The James

I do not recommend renting here. They offer free t-shirts in exchange for 5-star reviews, which feels misleading. Although they say there’s no security deposit, they charge a non-refundable $300 maintenance fee upfront. Expect additional unexplained charges every month. They seem to target college students and parents who autopay rent by adding extra fees without clear explanations. Besides utilities, I had $50–$100 added to my rent monthly. I highly recommend disputing any suspicious charges. Maintenance staff perform unannounced checks during breaks and have used these visits to threaten lease violations. I was told to move my belongings or face a lease violation, which felt invasive and unacceptable. The apartments are outdated, dirty, and overpriced. The only bright spot is a very kind maintenance lady—hope she finds a better workplace. Parents of freshmen: please consider other options. Avoid at all costs.

I just recently moved into the James, and I just decided to resign my lease. Besides all of the amenities and beautiful property space, the employee help has stood out above all. At the beginning of my move-in, I had an issue with my coach. Taylor made the replacement process swift and efficient. When it came to resigning, Emily made sure that all my roommates received our lease agreements promptly and helped make the process so much less stressful. In addition, Dylan helped us find the perfect floor plan that accommodated all of our needs. Thanks to everyone who helped us in the process. #WeLoveTheJames

I have been more than impressed with the James thus far! I’ve lived in 5 different apartment buildings as a student here and I have to say this one has been my best experience to date. Everything is very easy in terms of payment as well as maintenance requests, the room was clean upon arrival, and the building is just spectacular. The property manager Dillon is also phenomenal. He made my life much easier / simple on move -in day and has continued to be on top of everything throughout the building from what I’ve seen!!

I have enjoyed my time at The James, but leaving a 5 star review for the staff. Specifically Taylor, who has been a tremendous help to me and my roommates with any issues we have had during our time here. He is an exceptional worker and always willing to help the tenants in the building.

Do not live here. All of the positive reviews are bots. I am not joking nor exaggerating when I say this. The James charged me 2,000+ dollars worth of cleaning fees when I moved out. I spent the previous night deep cleaning the apartment for hours. They also falsified some of the charges upon my first request for the receipt. For example, they claimed that I didn’t move out on time. That is a lie, and I’m sure there’s security footage of me physically handing one of the male employees my FOB in the middle of the lobby before 10AM on my move out date. When I disputed the insane / outlandish bill, they denied me. The apartments are disgusting and moldy (especially the toilets), and in the summer infested with actual bugs. Do not leave your windows open, because there are tiny gnat looking insects that will fill your entire house up. The elevators break all the time too. It seems nice that there’s no security deposit but it is categorically too good to be true. When I moved out, I was financially exploited by The James, and hit with the most outrageous and expensive fees. If I could give this cold, unethical and corrupt apartment no stars at all, I absolutely would.

I just recently moved into The James this past semester and decided to renew, the process was stressful but was made SO much easier from the help of Emily, Dylan and Taylor! They were honestly so incredible I could not have asked for better people to assist me in renewing my lease. The three of them made the renewal process quick and easy while helping to make sure my friends who were joining us had an easy transition from their current leases. I cannot say enough good things about those three!!!

Add on a whole bunch of fees for no reason at move out. Usually cannot see your room or even a video/photos before moving in. Our room ended up being super tiny. Hot tub closes super early so they can save money on heating. Rooms are super overpriced considering there are other apartments across the street with cheaper, nicer and bigger rooms.

I have lived here for 3 years and ever since the new manager (Dylan) was introduced, I have noticed a huge change in my and my roommates' experience living in this building. Dylan has been extremely accommodating and understanding, and I have had no negative interactions. He goes above and beyond to accommodate residents' needs, and it truly does not go unnoticed.

Worst place of all time for students to live. Poor maintenance, the pool is closed 9 months of the year, they charge you outrageous cleaning fees even when you clean, and the whole place is extremely dirty. Every amenity comes with a catch and the management doesn't care how you feel about it. Find somewhere else where you aren't overpaying. We were also given a different room than we were shown when we toured our assigned room. Save yourself by staying far away.

