We lived in this complex for a year and recently moved on. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. I started living on my own in the military and have lived in more apartments then I care to count all over the country- Lakeview Square was by far the worst.

When we moved in, the carpet was stained and grungy, none of the sinks or tubs drained properly, the toilets wouldn't stop running, the front lock didn't work, the screens were all damaged, and it looked like it had been a decade since it was painted. If the situation was different I would have refused possession immediately but I didn't have many options at the time and didn't know the area very well. The management was not very cooperative about getting things fixed and when they sent a maintainer for the lock he showed up in a car with tricked out wheels, custom paint job, full on audio, and all the fixings. I'm as much a fan of a cool car as the next guy, but the way he looked around the apartment- to fix a front door lock- made me wonder where he got the money for all that (I had to show him how to fix the lock, so it wasn't skill). Did you ever get the feeling you were being cased' That's the way the maintenance staff behaved on the very few occasions when I let them into the apartment.

When I talked to the maintenance manager about it, he shrugged and said "what do you expect- these places are 28 years old, you can't expect everything". I get that, and I wasn't asking for perfection- just professionalism and courtesy.

We moved in during the fall after the first frost. Too bad- come spring when the weather warmed up, we had an ant problem. Everywhere. We keep a clean place- vacuum at least once a week, dishes cleaned up every night- regular cleanings of everything. It didn't stop the ants- they were in the bathrooms, the kitchen, all over everything. You could set a plate down for dinner long enough to take a phone call or eat dessert and the ants would be all over it with a little trail underneath. Disgusting! Every time I could figure out where they were coming from we'd spray it and stop it up but they'd find another way. I like to cook but I think we doubled our rent by eating out.

Don't get me started on the condition of the appliances. There's a dishwasher, a disposal, microwave, stove, and refrigerator. The refrigerator was cracked on the side and all the door shelf guards were broken, the drawers didn't seat correctly, and the temperature control was set to either freeze or 45 degrees (even though the knob has 9 spots), and the bottom shelf never sat level. The icemaker didn't have a catch tray from the day we moved in- I gave up asking the office for one. When we moved in, it took me 3 days to figure out the disposal was the source of the funky odor sometimes in the kitchen- at least that went away once we started using a disposal cleaner regularly, but you'd think they would have cleaned it before we moved in. The stove used gas- 2 burners wouldn't light all the time and none of them did a very good job of cooking food. The microwave was nice though.

Almost every other week a car window was broken out on the lot away from the offices. Smash and grab is the order of the day and since all the longer-term residents know not to park there, it becomes a parking problem in the rest of the complex. The thieves like car stereos, GPS, and work trucks with tools, and it's easy in and easy out back to the road. Do a search by street name on the Columbus Police web site before you move in- plenty of details on reported crimes. Based on the number of car windows I saw broken vs the number of police reports, you should probably figure there are about 4 unreported break-ins for each report that shows up. By the way, the complex is right on the edge of Columbus and Dublin jurisdiction apparently, so neither one patrols the area very well. The management doesn't believe in resident officers either- or come to think of it, maybe they can't convince an officer to live there. It takes about a week for management to clean up the broken glass after each break-in (or maybe that's how long it takes for it to get washed down a gutter somewhere- I'm not sure).

Don't expect anything remotely close to snow removal from any part of the complex- sidewalks or streets. When we lived there, by the time they sent a plow out it was 2-3 days after the snowfall and the guy was just going over top of the ice from everyone driving on the snow. I never saw an attempt to clear complex walkways other than the main office except when residents took it on themselves.

You'll want to make sure your neighbors listen to the same music and TV shows you do, because you'll hear all of it. The walls transmit every noise on both sides. You'll be up to speed on all the juicy details of your neighbors lives- business phone calls, personal calls, sex life, dinner conversations- anything above a whisper. The door that opens and closes in the middle of the night and footsteps coming up the stairs are probably your neighbor in his apartment- try not to worry too much about it. The units are in rows- you'll have a neighbor on each side for most units and a clear view into the bedroom windows of the units across the street. Your neighbors will enjoy the same views and closeness with you.

Stop by the complex at night before moving in too. Take note of how much light there is in parking areas and walkways. Assume there will be less light later when you would prefer there is more (winter, wet weather). Management does not maintain most of the exterior lighting (tenants are responsible), and what management is responsible for isn't very well maintained or very well placed.

Take pictures when you move in, because they'll take pictures when you move out. If you don't have pictures (DETAILED pictures), they'll charge you for stuff that was a problem when you moved in, even when you documented it on the move in paperwork. The deposit isn't enough to fight over it in court and they know it.

Since someone out there is almost certainly in the same circumstances we were in when I signed the lease here, all I can say is take heart and keep looking. Once we realized what a hole this place is and started looking, we found better places for the same price all over the area- newer units with obviously better management. If you sign a lease at Lakeview Square, you're going to be there for a year. The people in the office are friendly, look good, and are probably doing exactly what they are told- put a good face on a bad complex. Don't buy it.

These people have something like 400 units that must have been paid for at least 10 years ago, making close to $1000 a month on each one. They could do a better job and keep their profit margins- there's no excuse for this except management with bad direction.

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