From:
dknels
Date posted:
5/12/2007
Years at this apartment:
2002
-
2007
3 responses
The model apartment was really nice and the manager at that time super sweet, I was on a budget also. I liked the spacious floor plan, lots of windows as I have a corner unit, covered parking and great location to shopping. I thought it would be a safer area with the expensive homes and North Park Mall nearby.I later found out this area of OKC has the highest crime rate as there are so many apartments and that means more thugs looking for a cheap place to live. I have stayed here because rent is super cheap and when I move, I am moving OUT of OK on a job transfer.
The construction is shoddy, the walls are super thin, I have been tempted to break a hole in them just to see if there is any insulation at all. I have had the highest utility bills and I am extremely conservative. Most of the outlets are crooked. The frames around all of the doors are a cheap metal, the doors inside are all plastic. The painters slopped paint everywhere on the door trim, baseboards. There are cracks in the sheet rock.The carpet looked satisfactory the 1st day I moved in, of course they had just steamed cleaned it but it only took a day to get flat and matted. Very cheap carpet.It doesn't lie flat. The linoleum was really scrathed and damaged too, I spent $11 bucks at the $1 store on linoleum to make the kitchen floor look decent.
The grounds always have trash everywhere. I can count on seeing trash outside my apartment everytime I go in or out.
We are in Da Ghetto, where most of the residents think they are cool, blasting their car stereos as loud as possible at all times of the night. The walls vibrate and it's hard to get a good nights sleep. Usually people like to sit in their car with the stereos blasting for at least 10-15 minutes before they turn them off. I have call security several times, but it can take 15-20 minutes to get them here, I have been told this security also patrols several other complexes at the same time.
Once I looked out my apt and thought these homey's were just changing the rims, then next I saw the car was up on blocks, a brick had been thrown through the front window, the car was keyed all around and the hood was smashed. It took a week for management to deal with this.
It is usually well lit at night. I thought it would be safer since we can park right in front of our apartment, it is not very far to run from your car to the apt door if some freak is out there chasing you at night. But, I don't think I ever want this set up again, because the bedrooms face these parking spots and it is just too noisy.
The windows in my apt are freakin' hard to open and shut, I have got them jammed several times and had to call maintenance. I have to use my hammer to open them anytime I want fresh air.
My mom thought these apts were about 40 years old but I saw on the internet they were built around 1984, they were just built really cheap.
Sometimes maintenance has been prompt, sometimes it has taken several days. Sometimes I have had to call the same work order in 3 times, they said maintenance had done something but the problem had not been fixed at all. I had a leak in the bedroom wall and it was moldy, they wanted to keep painting over it, finally I threatened to call the News, so they came, cut part of the wall out and redid it.
I had these ghetto neighbors upstairs that let their dog out on the balcony, defecating and urinating and it was going through the cracks, the homey also would throw the turdgels over board and they would land outside of my window. It was summer and the flys were horrid. I called for weeks to get management to do something, then I went on the internet to find out who the big dogs were for this company as nothing was being done, I was getting ready to call OSHA.
My apartments was flooded twice by the neighbor upstairs, management apologized profusely, brought a fan to dry out the carpet, but I had to clean up the mess, it went through the vents into my bathroom and kitchen. A month later I noticed mold inside on of the cabinets.
It is a real low class trashy place, it is OK if you are on a budget and maybe you need some time to look for something nicer. My neighbors change all the time, I don't think anyone stays here to long.
The pool is real small, and then they decided to rope of the deeper end, so if you like to swim, this is not the pool, I can swim about 6 feet before getting tangled in the rope.
This review may have come across real negative, but I don't want to discourage you from living here, some of you might just enjoy and thrive in the environment I described in Da Ghetto.
Recommended: NO
Overall Rating
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User Responses
From:
Anonymous
Date:
09/23/2007
I've been a tenant here for a few months and my experience has been quite different than the writers, but I do share some of his sentiment.
Look, it's obvious that the writer is very angry and more than likely not "3rd world". Although a bit dramatized, his version does hold some validity. The rents are extremely low at Grouse Run. The pool is definitely not regulation size. That's a reality that isn't going to change. Management recently re-opened their newly remodeled gym and they are doing some other cool renovations in the rec area. There is a nice size tennis court.
Honestly, I have never seen the degree of trash that this person is stating can be found around the grounds. This simply is not a trashy complex. One could not say that the grounds have awesome "curb appeal", but the grounds are cut on a weekly basis and an adequate attempt is made at keeping the grounds look neat and nice. Flowering bushes and flowers would be a plus.
To it's favor, these apartments have the largest bedrooms that I have seen in the Oklahoma City area for the low price. There are neighboring apartment complexes that look really cool from the outside, but the apartments are just too small and if you read the apartment ratings about them you'd really be hesitant about renting them as well.
Like the writer said the complex has security patrol. As a matter of fact the person lives on the premises. Since there's ASSIGNED carport parking and open parking. There's always a chance that some rude or unknowing person will park under your carport. This has happened to me two or three times since I've been here and security patrol responded to my call via telephone within a few minutes and was at the offending vehicle moments after that and called summoned the tow truck. Within the hour the offending car was towed. The patrol advised on site management of the situation and they try to give the offending parker the chance to return to his vehicle so that a tow isn't necessary. But believe me the vehicle will be removed within 1 hour.
