Nice Waterfall and serene seeming surroundings attracted me to this complex. The one bedroom apartments are small and rather dated but the apartments are pretty well maintained. On the plus side the park setting is nice and is it quite safe there.
Overall, I lived there for almost 2 years and in the end I was very happy to MOVE OUT for several reasons:
*Size/what you get for price:
Prior to moving in I moved from an apartment in Cedar Grove which was about 50% larger, and about $150 cheaper than Waterfall Village. I moved because Bloomingdale is closer to my job, so I figured I would save in gas. I ended up losing money because not only is rent more expensive, but utilities ended up costing me almost 300% more than they did in Cedar Grove. If the apartment was worth it, I would not mind but the apartment is small, I had to store about 30% of my furniture in the shared garage space. While the shared garage is large, you have to walk outside and around the building to access it. The same goes with the laundry facilities, I ended up having to go to an offsite laundromat because the machines often did not work, and were also rather over-priced.
Many apartments have A/C units, but I did not have an A/C unit in the bedroom, and I was on the top floor so it gets HOT in the summer. I was told I would have to buy an A/C unit if I wanted one, which I did not mind. However, I was told we couldn't buy a regular A/C unit because it had to fit with the special A/C sockets in the wall; and because that socket is rare those units cost at minimum $500, which ends up being a sunk cost because the A/C unit cannot be used after you move because of the rarity of the socket/plug.
*Noise:
I've lived in several apartments so I know to expect noise, but they boast a quiet, serene site, but it is actually quite loud. Several of the tenants own loud motorcycles and do laps around the site. Add that to the train that passes blairing its horn randomly from 5am - 11:30pm. Not to mention the regular noise from cars, garbage trucks and all the tenants, which is to be expected.
*Utilities:
Tenants pay " only" electric and phone/cable but everything (the heat, hot water heater, stove/range, plus all regular electric appliances) is electric. So on top of the $1245-1295 rent, which steadily goes up $50 a year, tag on an additional $200/month for electric bills. Snow removal is included in rent, but almost everytime it snowed, I was forced to shovel my way out because they either plow you into your garage, or the sidewalk is not cleaned until a day later.
*Parking:
I never had any problems with parking because I have only one car, but for people with more than one car, there are evident problems with parking (they had to reserve parking for certain people due to tenant disputes).
*Underhanded management practices:
I left the apartment spotless upon moving so I was not charged for cleaning when I moved out (besides mandatory charge for carpet shampooing they pull from Security); but I was informed by the onsite staff to be careful and take pictures, because management nickel and dime for evertyhing (i.e. cleanliness of the outside windows, a/c filters, under the stove/refrigerator, etc).
I had to move before my SECOND year lease ended because of uncontrallable personal circumstances, so I notified the management 5-6 months in advance. Months before my move, they stated they would probably not be able to fill my apartment. They are still stating that I will have to pay the remaining months in rent, even though they have done nothing in the months notice provided to mitigate their damage, which is required by law. They stated that they will not be able to fill my apartment because they have 15 open units, and they state " it's not a renter's market"... so basically they aren't even trying (I've checked, they barely advertise for a company with 15 open units). Not to mention that I tried to fill the apartment myself because I know that management was not doing anything, so I found someone onsite who wanted to switch apartments at the end of their lease but management stated that tenants cannot switch apartments (which I know for a fact other tenants who have switched).
A few months after the whole experience, I feel like I was paying mainly for landscape. I have lived in 4 different apartment complexes throughout NJ, and this was by far my worst experience. Renters BEWARE.

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