Marquis on Briar Forest

Here is an honest review of this place. Keeping in mind that there is NO perfect apartment complex. It’s renting. There are always issues. Lived here one year. Gave required notice when it was time due to major price increase in rent, and some negatives that persuaded us not to renew regardless of the increase.
PROS:
Nice layouts.
Huge porches.
Big open concept kitchens.
Laundry rooms with washer/​dryer included.
Very family oriented.
Nice location.
Nice pool.
Maintenance friendly and pretty fast considering they are usually short staffed.
A very helpful and caring dude at the office named Chris. If you want anything done or handled, deal with him. This gentleman got thrown into the mix as the new guy and managed to handled it like a champ. Lots of disorganization prior to him showing up on the scene.
In one year, I never saw one single bug or ant. This was impressive to me. Major plus!
Also the units are very clean and well kept.
Constant smell of Indian food! Plus for me!
CONS: (in no particular order)
VERY LOUD. This complex is directly next to west side high school. Therefore, you get everything that goes along with that. Traffic and school zone mixed with usual traffic creates a mess. Must have patience.
The worst part about this, is the soccer field. IT IS OCCUPIED NON STOP. I mean every day. Christmas, Sundays, tornado days, during school hours, in the early morning, I mean before the birds even wake up, there is someone out there blowing a damn whistle non stop. It is unreal. It never ends. I cannot stress this enough. Whistles, yelling, grunting and training of some sort. Heads up. I put this as a con, because for us it was. We are
Pretty laid back, but after months, it did get old. Very old. I have never seen such dedication.
I say family friendly as a good and bad thing. The con of this, is its non stop kids yelling and playing. Running up and down the stair wells yelling and having fun. Again, not always a bad thing, but depending on who you are in life it can be a con.
The towing issue you have read about in the other reviews is LEGIT. I have never lived anywhere that had it so bad. As a resident, it is easy to feel very anxious about the towing. They don’t play and I know it is like this in many apartments in Houston and it’s just the way it is, but the other reviews are right, there simply are not enough guests spots. It is worth it to pay for a parking spot for yourself and just have guests leave before dark. That’s the only way. The only way.
The trash is an issue here. That’s not too abnormal, but IS very abnormal for a place in this price point. If I am paying under $ 800 for a place, I expect to have to deal with trash issues. I do NOT expect to have to deal with it if I am paying $ 950+. It’s just that simple. Most of the residents are to blame, they refuse to follow the simple directions of putting the trash in the compactor and press the button. BUT regardless it’s an issue that needs working on by the complex it’s self. Maybe going to a trash pick up style service. That seems to work fine in other complexes I have lived in.
There are also many skunks that hang around the high school, the apartments and surrounding areas. They feed off of the trash issue. They have tried to remedy this, and it has improved, but again the trash is a constant treat for them. Also watch out for snakes. The bayou is very close by. No one can help that.
In one year, we did experience two safety issues. Again, this is Houston and crime does happen more than I like, but the location is just too close to the HWY 6 trash folks. There was one break in in the apartment office itself (outside the security gate) and one at a unit itself. Also my friend got robbed literally at a neighboring complex at gun point checking her mail. Just be aware. But again that goes for anywhere. Otherwise, during the day I felt safe. Both times the office did send an email notifying everyone of the incident.
The walls are the definition of paper thin. Neighbors share the same BEDROOM wall. You can literally hear your neighbor cough, talk on the phone, and even snore. You can hear everything lol we would literally make sure we had all private conversations in the living room and not the bedroom.
Overall, it is an alright place to live. I hope this review helped prepare you for some potential issues. Like I said, nowhere is perfect and the office is professional and caring. Most con’s I named are things that come with renting in general.

