I have a lot to say about these apartments. I moved in Sept 07 and I will be moving out Nov 08. I'll start of with a quick summary, but I suggest prospective tenants read the entire post for more details.

This apartment suited my needs just fine. I'm young, single, going to school/working part time, and this is my first apartment on my own. I wasn't making a home here, it served more as a roof over my head and a place to sleep at night. I dealt with management the least amount physically possible, which helps a lot. These apartments are great if you need somewhere to stay for a year or two, you don't have a lot of needs in terms of dealing with management, and you're willing to suffer a couple inconveniences/annoyances. The price is so-so, the units are big, and the neighborhood seems very safe - the pathways are all well lit. Also, the complex is closely situated to a number of strip malls and pretty much everything you need is within a 5 minute drive.

The unit is spacious enough and was extremely clean when I moved in (management took me on a walkthrough and addressed any concerns, which were none at the time). I have not once seen a mouse or other rodent, and I have only seen a bug one or two times. Anderson pest control does monthly sweeps for pest control, which I feel work quite well. Overall, the units are great. The bedroom is med-large (I wouldn't recommend a king size bed, but queen is great), the walk in closet is huge, the bathroom is large and has a nicely sized storage closet and lots of drawer space/ under the sink storage. The kitchen is rather small but for a 1 bedroom apartment it certainly suffices. I wish there was more cabinet space, but the cooktop/stove is decent, the dishwasher works just fine, the fridge is great, etc. The living area is big enough to entertain a small group of guests comfortably, and up to four people can comfortably hang out on the balcony (I wouldn't recommend garden level, the balcony is my favorite feature of my apt). The front door is heavy and locks automatically went shut, which is great for someone like me who's forgetful and sometimes forgets to lock the door behind me, but there is no seal on the bottom. That means everyone outside the apartment can hear everything going on in the living room/kitchen, call smell all the cooking smells (which do permeate the building almost all of the time, especially with the large population of Indian and Middle Eastern people - curry is a strong smell, and sometimes slightly unpleasant, at other times mouth watering). It also means that when children play in the common areas of the building, which happen to be right outside my front door, I can hear every word. My biggest complaint about the unit in and of itself is that there are no light fixtures except in the kitchen, bathroom, and closet. Everywhere else is outlets, some of which lead to light switches, most of which don't. Also, it seems that about half the light switches in my apartment don't link up to any of the outlets.

You can smoke in your unit, which is a very big deal to me in the winter, but I've never experienced a lingering smell of smoke in the community areas, and I myself only smoke in my bedroom just in case the smoke would leak under the poorly sealed door.

A few other issues with the apt/community: sometimes the kids playing outside aren't very respectful when you're trying to get to your car, and being hit by a flying ball is a concern. Other times they are very sweet, and even engage you in conversation. I guess it depends on the kid. Also, the adult neighbors seem to have a problem with staring. They won't say a word, but will stare you down as you pass, causing you to wonder if you have something smeared on your face. The walls aren't paper thin, but they aren't that thick either. If a neighbor above drops something, you can hear the thud. If the neighbor next door closes a door, you can hear it. When they yell at each other, you get to vicariously argue with them. When said neighbors then have sex up against the wall (good for you neighbors, I really do encourage the behavior) adjoining your bedroom, you can feel the thumping against your head (which is slightly creepy, but if you move away from the wall its all good). The neighbors upstairs have a baby (surprisingly I've only ever heard it cry a couple times), and I'm not sure if this is related to having an infant, but they vacuum at all hours of the day and night - annoying simply for the fact that I can't figure out why someone would need to vacuum more than four times a day. The neighbor below me works at "odd" hours (I really like you neighbor below me, you're very nice and tolerant), so if I have my TV on at night, he can hear it and it keeps him awake (I'm sorry, I really try to be conscious of the volume level).

The laundry room leaves a lot to be desired, in fact I got half of my wardrobe stolen from the laundry room earlier this year... and it wasn't even a "delicate" load that someone lonely might want to take... it was all shirts! The "trash houses" where the dumpsters are located are the most foul smelling structures I have ever encountered. There are at least one skunk and one GIANT raccoon who roam the property, making walking to your car at night an adventure in paranoia.

That being said, management is pretty terrible. The office women are snotty and act like spoiled brats, as some of the others have said. Maintenance is rather slow to respond, but I've always found the maintenance personnel themselves to be sweet and patient in explaining things to you, and they usually get the repair right the first time. You get an eviction notice the day rent is due should you forget, which can be easily remedied by paying your rent, but is crazy stressful. I've never seen a management person enforce ANY of the rules layed out in the residence handbook, which suits me just fine because most often the ones that are broken are ones that don't make sense, such as recieving a fine for having your window open for more than 10 minutes if the temperature is below 65 (''''). I am terrified about getting my security deposit back, from all the nightmare stories I've heard, and moving out will probably be extremely stressful.

User Responses
From: moderndesign80	Date: 09/02/2008
Sorry to burst your bubble but the neighborhood is not as safe as you think. I got my car broken into within 3 days of purchase and there was couple more break-ins from that time. But I agree one thing with you. If you have little demands and purpose of this place is just a roof over your head? Then it's fair choice.
From: Anonymous	Date: 09/02/2008
Christina's critique was excellent! I concur with almost everything, especially regarding the snotty, immature office women. I also agree with her concern over the security deposit. I left the place in far better shape and cleanliness than when I moved in, and they still screwed me for hundreds of dollars over petty items that couldn't have amounted to $10 of time or trouble to resolve. They either don't have a clue as to what's reasonable, or they simply do whatever they can to screw you on the way out. Beware!

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