TL;DR: Dont live here. The apartment I got seemed cursed by the amount of maintenance requests I had to put in. Management was nice during the year, but not the best upon moving out.Review: Living here was one of the worst decisions I could have made. We werent allowed to tour our house in person, due to the COVID pandemic (which was reasonable), and so I had no idea what I was getting myself into.The floor plan they gave us when we signed our lease was incorrect; which isnt a big deal but is still annoying. Within a few days, we noticed that the floors were either laminate, and easily ripped, or very old carpet.The following things broke/gave us problems during my time at Briarwood:- Hot water (multiple times)- Heating (They put a massive hole in our wall trying to fix it)- Air conditioning- Screens- Blinds- Smoke alarm- Power surges and outages- Sink faucet handle falling off- Washing machine ripped several of my shirts and shorts- Walls scratch very easily and paint chips off the closets from the slightest of movementI thank the Briarwood maintenance staff for fixing all of the problems we had. It just became ridiculous that this unit was given out to rent with all of these lingering problems and no heads up.Lastly, our lease lapses July 24th of this year and the management office at Briarwood has been badgering us to get out before that date. They sent us notes saying they would fine us hundreds of dollars if we didnt clean the house and would fine us if we didnt vacate by 10am on that date.If I knew that the apartment I spent a year in would be this cursed ahead of time, I wouldnt have lived here. It is clear that we were just one apartment out of a few hundred. Makes sense why 90 units are being vacated this August...

We have been living here for almost a whole year now and I have no major complaints. We had issues with our water heater after something popped off during a routine maintenance check, but Briarwood tried to fix it and then ended up replacing it with as little intrusion as possible. The maintenance staff was really nice and professional and let us know what they were doing. There are things beyond my control that are annoying, like leaf blowing when I happen to have a meeting. But I have to work from home for the time being and the landscaping didnt bother me when I went to the office. Neighbors can be loud, which is annoying when its 11PM and you want to sleep, but thats a typical issue at any apartment/townhouse complex.

They response promptly to any requested! They are performing very well, with respect and very professionally!

Meghan F was a really nice and informative. She deserves a this very nice review and recognition. She did not discriminate because of our age and did not give us the run around like many apartments did. The apartment themsleves were not what we were looking for, but either way she was a great guide.

All of the staff are so helpful and very kind when it comes to maintenance, questions, and anything you could think of. My apartment is so cozy and the grounds are always so well kept!

After attempting to choose between multiple companies - Briarwood was not only the most responsive, but the easiest to sign up with. A few companies around the area were a huge headache and the leasing agents here made everything super easy and answered every question I had thoroughly. Super excited to live here!

Currently living here for a year now, about to renew lease for another year. The home is beautiful for what you pay, especially considering the other options around. They may seem just a bit expensive up-front, but other places have lower rent and then jack it up with extra fees. Beautiful area (out of the way of the city but close enough to get to hotspots quickly), friendly and understanding staff, nice amenities, easily affordable living... a great place to call home.

We love the apartment community. The staff is really helpful. There were some maintenance issues when we moved in here and a very distinct unpleasant smell. But the staff helped punctually with the maintenance issues and we eventually got rid of the smell. Great place for the price.

Everyone was great to work with. There were some frustrations with the insurance, gas, and electric. While I thought Id had everything ready, we found out very late in the process that not everything was good. A little more notice would have been helpful.

Briarwood is a great place to live. I really enjoyed my time here. Upon move-in, my apartment was clean and well-maintained. The outside grounds are always neatly maintained by professional landscapers. The staff and management in the office are courteous and professional, always responding to my emails or calls promptly. They do a great job with apartment-wide email communication regarding weather warnings, announcements about landscaping work, or information about the lease. This is a quiet side of town, right next to the YMCA and walking distance to the grocery store Weis. A huge bonus (especially for students) is living really close several R line bus stops. Of course, no place is infallible, and we did have one minor issue with their maintenance team. Although they successfully completed several of our submissions for maintenance work in our apartment, on one occasion the maintenance team left incomplete work with no communication about the status of the job. I think with a bit of training in proper communication between maintenance staff and tenants, Briarwood will be living up to its full potential. But this single situation is outweighed by the 99 other excellent and reliable times I had here. Overall, my experience here was above average.

I love my apartment. It meets my expectations and is very nice. Management is wonderful and service requests are done in a timely fashion and are thorough.

