I looked around the area for several months trying to find a place that balanced safety, amenities, and low price. I thought I could pass on my efforts to the readers of a site which I used frequently during my search.

I narrowed my decision to either Sun Key (newly renovated with incredible amenities and prices), Tradition or Grandeville (which is the property right next to Tradition). My parameters were: Pet <35lbs, <$900 month for a 1/1, very safe (no crime), no college students, no children, nice workout-room, nice kitchen appliances.

I chose Traditions over Sun Key because Sun Key is in a less desirable area and has less desirable tenants than what I was looking for. I ruled out Grandeville because their 1/1 was more expensive than Tradition's but had inferior layout and the cabinetry was not as nice. You have to see Tradition's patios for yourself especially on 2/2s.

"Pet rent" (monthly fee for pets) popped up near the end of signing the lease, (I was aware of pet fees and deposits but not a monthly rent). $30/mo. for 1 or 2 pets was un-expected.

Additionally, they required a copy of proof of renter's insurance and require above $50,000 personal liability.

The grounds are really nice, but already show signs of Florida age: cracking sidewalks and fading pavement. There are dog-walk posts positioned in certain areas for small bags and trashcans, but some tenants don't pickup after their pets. There is a keycard/phonecall/remote operated gate to enter which seems to work well. There is an exit-only gate to the back of the property that leads on to the road shared with Grandeville. Parking is open to all and is very abundant. I think the optional garages have alleviated any congestion.

Overall the tenants are a mixed bag but much better than other places I was considering. The composition is mostly professional adults, a small portion of younger working/college adults, and a handful small families. Overall it is a favorable composition for the area if you are looking to avoid noisy or dangerous apartments, don't want to worry about upsetting neighbors with get-togethers, and still be in close proximity to UCF and Research Park.

The in-unit amenities are of the highest quality in the area and slightly better than Grandeville in my opinion. The appliances are black and include a large microwave. The carpet is nice and the walls are a faint sandy yellow. The tub is porcelain and Tradition's single bathroom units have two-sink counters which is really nice. Washer and dryer are brand new and unremarkable.

Work out room is pretty nice and include treadmills, stair-steppers, bench, leg, tricep, bicep, abdomen, shoulders, and several other machines. It includes 2 televisions, many ceiling fans, and a strong air-freshener makes it smell nice.

The pool is pretty nice as well. The hot-tub underwent repairs recently and is now filled with water again. I moved-in a little over a month ago so I haven't been able to try out either because of the cold weather.

Their 24-hour maintenance policy dictates that if they fail to fix the problem you can with-hold rent at a daily rate. We've contacted maintenance twice and in both instances they were in the apartment in under 24 hours. They are very friendly.

The largest gripe I have with the design is that there is a surprisingly loud transfer of footsteps from the upper units to the lower. You can tell exactly where your floor-above neighbor is standing. This is usual for multiple floor apartments but I had hoped that Traditions had spent more effort in dealing with this issue as it is a higher quality complex.

Traditions does not have trash pick-up like some of its competing quality complexes do. The trash compactor is outside the gate which can be somewhat of a hassle. They do offer a trash pick-up service but I haven't investigated it further.

Traditions is not perfect, but I am very happy with the results after the extensive searching I've done. I plan on staying as long as rent isn't escalated unreasonably.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/24/2009
This is a fair review. I think it heavily depends on the move-in date, because sub-$900 rate is nowhere near what we're paying. I've seen the 3/2 apartments fluctuate from $1100 to over $1300 per month. If you're on the lower end of the curve for your unit (as I'm guessing < $900 is for the 1/1), you're definitely getting good bang for the buck. Unfortunately, I'm on the top end of the 3/2 range, so there is more to be desired. I would say that these apartments are "luxury" in design, but they're built cheaper (in terms of construction) than the older communities in the area. If you look at Arden Villas (also an Equity apartment community in this area), you will find bland floor plans but incredible insulation (the dry wall in one of my rooms was an inch thick, and the others were at least half an inch thick!) with little to no sound carrying over from neighbors. I had a drummer living next to me at Arden Villas and I couldn't really hear it at all. I'm considering checking out Grandeville in the future, over Tradition, simply because it is an older community and it might be built as well as Arden Villas (one can hope).

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