605 West End Apartments

My mind will forever reel at the incompetence of the staff here. This building was far superior back when it was a Bell property. Update (8/10/23): I was asked to remove this review by 605 West End, which I will not be doing, but I thought I would update it to cite specific grievances with this company. Living here was by no means a dream, there were frequent rat and cockroach sightings, and constant issues with trash piling up (which certainly didn’t help the vermin situation), but I moved to Durham after living in NYC for 5 years, so these conditions honestly didn’t faze me too much. My primary issue concerns the sub-par customer service ~skills~ of the office staff. Look, I don’t need apartment staff to be effusively nice to me, but I do need them to possess basic job competencies, and to show respect for the contract we jointly signed. If you choose to live here please be aware that this company (Lincoln Property Company) has no intention of respecting the concept of “ordinary wear and tear” to the apartment as described in the rental contract. I lived in my apartment for three years, I kept it clean, I hung almost nothing on the walls, and I paid an extra non-refundable pet deposit to cover anticipated damages from my mid-sized dog. When I moved out these people gave me $16 of my deposit back. $16 American dollars. To justify this they sent me a series of grainy images of the alleged damage to my apartment, which were so ridiculous I actually think I will try to dig them up to add to this post. And I know this wasn’t just a one off, because a year later they pulled this same stunt with my sister and her roommate when it was time for them to move out of their unit (they also moved in back when the property was managed by Bell Partners). There are so many locally based property management companies in Durham, rent from one of them instead. And if you do for some reason decide to live here absolutely insist on doing the final walkthrough of the apartment with them so they don’t steal your deposit. BONUS BAD BEHAVIOR: When the Lincoln Property Company officially took over the building in spring of 2021, one of their first acts was to put an enormous green sticker on any car in the parking deck that had an expired registration. They did this before they were even able to communicate with residents via email, so there was zero head’s up that this was going to happen. Why was this their first priority as new owners? I have no idea, but it was certainly a harbinger of things to come. A friend of mine in the building was a victim of the green sticker, and dear god was that thing difficult to get off.

There have been multiple car break ins over the past few months. Cars in the garage would have their windows smashed. Hasn’t happened to my car yet but I often see broken glass or police officers in the garage. There is no communication about this issue from management (not even an email). No new security cameras. No better gate. Their only response has been to up a sign saying they’re not responsible for theft or damage to property. Residents are worried about their safety and have gone so far as to put these flyers on all car windows. If you’re considering 605 west end, I would definitely avoid signing new a lease here until this issue is addressed

Please consider other options and keep this as a last resort for your move. The earlier management was far better than the current one. The current management is just straight out rude, unamicable and just the worst. They don’t even respond to your emails on time. Few apartments out here have noise issues coming from inside as well as outside apartment and after informing the leasing office about it, sharing videos over email, etc- they asked me to inform the cops about it rather than investigating more into this issue. The noises are particularly of people fighting, dogs barking amongst others coming from apparently some HVAC system. The only advantage of staying here is the location but then again there are much better rental apartments around to consider. They have changed quite a few things in this apartment complex and I’m pretty sure they will start charging extra for those amenities like they have for some. Some of the folks in the leasing office are straight outright rude and not amicable at all! I totally agree with some issues mentioned in the comments. I’m not sure how this place even got 5 star rating in this first place.

Don't understand any of the bad reviews, this is one of the nicest apartments near Duke. I have lived in two different units at this apartment complex and I have not seen a bug here once. Resident events are frequent, amenities are always kept nice, people who live here are respectful, and the area is very convenient to all of downtown and Duke. I've never felt unsafe walking around this area late at night as a woman. The bike room is secure and I have never had anything stolen. Maintenance responds to our work orders the same day or next day (one time they were at our door in 15 minutes). Management has been very helpful and accommodating. The only downside is that units near the highway will hear some traffic. Highly recommend.

Do yourself a favor and stay far away from the place. It took me settling into my new building across town to realize just how horrible life in the building is. Management is the psychotic and wholly incompetent. They enter units without notification all the time...you don't have to take my word, jut look at all the residents tht have installed security cameras on their door. Personal property is stolen regularly. Building is filthy...cockroaches everywhere, trash lays in the hallways for weeks. I hear gunshots from my window on a weekly basis, have been woken up by them more than once, extremely sketchy area. 100% regret ever staying in the god-awful place.

My mind will forever reel at the incompetence of the staff here. This building was far superior back when it was a Bell property. Update (8/10/23): I was asked to remove this review by 605 West End, which I will not be doing, but I thought I would update it to cite specific grievances with this company. Living here was by no means a dream, there were frequent rat and cockroach sightings, and constant issues with trash piling up (which certainly didn’t help the vermin situation), but I moved to Durham after living in NYC for 5 years, so these conditions honestly didn’t faze me too much. My primary issue concerns the sub-par customer service ~skills~ of the office staff. Look, I don’t need apartment staff to be effusively nice to me, but I do need them to possess basic job competencies, and to show respect for the contract we jointly signed. If you choose to live here please be aware that this company (Lincoln Property Company) has no intention of respecting the concept of “ordinary wear and tear” to the apartment as described in the rental contract. I lived in my apartment for three years, I kept it clean, I hung almost nothing on the walls, and I paid an extra non-refundable pet deposit to cover anticipated damages from my mid-sized dog. When I moved out these people gave me $16 of my deposit back. $16 American dollars. To justify this they sent me a series of grainy images of the alleged damage to my apartment, which were so ridiculous I actually think I will try to dig them up to add to this post. And I know this wasn’t just a one off, because a year later they pulled this same stunt with my sister and her roommate when it was time for them to move out of their unit (they also moved in back when the property was managed by Bell Partners). There are so many locally based property management companies in Durham, rent from one of them instead. And if you do for some reason decide to live here absolutely insist on doing the final walkthrough of the apartment with them so they don’t steal your deposit. BONUS BAD BEHAVIOR: When the Lincoln Property Company officially took over the building in spring of 2021, one of their first acts was to put an enormous green sticker on any car in the parking deck that had an expired registration. They did this before they were even able to communicate with residents via email, so there was zero head’s up that this was going to happen. Why was this their first priority as new owners? I have no idea, but it was certainly a harbinger of things to come. A friend of mine in the building was a victim of the green sticker, and dear god was that thing difficult to get off.