Pros:
It is difficult, if not impossible, to find apts. in the region that have ALL of the following amenities: parking, garbage disposal, central (or reg.) A/C, NON-electric heat (this complex has electric hot water though)and washer and dryer hook-ups. My unit here has ALL of that and full baths for each bedroom to boot!

The unit is spacious and the location is wonderful - - convenient to stores, gas, highways and is a good central location for jobs/schools in cities north and south. It is also in a more remote and wooded setting providing quietude and natural beauty (and some interesting wildlife sightings.)

CONS:
Ownership and maintenance mgmt. has changed numerous times over the years. This has contributed to, but is not the sole cause of having to wait an unreasonable amount of time for repairs or having to repeatedly ask for repairs over an extended period.

Apartment conditions run from good to bad...

-Kitchen cabinetry and bathroom and kitchen flooring in my unit is in poor condition.

-The basement walls leak and the A/C run-off goes to a hole drilled into the cement floor - -both have caused minor flooding that has damaged several hundred dollars worth of property. (A former mgr. said the A/C run-off had been causing flooding in several bsmts b/c of dust preventing water filtering into the aggregate and ground below and that one needed to stick a pipe in the hole to loosen things up. But he didn't bother to warn people AHEAD of time!) B/c of water issues, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the bsmt can't be used b/c of the flood water line.

-Chimneys haven't been cleaned in at least eight years that I know of, yet renters with fireflaces pay extra.

-The floors are thin and creak horribly in every room.

-The HVAC distribution has uneven distribution causing one bedroom to get minimal A/C and heat.

Workmanship has run from good to poor, the latter including paint job splatters and paint crews leaving nails and paint shavings everywhere.

The beautiful grounds are becoming shabby (the grass is mowed, but the shrubs and planting beds are neglected). Basement water problems gone on unresolved.


Mgmt. could be more competant. I've been locked out in the middle of a bitter cold winter night b/c mgmt didn't make arrangement w/me after a lock cylinder change was agreed upon. My privacy has been violated by the mgr allowing himself and a male window replacement crew to enter my bedroom after explicitly letting both he and the glass co. know that I did NOT want workmen in my home unless I was present. An application for co-tenancy took a month to process from getting mis-forwarded, lost, etc.

SMC Mgmt has overcome litigation to build several new buildings of a what has been described as barracks style (3-story with no elevators and shared entrance corridors - - a step down from the existing townhouse style units). In a recent lease renewal mailing, the impending and rather large-scale impending construction, which will be unsightly and noisy, as well as destroy a most beautiful and mature treeline along the full lenght of the long driveway, was omitted from the information.

Despite the negativity, this place still has enough pros to offset the cons for the time being. But unless mgmt. makes strides for improved customer service, repair, upkeep and updates, they will not only motivate people to leave, they will devalue their own investment.

User Responses
From: badskateman	Date: 09/06/2005
I agree!

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