I can't say that I'm surprised that when I came here, I found a list of bad reviews for this apartment complex. I wish I would have found this website sooner, and perhaps I would not have locked myself into a lease at this place.

First off, the office staff. When we moved in last summer, the office staff was incredibly attentive. If we called for a service issue, it was handled within an hour or two. If we had any other kind of concern, it was handled promptly and courteously. Now, with the new management change, it appears that the office is on the "post it note" system, in which they will write a message down on a post it note, and 1/2 of the post its manage to walk away.

We went on vacation, and informed the management office of our two cars that would be parked in the same spaces for more than three days, as per the rules of the complex. (Theoretically, if you have not moved your car from a general parking space after three days, your car will be towed. More about that later.) When we came home from vacation, surprise!, one of our cars was missing. No note left on the door, no mention of it to the housesitter, no message on our answering machine, nothing. When we reported it to get it back, we were told that the next time we call in before a vacation, we should ask someone to write the information in our file. Why should *I* have to tell the management staff how to do their own jobs' They managed to tow one of MY cars, but not the other cars that have remained in the same spot for three weeks or more'

Now, the parking situation. First off, your assigned space will be quite a hike away from your actual apartment, meaning that not only is it a long, dark walk at night (for some reason, getting ALL of the exterior lights to work at the same time is impossible), but if you have anything to carry, it is an absolute pain. We dread going to the grocery store. As stated previously, as far as general parking, the 'rule' is that each car gets three days in one uncovered space, and then it is required to move. What's funny about this rule is that if you report a car that has been in a space for this long, the standard response is, "Well, we mark the tires, but even if they just pull the car out and pull it back into the space, that counts." There is one particular car on the east side of the property that has been parked in the same space for more than SIX MONTHS. It has been reported by more than one tenant, but never seems to get moved.

Also, someone noted that if you come home after 5:30, there are no general parking spaces left. What they may not know is that if you come home in the late morning/early afternoon, chances are good that maintenance, landscaping, and other service vehicles are taking up the unmarked parking spaces. When you drive a golf cart around, you would think that some common courtesy would be appropriate, since parking is tight enough over here.

The other interesting thing about parking is that the spaces are JUST big enough to park your car in. If the tenants who park in the two covered spaces on the sides of my space are parked, not only is it next to impossible for me to park my car, but if I can squeeze it in there without incident, I am lucky if I can even physically get OUT Of the car. (I have spent 10-15 minutes parking my car only to find out that if I want out, I will be going through my sunroof.) So if you weigh over 100 pounds, or don't drive a motorcycle, be prepared. Also, be prepared for your car to be covered in dings from the person next to you. (As our one year old car is - strangely - only on one side. Perhaps we should start backing in so the dings can be even on both sides.)

During the rainy season, if you live on the east side of the property, be prepared for mud to be all over the sidewalks for weeks at a time. The west side (where the office is) will be in pristine condition, while we traipse through mud. Call and request it to be removed as much as you want, and you will receive any number of excuses from "We can't, it's still raining" to "We already cleaned up the mud" to "Just walk around it" to "Okay, we'll be out there soon." It's kind of difficult to walk around a muddy sidewalk when all that is next to it is a muddy patch of soggy grass. "We'll be out there soon" translates to "we'll clean it up after it hasn't rained for at least four days straight, and that's not counting the weekends." Then, to 'solve' the problem, drains that get clogged with mud and retaining walls (that retain the areas that WEREN'T causing sediment) were installed...after the rainy season. How convenient.

If your neighbors are playing loud music until all hours of the night, or there is a pool party still going at 3am, you can call the courtesy patrol to come over. (No, they will not just be patroling, you will need to call them.) Even after one of our neighbors has been reported more than 10 times by more than three other tenants, they STILL manage to get away with the noise.

The mail situation is another fun subject. If a box comes in the mail that doesn't fit in one of the oversized mailboxes, it will be held in the apartment office. If it comes UPS and you aren't home, you are lucky, you will get a notice on your door. If it comes via US Postal Service, you will not get a notice. A friend of mine spent over $20 sending a gift priority mail to me so that I would receive it in time for my birthday. My name was clearly written on the package, but during the rainstorms, somehow, the apartment number got smudged. (JUST the apartment number.) Instead of looking up my name on their list of tenants (nevermind the fact that each building has a separate building number that goes in the street address - there was only one of 16 units it could have belonged to), they just held it in the office and gave me no notice that there was a package for me. It wasn't until my friend asked if I received it over a week later, that I called the office and lo and behold, there it was.

As far as the minor stuff, security is an issue when the gates/doors are left wide open for weeks at a time, the exterior lights work on a hit or miss basis, and more than half the tenants have to park on the street. If you do not pay extra for a second gate remote, you will have to get out of your car to enter the property code - this area is NOT lit at night, which is a major security issue. (By the way, when the gate code was changed this past year, was not told to the tenants until days after it had been changed, and then it was only if you asked. GREAT management, huh')

The east side's pool spent several months getting redone. It now looks...exactly the same, save for some new chairs and a glass wall instead of a metal fence. I'm so glad we put up with months of noisy renovation to get the exact same product.

The good points (yes, there are some, or we would have run out a long time ago) - the location, the square footage, the rent cost, the fact that pets are allowed. That's pretty much it.

Take my advice, rent elsewhere. You will be glad you did.

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