Highlands of Preston

The management and office staff are the best. I had to move cross country without being able to see anything before I moved in which was nerve wracking but they made the process easy. The grounds have all recently been updated (new dog park, new pool, new gym). The maintenance staff is very responsive and helped me when one of my pipes burst. They quickly fixed it and put new carpet in where it was soaked. Washer and dryers are in unit and my place has a very cozy feel. I would highly recommend for families or anyone who has a pet. They also have convenient online payments and updates for the community. This complex is also walking distance to several grocery stores and tons of great restaurants.

Upon moving in, I thought the apartment at Highlands was nicer than our NYC one but had very cheap finishes (paint/​flooring/​moldings/​blinds/​kitchen). The carpet was thin, cheap, and stained. Small things came up that were really odd. Our master bath had paint peeling off of the tub and sticking to our feet whilst showering. We made multiple requests to fix it and they just kept sending the same man to paint the tub again and told us not to use it for 24 hours. We waited even longer and still it would bubble up. Then our master window started leaking. They did a cheap fix months after we requested to have it fixed. I’m nearly positive that there is mold behind that wall next to the window because the maintenance manager detected moisture behind the wall. Was anything ever done to check and remediate? Of course not– and we have a very young baby. Finally– upon moving out we were charged fees for a professional cleaning of the carpet (we vacuumed frequently and left no new stains), paint, tub refinishing, and blind damage. Both the tub and the blinds is arguably their fault but we have to pay it. Overall, we do not recommend.

When I first moved in, I was really happy here. It is a very pretty, well-​kept complex. The property is well maintained, the neighbors are quiet and the location can’t be beat. Units all have fireplaces and very nice sized patios. Finishes inside are okay, the bathrooms show the age of the complex — late 80’s. But nothing tragic. Layout of my unit didn’t allow much light in — it always felt dark and cave-​like. The management at the time (Levi, Josh, Jessica, Janelle) was very good and they were on top of things.
But when new management came in, I had MANY issues. Maintenance was still good, and have made improvements (painting, etc.) to keep it nice. But new management sorely lacks communication skills and basic competence.
I have two cats and made it crystal clear I wanted to be notified before maintenance came — whether for repairs or the routine maintenance they do. Because I would be at work all day, I wanted the ability to crate my pets. I don’t want the risk of someone leaving a door open and having one of my guys scoot out. No, I don’t trust them to be careful. I don’t know them. In the past, I’d seen them leave doors wide open when I was standing right there and asking them to please close the door. Accidents can happen too. So is it really too much to ask so that I can do this one simple thing?
This simple request was ignored– twice. Once they came on a different day than what was scheduled, another time they came in for the routine maintenance that I had no idea was even happening — because they NEVER gave notice.
That second time when I complained at the office, they had the nerve to accuse me of having 3 cats and violating the pet limit. Excuse me??? Unless they saw the ghost of my previous cat that passed away, this wasn’t possible. You can imagine how upset I was to hear this, on top of a mistake made on their part. The genius counted the number of litterboxes in my apartment and made this asinine assumption.
They also created an issue when they took the numbers down on the carports to repaint, and it took them forever (months) to put them back up. We had assigned spaces, but several times I was treated to people parked in my spot. They couldn’t even be bothered to tell new tenants where to park. Much of this time it was the freaking staff parking in my space!!!
Months later, they expanded my patio area into a small «yard» — which looked nice when they were done, but they increased my rent $ 170 more each month, leaving me no choice but to move.
But back when they notified me of their plans to do work on my patio, I expressed the concern that my satellite dish was fastened to the rails– was my service going to be disrupted? When was this work being done? Brittany did not have an answer for this, but told me she would get back to me. She never did.
Instead, two months later, SURPRISE! I was woken up by workmen outside cutting down my rails. No one had notified me, nor was the office aware the workers were on the premises when I told them. Yeah, way to have it together. I asked again about the work affecting my satellite service and was told «it shouldn’t be a problem.» While this was going on, the workmen were blasting loud music all over the complex. This was allowed to go on for hours before I had to ask the staff to tell them to turn it down. Why should I have had to ask? They aren’t deaf, they heard it too. So did people in Oklahoma. If I decided to blast my music all over the place, that would never have been okay — so why was this? How very professional.
Cutting down my rails WAS a BIG problem. My satellite service was knocked out, and I was left without TV for a week, as it took that long to get someone to come out and fix it. Thanks, Highlands of Preston– thanks a TON.
Even the folks at Direct TV heard the loud music while I was on the phone, asking, «What in the world is that?» They were very sympathetic and remarked they’d be beyond mad if they were me too. It wasn’t their fault they couldn’t get someone out asap.
This all could have been avoided if they had given this matter the consideration it needed when I asked months before. But no, that would require some effort. Direct TV could have been contacted earlier, or my unit could have very easily been scheduled with others for after I moved out. I had to get stark raving mad and contact the district manager /​manager before they agreed to compensate me $ 250 for my trouble. They tried to blame most of this on their vendor, of course. Management tried to tell me «we do care» — yeah, by doing zero to avert this. They «care» more about potential $ than majorly inconveniencing actual tenants already living here.
I wasn’t sorry to leave. It’s too bad because it could be really nice if they had competent management /​serious retraining for their staff. But good luck with them if you move here, you will need it.

