all hours, at random, and the response we get is that they cannot find the issue 2. The garage gates? Broken for months at a time 3. Reserved spot? Nope, the college kids will park in it, they may hit your car too, or speed past you so close that you may get hit. Doesn't matter though no cameras in the garage 4. The trash? Pay $150, set it out for 1 hour only and we still won't pick it up and will fine you for it. Take it to the trash room yourself, where it will rot and stink up the halls for several weeks! Or throw it in the garage for someone else to deal with. If not a trash smell then some other putrid scent, maybe the aroma of a neighbors blunt or cigarette 5. Classy residents? Nope not here! They will yell, scream and stomp down the halls at all hours of the night, blast music at the pool that can be heard from a mile away and leave their dog feces, vomit, and alcoholic beverages scattered around the hall as a nice little gift! 6. Security (the answer from the office to all problems) will answer the phone but say they can't do anything until the next day because no one is on site, it's literally your job maybe come have someone on site :) 7. The doors? Sometimes locked, sometimes not we don't really know, it's kind of a free for all and anyone can get in at all hours most days! 8. The office phone? Don't call, they probably won't answer, nor will they probably really care or solve your problems, they'll be nice though i'll give them that 9. Oh your dryer leaves all your clothes mildew ridden? That's probably your own fault and maintenance can maybe visualize it and tell you how to not submit requests! 10. You want a reasonable rent reduction? No, how about a $150/month "fee" for no reason instead! 11. The walls? I hope you like hearing your neighbors literal every word! 12. Let's not forget the packages, fetch didn't work so how about we throw them all in the floor of the mail room so they can get stolen, if the front door is locked well leaving it outside is a good solution! 13. Break ins? Well i guess call the cops because how could we fix that! The pros include a pretty facility with nice finishes, a (no longer) reasonable price, and i'm coming up short on much more actually! I suppose it could be worse but for this much, I'd actually prefer it be better!

Living here has been absolutely horrible. My storage unit was broken into and the office has done nothing besides ignore my emails, dismiss my concerns, and make themselves unavailable. Dozens of residents had storage units broken into and had several thousand dollars worth of belongings stolen. The leasing office didn't inform anyone in the building of these issues and I found out my unit was broken into from my neighbor. The leasing office was barely apologetic and they said they would ensure all doors are locked at all times. Yet, one day after they said that, every single door on the second-floor was unlocked. The office is also refusing to file any sort of police report and claiming it's not their responsibility. Several residents have urged them to contact the police, yet the office continues to turn their shoulder on the issue. They say it's not their responsibility, though they have been pestering me and my neighbors for our Case ID # through Dallas PD for the offices incident report. If there is a spot on the incident report for a case number, then the office needs to file their own report and stop relying on residents for help. In addition, packages are stolen out of the mail room, several cars have been broken into, and they found a man living in a vacant unit a few weeks back. In addition to being unsafe, the common areas of the complex are dirty and not maintained. Trash valet is never on schedule, so trash is left out in hallways for long periods, causing the hallways to constantly have a bad smell. The garage always has dog poop in it, elevators often have dog pee in them, and carpets in hallways are often stained. The trash rooms on each floor are horribly maintained. The rooms are always filled with trash bags, floors are sticky, and door handles are broken. We pay $145 as a 'Resident Service Fee', but it seems that this money is going to waste, because nothing is maintained to a $145 standard. This apartment complex is incredibly unsafe and you should avoid it at all costs! You'll be doing yourself a favor

do not move here!!! you will be constantly broken into and nothing will be done. this is not a safe place to live or even visit!!! security is not available! take your $ elsewhere since living here we have been broken into 7 times and there has been no change. all they do os change staff and train the staff to inform you that they are trying..