This is a long one. I'm pretty easy to please, but there are a number of unexpected irritants at this property. Some I should have noticed before moving in, some should have been mentioned when I was looking. Given the price I'm paying for the space I really expect it to be above average for Cary/Morrisville/West Raleigh. It definitely isn't. This is my 8th rental property (6th apartment) in or around RDU. I have never before felt the need to warn people about a property. Here goes:

Pros:
Location.
Very convenient for work in RTP.
Within 2 miles of a Golds Gym.
Approx. 5 minutes from Brier Creek & Southpoint.
Large garage.
Tile kitchen/laundry area.
Dining room large enough for real dining room furniture.
Gas stove/oven, water heater.
Tilt in windows (easy to clean).
9' ceilings
Computer nook

Cons:
Outside, my garage floods any time we get a good hard rain (5 times over the summer). It doesn't drain out when the water recedes. It has to be squeegeed out. The back porch has a great view but the noise pollution from the Industrial park (Cree's cooling towers) is 24/7 constant noise, such that no one in my building bothers to even have furniture on their back porch. Fortunately I can only barely hear it when inside (yes, through the windows/walls).

When they say central air/heat they really mean it. As in the units are in the center of the apartment. I'm a deep sleeper and I've been awakened a few times when my A/C kicked on. The compressor is right behind the intake...right beside the master bedroom. Who designed this' It never even occured to me that this would be a possibility.

Wood construction. This means that you hear everything that your upstairs neighbors are up to...especially when they are getting started in the morning. I've taken to having a noisy fan in my room to drown out the noises in white noise. Long term that's bad for my hearing, but at least I can sleep until my alarm goes off.

Noise is, as you can tell, a major problem here. I have upstairs neighbors that aren't helping the situation (who vacuums at 1am') but that doesn't forgive the complex for cheap construction and other irritating noise factors. How about not mowing the lawn at 8 in the morning' Its just one more thing the fan drowns out.

Oh, and those gates' During my time here at least one of the gates is broken sometime during every week. It got so bad a that until a few weeks ago they had them all locked open for about two months. Also, they bought the cheapest possible gate system. These aren't even close to security gates. About 5 cars can get through before they close. People sit by the gates and drive in the out gates to get in. Useless for security purposes, so what, pray tell, are they for' It would be better were they removed.

What else...Oh yeah. The appliances are the cheapest I've ever had. The refridgerator is noisy when running, at least it does stay cold. Too bad it doesn't have any shelves in the freezer. Set at a coldness level of 6/10 my vegetable drawer regularly gets below freezing. Set warmer and it doesn't keep everything properly chilled.

Build quality in this apartment is abysmal. The floors creak when you walk around, which, given the noise problems, is annoying for the folks downstairs I imagine. The hearth is crooked, as is the fire place (but in the opposite direction). About half of the corners are substantially out of true. I can see light around my front door.

Remember that huge garage that I mentioned' It has one anemic 60 watt bulb. It feels like a cavern with just that. I installed some large flourescent fixtures and bulbs and now I can actually see. What I discovered when doing this' There's no breaker in my breaker box for any of the garage outlets or lights. Is this even legal' Or are my neighbors paying for that electricity'

The garage entrance is very narrow. I have about two inches on either side of my mirrors when driving in (granted I have a large vehicle). If you drive a truck or van I hope you have steady hands.

That computer nook I mentioned in the pros' Yeah, it doesn't have a cable outlet, and the cable company can't add one. Why does that matter' Well, you can't put your cable modem there with your computer...I guess you need either a wireless network or to find a way to run a cable to your computer. I ran the wire underneath my carpet, but I'm betting most people won't be able to manage that.

Garbage disposal' Well, in theory. Just don't actually try it. Low volume toilets' Well, they are low volume, at the cost of absolutely disgusting...well, you get the point. External storage' Well, yes, but you can't put anything combustible in it, because that is where the water heater is. That rules out cardboard (so, no boxes), paints, cleaners, pretty much anything you might have used it for. Oh, and since we are now sub-metering water they will always need access to the water meter...attached to the water heater. This renders the external storage nearly worthless.

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