DANGER! DANGER! DO NOT LEASE HERE!

Last year I posted a *glowing* review about Hiddentree, which I now RESCIND.

To all those single mom reviewers who say they love the place and don't know why there's so many bad reviews, wait till you move out, sweethearts. Wait till management sees what your kiddies have done to the place. Wait till they send you a big bill for all sorts of bogus damages.

And as for being quiet, YEAH RIGHT. My apt WAS quiet until a family of four moved in above me and three MSU students with LOTS of "active" visitors moved in across from me. You think paper-thin ceilings and walls block out 5-year-olds and rowdy Spartans' Whatever! Don't trust anyone who says this place is quiet; it's a subjective thing, and every unit is different, AND the noise factor changes as people move in and out through the years. Turnover here is unbelievable.

Parking is a NIGHTMARE. Lots of college students living here means LOTS of their drunken visitors ALL THE TIME AND AT ALL HOURS. They take up all the spots, leaving rent-paying folks coming home from work late to park in the street, until 2 a.m. when it becomes illegal and there is no place to move your car. Again, parking--especially on the weekends--is a total nightmare. Hiddentree does NOTHING about enforcing permits and visitor passes. They send out threatening fliers to residents but take no enforcement action.

After living here for FOUR faithful years as a single female grad student, moving out of Hiddentree was the WORST experience EVER.

I was charged over $500 in miscellaneous fees, including a $350 fee for re-painting the entire apt, which did not need to be done as I had never painted anything and never scuffed the walls. The only thing I had in my living room were pictures. Every picture hanger hole was charged at $15 for "patching and restoration." As a photographer, I had a lot of pictures on my living room walls. BIG MISTAKE. Other than very small pin holes in the walls, I left no damage to the apartment at all (I even cleaned everything from top to bottom as a courtesy), and I had no pets or kids. It didn't matter. They still billed me for bogus "restoration fees". I believe they did this because they knew I was moving out of state, and they knew that it was unlikely that I'd come back to fight the "damage" fees.

Dawn, the community manager, left in Sept. Her replacement lasted ONE week, and the two other girls working in the office are capital-C Clueless, and gave me conflicting info about move-out procedures which ended up costing me lots of extra money.

Maintenance WAS great when I needed them through the years, but they screwed me when I moved out because they're the ones who calculate all the alleged damages.

My advice: if you choose to live here, then when you fill out your initial inspection report, DOCUMENT EVERY LITTLE SCRATCH, KNICK, AND NAIL HOLE IN THE WALLS; DO NOT PAINT YOUR APT-you will be sorry when they gouge you for repainting. TAKE DATED PICTURES of every corner, nook, and cranny when you first take possession. You will need them for small claims court.

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