Whatever you do don't live at the James... coming from someone who has lived here 3 years of college. It's so poorly maintained and maintenance is rarely available (however, I often hear him yelling at his female assistant through the hallway). Just in the past week I got stuck in the elevator and had to call 911 but the music is so loud that they couldn't even hear me! That was fun! I also have had multiple packages delivered that staff just say they don't have and they can't help me. Please for the love of god, live somewhere else. Anywhere else actually.

Getting our lawyer involved in this situation. I am so sick of companies screwing over college kids and their families. The bait and switch and high pressure sales tactic to these 19 year olds was unethical and possibly illegal. DO NOT move in here. Do not sign anything. Do not let your kid sign anything. I will be sharing this experience across communities. What a crappy first apartment experience for kids..but I guess a lesson learned in unscrupulous companies. Note upon telling the front desk the discrepancy of what we were shown vs actual unit, we were told "sorry. We show everyone a larger model unit". Bait & Switch. Note the pics...4 kids in each unity at $790/month per person. They are getting over $3000 a month for this abysmal tiny dark unit

I would give this place 0 stars if I could. This place is horrible. And I can attest to this statement after living here for 2 years. After paying them over $30,000, I can promise you it's not worth your money. They will charge you for things that do not exist when you move out. You will get a $200-$300 bill when you move out for "cleaning" upon move-out. My roommate also got charged for a "stolen dresser", and that was $250 in addition to the cleaning charges. (It was never stolen nor damaged). Also, you're not allowed to play music in your apartment later than 9pm. The management is absolutely unreasonable, and run by college students who don't know what they are talking about. They claim it should be (and I quote) "absolutely silent" in the hallways at 9pm. If you want to have any sort of fun, do NOT live here. I would rather move back into the dorms with a RA than deal with the management here. I recommend living in the Hub or Waterfront. They are more understanding of any sort of excitement or personal life. Again, do NOT live at the James. They do not respect your money, time, or personal values.

I stayed here for two over the summer because I needed a short term furnished place and rented an efficiency site unseen since I came from out of town. I did see pictures online ahead of time though. Positives ⁃ fitness center ⁃ Walkable ⁃ Big windows ⁃ Controlled access to elevator and stairs since people wait for someone to leave the building to get into the lobby area Negatives ⁃ Bathroom (no drawers, no hook or ring for hand towel, no shelf in shower, had to buy shower curtain liner and rings, smaller than a hotel room bathroom) ⁃ Parking (none available in summer, so I had to pay more to rent a garage space through the city about 1/3 of a mile away) ⁃ Noise ⁃ Windows (too bright to sleep well) ⁃ Bed (difficult to get down, necessary to stay down, so it was my bed and couch) ⁃ Move in (I had to pay a $20 fee on top of my deposit after I was told to walk to 7-11 for a money order to avoid this. 7-11 is cash only for money orders. Who carries enough cash for rent? I could not have been the first person to have this problem and was falsely informed by the rental staff) ⁃ Hallway musty smell, never felt clean enough ⁃ No information given at move in about the layout of the building. You just have to wonder around the floors until you find amenities. FYI, the fitness center, computers and a small courtyard on are the second floor. ⁃ Closet did not have any drawers or shelving, only hanging racks. I moved the coffee table into the closet to use as a shelf. ⁃ Despite having three elevators and the less crowded summer, you often have to wait too long for elevator; don't bother, take the stairs. ⁃ Internet network does not auto connect and I lived here for five weeks (only lived here for eight weeks) before I could use the resident network May be okay at 18, but for older students look elsewhere. I only stayed for the summer luckily, but even that was too long.

Management is slow to respond to issues. Only one repair person for 12 floors, their excuse for not responding to repair requests. Elevators and Stairs blocked by trash pile up.

if i could give less than a star i would. I lived here and I lost my fob. The security was so unresponsive that while i sat outside getting nonconsensually touched by random guys (within view of the security), I had to sit outside and get assaulted while the security watched. I don't care if they thought I didn't live there or not, that's inexcusable. Thank you to the james for watching secual assault happening and doing nothing. F you.

