THE BAD:

1. On any given day, at any random time of day, it can take upwards of 15 minutes of running the water at the hottest possible setting to get anything better than lukewarm. (Been told by staff that this is because we live on one of the higher floors. Glad we pay over $100/mo extra for that...)

2. Maintenance / janitorial staff whistling, making lewd remarks in Spanish, and shamelessly ogling me every time I walk past. Charming.

3. Maintenance / janitorial staff just "hanging out" in lobbies, hallways, garage, stairways, and even seen sitting in the dumpster!

4. Carpeting so cheap that more of it ends up in my vacuum cleaner than actual dirt.

5. Brown, rusty water appears without notice & more often than should be considered acceptable.

6. Common areas are generally filthy, especially the laundry room, which probably hasn't seen a mop, broom, or vacuum since the machines were installed.

7. Majority (NOT all) of office staff treats residents like petulant children.

8. Gym is, simply put, a joke.

9. Not sure if this is complex-wide, but in my particular building, the Wheelchair Gang sits in the lobby approximately 16 hours out of every day, blocking pathways, giving dirty looks, and commenting on every person that passes by.

10. Known drug-dealers, convicted sex offenders, and more Section-8's than you can shake a stick at.

11. Building doors are continually left propped open or the magnetic strips that hold them closed are conveniently taped over, leaving the building wide open to all manner of felonious trash. (And yes, there is some MAJOR trash that finds their way into this complex from god-knows-where.)

12. I could sometimes walk down the 10 flights of stairs to the lobby in less time than it takes for the elevators to do their thing. (Particularly since 50 percent of the residents clearly never learned to operate the buttons correctly, and will press the UP button to try to get down to the lobby.) (Also, for the record, if you are not handicapped, transporting furniture, or have a small child or animal with you, STOP TAKING THE ELEVATOR BETWEEN THE LOBBY AND SECOND FLOOR. Trust me, most of you could stand to climb a few stairs anyway.)

13. If you want to have a conversation with your neighbor, all you have to do is go into your own bathroom. Anything and everything you've never wanted to hear can be heard through the vent & echoing tile.

14. PARKING. Enough said. (Of course you can add $75 to your monthly rent to guarantee that you'll be able to park 2 vehicles anywhere near your building at any reasonable time of day. For some people this is do-able, for others not.)


THE GOOD:

1. Pet policy is fantastic and accomodating, and no ridiculous "pet rent".

2. Collingswood is beautiful, up-and-coming, and extremely convenient to almost anywhere you want to be in the Philly Metro area.

3. Very close to several area parks.

4. On-site services such as dry cleaner, deli, police station, etc.

5. All utilities included, with exception of cable/internet/phone, so you're not getting banged for gas in the winter or electric in the summer.

6. Some of the most spacious apartments for comparable $$ that you'll find in the area.

7. With so many residents, you'll tend to get left alone by management (Of course, sometimes this can be a good thing, sometimes not.)

8. Most apartments have at least one room with a great park or city view.

9. Heating & A/C units in every room that are individually controlled (except for the fact that mgmt decides when it's time to make the switch from one to the other for the entire building).


So, long story short, I clearly find more bad things to say than good. However, I overall enjoy living here, if for no other reason than that I love Collingswood and the surrounding area. I would still recommend the Heights to someone who feels they can tolerate the "bad" that I've listed, because I seem to have learned to live with it myself. Any rental, particularly in a huge complex like this one, is going to have some things fall through the cracks, is going to have at least SOME incompetent staff, is going to make you want to jump off a tall building sometimes. I guess what I'm trying to say is, after seeing some of the reviews of other places in the area, a little mediocrity goes a long way at the Heights.

User Responses
From: funnyjoanne	Date: 07/30/2008
I happened to find an awesome apartment with a great policy on cats for only $635 a month. I have a GUARANTEED space to park in right behind the building. Quiet, nice, non-criminal neighbors. Police cruise every couple of hours. If you are ready to move, go to Kendall Court Apartments. So believe me, better apartments are out there, it just takes patience and a little luck.
From: michigan706	Date: 10/15/2008
absolutely agree with your BAD #12 - ELEVATORS! ppl need to stop takin the damn elevators to go 1 floor. they are slow enough as it is, dont need to be waiting on my lazy ass neighbors b/c they dont feel like walkin a flight of stairs... overall, your review is right on the $$, very accurate. decent place to live primarily b/c of the area, but only if you are willing to put up with pretty typical problems of a larger apt complex
From: Homesick5	Date: 10/29/2008
I'm guilty, I bear witness to much of what you reported and believe, thanks to #9, that we live in the same building. I had to laugh because its so true but it sounds so mean. I said the same thing to someone and was called pretentious. So I asked God to forgive me and cordially say hello as I pass and run to my sanctuary several floors up and appreciate my spectacular lake view.
From: cvfrsh	Date: 02/22/2009
some of the things you said were just lies i don't get that , perhaps you were just angry today and what is wrong with old people sitting in there wheelchairs, why are you so hateful , one day that might be you , if you stand still long enough they will talk to you and they seem so lonely your just seem to be a nasty hateful person and i don't want you living here why not move please
From: NJBound39	Date: 07/02/2009
Dear "cvfrsh", I would rather be in a wheelchair than have to read one more "sentence" of your incomprehensible, ghetto trash, 3rd-grade-education, grammar-free rambling. Thanks for proving me right about the element that has made itself such an enduring presence in this building, and for reminding me of one of the myriad reasons I am removing myself from this hell hole.

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