Green At Shrewsbury

How about an UNBIASED opinion' Here´s one... From: astar617 Date posted: 12/27/2003 Years at this apartment: 2003 - 2003   The opinions here have degenerated to a mudslinging mess. Comparing management to Saddam Hussein's regime' Jeez, come on. I am not a renter, but a recent owner since August 2003. Unlike the vast majority of opinions here, I am not affiliated with either the management or the "resistance" groups. Regarding the ratings, I will go right down the list, and explain them too, rather than just say "this place sucks, avoid it". I'll also relate it back to a renter's experience where applicable--hopefully more people will follow suit so those seeking valid useful info will get what they need. Parking - 2/5: Exactly as stated for the 2/5 score--spot for 1 car, and anything more can be a hassle. With a first floor unit on an "edge" of the property, I can luckily almost see my car from my unit (my spot is right outside my entrance). Thankfully I am near the aux lot too (I live on the south side of the property) so guests don't have to walk too far, even if they have to reluctantly park in Shaw's due to the shortage of visitor spots. I actually had my first and only run-in with the strict parking policies on the day of my closing. I had guests to see my new home, and they parked in the satellite lot. They made the mistake of parking in a non-visitor spot since most people (myself included) would assume that the spaces without numbers are not assigned to anyone. My guests stayed for 20mins, and returned to a booted vehicle. I called the number and the guard came and explained that the car wasn't in a visitor spot. Then he looked at my car (I had driven up to the aux. lot) and said "Oh I remember your car... I almost booted you too, but I ran out of boots!" Apparently I was in danger of being fined for parking in my OWN spot since my car didn't have the parker sticker (my closing completed after the office closed at 3pm). At least the guard was cool about it, and gave me the Green's pocket rulebook and warned of all the petty rules. I know he was just doing his job, plus you have to take comfort in the fact that nobody will get away with parking in YOUR spot. And the office gave me a warning instead of a fine for the violation since I was new (I did let them know that if everyone was entitled to a courtesy "bye" on violations, that this "favor" wasn't mine since nobody gave me a copy of the rules at that point). Noise - 4/5: I really don't know what everyone's deal is with the noise. Granted, I am quite unfazed by things like footsteps overhead, but the fact is, there isn't much of that anyway. I can actually hear more noise from within neighbors' units while standing in the front hallway than I do from within my unit. There is never a racket outside, mostly due to the rules by the association that you can't play ball, ride bikes, etc. Or maybe I just got really lucky with my neighbors (or others were really unlucky). Grounds - 4/5: The Green definitely has much more "curb appeal" than other comparable complexes. The grounds are well kept and plowing for this year's 2 snowfalls took place as scheduled, although I wasn't pleased when my spot was clearly plowed already, yet I was still restricted from parking in it before 4pm. I also don't like that they discourage "loitering" to the point that there are not even benches for you to sit on in the center courtyard area. I'd love to see someone try to fine me for "loitering" in the grounds of a complex where I LIVE! Safety - 4/5: Who can possibly say that living at the Green (or anywhere in Shrewsbury, for that matter) is unsafe' Try being born and raised in Boston like me... people are insane if they think this is the "ghetto" (more proof of overzealous mudslinging). Areas are well lit at night too. Construction - 3/5: Nothing special, but definitely not substandard across the board. First, understand that this is not an apartment complex, but a condo complex! Your mileage will definitely vary based on the owner you are renting from! There is no single landlord responsible for inside maintenance of every unit. When I bought my unit it was, and is, in excellent condition (very recent kitchen appliances, and the bathroom, while containing the old original 70s style fixtures, was in good repair). Any renters with terrible conditions need to do more research before signing on the dotted line, simple and plain. Central air is available but each unit has its own AC unit on the roof, which is the responisibility of the owner, not the association to fix (just like the in-unit gas furnaces, even though the association pays for the gas fuel). Maintenance - 3/5: I only have 2 maintenance experiences. The first was during the buying process when the home inspection turned up a leaky toilet in the unit above. I pressed my agent to get the seller to deal with it before the sale (the leak was really was the responsibility of the upstairs resident, but it was not something I wanted to have to deal with as a newcomer). The seller said he would approach the resident. As it turned out, the association stepped up and fixed it themselves, I guess since the toilet leaked water which they were paying for. That was good to hear. Since then a light drip has started again, but I haven't approached for a re-fix yet.The other story was a broken intercom for the front door. I called the office, and they scheduled maintenance for the next morning as I requested. The guy was courteous and fixed the problem, which turned out to be a bad speaker at the door unit. No complaints from me. Again, if you are renting, most of your complaints should be towards your landlord, as he is the one to forward your issues to the office if it's exterior or to the proper service providers if it's interior. Office - 3/5: Nobody has been outright rude to me; I simply wouldn't stand for it, and they (and their supervisor) would catch my wrath in person at the counter. As an --------American, I have not encountered anything which could be perceived as prejudice from the staff either. With that said, their hours are a litte irritating, having left for the day at 3pm. While the bylaws are often petty and irritating, one must understand that when trying to govern a community of over 300 units, some things cannot be up for debate as giving an inch gets the complex taken for the proverbial mile. But getting fined for having a welcome mat outside your door' Wow. All in all, I would recommend the Green to single (or childless) professionals who were not raised by wolves, as they will be the least likely to find the irritating bylaws and fineable offenses to be a "deal breaker". Those with kids may not find it as ideal due to those restrictions. One final note regarding the tug-of-war over trustee board control: while I haven't been here long enough to determine exactly if the current board needs to be replaced, I can CERTAINLY say that the vocal group attempting to overthrow them would NOT, under any circumstances, be a valid replacement. They have stooped to such lows as sending false letters to the owners in the name of the board chairman. This is like a daytime soap opera every month in my mailbox. Anyone can feel free to contact me if they need more info.

Recommended: YES Overall Rating

Parking: Maintenance: Construction: Noise:

Grounds: Safety: Office Staff:

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