Cozy place. Shared creek and backyard. 4 stoves and an oven. Refrigerator and dishwasher. No microwave. Helpful receptionist. Some walk away from bus stop. Laundry room a bit of a walk across the backyard. No complaints about water or heating.

Pet friendly, and THATS cool. If you dont have a car it would probably be perfect.If you DO have a car, live somewhere else. They tow tow tow. All. Night. Long. We rented a car and left our parking pass in it after the office was closed. We planned on picking one up the next day, but sure enough, in the 12 or so hours the car was left in the lot we pay to park in without the pass AT NIGHT OVER WINTER BREAK it was towed. They NEED to get a better system. They claim its to preserve the parking lot for residents, but they mostly tow THEIR OWN RESIDENTS. They relentlessly tow the people that pay them. The very people that keep them in business. Even dogs know not to bite the hand that feeds.The place has potential, they just have the one downside. It is however, a MAJOR downside.Be better.Ta,Angel

The only place in town worth having pets at, so theres that.Honestly Ive never lived at a more utilitarian, robotic place. They really just dont care about their tenants at the admin level. Front desk is wonderful/kind, but theyre just nice humans in a garbage company. Maintenance people will come by whenever they feel like and even with a request for contact they just ignore you and do what they want. Multiple times Ive had people barge in while Im indecent, or come home to locked doors because maintenance did a random inspection when I went for a walk.God forbid you have a friend drop by to visit when youre sick for 30 minutes or you cant get a replacement parking pass for one evening while theyre closed. Nope. Towed. Been towed four times since moving here, the first one literally the first day I moved in. You forget to tell every single friend about the hungry parasites from Walks Towing prowling the area? Their car is gone.If you want a series of fees, annoyances and frustrations in order to live in a relatively cute building with your pets, this place will do you fine. If I had literally any other reasonable option in town, Id move out.

We just moved in to our 3 story apartment and the process was unbelievably easy. The staff at the office is very nice and informative. Our apartment was in pretty good shape at move in - clean and obviously taken care of. The landscape of the apartment complex outside is truly beautiful. There is a duck pond and weeping willow trees outside. We are enjoying our stay already.

This is quite honestly an amazing place to live. Its definitely worth the money and its honest to god beautiful!! A lot of people have mentioned that the parking is a nightmare, but it honestly isnt. I think its definitely acceptable and visitor parking isnt far away at all. The people who work here are extremely friendly and will go to great lengths to help you out. If youre considering this place to live, I promise you guys wont regret it!!!

This was the worst apartment I have ever lived in. The rent is ridiculous for what you get. They try to market it as remodeled and up to date. And in the pictures they do look that way. However, after living there for almost a year I do not feel safe in this townhome. Every floor board moves when you walk and creaks. Even my 10lb cat makes noise when he walks. The ceilings and walls are cracked and you feel like you could fall through the floor at any moment. Even the upstairs toilet is lopsided. When we voice our concerns the maintenance staff acts like our requests are ridiculous and thats just the way the apartments are and there is nothing they can do. STAY AWAY! The pictures are very misleading.Edit- 6/6/2019: Just saw on the website that they are advertising my current apartment for $200/month cheaper than what I currently pay. When they asked us if we were planning to stay they had to increase our monthly payments. They punish residents that keep their lease by increasing the rent.There is no benefit for keeping a lease here unlike some other rental properties in the area.

Briarwood is surrounded by beautiful, natural scenery. The women in the office care about every resident, and know you when you come in. There is true care for each and every resident. The area is family and animal friendly, creating a comfortable atmosphere for all types of people. The bus stops are close, making it easy to get around, while being just far enough from campus and downtown for some peace and quiet. Home is newly renovated, and absolutely beautiful. Very clean when we moved in, which I cannot say other places in the area seem to care much about.In regards to previous reviews:Parking is simple, and parking rules are straight forward.The homes are not new, and so there are mamy cracks in walls from being painted over. As well, floors may creak. The home is high quality all the same, and looks more beautiful than many of the new, cheaply made homes and apartments in the area.

Very helpful maintenance team and genial lease office employees, but inside of the house is a bit old, especially the oven, though the apartment is comfortable.

