The Sans Souci

As a 1L, I was crunched for time so I had to go with Cabrio. They are absolutely terrible. After move-in Cabrio has been 1/10 in customer service.

1. Cabrio refuses to prorate the last month of the lease but forces tenants to move out two weeks before the end of the month. Essentially, you are paying for a full month of rent but only able to live in the apartment for half the month. Appears very unethical to me. This is not common across landlords in Ann Arbor, they told me that it is but it is not.

2. I was made to pay an additional cleaning fee prior to moving in to ensure the apartment was sufficiently cleaned and up to standard and it was not, it was very poorly done.

3. I had key fob issues. They told me to leave my house open (the door would be open, if not locked, the door swings open) and drive to their office to get the key fixed. I thought this was unsafe.

4. Heat and gas is included in the rent, however, the broilers conveniently seem to not work early into the fall AND turn off very early in the spring. I thought it was a one-time issue but it seems like a common practice to simply not turn on the broilers and instead offer tenants the option of using space heaters (which drastically increases your electric bill). I didn't have a problem with it until I realized it may be something they do all the time from a few online reviews from previous tenants.

Unique to San Souci Property

There was only one plus for me; if you are a football fan, the property is close to the stadium. However, if you are not a football fan, it is loud and noisy and cell service is terrible during games. There is also only one entrance to the complex so trying to get anywhere +- 3 hours from a game will require you to beg/convince traffic control that you should be allowed to go inside so you can get home.

Being close ish to campus is the only nice thing. The apartment complex is not well kept; once the apartments are “liveable” Cabrio does not care about the satisfaction of residents.
1. Cabrio organizes their lease agreement to end your lease 2 weeks before the end of the last month but still charges you the full “installment” on the last month. Basically they organize their lease as a full installment of the total amount of rent and claim they are nice enough to allow you to pay in “monthly installments”. Therefore you still have to pay the last full month of rent event though you leave 2 weeks before the end of the month. Basically they want to have their cake and eat it, you pay for the full month while they are getting the apartment ready for the next renter. Also, They do not allow you for renew for less than a year
(2) They threaten the entire complex with fees for garbage issues. All residents are responsible for the putting the big cubicles on the curb and if they are not put out or promptly removed, Cabrio charges all residents any fees they receive from the city.
(3) Maintenance takes months on “non-emergency issues”. The only things they consider emergencies are flooding/heat etc. so your garbage disposal can be out for weeks and they don’t care.
(4) Finally, they use electronic keys and they only issue one per resident. One day mine was not working; to close the door. They told me I would have to drive to their main office (leaving my apartment open) to get a new key or have mine reset. They did not care that I would have to leave my apartment open. It was within the first week here and I knew no one to ask them to keep an eye on my apartment while I ran to the office (10 min drive away). I told them this and asked them to send someone with a key, they did not care.

TLDR: Cabrio does not care about you. It is worth the hassle to find an apartment that they do not own.

I've lived in two different Cabrio apartments and had great experiences both times. The buildings are clean and well-maintained, and the maintenance crew is accessible and timely when you need something fixed. This particular unit is a nice size for one person - not a sprawling luxury loft, but doesn't feel like a broom cupboard either. No complaints about the utilities or appliances - everything has worked fine. I like this location because it's less than a 20-minute walk to campus, and it's close to a bus stop that makes it only a 9-minute commute to the law school. I'm also right next to the stadium, which is convenient for tailgating etc., but be prepared for LOTS of noise and chaos on football Saturdays. During the day there's a fair amount of traffic noise from Main St., but there's basically no noise from bars/restaurants/crazy undergrads.

Good location, reasonable rent, <20min walk to Ross/downtown, lots of sunlight, across the street from the big house, neighborhood is residential and quiet.

Management is acceptable. I'd expect a bit more responsive than other companies, but this is a property manager in a college town, so don't have high expectations.

No particularly impressive amenities. Some units have been updated. We are on third (top) floor and aren't sure we'd want to live in one of the lower floors. Have nice view of A2.

My wife and I like our apartment and have been surprisingly please with the responsiveness of the management company. It is a good distance from campus, 15-20 min walk. It is also quiet at night and the neighbors are respectful. It is nice that parking is included as my wife has to commute for work.

Cabrio is a great property management company (I have basis for comparison as opposed to my living situation last year), responsive to any maintenance issues and easy to reach for anything else with an intuitive resident portal online to pay rent etc.
The apartment itself has just been refurbished and is the perfect size for me and my girlfriend, bringing rent down to 625 per person. All fixtures countertops and appliances are new and very nice. They allow cats but not dogs. Water is included in rent and heat is a small flat fee so you do not have to obsess about monitoring usage of either.
It is also directly across from the Stadium for easy tailgating. That being said there is 1 space alloted and it is a 15 minute walk to school, so plan accordingly for that.