I originally posted a review on here two years ago (see below) and meant every word I said at the time. I stand by my assessment for that time period but things have now changed DRAMATICALLY. The woman who was the resident manager when I originally moved in, Sherri Youngs, was wonderful, the property was kept up well and maintenance was quite responsive. The property management has changed several times since then and I would not recommend this place to anyone at this point unless I really disliked them. Here are my issues/concerns:

SAFETY/LIGHTING - the lighting is very poor at night and there is no courtesy patrol. However, because there seem to be so many domestic issues and problems with other tenants lately, the police are onsite quite often. Not exactly a plus in my book. Recently there was actually an attempted shooting; even if everything else had not been as bad, that alone would prompt me to move out.

CRIME - My car was broken into and several items were stolen. I reported this to management who, quite frankly, appeared like they could care less.

LEASING OFFICE ACCOUNTING - the guy who renewed my lease the third time put the wrong dates on the lease (they were for the next year, my mistake for not noticing, but good grief!). As a result, when the new manager took over, their system thought I was paying the wrong rent amount and they kept sending me notices saying I owed money and was going to be evicted. I have never paid late and have been a great tenant and so was understandably frustrated and upset. The first time it happened I let them know and disregarded it, assuming they would clear it up. But then it happened FOUR MORE TIMES, at the beginning of each month for the next four months. I finally had to write a letter to the leasing office, property management company, state rental board, et al, threatening legal action if they didn't get it right and stop harrassing me.

GROUNDS - The garbages are constantly overflowing and people do not bother to pick up after their pets. I realize that we are all renting there but there appears to be very little pride in keeping the areas around the units clean and people toss disgusting things everywhere. There are potholes in the roads that are never fixed correctly; they are filled in and then a month later they are back.

NEIGHBORS - Other than 2 or 3 other people in my section, the tenants change constantly and there have been, to say the least, some rather unsavory characters. People also do not seem to do a very good job policing their children and there are some very badly behaved, rude, borderline delinquent little kids running around. The parents don't seem much better. The property is not located in a particularly 'ghetto' area but you can't tell that from inside Hidden Valley...


MAINTENANCE - Maintenance has extremely poor response time. I regularly have to wait several weeks to get items fixed. My front door is peeling and my screen door doesn't work anymore (it's practically falling off the hinge) and I've been asking for OVER A YEAR to have it fixed. Additionally, the stripping on my door is peeling which makes it difficult to close the front door (a safety hazard that occurred recently) and that hasn't been fixed either.

GENERAL OVERALL FEEL - I no longer feel safe here and am disgusted with the grounds and particularly with the leasing office and management. The woman who appears to be in charge is very nice when you speak to her in person and promises to get things done but has never once delivered on a promise in a timely manner in my experience. The townhome I live in is nice and is very large for the price. Additionally, the place tends to be very appealing to people who have multiple large dogs, they have a progressive pet policy. However, I am moving out at the end of June and at this point cannot honestly recommend this property to anyone. If you are considering moving here, please think very long and hard about it and take some more time to consider other options.


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Wonderful Place! - This was my original review posted in June of 2005.
I have lived at HVT in a two bedroom town home for a year and a half now and absolutely love it. I have never had any problems with any of the staff. Any time I have needed help from the maintenance staff they have been prompt and extrememly responsive. I don't know what these other negative folks are talking about. I would highly recommend this place to anyone.

User Responses
From: tx_tweety2004	Date: 02/06/2006
You must never be at home then....it used to be nice but it isnt now. Go thru too many maintenance ppl and prop mgrs.
From: grapenut2006	Date: 03/04/2006
Ok we know this review was written by an employee of Hidden Valley...grow up and be an adult, will ya? HV doesnt care about its residents...makes promises they dont keep...they want their money but dont want to do their job... Anyone who wants a phone number and contact person for HV's main office: RHP Properties, Inc, 31200 Northwestern Highway, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; phone number 284-626-0737 ask for Charlene...I think that a person should be able to know who they are giving their money to.
From: bnj2377	Date: 06/30/2007
Actually, I'm not an employee of Hidden Valley...I've been a resident there for almost four years now. Shocking as it may be to you, there do exist people who may not agree with your point of view :)I don't appreciate assumptions being made without all the facts; perhaps you should check your facts, hmmm? That said, I would agree that Hidden Valley has pretty much gone to the dumps at this point; I plan to move out at the end of July. However, I stand by my original post at the time it was posted. At that point, I'd had only good experiences (and continued to have no problems for almost another year). Now however, it's completely different and the property has done a complete 180.
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/14/2007
Why is it so bad if they don't accept section 8's? I can't find a decent 3 BR apartment or townhome in the grand rapids area that doesn't look like cracktown. I have 2 dogs and the only ones I can find remind me of the south side of Chicago. Bad.l
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/28/2007
What bnj2377 says is totally true. I wish I had read her posts before I moved to Hidden Valley. I'm online now to find contact info to call the housing inspector, we shouldn't have to go to this length to have decent housing. I have asked them several times to repair, they just ignore. There have been street fights, people are moving out in droves, I'm ready to myself...its like living in the ghetto. If management can't get things under control around here, the owners should find someone who CAN!

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