The lease couldn’t end fast enough. The apartment was filthy since day 1 no matter how much we cleaned. We had roaches, in fact the entire building was infested. My roommate and I even asked our neighbors if they had roaches as well, all had said yes. We had even walked into the main office while the inspector was telling the people at the front desk that apartments were not meeting inspection standards. Appliances were out dated as well. The only plus side was how cheap rent was and the surrounding area was nice but inside could use some work. I also experienced credit card issues with paying rent. Briarwood had taken 100 dollars from my account when I didn’t authorize it. I had no card set up on my account; there’s no way they would have had access to my account unless I had manually made a payment. They then didn’t even get back to me to explain how this even happend.

My car has been towed in front of my house in the MIDNIGHT, where there are only me and my girlfriend’s car in lotH. And they towed my car because I only had a B lot (the adjacent lot) card, on the Christmas Day? Where NOBODY is in this LOT H. AND I CANNOT EVEN PARK MY CAR IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE in CHRISTMAS? Do you dare to come during the day time?Where there’s nobody’s car in the lot, and I am the residence in this Briarwood. The only possible explanation I got is that they are trying their best to take every penny out their residences’ pockets.Okay, they will say you still violate the rule we made. Sure I did under your rule, but you break the warmth and kindness people seeking here in this community under the rule of humanity.You should be ashamed deep down in your heart if there’s still any conscience and your promise to the residence to build a warm-heart community. Sorry, all I get is coldness, colder than the weather in this Christmas.By the way good stealthy job of the towing company! They surly are happy this Christmas.The worst I’ve ever had. The Cold blood money seeker are they. No warmth for sure. I wouldn’t ever expect humanity to be a such like this in a small town, usually warm and welcoming. But I am wrong.Picture: still nobody in lot H.May conscience save our souls from money.

The parking rules are extreme and the attendant is aggressive. I took my daughter to get groceries and between trips to the car, which was parked right outside her apt door (in a nearly empty lot, I might add because it was during student break) I was given a $20 ticket... on our second trip to the car the attendant was there and my daughter politely explained that her mom was just bringing her groceries... she watched me grab the bags from the car. She said I could pay it now, pay at the office or mail it in, and left. An hour later I went to leave... no car. She had it towed!!! An hour after that I was paying $190 to get my car back... and I PAY over $1100 a month in RENT there! It was after office hours so I was unable to get a guest pass, which we had explained to the parking attendant. Apparently she saw this as easy money and wasted no time calling the tow truck to come. While I was putting groceries away I heard the beep beep of a back up truck and peaked out the window half hazards and joked that was probably a tow truck coming for my car... low and behold, it apparently was. Two nights earlier my daughter’s friend was ticketed while she walked out to her car... was very nice and explained she was leaving. The attendant said “well I already wrote the ticket, so you gotta pay it”. This isn’t right. I could see if I had parked there overnight, or if the parking lot was even close to full and the complex was protecting their tenants rightful spaces, but this isn’t the case. It’s a money-maker. And off the sweat of their own tenants to boot!

Meaghan has been so friendly and she helped me a lot on my issues! Great conversations with her every time!

These apartments are fine. I have a lightswitch in my room that they havent been able to fix. They tried doing something with it once and then I was able to control the electricity in my flatmates rooms for some reason.

The apartment is good but they charge ridiculously for move-out cleaning. Even though me and my roommates cleaned everything, they charged for like tiny spots on washer and oven ($20).

Best apartment outside Penn State State College. Value for money.

Pros: Their front desk is very friendlyCons:The town homes are poorly and minimally maintained to meet the absolute minimum standards of subsistence. I attempted to clean the walls only to realize the paint just comes off due to them simply painting over old coats of paint. I had water stains on my ceiling for up to a year and called in to report issues with the bathrooms. Said bathroom issues were only addressed a week prior to my move out and left me unable to use one of our bathrooms for 2 days. They not only failed to address these issues in a timely manner, but did not have the decency to wait to make repairs that would leave the bathroom unusable till after I moved out. I had other work orders completely ignored even after stopping by the office to tell them in person. Upon moving out I had an issue with the return of my deposit and after 3 emails and 4 calls finally had it addressed, unsatisfactorily, 3 months later.

My friend used to live there, and I visited him from time to time. The parking rules and enforcement are ridiculous. Id say the parking situation is more stressful than many big cities that I have lived in or visited. Be prepared to add $50-100 (to pay for ticket and towing) to your monthly rent when considering the apartments.