No one chooses The James for the wonderful apartments because they're small and overpriced; residents are paying for the amenities. My daughter chose it for those same reasons, and we agreed to pay the high price for a small space because of the amenities that we knew she would use and enjoy. Well, her reasons for choosing the building have been closed since she moved in, so she's stuck in a small space with 3 roommates, and paying twice as much as she could have elsewhere. When she asked about a rate reduction due to the current status of the building, she was denied with a "Sorry, not up to us" response. Whoever the decision-makers are, they should be reaching out to every resident during this challenging time and reduce the rates because no one is getting what they paid for. While the amenity closures are no one's fault (due to COVID), The James is no longer paying for the ongoing service and maintenance of the Fitness Center, On-demand virtual Fitness Classes, Yoga Studio, Study Center, pool, hot tub, Recreation Center, Meditation Garden, picnic tables, grilling stations, outdoor study terrace, and private study lounges. Why not pass those savings along to their residents? On a positive note, they addressed one electrical issue quickly and the location is fine.

My son just drove 15 hours from Denver and the keys to his apt. that were supposed to be with security weren't there! "Thanks" James Since August, my son really likes the James. They are prompt in fixing things and the workout facility is fantastic. Well ... things have changed this year on fixing things. He's had 3 requests in to fix his smoke detector and the WiFi is out every other day this year. An update - August 2020- no one wearing masks in the lobby, including at the desk. This is required in Dane Co and statewide James.

If you want to pay for a decent place to live with a pool and amenities, DON'T apply here. The aesthetics of the apartment is what drew me in as well as the perks and amenities the management claimed to give us (printer in study lounge, pool access, gym access, new kitchen appliances, etc) yet everything we have now has either been broken or poorly maintained. The pool for the week of 4th of July is brown, the wifi is out and management never seems to answer the phone when we call. Our stove has had to been replaced TWICE because it is so cheap that the handles and glass door have fallen off continuously and eventually broke all together. Might I add that when you do have a maintenance issue, people will try to charge you for whatever had been broken. Our apartment was never cleaned or repainted before we moved in so when inspectors came to look at it they wanted to CHARGE us for the nasty stains on the walls and damage to the furniture which was already there before we moved in. The walls are also paper thin so if you enjoy listening to every conversation your neighbor has then this might be the place for you. There has been a smell of rotting garbage in the elevator lobby of my floor for the last 2 weeks and no one has done anything about it, because it just doesn't seem like top priority for management here. What gets me most about this place is that management will have all kinds of promotions for non-residents to tour the apartment and they can win concert tickets, airpods, vacations, etc; meanwhile the actual residents are PAYING to live here and don't get shit. I referred a friend to sign a lease here, and was advertised that I'd get $200 back....it's been 4 months and I haven't heard anything about it yet. A really concerning issue as well goes with the recent break ins at the Hub which also has the same fab entry into the elevators and rooms. Since the break in consisted of someone kicking down a locked door and getting into the lobby and up the elevator without permission, it makes me question why then James hasn't done anything in response and has actually allowed there to be free access into the elevators (no fab needed) and the security staff couldn't care less who is walking through the lobby. My roommates and I are frightened at times since people are capable of breaking into our locked doors while we are home, nothing someone should be worried about when they are expecting safety and a secure area to reside in. Seriously, this place is so ridiculously expensive for what you get and there are so many better options in Madison for less. I regret renewing here and hope no one will make my mistake.

As a parent paying my student's rent at this place, my advice to other parents is "just sat no." It's a poorly (read cheaply) constructed luxury priced building. Lots of things breaking or not installed correctly in this their first year open. When the new owners took over, they exploited a loophole in the contract and effectively upped the rent ( adding renter payment for water). And the basics are NOT taken care of. Move in/ out bins broken? We'll wait to buy more until the next years move in, leaving those of you that have paid us an exorbitant year of rent to carry out your boxes one at a time. Your student will be dazzled by the rooftop pool and ingore the tiny bedroom. Just say "no."