I can almost share in what the writer said about maintenance calls. Maintenance could be described as patch and quick fix crew. Don't get me wrong. They do fix the item and they have always come the same day as my request was made. The problem I have found is that will fix the problem, but they are not good at follow up. For example, they will fix the leak in your wall, and fix the hole in the wall, but they probably won't re-paint the wall unless you complain that the job isn't done UNTIL the wall is re-painted. But if you don't complain...oh yeah...you will spend the remainder of your time in an apartment with an unpainted spot on the wall.
When it comes to the windows, the writer is telling the truth they are extremely hard to open. Periodically, maintenance should spray the windows every year with WD40 to loosen them up or management should give a new can of WD40 to each new tenant or bite the bullet and install new windows. I mean, lets face it, fresh air is pertinent to good respiratory care, good health and a personal overall well being.
In terms of the balcony, as long as there are balconies there will be people hanging out on them...but then that is the plan. Having quiet and good neighbors really is the luck of the draw. There just isn't any guarantee. But the pet urinating and defecating while on the balcony is totally unacceptable. Management has to follow expressed procedures in notifying, assessing fines, and dismissal of the offending tenant, so getting rid of a nasty upstairs tenant could take a month or so. Been there done that. Race and income does not drive that behavior. Being inconsiderate and drive are the culprits there.
In regard to the parking lot, I've seen men hanging in the parking lot, but not just hanging around like the writer said. Normally they are gathered around a vehicle that they are usually cleaning. At times they are listening to music and at times it can be a bit loud, but normally only for a short period of time. Some people (black and white) just relax that way when they're cleaning their cars. But a consistent stream of loud music just isn't the norm at Grouse Run. Believe me, I'd tell you.
In the writers defense, noise can be heard from your neighbors apartment. The sound can only be heard from the ceiling or floor depending on whether you have an upstairs or downstairs apartment. The apartments are railroad type and tenants do not share side walls. I'm sure the upstairs tenants have heard me as many times as I have them, but as longs as the noise isn't excessive we tend to make due as they say.
Readers, I would say that if you are really wanting some place to live that's reasonably priced..... this is a reasonable place to live, but definitely not pretty. Grouse Run definitely lacks bragging rights. But if you want to live in a somewhat stable low rent apartment community that has pretty large bedrooms, little or no crime, that is not loud, this is a good reasonable to live. If you want to live around a classier type of people well I'm certain you'll also find us here, but I don't think that management has us sectioned in one area.
My point is that there is going to be a good and bad mix of people wherever you live. Yes, the lower price you pay for rent the higher risk you take of living around people who may have legal and social issues in their lives that keep them down....thus the drama and appearance of ghetto. Grouse run is not a ghetto. It's a lower rent community and therefore hasn't concentrated on “whistles and bows” the higher priced communities boast. Many people are fooled because they think paying higher rent will keep out the “riffraff”. Believe me it's a crap shoot no matter what type of community you live in.
The writer said mentioned that people are moving in and out all the time. Which is odd because even he stayed for a year and he was really unhappy. The fact is that there is a very high percentage of tenants who have lived at Grouse Run for over 2 years. In the area of Grouse where I reside I've spoken to at least 10 tenants who have lived at Grouse for over 4 years. Writer, I don't want to say that what you experienced wasn't real. I'm sure you experienced disappointment...I too am disappointed about some things. I think I can afford to live a better place, so I know already I'm NOT going to renew my lease.
Readers, by no means would I discourage you from living at Grouse Run. It's not perfect and its not pretty. But it's know where near horrible or problematic like the writer is conveying. It's a place that's just a place. For someone recently divorced, or on a very low fixed income or who just wants to save money to save for their dream home this is a reasonable place to live. If your looking for ambiance, then this is definitely not the place for you. Writer, I think the largest amount of your problem is your dislike or let's say your intimidation of minorities. Personally, I've just moved here from a neighborhood up north where the homes began at $600,000.00 and the greatest percentage of people in my neighborhood were Caucasian. And, to let you in on something...depending on your educational level, salary, and social status...YOU MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ACCEPTABLE TO THEM. However, I lived in that community for over 3 years. Like you, I am here due to relocation. My company suggested Grouse Run and being totally unfamiliar with the area I chose Grouse Run because the apartment was bigger than most for the price. But I digress, I can't tell you how many times I had to complain about my Caucasian neighbor's lack of cleanliness especially when it came to cleaning up behind their pets, and we're talking people making on the average $70,000 per year per person, and that's on the low side. So don't be too quick to pass sweeping judgments about people. Writer did you know that in regard to this countries national average, the highest amount of people on welfare are Caucasians. Poor or low income people are just that. People who haven't much and who need the break that renting a low rental apartment can give. Cleanliness, consideration, and a desire to obey the law is an individual choice. Be smart writer. Next time, add a little money to the allowance your company gives you for living expenses and take the CHANCE at POSSIBLY having better neighbors by paying more. But I think the better strategy would be to just ask the next property manager if their community is mostly Caucasian...and if not...don't rent there or just ask to live near any Caucasian tenants that they do have. Best wishes.
From:
nsebastion
Date:
07/31/2008
Having lived at grouse run for 2 years my experience is much closer to the original reviewers than of the long response that followed. Constant very loud music at night right outside your bedroom window. Nasty neighbors, bad maintenance, lazy management. At least in a real ghetto you know what to expect. I expected nicer here.
From:
cdh888
Date:
08/02/2008
Have to agree w/the first poster, living at Grouse Run really seemed like a ghetto or project, sad but true. Eventually I saw most of the Anglo Saxons take a hike, when I got to leave, I RAN!
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