Living at Briarwood apartments has been one of the most memorable experiences weve had at State College. Weve been surely lucky to have chosen this strategic location with professionally property management. We stayed at a one bedroom apartment and then moved to a townhome and both have been functional spaces for us to live in for 4 years. The management is friendly and ready to help whenever needed. The maintenance people are also professional and try their best to attend to our needs especially in emergencies. The pond brought tranquility to the surrounding; the facilities are well maintained; and they had several tenant events during holiday times. The rent may be a bit high, but it is worth it compared to what is being offered. You dont find that in other neighboring complexes. The CATA bus is few steps away. Weis market is also very near and the YMCA is just across the street! It is not far from campus too. The best part of it all is that you dont experience the loud rowdy student events that may be distracting especially if you are graduate students or a family.

The leasing staff is super friendly, very responsive and very professional.

This is my second time renewing my lease and I won’t do it for the third time. First of all the price is really high for an apartment that doesn’t include internet, gym, washing/drying machines, or a bus pass. There are more better options in this area.I have been dealing with a problem with the heating system and I have written lots of emails and talked to the maintenance man about it. The heating system is VERY LOUD! It is located in the bed room and I can’t sleep or study in it! I’m not using it at all and I’m paying for it?!I was told that some of the heating systems are old! Ok? Well, you can renew them? Can’t you?I’m soo leaving this place.

Just wanted to post a new review as Ive lived here for a little longer now.Short story: awesome staff, prompt maintenance, nice area, nice apartments, dog-friendly, laundry system needs a little improvement. Awesome place if you have a pet and/or want to be away from downtown. Prices seem reasonable.Long story:Pros: The staff are very nice and very helpful. Steph tends to be the person in the leasing office that I have talked with most and she is awesome. This place is pet-friendly and has a fenced in area for dogs. Maintenance seems to be very responsive to maintenance requests and will fix any issues. The area is nice; about 7 minute drive from campus; much quieter than the downtown area; plenty of bus stops nearby; grocery stores in reasonable range; YMCA right across the street (not sure if they still do this, but they gave us free trial memberships for the YMCA when we moved in). Oh and there is a duck pond which is pretty cool. Its easy to get visitor parking passes especially if you get them in advance.Cons: Im not a huge fan of the laundry system and suggest you try to get one of the apartments that has washer/dryer included. It is $5 to get a laundry card that you will need to load money on to use washers and dryers in the laundry room. From my experience (before we got a washer and dryer in our apartment) it was a bit too pricey and the machines seemed to constantly need maintenance. We had renovations done to our apartment which seemed to cause more problems than it fixed. Eventually they were fixed. I wish there was a little more parking area to acckmadate more parking passes per apartment. My apartment has 4 adults and are allotted 2 passes. HOWEVER, they do have a parking pass lottery that you can enter if you need more passes. I have had a couple of issues with using the online system for paying.

+Overall:Though the staff do a great job, it doesnt offset the frustrations of living in Briarwood for me. Freezing all winter in my bedroom while getting heat stroke in the bathroom has been an interesting experience. Ultimately, I desire not to live somewhere objectively dilapidated, guarded by parking patrols that put our finest universities and hospitals to shame.+Cons:Crappy apartment- cracks in the walls/ceiling- terrible heating/cooling (some rooms are frigid rooms with the center of the house unbearable). My closets reached 40 degrees F. when the internal rooms were nearly 80.- mysterious soft spots under the carpet... (is that a load-bearing carpet?)- only have power outlets on the outer walls (a bigger deal than you might imagine)Ridiculous Parking- hyper-vigilant towing - which might explain the parking lots at 20% capacity- briarwood (or their parking service) will write you tickets on top of towing fees, which feels like little more than ransom to their residents guests- if it snows, even a few inches, they will require you to move your car for an hour during the middle of the day. Quite a difficulty for a student or professional that takes the bus...- guest parking-passes are all-but impossible to get (somehow theyre always out). It doesnt matter that your parking lot is nearly emptyOther- Maybe a small matter, but their recycling does not take cardboard. This might be a State College thing, but Im not so sure.+Pros:- The staff is prompt, courteous and attentive. Every time I needed something from them, they were very receptive. This includes the repairmen (very quick response times). It also includes their parking enforcement... (especially the prompt part).- Laundry facilities have been recently renovated and are pretty good.- Great bus location. The R-bus is never full at our stop and it comes frequently. Only a 10 min ride to campus.- Huge apartment, very spacious (I live in one of the townhomes).