Dont get suckered into the Roof top pool and other amenities. You will hate The James. After some time being here you will feel like your in prison. The concrete box feel apartments are depressing. The management sucks. The pool and hot tub is always qhetto trash in it. Any friends you have visit you will have to take elevator to let them in and then take them out. It's a fire hazard. You could get trapped if the key phob system doesnt work. You're on camera everywhere you go. The grills sound cool too but there always broke and gross

0/5 STARS!!!!!! DO NOT LIVE HERE unless you want to be completely ripped off and treated terribly. They for some reason didn't have record that I was still living in my apartment come move out day, and went into my apartment when I was gone, packed up all my stuff and moved it out, and went through my boxes. Now they have the nerve to charge me for cleaning fees even though I never had a chance to clean, because they went in before the move out time!!! At the start of my lease we moved in and we did not have all the furniture they promised per the lease, and we would not have had a couch for 5 MONTHS if it weren't for us badgering the staff for weeks to get us a couch out of storage. At first they totally LIED and told us it would be a couple weeks, then a few more weeks and then it became months before we got the new couch. When they did give us a new couch, it was way smaller than the normal ones and super uncomfortable. Totally lame. Then our kitchen lights went out due to faulty wiring, which led to a LIGHTBULB EXPLODING, TWICE. They completely replaced the fixtures, but the new ones were useless and provided us with no light. I had a corner bedroom with windows on two of the walls, but they were so poorly insulated that I would wake up with SNOW/FROST INSIDE MY ROOM and BLUE LIPS. All my plants died and many of my books/papers that were near windows were ruined. They told me to just get some curtains. Unbelievable. The building is so poorly constructed I'm sure that everyone has an unreasonable high bill for heat. Whenever we tried to deal with the staff regarding anything having to do with them not fulfilling their half of the lease (not having all our furniture, etc.), they were very rude and unreasonable, making us pay for a fully furnished apartment when in fact that is NOT what we had. Seriously the WORST experience I've ever had living in Madison, and I'm counting the time when I lived in the Sellery dorm. Waste of money and huge headache, I've been moved out for months now and I'm still fuming.

If I could give 0 stars I would. Incredibly poor communication and rude management. DO NOT LIVE HERE. The leasing manager Kristina L. is difficult to work with and has the worst customer service skills. Save your sanity & take my word and do not sign with this building!!!

I will do my best to write an objective review on the pros and cons of the building. The building was built in a very cost effective manner (cheap). The walls are thin and sound travels easily, the units lack storage, although you can rent a storage unit for an additional fee, and the bedroom closets are devoid of any type of organizers, so bring your own. The basic theme of cheaping out resonates throughout. The biggest disappointment was the size of the bedroom; it was considerably smaller than the one viewed on the tour. The bedroom is approximately 8'3" long, (wall to closet jamb) and 8'4" wide, there is a small bump out for a desk. A full bed is included, this leaves less than 2 feet from the bottom of the bed to the closet and a paltry 3.5 feet from side edge to the wall. Virtually NO room for anything other than a bed and desk. Sometimes small is cozy but this is not one of those times. Getting a response to emails or left messages is hit or miss. The staff seems nice and they try to be helpful but at times seem inadequately informed on some of the issues. The pros of the building are the appliances, (rental quality) are new, a washer and dryer is located within the apartment and the majority of the apartment is devoid of carpet. In my opinion the building is far more impressive from the outside than the inside.

Overpriced tiny little cold apartments with zero character. Good location though!

I had hoped that when TheJames was taken over by American Campus that the place would be run a little better but I have been greatly disappointed. For the past few weeks the steam room has smelled like mildew/mold an now it has been shut down indefinitely for repairs. The printer in the study lounge has been broken for 2+ weeks during finals and they just put a piece of paper over it that says "out of service." Finally, tonight after leaving the gym my access key stopped working for no apparent reason (I had nothing else in my pockets) and the person on call could only let me up into my room and suggest that I take it to the office tomorrow. Without my access key I cannot get in the front door, press the button in the elevator for my floor, or get into my room and there is no backup plan for if this happens. For the past two months I have been bombarded with lease renewal letters but there's a reason I'm not signing them to continue paying $1300 a month for this. Figure it out Update: It took 2 days for me to get a new keycard. Management was out of town and said they would not answer their phones or let anyone working onsite make a key. They never answered my emails and did not apologize at all. It is unbelievable that they do not have some protocol for situations like this or if an issue happens after normal business hours.

This place lacks customer service in a big way! Very expensive for the size of the apartments. And then find every way possible to keep your deposit- a real scam. Also, if you want a rent certificate for the Wisconsin State taxes, don't expect help. They told me "it is against company policy". This means that you will have to download the form and fill it out, collect all of the information yourself and check the box "landlord refuses to sign" if you want your tax credit. The amenities they flat out lied about - usually closed or reserved! I hate this place!

