I lived here from Fall 2003 to Summer 2004 and was the first occupant of a 3 bedroom townhome. Having a good size dog, I was worried being the first ever occupant since I now the damage my dog could do, but I actually eneded up getting all but $50 back. I was kind of suprised. Anyway, I am moving back to metro Detroit, and have come across this great website, so I figured I should write a review...even though it is 1 1/2 years late. So forgive me, but I will have to go off memory here.

First, I was very impressed with these apartments from the outside. It just jumped out at us. They were brand new, great location, and it seemed high class. And since we were only staying less than a year, I had no problems at the time paying the outrageously high price. Plus, since it was our first time to metro Detroit, my family did not want to settle for a "shady" or less than safe apartment complex.

Second, we found the manager, Kim I believe, to be extremely accommodating and friendly. Almost too accomodating! However, you must understand these were brand new at the time, and she had to get all these filled by a certain time. Nevertheless, I think she was genuinely a pleasant person. All of them were in fact. Once we moved in, we really didn't have any issues for the leasing or mgmt staff, so I couldn't really say good or bad once we moved in. Moving out early was no issue also, but then again my company bought out the remainder of the lease, so I can't complain.

Thirdly, maintenance was top notch. We needed maintenance probably 5 different times in the year's time. Every time he was prompt and courteous. Some of the complaints were our fault, but most were due to poor construction. Like a loose structure that needed tightening or something. Suprising, since it was all new. From what I gathered, the builder was under a huge and demanding timeline, and corners were cut. This is by no means confirmed, but it was my impression given the conversations I've had with mgmt during my time.

Fourthly, the amenities were great. Beautiful clubhouse, pool table was used only once (during my first visit!), we used the tanning bed a bunch during the summer, and the kiddie pool is awesome. The playground was a daily stop with the kids and the dog. And it's a nice walk around the complex for your dog. Unfortunatley, for those who really like to walk a good distance, leaving the complex is horrible. No trails or outlets! To bike or walk a long distance you have to drive to a park. That sucked.

As for the apartment itself, what can you say, it was brand new. Nothing special really. We just liked the floor plan. I guess you get what you pay for, which was $1695 at the time plus $45 pet fee per month. Was it worth $1735 a month....hell no. But it appeased my family and made them feel more at home. If you're a local Novite, go somewhere I else for the money I would think. Or buy a house for that matter! I pay less in mortgage now!

Anyhow, I think the community here, at the time, were mostly transient people working for the big 3. Very diverse crowd (lots of Asians, British, etc.) and many were not staying too long. Many were also waiting for homes to be built. The neighbors were definately high class, respectable people. (We met probably 8 different occupants, so we're definately making a small generalization). But we attributed the good natured people to the type of income you need to live here! I guess dangerous, roucous, mischeivous people would live here since they probably couldn't affort $1700 rent!

Overall, it was a very pleasant first experience in Detroit. We were scared to move here, and living here, in Novi, made it all too easy. Novi is a great place, but if you could afford the high rent, you'd probably be building a house like many of the tenants were doing, or your tranisent. My neighbor who moved in before I did, is still there! They were great people. So coming from out of town, this is a great place. The biggest thing is it's landlocked from any trails or communities. You have to drive to wherever you go. But everything is close by!

Hope that helped somebody.

Oh, and by the way, parking sucked. You get a driveway and garage, but our garage was packed with stuff, and my wife always used the driveway. And there is very limited parking spots! I hated people who parked on the curb! It made driving around them unsafe. But they had to sometimes because of the lack of parking or far away parking.

Oh, and I just read the review entitled "shop around....nothing special" or something like that. What he/she said is dead on. The complaints he had were honest and accurate. So read that one too!

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