I have been living at Briarwood for more than three years, and have nothing but good things to say about the property and the staff. Had life circumstances not dictated a need to move, I would continue to stay there indefinitely.Its quiet, easy to get to, well maintained (my unit received a complete overhaul of the kitchen and bathrooms this past year) and safe. Both the office staff and the maintenance crew are outstanding - the very few issues Ive had over the years were resolved quickly and professionally. If I ever find myself in need of a rental unit again, this is where I will go.A few comments on what other reviewers have said, in particular regarding the parking...1) Do they tow unauthorized vehicles? Yes.2) Do they explain this fully and clearly ahead of time? Yes.3) Do I always have a place to park, even on football weekends or during Arts Fest, because the management vigorously keeps random people from taking up all of the available parking? Yes.4) Can you pay a little extra and literally have a particular parking slot reserved for your car only? Yes.5) Are visitor passes easy to get? Yes.6) Can you park on a nearby street for free? Yes.7) Do they promptly clear the snow so you dont have to walk in slush to get into your car? Yes. (Note this requires getting your car out of the way, on a schedule that they tell you about before you move in, remind you about with flyers on the door as winter approaches, and send email reminders to you when snowfall is expected. It is easy and perfectly reasonable to get your car out of the way for a whopping 30-60 minutes so they can get in and clear out the lot. Just park on the street for the day if you cant be there at your appointed time.)Pretty much every complaint in the other reviews here seems to be the result of someone not paying attention to the very clear terms and procedures that the management describes before you ever sign the lease. Thats not a problem with Briarwood, thats User Error.If youre someone who wants to throw wild rave parties 3 nights a week, you should probably look somewhere else. If youre a serious student, family, or local professional this place will treat you well.

This is the worst place to live in state college area. People in the office are lazy and rude. Please don’t live here, you will regret your choice.

I didnt enjoy my experience living here, and Im much happier now that Ive moved to another complex down the street. The parking situation is worse than any I know of in State College, and the units are not nearly as nice as other nearby complexes for the same or lower price. It doesnt make sense to live here. They do not have visitor parking, even though there are always empty spots in the lots. Parking on Stratford Ave. is an option, but overnight visitors can get ticketed if they dont move their cars in the middle of the night on certain days. If you have disabled or elderly family members visiting, they will have to park far away and walk, and thats unacceptable in my book. Each resident has a designated parking lot, and if you park in a different lot, Walks Towing can (and will) tow you. My designated lot was a block away from my apartment, even though there were always empty spots in the lot right next to my place. During the winter, theyll tow your car if you dont have time to move it before they plow (like, for instance, if youre away for Christmas). Most other complexes just plow around your car and leave it alone.My townhouse wasnt bad, necessarily, but I didnt realize until seeing other complexes that Briarwoods are kind of run-down in comparison. My kitchen had some cosmetic issues (knicks and scratches on the counter tops and crooked drawers) and the fans over the stove werent effective. The bathrooms were really ugly and the shower wasnt entirely covered in tile, so black mold easily formed all over the walls despite my cleaning efforts. There are also no doorbells, just FYI. Utility bills were ok - heat through Columbia gas was between $30-120/month for a 3 bedroom, depending on the season. Electric was ~$80/month in the summer if we used A/C, much lower if we didnt. You also have to pay for water, and its about $30/month.I didnt find the girls in the office overly helpful - when I first moved in, they didnt give me any information other than my parking pass, which meant that they failed to tell me how to pay my rent, and forgot to tell me that it was due the next day or Id get a hefty fine. Little things, but they sure did leave a bad impression. My advice: Although its location is nice for grad students, look elsewhere on Waupelani Drive - you can do better.

Ugly and shady, especially the management office staffs. Extremely rude and crazy.

Office closes at 5 for parking passes however theyre very prompt in issuing a ticket immediately followed by a tow.

Neat, clean and safe. Just a bit expensive.

The apartment is clean, the staff is AMAZING

The house is outdated but comfortable to live

Brairwood officers are horrible and arrogant people. They tow residents’ car without any valid reason. They charge residents $180 late fee. This is most horrible place that I ever seen.

Good and spacious apartments

Drove by only

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