Residential living synopsis of what your experiences will be living here.
Key topics I will elaborate on, as I have been here almost 4 years.
— Safety
— Poor Management
— Towing
— Hazards
— Other properties in the area
Safety: RUN and do not look at this place if you can afford not to! Unless you would like your children to be victims of death by speeding in a parking lot. There are NO signs stating proper speed for cars/​bikes. Granted speed for driving in the community should be 5 miles per hour HOWEVER the residents here are speeding at the least 25 miles per hour! There is no playground, nowhere for children to enjoy a normal childhood therefore they literally play in the streets, on bikes, boards etc.
I almost hit my breaks 4x a week due to a kid in the streets.
Break ins, Car break ins usually happens when the gate is broken and not attended to! Beware theres been a few wrecks of cars IN PARK due to speeding residents! Do not expect a social life… why? Because if you return home after 10pm on ANY NIGHT there may not be parking space for you. But for $ 40 you can rent a car port, that ppl sometimes park in anyway. If there is no parking available youll be advised to park near the leasing office, to walk unsafe to your home in the middle of the night! OUTSIDE of the complex, where you cant save your car from break ins or you from potential rape! If theres a lurking predator.
Theft: I have been a 6x victim of stolen checks, mail and packages
Management: in less than 9 months there have been 3 managers at this property, if this isn’t enough to consider I don’t know what is.
Towing: Htown towing trolls the complex after dark to prey on the residents, im convinced someone in the office is making commission from this conspiracy. 396 apartment units and less than 15 visitor parking spots. Do you know what that means? If theyre all taken your family has to be forced to leave! You are not allowed to have company you are not allowed to cook for the holidays for extended family, you are not allowed to have social gatherings, or even give your child a birthday party. Ie seen it personally the tow truck comes between 3 – 5 am.
Hazards: There is no sanitizer in the gym, there is no water available and the restrooms are always locked! The Pool BBQ Grills are extremely dirty and hardly cleaned. Dog Poop EVERY WHERE. Fences are not attended to to ensure the safety of those that have animals. Ive seen tons of wild life on the property! Work orders go unattended sometimes for days.
THERE ARE NO AMENITIES!!!
You can only have direct tv and Att here so cancel any current memberships you have!
Trash spills over into the streets ALL THE TIME
The gym is outdated, and hot.
The resident commons area, isn’t for the working professional… early hours closes at 6 so be sure to ask tto skip the tour! Whats the point you wont enjoy it anyway.
PERSONAL INCIDENT — OCCURRED NOV 22 2015
First ill start by stating that I am a two time Iraq vet whom suffer from PTSD. I had a rough day that Saturday and my mom who is 72 years old stopped by at 4am to check on me because of the panic attacks I was having. There were no visitors parking available for her to park in. I will not advise my mom parks outside the community gate at 4am on a Saturday night and walk to the very back (building 18) alone. She could face RAPE, ROBBERY, AND TONS OF CRIME at that hour. My mom was only here an hour to check on me. Upon returning to the spot that once held her car it was TOWED. Now I have to pay money I don’t have to get my mom’s car back because she was only caring for her ill daughter. Out of 396 units there should be at the least 6 – 8 visitor parking spots per building or section. Instead your faced with fines and fees for needing help.
Upon explaining to the office, that’s very aware of parking here to no avail did any one help me. I was quickly discarded and advised to speak up the chain to her supervisor. I was dismissed as a longtime resident in need. What right does this complex have to limit who can check on you or visit?
IT’S THE HOLIDAYS!
This august I buried my brother who was killed! to bring my family together I planned to make a nice dinner for my family, I just had to cancel dinner because I am now out of $ 225 due to tow fees I can afford thanksgiving (my gift to my family) due to towing. I cant host my family because im scared they will be towed or there wont be parking or even safe parking for them.
RUN IF YOU CAN! DO NOT RENT HERE… YOUR SAFETY IS NOT THEIR CONCERN
Theres tons of new and affordable apartments in the area! Do not stay here!!!
If you wish to stay at a CWS community, please see
Marquis at memorial
Marquis at park row
Marquis at Westheimer
* The marquis of eldridge was the best, and I wish I never transferred over here

I fully agree with Bean’s review below and can validate the statements about Cathy Sawyer. Fortunately, she was transferred to another apt complex in Sept 2014.
Other than a poor living experience due to the lack of maintenance, I ended up paying an extra $ 3000 due to the fact that the apartment leasing agent (Jeremy) refused to acknowledge that I had given notice to terminate the lease. In the end, I paid to get out of the lease (leaving the apartment empty for over two months). and move to our house down the road.
Don’t make the mistake of staying here. There are three new apartment complexes that have opened right around this one — do yourself a favor and stay at one of those

The lease consultants will lie to you regarding the fees. I had bad experience where I was told I will be getting most of my money back if I canceled. When i had to cancel they asked for written proofs. After several communications I have not seen my rfund

This apt. BLOWS! Don’t stay here! I get notices every week of a break in and you would think they would have more security but they don’t because they don’t care about the customer, just about the rent getting paid.

I lived here for two years, and there was absolutely nothing positive about my time living there that the apartment complex can take credit for. My apartment was broken into in the spring of last year, and my HDTV was stolen. They did nothing; in fact, they gave me a lecture on personal responsibility. They do a VERY poor job of making sure the people moving into their complex are good, responsible people, especially considering there is a high school right next to them. Many cars are loud, and many of the tenants are needlessly surly — although some are pleasant. The dumpsters are constantly overflowing. Maintenance is hit or miss.
But the absolute worst part of the entire experience was the apartment office, a lady by the name of Cathy Sawyer, in particular. I can understand these people have been conditioned by their unpleasant tenants to be more defensive than friendly, but they seemed to make a game out of being rude and inconsiderate, and had fun doing it. There were several examples supporting this claim (we NEVER got a copy, hard or electronic, of our lease), but our final episode in dealing with them was the most egregious.
We had a package mailed to us around Christmas, full of presents. The value was definitely in excess of $ 500, nevermind the sentimental value. The box must have been big, and impossible to miss. FedEx showed us proof of the date/​time they dropped it off at the office, although the signature was never confirmed. THE PACKAGE DISAPPEARED, AND THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING FOR US. No offer to compensate us or give us a discount on our rent, no admission of guilt — even though they clearly knew the package came into their office. Not even an apology. Once again, Cathy Sawyer gave us a lecture on our responsibilities as tenants, which came across as nothing more than a desperate, ultra strong-​armed attempt to cover their behinds from any liability. In fact, they didn’t even bother to try to retain us as tenants! This happened right at the end of our lease, and there was zero attempt on their parts to extend us any courtesy that might have given us a reason to consider staying. We never would have, but still, this place is one of the last pit stops on the way to the seventh circle of hell.
The pool and gym are okay, the little pond to the east of the entrance is a nice touch, and the proximity to Westside High School’s athletic facilities is nice. Also, everyone was billed for water individually, which is great — if you don’t use a lot of water. But really, none of this comes even remotely close to placing this complex even as high as ‘mediocre’. I really would not wish this living experience on my worst enemy.