First, the positive: it's cheap, it's on decent bus lines (to UNC), and it's cheap.

There are three bus lines servicing the complex. The CPX/CEX is great for commuting to a 9-to-5 job on campus, as it runs at 15min gaps in the morning and the evening. The CM is a half-decent student line, running every 50 minutes all day. The CW is useless; it's slow, circuitous, and doesn't really go anywhere. I suppose it's good if you want to swing by the co-op to pick up groceries on the bus, or if you have trouble getting around and want to get to downtown Carrboro.

The rent is cheap. You can get a 1BR place for as low as 400$/mon. Also, the lease renewal rent increases are fairly small, typically about 50$ each renewal.

A somewhat convenient feature: you're within a mile of two different Food Lions. They close at 11pm, though, so they're only good for some quick trips. Overall, it's worth the hassle to go down into Carrboro to shop at Harris Teeter, but Food Lion is great for some stuff.


Now, the negative: your lease contains a "poison pill," the management is friendly but nearly useless, the maintenance staff is stretched thin, there are lots of bass-pumping cars, the buildings are old, there isn't nearly enough parking, and not everyone speaks English.

Read your lease carefully! The cheap rent comes from a "discount" of a few hundred dollars a month. If the lease is terminated (for _any_ reason), all that discount is immediately due. That is, if you have to move out a month early, and pay the lease termination fee, etc, you still will owe them a few thousand bucks! Try to negotiate out of this, or take a shorter lease, if you're not certain you'll stay.

Management is constantly shifting around; in the few years I was there, we went through 3 pairs of office staff. Maintenance people didn't change, and they're mostly capable, but there's only 2 of them. Jobs get half-done a lot, because they simply don't have time to really do things right. It can also take a long time to get small things looked at.

A good example of this was when the mail building had a fire. It took over a week for them to get contractors in and then get it rebuilt. That led to almost two weeks without mail delivery.

Facility availability: The laundry room is hard to get into most of the time: people will come in with family laundry, using 4 or so of the 6 washing machines at once. Thankfully, you can use the room at midnight, when there's typically at least one or two machines free. Overall, the laundry facilities are a real crapshoot for availability. The pool isn't available outside business hours anymore. It has become basically useless, which is sad. The patio is also locked closed most of the time, which is a total waste. You can hop the little fence to read there while waiting for laundry, but it's a sad state.

The apartments are poorly insulated, so your power bills will be somewhat high in the summer and winter. In particular, if the exterior hallway door breaks, the bills go through the roof. It's almost as if the interior walls aren't insulated.

The area is fairly safe, but the mail fire looked funny. There have been some problems with forced entry, but it's not a common thing. I still wouldn't sleep with an open window on a ground level apartment.

Most of the residents are good, hard-working people: the parking lots are fairly empty during the day. After 6 or so, they get packed (depending on the time of the year). Most residents are quiet and friendly, but there are a few bad apples here and there. They loiter outside, talking loudly, blaring music from their cars. The police are very receptive to noise complaints here.

A lot of the residents only speak Spanish and some broken English. Depending on how good your Spanish is, this can make for some slightly uncomfortable interactions. Happily, everyone is friendly and open, which helps offset any communication problems you might have.

One last thing to watch out for: the floorplan. Some of the ground-floor units (with sliding doors) are "handicap accessible." This means the unit doesn't have the advertised W/D hookup, a fireplace, or cabinents in the bathroom! Make sure you tour the apartment you're renting before you sign anything! And, fill out your move-in problem sheet very completely: by the time you move out, the office staff will be different.


Overall, if you can find a different place for the same price, you should consider it. However, it's not a bad place to live on the cheap. Ramsgate is pretty typical of a large corporate complex, and in my new hometown, I'm looking for small landlords to rent from.

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