So you want to consider living at Beacon Mill Village. Please take into consideration all of the negative reviews that have been posted already, as they are quite accurate. Those who had positive things to say must have stayed elsewhere, or did not spend much time at the facility.

My experience at BMV (ironically, Bates Motel is only missing the "V" part of this") has been a less than desireable one, with very few bright sports.

I will first address the ratings that have been included with this review.

Parking - yes, there is ample parking, but some of the people at BMV have no idea what the white lines are for, and nothing is done by the administration to deal with this. There are repeated problems with people parking where ever they want, including very able bodied persons using the Handicapped Spots at all hours of the day - oh yeah, don?t be fooled by the future resident parking, as it is usually part of the office staff.

I must say that the maintenance guys did an excellent job with snow removal this year, especially with the large amounts that we got this winter. I still had to dig out my car after being plowed in, but shovels were provided and the walkways were generally clear.

Noise level was pretty much minimal - we were unfortunate to have some noisy people as neighbors.

Grounds - 1) snow removal was good, but they used a little too much sand on the walkways. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to leave your "sand soaked" shoes/boots in the hallway or you get admonished for having personal items in the common areas; 2) the pool seems to close down during the hot times of the summer, usually because some morons throw bottles/chairs/pay-phones into it - never mind the ignorant tenants who continue to use glass bottles/cups to drink out of, and the lack of administration follow up to prevent this - I guess someone is going to have to get hurt before they do something a little more than post a notice each year.

And maybe consider investing some of the rental money in getting the pool heated - perhaps it can be used before Memorial Day or after Labor Day.

Oh yes, never mind the dog crap on the sides of the walkways or in the parking lot - for a facility with a "No Pets Policy" there seems to be a lot of dogs and cats wandering around, and the ---- to go with them.

Safety - in my three years at BMV, there were approximately 4 to 5 incidents, that I am aware of, in which people had their cars broken into - we only found out about them from other residents, as it took 2-3 months for the administration to send out a notice (they seemed to be more worried about sending out notices to tenants instructing them to not put nasty notes on one another?s cars as too many SUV drivers were parking in the COMPACT parking spots - yes people, that?s what the C stands for).

The lighting at BMV was fair to poor, depending on your entrance - the lighting on some of the walkways was almost nil, especially near the pool - never mind the 3 months it takes to get an exterior light bulb replaced.

On a positive note, I did not hear of anyone getting their apartment broken into - however, give it time, as the locks and the security codes for the facilities were never changed in the 3 years that I was there.

Additionally, beware the night creatures - with poor lighting and ample shrub growth, don?t be surprised to find the odd skunk, cat, or other four legged creature - and that doesn?t count the numerous cats that crawl all over your newly washed car (and yes, they are cats belonging to the residents of BMV).

Constuction - it is an excellent, old building - the guys who renovated it did an excellent job with the interior structures - unfortunately, looks will only satisfy you for so long, especially after you see your rent increase after your first lease is up.

My only vice with regard to this area is that we had a tremendous problem with insects - spiders and millipedes (or something pretty close to it) to be specific - check out a picture of a millipede and see if you want to wake up to that thing on your wall (or carpet, or bathtup, or sink, ...)

Maintenance - not many dealings with them, however, I heard from other tenants that requests through the office went unattended for a while - my limited dealings found them to be very pleasant.

Office staff - well, where to start'''

My experience with their lack of professionalism does not pertain to any of them personally, as I fault their leadership for not setting a positive example. Both the guy and the female who is not the office manager are very pleasant, with the latter being very cute (okay, you too dude).

I have numerous examples of phone calls not being returned - there were also numerous examples of appointments set up to see my apartment before I left, and no one showed up or called to cancel.

The office is not always open when you expect it to be, thus, try not to have anything Fed Ex?d or delivered, especially around the holidays - and even if they are around, the Fed Ex/UPS guys never ring your bell to let you know you have a package - family emergencies have caused the office to be closed at times, and as unfortunate as that is for the people involved, it is another reason why relatives should not work in the same office.

I guess I expected more from my 20%+ rental increase over two years, but ....

And finally, a recommendation is needed.

There are plenty of other rental properties out there, some for less, and a few for more - knowing what I know now, I NEVER would have moved to BMV, and could have rented a house with a lot less hassle and probably better results. As nice as the physical structure is, the amount charged for rent and the small apartments did not equate to a good value - I really think that under effective day to day management, this property could do a lot better.

Oh yeah, and if you call about availability and they say they have plenty of apartments to chose from, doesn?t this tell you something as well'''

PS - I am one of the many who did not get their deposit back - I am not aware of anyone who did get it back. gkZ41df9CgXQPfm8K2A7

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