Worst apartment ever. The management office is a DISASTER. Extremely difficult to communicate.

My daughter lived in four different residences in Madison over her 4 years in school and the James was by far the worst experience we had. Very unresponsive staff and incompetent people unwilling or unable to help, they charged each girl in the apartment close to $200 in security deposits and would not even tell us or show us what they were charging us for. I could not even get them to respond to my emails. Live anywhere but here!!!

Not worth the cost to live here. My son and his friends (future roommates) toured early the fall of their freshman year. The James made the hard sell that they were filling up quickly. In a panic he and his desired roommates filled out applications, signed leases and paid deposits. Then they got a notice that the desired size apartment they wanted was not available and they would have to split up. They were not given the option to get out of their leases. My son was forced to room with someone he had never met before. Rent is very expensive and the amenities, pool, exercise room, common areas, are often disgustingly dirty and crowded. The elevators are slow, especially during peak hours. When your child calls panicked this October that you need to co-sign right away or they will be out of luck, don't fall for it. I wish I had said "no."

The James is the most unhelpful place. If you want to speak to someone to register a complaint ....You are told to put it in writing. They will not fix any problems over the phone. In addition, the billing is often incorrect and to get anything fixed is nearly impossible. My daughter had to live weeks without a washing machine and dryer. I had to get involved for them finally to react and fix it. All they did was give my daughter lip service. Not impressed

Be aware before signing lease!! You be responsible for paying rent even if "except as provided by law, you have no right to withhold or offset any purpose, even an act of God, or to reduce any Rent payable to us by any of your costs or damage." Like covid 19.

I cannot, in good conscience, recommend that anyone spends their money to live at The James. Like most residents of their "campus community", my roommates and I were drawn in by the various amenities, such as the rooftop pool/hot tub, trophy room, and the gym. While The James had some positive aspects, such as the front desk staff who were generally friendly and as helpful as they could have been under their management team, my roommates and I were not prepared for the slew of preventable issues that this apartment threw our way. They ranged from mildly irritating to genuinely distressing: On the more tolerable end of issues, we had appliances regularly breaking (we were the second set of residents to live in our particular unit), long delays in getting them fixed, packages not being processed for days, steam room being closed for half of our lease, lack of access to our balcony for months because of delays in fixing our door, etcetera. On the more frustrating end, the James had a variety of organizational issues that contributed to an uncomfortable living environment for residents. For example, music in the Trophy Room, which my unit is adjacent to, was being automatically blasted in the middle of the night even if nobody was in there; my roommate, who lived closest to the Trophy Room out of those in our unit, had to go downstairs around midnight regularly for a month to request that they turn it off and fix this issue. This problem began inexplicably during our second semester and was resolved about a month from us moving out. Parties and events are regularly thrown in the Trophy Room (which we had no problems with and found to be understandable within a college apartment, and we enjoyed renting it out ourselves), but it seemed ridiculous to have an automated system blare music right outside her bedroom window every single night for weeks when nobody was even there to enjoy it. This music was benefitting nobody and my roommate's requests for changes had been either pushed aside or ignored completely until she reached a breaking point after about a month of nights with little to no sleep. After arranging a meeting with the manager, they were able to find a solution that seemed relatively simple and we wondered why it couldn't have been enacted weeks ago, before it became a massive source of stress that affected her health. We were disappointed to discover time and time again that The James truly could not deliver. Given the relatively high rent paid, we expected more and feel cheated. We strongly and unanimously preferred our previous apartment, even without seemingly glamorous amenities. If you are looking for a great place to live with management that is capable of tackling big tasks and keeping their residents' best interests in mind, look no further than directly across the street from The James at the Aberdeen Apartments at 437 W. Gorham St. You will not be disappointed. If you sign a lease at The James, I cannot guarantee the same.

Retweet, if I could give this negative stars I would. The amenities are cool but literally everything that can break will break. If you wanna live here, just be warned, living without a different necessity all the time because something breaks every week (it takes them 3 weeks to fix it) sucks. Also, if you have a balcony, your doors might get stuck locked and not allow you to use it so have fun paying extra for some cool locked doors. If you already signed here, I wish you the best but you made a horrible mistake.