Highlands of Preston has a Great office staff !!! Sophia is the best. Very clean property and great amenities.

I really enjoy living at Highlands Of Preston! Very quiet, clean, safe place to call home and the staff has been wonderful!
Britney as well as the office manager have always been nice, helpful and very professional!
I lived here after my divorce in 2008 for four years and I love the quiet neighborhood, pools and the staff is working on improvements in the fitness room like they stated before I moved in six months ago. The neighbors are respectful to each other and that’s very important since I’m a single mom. I’ve been happy with how quickly the maintenance team tries to get service request completed quickly and efficiently.

Pros: quiet neighborhood and the tenets keep to themselves.
Cons: where do I start? On move in day we were told we would have to pay an additional deposit that we didn’t even know about. The apartment was NOT cleaned. So they half-​ass cleaned it while we were moving in. Neither was our carpet. The manager swears up and down that she would get the staff to come clean our carpet AFTER we moved in but that never happened.
The staff just has no clue. They either are ignorant or down right rude. Especially the property manager.
Our rent up from being $ 1100 for a 2 bed 2 bath to $ 1470/​month. OBVIOUSLY unaffordable for a couple who wanted to stay under $ 1200/​month. That apartment was NOT WORTH that. After bringing any financial stress to their attention, thinking that the apartment would not want to lose a tenant, their constant answer was «sorry, we can’t help you».
My final words are: just don’t move here. You will be conned and ripped off. They will offer no assistant or condolences to ANY situation. Buyer BEWARE! Horrible! We had a horrid time here. They were unprofessional especially Brittany who tried to call my husband out in front of other people in the office when he wasn’t even talking to her. UNPROFESSIONAL

Pros– Location. You can’t beat the location for the price here. Having just moved here from out of state, it’s perfect if it’s a temporary place. It’s a quiet area next to a lot of nice homes. Office staff is very friendly. The apartments have an overall nice layout. Neighbors are very friendly! Parking is great. There is always an empty spot if you have visitors or an extra car.
Cons– They have done a really terrible job at «repairs» Everything has been painted over, including the bathtubs. If you use a scrub brush, paint will chip off. Even now, it’s starting to crack. I can assume that if our apartment was like this, others are too. Maintenance takes forever unless you go to them personally. We’ve put in a request online a month ago and still have no had repairs taken care of.
If you have a baby or toddler, I suggest living on the second floor because you can hear the people upstairs. Having a toddler, I think it would be worth the trade-​off.
Also, if you have a baby, try not to live next to the dog park. It’s convenient if you have a dog, but there’s a lot of people that pass by your apartment and dogs bark at each other frequently and will wake up your baby.
Overall– It’s a great place to live temporarily if you have just moved here or are in the midst or buying a house. We like it for the most part.

Pro’s: NIce, quiet place, neighbors keep to themselves, yet friendly in the common areas. Awesome location, walking distance to Trader Joe’s as well as Restaurants, Studio Movie Grill etc. 4 major freeways in either direction.
Cons: there is a deterioration in the upkeep of the grounds and became very shabby before I left. The pools are a bit small and although there is a jucuzzi, it doesn’t work and there is little effort to fix it.
Lastly and most importantly, the management does not have your back during a crisis. Whereas, other managers did everything possible to help, the manager was cold blooded about my situation.

Friendly office staff! Home-​like feel. Great amenities. Peaceful area! Awesome interiors.
I do not typically like to move around a lot, or write reviews about apartment communities. Making the decision to move for me was extremely difficult, but increased rents caused me to flee my homeland [old apartment community]. Finding a new location just south of the border aka Parker Road to move was twice as difficult. I searched McKinney, Frisco, and Plano. I obtained brochures from 12 different communities in the area. I finally decided on moving to «the Highlands of Preston». My deciding factors were: closeness to work, price per square footage, value, amenities, privacy, interior layout, and design.
First of all, I have never been as indecisiveness on anything until I had to select a unit. But with all honesty, all of the units were awesome and flawless. Really, do I want to live on the second floor and get a slightly larger living room? Do I want an upstairs patio? How about a nice blocked front porch-​like entrance. Which part of the community do I want to live in? I must have changed my mind three times [at least] Poor «Levi» [Highland employee] kept indulging my indecisiveness.
In the end, I moved into the first floor unit close to the fitness center and pool area. I have my own covered parking. I am located off Tulane and Ohio between Park and Parker. The location is great!!! The price per square footage is extremely reasonable. My apartment’s interior is probably the most visually appealing I have ever seen. It looks as if I live in an apartment with a modern-​contemporary style. I could not have created a more spacious and modern design.
As I left my old apartment, I felt nostalgic and awkward. But, honestly, moving to the Highlands of Preston appears to have been the correct choice. Having a friendly office staff is icing on the cake! I slept in my new apartment in one of the heaviest sleeps I have known.
If you are thinking of moving, come check out the «Highlands».
PS, I have not taken photos so I am using stock photos.