Before you start reading this, I suggest taking a restroom break, getting a cold drink and relaxing because we are going to be here for a while.

First off, let me say that Oak Ramble used to be a very nice and quiet place to live. In the past three years that I've lived here, this community has really gone down hill.

Let's start with the office staff. These people are completely useless and very rude at times. That's if you can them to answer the phones. Most of the time, all you get is the overnight voicemail, even during office hours. If something needed to be repaired, it would take AT LEAST four to five complaints to get it resolved. I don't hold the maintenance staff accountable for that, but I believe the office staff fails to tell them about the problem.

Next on the list is parking. There are no assigned spots so parking in front of your building poses quite a challenge. Usually I will have to park down the street and walk back. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem but read on and you will see why this is.

This community is supposed to be a "secure community" with lots of lighting and a front and back gate that are supposed to be closed at 7pm each night. The back gate is supposed to be chain locked and usually is. The front gate is supposed to close on its own and does when it's working. Usually, someone will come out and fix the gate and it works for a few days then it's broke again. It will stay that way for a long time before someone comes out and fixes it again. This is a never ending cycle. If the United States ran it's security like this place, we would be over runned by terrorist in no time.

Crime is starting to be an issue around here. In the past month, there have been a number of police calls to my area of the property alone. The one reason I know for sure is that someone had their car broken into. Not too long ago, I heard an argument going on outside and someone talking about another having a gun. I try not to venture outside after dark unless I have too. It would be nice to have few security guards on duty around here at night, but this place a little too cheap to implement that.

The walls in these apartments are pretty thin. That's how I heard the argument going on outside. Also, I would wake up to my neighbor having sex, people arguing, running the washer, etc.

As I said above, this community was pretty quiet except for the occasional noisy neighbor or car driving by with loud music. Now, that seems to happen more then not. Over the past month, I've noticed people that hang out in the parking lot all hours of the night, getting drunk and being loud. Sunday morning, there were beer bottles all over the grassy area and around the pool.

Ahhh the pool. Like to take a nice, refreshing dip' I wouldn't. I'm not sure how the pool is over by the office, but the one down by the front gate is nasty. Not only do people at night mess it up, but after I saw some woman putting her baby in the water with DIAPERS on, I would never swim there again. Hell, I would rather swim with the alligator in the man made pond next to the pool.

And last, but certainly not least is the water. First off, the water stinks coming out of the faucet. I had to buy filters for the kitchen sink and the shower to filter out the smell and what ever else is in there. Second, the billing is one big scam. From what I have been told (by the office staff), they get a bill for the total water usage in the community and split the cost to the residence using some kind of equation. (i.e. x amount for one bedroom and one person, y amount for two bedroom and two people, etc.) I'm not sure if we have to pay for watering the lawn, but it would explain why the bill is always high. When the grass is being watered, it all goes out into the street. There is so much water in the street afterward, it appears that had just finished raining. The reason I said it's a scam is because in the past year, I was gone for almost a month on vacation and when I returned, my water bill for that month was just as high.

So, in conclusion, I would not recommend this place. Unless you like this area of Tampa or have to be here, I WOULD recommend that you move as far away from the university area as possible.

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