Let me start off by saying, I do not live in The James. However, my girlfriend does, and this place is a mess! I don't even know where to start!! Back in the early spring, one of the three elevators stopped working with 10 residents inside. Now, this does happen from time to time in large apartments, but the way the management handled it was pitiful. Instead of letting other residents know about the problem with signs in the elevators or an email sent out to everyone, they decided to completely bury the issue. We only found out about the issue through a local news story (https://madison.com/news/local/crime/people-rescued-from-faulty-elevator-in-downtown-apartment-building/article_e668df91-9d89-5661-a3a9-a635f35e4708.html). As if that weren't bad enough, the rules with the rooftop hot tub aren't explicitly advertised. Back at the end of the fall semester and at the beginning of this summer the hot tub was completely shut off without any warning to residents that it would be off. On top of these specific events, the protocol with charging residents for water appears to be entirely random with no system to let people know where the bill is coming from. Anytime there is a problem, the management seems to take ages to fix it. None of the issues brought up seem to actually matter to them. Needless to say, my girlfriend is not returning for another year, and I have advised all of my friends who have considered this place to avoid it at all costs!!

DO NOT LIVE HERE The management is disrespectful and untruthful, their leasing process is extremely unprofessional, and the utter lack of simple communication between the management, including front desk and leasing staff, is extremely unreliable and untrustworthy I have never experienced such incompetency in my entire life. My friends and I were looking to rent a 4-bed, 3-bath apartment. We were told time and time again by different staff members that not only were we able to sign our leases at different times with "no problem getting four leases for the same apartment" but also we were reassured that "everything was fine" even after someone on staff had leased the fourth bedroom to another, random tenant. The reason my fourth roommate was unable to sign her lease in our apartment is because the James sent her the wrong lease twice- once with the wrong amount, once with the wrong guarantor. Instead of fixing the problem they made apologetically and quickly, they simply gave out another copy of the same lease to someone else, someone we had not requested as our roommate. They did absolutely nothing to help our situation regardless of the fact that this mistake was entirely their fault. A combination of false information given to us and complete lack of trust in the management has caused us to pull our leases and look for an apartment elsewhere. Seriously, it is a waste of time and money to even go on a tour.

This place is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen. We had two break-ins and one attempted break in here within three weeks of each other.....and my roommates and I live on the 7th floor. The security does nothing to stop random people from walking into the building after office hours and instead sleep or play games on their phones. The James was terrible at responding to our calls and in fact one of the front desk people on call was laughing that the security here doesn't do anything and are busy getting sandwiches at night, instead of doing their jobs. She said it has been a problem and that her manager doesn't do anything about it because she doesn't care enough to help. None of the managers have reached out to us when we have complained, and when we do we get an awful eye roll and gossiping behind our backs when we return from talking to them. The manager, as well as all of the desk staff are children, so there is absolutely no sense of professionalism in the office. The only positive thing is the new maintenance manager that they hired. He is quick to respond to your work orders and is very friendly. Other than that, do not live here. This is my second year living here after being pressured into resigning one month after moving into there and I regret my choice every day.

My daughter signed a 12 months lease with The James apartment at 432 W Gorham St, Madison. The lease begin in Aug 18,2018. I got the key to the apartment on the 3rd of Sept and walk into the room which is completely empty. No beds, No sofa, No chairs, Nothing. Completely unfurnished. In the contract, it clearly stated that every single furniture that is included in the room but there was nothing and still is nothing. I talked to the team downstairs, completely unable to do anything and could not even find a number to call. The next day I went to the management in the late afternoon, with the management not knowing anything! The manager, Erik, told me that there is nothing he can do but to order a maintenance request and wait for delivery. He also told us that in the contract it states that i should have notified them in order to have my furnitures and the contract states that i have to give them time to take care maintenance request. Is lacking all pieces of furnitures a "maintenance request"? The apartment is completely uninhabitable! And the solution that was offered was maintenance request takes time? the manger Erik first told me he would have furniture ready the next day, then he switch his words to "as soon as possible"! Nevertheless, my daughter still have to pay for the days that the apartment is uninhabitable, offering zero compensation beside a gift card from a random from that was clearly a free advertisement they received.