My family and I are renters at Lake Forest Apartments on West Main Street in Kalamazoo. We have been experiencing difficulty since we moved in just over a month ago. We recently gave birth to our first child and are quite uneasy exposing him to the environment we seem to be stuck with. Four days before my newborn arrived, our town home was flooded with four inches of water. Apparently, the last property engineer had replaced our washing machine hose with a common garden hose and it burst. XXX was at home by herself and I was at work when I received the call that scolding hot water was pouring from the wall. She, being 9 months pregnant tried to shut the water off but was unable. I quickly called the 24 hour engineering staff and they responded within half an hour. That is another half hour of scolding hot water pouring into the carpet, bedrooms, and babys closet. The engineering staff completed a clean up with shop vacs and buckets. The management office did not even call me back until 24 hours later. They tried to lie to me about the garden hose, when I questioned them on the matter and told me that the last tenant had replaced the hose. They instructed me that a carpet cleaning service would clean up the mess to the point that we would not recognize what had happened. The apartment is still a mess and this happened almost two weeks ago. The carpet cleaning service did come in and clean the carpet but you can still smell mildew and it is quite obvious that we are infested with mold by how the drywall is actually soft in places. Also, they promised me that they would test the washer and dryer since the water had literally poured out of the wall into each and the electrical socket. A couple days later they were back out because the washer had blown out. We were unable to stay at our townhouse for 4 days, we are now going to experience a huge water bill as well as a huge electric bill due to the fans they had running for four days. We still can not live in the bottom part of our townhouse because we are worried about our newborns health and our own for that matter. Since we were overcome with all the water we are now facing a tremendous bug issue. With the moisture, they have actually burroughed through the carpet and have infested our babies room. Upon further inspection the engineering staff took note that the weather stripping was not up to code. Nothing has been done in the week that they have been aware of the issue. The management group, has refused to assist us at this point. We have even suggested moving units at our own cost, but we have been played with. We pay $805 a month for these unsuitable living conditions. If you were to read some reviews online, it is noted that many people have experienced similar mold and bug issues.

User Responses
From: ticked06	Date: 07/19/2006
I have been living in LF for 3 years and am still waiting on weather stripping to be replaced (they keep saying they are sending someone.) Also, no matter how many times I scrub the bathtub, mold always seems to reappear. It is getting to be ridiculous! As for your water bill, it shouldn't matter because everyone else will pay too. I think it is absolutely insane that we have to pay for water. Have you ever heard of an apartment complex pro-rating the water bill and making their tenents pay? I haven't! I mean, we are paying for them to run the sprinklers...when it is raining! I am sorry to hear about your situation...it is frusturating I am sure, especially when all you want to do is focus on your new baby! I hope all works out for you...I can't wait to get out of there!
From: Brokeforest2006	Date: 10/26/2006
The place really went downhill when new ownership took over a couple of years ago! Everything seems to be falling apart. I lived on the second floor, the staircase that lead to my door was becoming a real hazard. Nails were falling out and the boards began to warp, some sticking up six inches or so. I had mice several times, birds and squirrels lived in the walls (try to fall asleep with critters running around - what a nightmare)! A squirrel even made it into the apartment one night. I chased him around in my underwear in the winter for a half hour or so with a broom until I finally got him out the door! - Nice huh? The trails are a total joke? They are overgrown with weeds and shrubs you might want to take a pair of clippers along with you on your hike. Oh, I hope you don't plan on playing tennis here - the ball will definitely not bounce straight - there are cracks everywhere on the surface and a huge pond resides smack dab on the center of the playing surface - good luck?? Parking is a real nightmare! I hope you don't plan on having guests over. The guest parking was like a half-mile or so up the road from my complex - how nice in the winter. The towing service hangs around like vultures. My buddy???s car got towed on a Saturday morning after about 20 minutes after he got over. The towing co. towed his car all the way across town and charged me $90 bucks! I wouldn't be surprised if management is getting a kickback from the towing co. Finally there is a huge population of big dogs at the complex. The grass is stained yellow and you better watch out where you step ??? yuck!! I paid all utilities except for trash, which was always full forcing everyone to put their bags on the sidewalk and curb - how attractive? Water and sewer usually cost an extra $30 a month ??? what the f*#k???? I feel for you what a total joke!

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates