First off, I want to say that I HAVE posted glowing reviews for other places that I've lived (For example, Avalon at West Grove). Hinsdale Lake Terrace is not one of those. I've been unhappy living here for the last 2 years, but not enough to break my lease and pay the large penalty.

Good points:
Close to I-55, and only a couple minutes more to I-294. As far as transportation goes, this place is about as good as you're going to find. Except you have to make a left across a couple lanes of traffic running 55mph, and the county does a poor job of plowing Rt83 during the winter. A stop light at the enterance would be a huge plus. It could be closer to a grocery store, but there's nothing that can be done about that.

The staff is reasonably pleasant. I have nothing against them, but the last place I stayed was friendlier.

Heating and AC is very good, and units have their own thermostats. It is central forced air, which means that the building is providing either hot air or cold air, depending on the season. During the late spring and autumn, the building can be quite uncomfortable before they make the switch.

Bad points:
The parking lots are in bad shape. It looks like they haven't been repaired in years, and the parking spots themselves are inconsistantly sized (either much larger than necessary or far too small). If my nearby parking lot is full (which usually happens after 8pm), there is no sidewalk to get to the other lot. This sucks during the winter. There is no handicapped parking in many lots.

My building has severe problems with hot water. During my first year, I rarely had hot water, even during the evenings. The units do not come with dishwashers, and washing dishes in luke-warm or cold water is impossible. When I complained, maintenance acted quickly (the same day!), but now the water temperature varies from ice-cold to searing hot (usually two or three times during the course of a shower). This is adequate for basic hygiene, but less than I expect for 800 bones a month.

As mentioned by other people, the walls are very thin and some of our neighbors can be passionate and noisy. Kids run around unsupervised and have no respect for the property or the other tenents, but that's what kids do. I pity the cleaning lady that had to vaccum up an entire box of crackers ground into a fine powder in the hallway.

Finally, what is the deal with the firedoors' I have to open 7 doors to get into my apartment, and I imagine other people have it even worse. Is this a safety law, because I've never seen other apartments laid out that way'

In the end, I would not recommend these apartments and I am looking forward to my upcoming move-out date. Mostly, I'll be looking forward to a long, hot shower.

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