Village Park's staff should be gameshow hosts or used car salespeople because they are smooth talkers looking for potential tenants who fail to ask solid questions or read the fine print. First things first, on the resident application you'll notice two things: 1) a question asking have you ever been convicted of a felony or sex crime and 2) You are required to purchase $5,000 of renter's insurance (they conviently recommend a company too). I wonder why' Could it possibly be because the neighborhood where VP is located is run-down, filthy and one can see the occassional bum pushing a shopping cart to-and-fro or a "chickenhead" looking for a fix. That asthetic aspect aside, welcome to Pontiac, the land that Oakland County forgot. High crime (here's a link, check out the FBI stats: http://pontiacmi.areaconnect.com/crime1.htm), high poverty, high income taxes (that's right Pontiac has a city income tax which means you'll pay 3% of your yearly income to this crumbling juggernaut of a municipality!). Pontiac leads national averages in all types of crime EXCEPT burgulary and larceny (yippie!), that includes murder, rape, robbery, assault and motor vehicle theft! Okay, back to VP. Well maintained grounds yes, decent buildings for sure, nice pool yup, beautiful front office complete with gathering hall and "exercise room" (4 machines'!), yes. On the downside, in addition to application fees ($30 per person) and holding fees ($50), there is an "administrative fee" ($75) due upon move-in and, of course, water is not included (be sure to ask them about that because they pull "don't ask, don't tell" on that one!). But, wait, you do get a month's rent FREE on select leases but don't call to ask for details because they'll simply offer you another "special deal" for taking an apartment early that isn't even available. When I called to ask some questions, staff told me they had a "deal" for me if I moved in early, too bad they didn't have an apartment and renigged on the offer three days later. When I complained to the property manager he was glad to tell me "He heard what I was saying" (of course he did, he kept saying "Uh-huh, uh-huh") but it certainly wasn't VP's fault because the current tenant wanted to stay and informed them three days AFTER they made me this offer I could refuse. But wait, was compensation offered for VP staff's misleading screw-up, no of course not. They still "wanted me" and conviently mentioned some other apartments were now amazingly available even though we'd been placed on a "waiting list" because when we applied apartments magically "weren't available." Did anyone from the front-office ever call to tell us that' No, why give potential tenants a clue to go somewhere else, just keep stringing them along with empty promises and "special deals." In the end, I lost $80 but it beats dealing with VP's staff or Pontiac (check out this link for some Pontiac crime stories: http://www.freep.com/index/locoak.htm). Make up your own mind but surely don't let VP help you, do your own research and pound these suited snake-oil hucksters before signing or paying for anything! Best of luck... 6TrHFn6pn7poyqNlKEgn

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/14/2008
This other review is absolutely right about Village Park staff. But what's got me about this place is a little worse (of course, I did ask the leasing agent if I would be relatively safe there...she said she "can't make promises"...whatever). Don't get me wrong, I like my apartment. The space itself is large, clean and comfortable feeling. My immediate neighbors seem like good people...but... this week, I get a letter on my door telling me that "several" residents were robbed over the weekend in the complex. What does the management do? They FINALLY replace the enterance gate that they'd been refusing to fix for the past three months. Thanks...I feel so very safe now. According to a maintenance guy, these people come over from the townhouses next door, break into cars and rob people. GREAT! If you can at all avoid it, don't move here. The nice grounds, cheap rent and nice apartments aren't worth jeopardizing your safety for. If you still plan to live there, be vigilant.

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