Overall, living at 4000 Hulen was a great experience – probably my favorite apartment I’ve ever lived in. I’ll try to be honest about some of the downsides, too, to be helpful to potential tenants.
Great
- Office Staff: friendly, helpful, and good communication overall (and knew me by name!)
- Maintenance: quick response (usually within a couple days, never more than a week), although not always fully resolved
- Apartment Quality: Compared to other apartments I’ve lived in, this apartment was in fantastic condition upon move-in! There was one baseboard that had some water damage and it was fixed same-day. Cupboards were so clean – no need for any shelf liners! Felt 100% move-in ready and was easy to maintain.
- Location – five minutes to shopping and grocery stores and near Trinity River
- Security: Cameras in garages and it is gated both to the complex and to the hallways (you access with a key fob). There’s also a security officer at night.
- Covered parking: Having a garage parking is really great, although it sometimes fills up a lot in the evenings and the basement level feels a little sketchy. I never encountered anyone who didn’t seem to be a resident.
- Amenities: Not many people seemed to use them, but we enjoyed the pool, gym, and work stations in common lobby
- Mail room: has storage lockers, which are great if packages get put there (sometimes not)
- No pest issues in apartment!
- Resident Portal user-friendly: easy to submit payments and maintenance request history/status
- Most residents seem pleasant and friendly
- Price: pricing can fluctuate – timing worked out for me to get a good price!
Downsides
- Noise: Apartments are close to trains and walls are thin – you will hear noise/thumping from neighbors above and beside you. Where my apartment was, train sounds weren’t so bad (like windchimes), but I could tell walking through that it’d be more bothersome on the corner facing Hulen closer to the tracks.
- Policy enforcement: We had a neighbor who would have explosive outbursts which sometimes scared me. I was directed to call a courtesy officer when I informed the office. Not sure if something would have happened beyond that. Trash in hallways, and smoking were recurring issues in the complex, so seemed like enforcement methods were not effective.
- Parking policy NOT visitor-friendly: If you’d like any guests more than 3 times a month, cost adds up quickly. After I moved in, corporate office updated the parking policy – visitors are charged to register after only the 3rd visit each month (towing enforced $$). If visitor parking was scarce, or they were limiting overnight visits, I’d understand, but since there always seemed to be plenty of parking, it seemed more like a way for the towing company to get consistent money than for the residents’ benefit. This caused a lot of inconvenience for my husband and me when we were planning our wedding and kept the apartment from feeling like a home where we could welcome guests.
- Crime: There were some attempted car thefts in the garage, and packages left out in the mailroom were stolen. To be fair, other apartments in the area were being hit as well and we received notices so we could take precautions.
- Elevator: north side elevator seems down frequently (and triggers fire alarms), but the office is very communicative about it and gets it fixed ASAP
- Move-out charges: Double-check your lease for your responsibilities and ask about what you could be charged for (they will be honest if you ask, but don’t send a move-out checklist). We were charged for carpet cleaning to prepare for the next resident (only normal wear and tear).
Definitely check this place out – if you don’t need a lot of visitors and aren’t sensitive to noise, the pros definitely outweigh the cons!