Don't rent w/o seriously LOOKING first. It's really shabby here. I swear the advertised pictures were taken 10 yrs ago. Wish we had NEVER moved in and signed the lease... can't wait for it to run out.

I am a bit offended by their insistance in listing a "shaded playground" because it is DANGEROUS and only partially functional. The swings have been removed (were breaking with kids in them) but hte frame still stands, the slide is very high and very rusty. The equipment is like they used to have in public school playgrounds for children ages 5-12 (monkey bars, "spider", and other metal frame items). It is not safe for children b/c the ground cover has worn out, the material (cloth') is coming up, besides it's got plenty of broken beer bottles in it.
When we applied for this apartment they described a "peacefull, safe, and tree shaded playgroud"... I can say it is shaded but the rest is questionable. There are NO plans to fix it since everything else is higher priority.

BTW the community is MOSTLY non english speaking hispanic. There are men hanging out on doorsteps and under bushes everywhere... mostly they are holding a beer or cigaret and radios. Some hang out in the local parking lots. Crosswalks are available but seldom used. They are always driving around in and out of this and the adjoining parking lots/apartment complexes with their radios blaring. They seem to be nice people (never make any comments or gestures or approach, etc) but still the loitering is VERY creepy.

There are water leaks in several (MOST''') apartments. I've heard stories from other residents of having to be given a new apartment b/c there was so much leaking. They identify the location of the leak but have yet to do ANYTHING more than "promise". Part of the problem is the design of hte structures so I can't blame it all on the employment/complex owners.

The building materials are VERY shabby - blame it on a 1970 something construction and VERY cheep maintenance. There is
"new" paint but unfortunatly they neglected to remove the dead bugs, spilled food, hair, dirt, etc before putting the new paint on. It doesn't even go to the edges or under the fixtures. You are welcomed to put stuff up on the walls but don't expect it to stay hanging... the walls are made of something that doesn't seem to hold a nail/screw. Very frustrating. However, the walls are well insulated for sound from neighbors... We never hear them through the walls but you will hear neighbors through the windows.

Shelving, cupboards, closet space is lacking. Maybe if they designed it with storage in mind rather than having hollow walls eating up space this wouldn't be such a problem... I think they just were being "trendy" back in the seventies when it was designed. '

The w/d hookup does exist but there isn't room for BOTH standard washer & Dryer in the laundry area... some apartments have the washer in the laundry room and the dryer elsewhere. Then again if you don't need it/ don't have them there is a laundry facility on site... but I see people carrying their laundry accross hte road to the public laundry matt.... SO I wonder about hte price/efficiency.

Bugs are a problem... particularly roaches and spiders despite frequent spraying - I understand that is common in the south. They do have quick responce to complaints of pests... less than a week. Haven't seen any critters like rats.

Grounds keeping is improving... used to be very overgrown but in the past couple months it is being done more consistantly. Some areas are questionably "wet" with thick grass... 'leaking sewage' ... and a smell lingers with rainstorms too.

AC seems to fail frequently and the responce time for repairs is slow... the first time it happened it took a couple weeks to get AC. We've had to have ac/heat repairs SEVERAL times in only 1 yr. The apartments are NOT very good at maintaining/retaining heat/AC... the cold virtually blew through the windows and gaps in the wall.

Maintenance is WAY over worked. Probably would be more efficient if everything wasn't breaking all the time. Office staff is always changing... I quit trying to meet them.

On the posative...

... the tubs are NICE, it has good dishwasher, water pressure is good, water heat is excellent, living rooms are HUGE, toilets are old style and flush well. There is also a pool. (water is part of rent) It is convenient walking distance to a duck pond/park/playground, library (w/ theatre), grocery, pharmacy, misc stores, fitness center, hoover Rec center, Carmike Movie theater, fire station, etc. It is close to major roadways including 31 and 65 and 459... from these roads you can reach almost everything. There are rumors of public transit moving out toward the area. I hear the school system here is very good - you can walk to one of these schools if you wish to investigate that.

Unfortunatly they are about the most affordable in the area if you're on a restricted budget - probably the main reason we haven't moved into the apartment next door on either side. BOTH are better conditions but higher priced. Convenience is a big selling point.

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