If you had asked me when I moved into Hedges Creek in the autumn of 2003 how much I loved it, I would have held my arms wide and said "I love it this much!" with a great big smile because I was very, very happy with my "home" there on all counts. Ditto for 2004. Probably even 2005. Not as much by 2006. Sadly, we won't be there for autumn of 2007 - see "price" below.

PRICE - In fall of 2003, $730 (including $10/month pet rent) seemed very fair because the place is really nice (see "floorplan" below). In spring of 2004, 2005 and 2006, the rent increased just slightly each yearly renewal so that as of spring 2007, we were paying $775 (including $10/month pet rent on top of the deposit paid at move-in), which was higher but still within the realm of reasonable (and only a total of $45 more per month from where we'd started). Spring of 2007 was when they dropped the bombshell increase to $985 (including $10/month pet rent)!! For any non-mathematicians out there, that's an almost 26% increase overnight! For this reason, I cannot recommend Hedges Creek unless you are prepared for a drastic change at renewal to the tune of $210 more per month instead of the expected extra $20 or so as on every other previous renewal. If you don't happen to enjoy that kind of rate hike but want to live here, then always keep plenty of cash available around renewal time in case you find yourself having to pay for moving expenses a new deposit at a new place because that's expensive, too, but cheaper in the long run than giving that much money to thieves over the course of the year who clearly do not value having good residents stick around when they can get some sucker to pay more than the place is worth. I know, it's just business. Still doesn't make it right.

FLOORPLAN - OK, I'll take a break from ranting here because the floorplans are gorgeous and functional. The good news if you like simple is that there are only 3 plans, one for each number of bedrooms. The 2 bedroom floorplan is very wonderful and open and features always an end unit with tons of windows. When you walk in the place, it is almost breathtaking (if windows are your thing, anyway). Spacious walk-in closets in each bedroom, huge balcony, and a large storage area off the balcony. The kitchen has a full-sized pantry (as tall and wide as a door and about as deep as it is wide, with plenty of shelves), and plenty of cabinets. There's not quite as much useable counter space, but the raised part of the counter (too narrow to really function as a breakfast bar) is handy for decoration, additional appliances, a place to set things as you are cooking, etc. Dishwasher and garbage disposal plus a washer and dryer in every unit, so those are good things, too. (If you are starting to think I work there by the way I describe this because I loved it, read the rest of the review.) Since we were current residents, we never got the updated painted accent walls that they were doing as new residents moved in, but I bet they look nice.

LOCATION - If Tualatin is not too far off the beaten path from work or other activities, this is a great place within Tualatin to be. You can walk to Starbucks and Haggen (over a cute little bridge) or drive to Fred Meyer, and it is very close to I-5/I-205. Plenty of shopping in Sherwood and Wilsonville, too. Also very close to police station.

PARKING - Depending on where you live in the complex, parking can either be completely wonderful or pretty bad later in the evenings. Before choosing a unit, pay close attention to how many nearby spaces are carports/reserved vs. open parking to get an idea. If you live near the front of the complex, all those spaces in front of the office can be a very good thing.

MAIL/TRASH - Mailboxes seem interspersed throughout the complex well enough that it shouldn't be too bad of a walk to get your mail, but some units will be further away from others since there aren't very many of them. Unless you are very motivated and like carrying trash far distances even on cold rainy nights with heavy bags, expect to let it sometimes pile up on you balcony against the rules (or at least on some of your neighbors' balconies). I've searched, and as far as I can tell, there is just ONE trash area for the whole complex, tucked pretty far back in the complex on the "main side" (on the smaller side of the complex across the street from the main office I have not been able to find one, but maybe I've just not looked hard enough). The trash area is a huge compactor thing, but there is often trash lined up around the outside of it.

LANDSCAPING - Very nice and well-maintained, at least where we were.

MAINTENANCE - Being able to submit maintenance requests online is really nice. There is usually a response by the next day (though it might be one more day if you submitted after hours). Maintenance folks are friendly. We did have to wait more than a day when our refrigerator broke, so that time was not as great as others.

ONLINE PAYMENT - Being able to pay online (from checking account, but not from a card) is nice if you don't enjoy writing checks. But BEWARE of one thing if you go this route. You know how most websites require you to enter the numbers twice just in case you have a typo and how that's really annoying but it could save your butt' Forget that here. Enter the number and check and double check before submitting. I'm very careful about this kind of thing, but I'll never forget the experience the one time I mistyped. Paid online before the 1st of the month, got an email confirmation of payment, didn't see it come out of my bank account, and then got a notice on my door threatening eviction and requirement that I pay with a money order along with an extra fee. Everyone seemed to agree that it should be a simple and useful change if the website required you to type it twice or something or even just let you know if there was a problem with the transaction, but it's a corporate issue, and they also haven't been inclined to make the simple change.

SAFETY - Here's where you might think I work for the complex again (still don't), but I was impressed with the security features. Sprinklers throughout and a very tough second deadbolt that can only be locked/unlocked from the inside (or by the fire department breaking down the door). I don't know about the buildings near the back with the bridge to Haggen/Starbucks (it wouldn't be my preference to have that many people strolling past, but that's just me), but we were content in ours and around most other buildings. The police department is practically within spitting distance if that makes you feel better. Fire department isn't much further away.

FITNESS CENTER - I didn't spend much time in there, but it was nicer than many places and seemed to have a wide variety of equipment, included the elliptical that I love/hate.

MANAGEMENT (no idea why it won't take the word MANAGEMENT there) - Everyone in the management office is friendly enough, but it's not nearly as nice as it used to be. For the first several years, there were often some kind of little resident appreciation things going on like staff handing out muffins/bananas/coffee on your way out of the complex a couple times a year or throwing a basketball to select a prize ranging from those metal pans that go under your stove burners up to $100 off the next month's rent. Stuff like that. In the grand scheme of things, none of that really matters or is a big deal, but when they have brought it to a complete stop, it makes you feel like they are no longer interested in doing the little things to keep residents happy. It used to be, too, that when your renewal was coming up, they'd serve a little breakfast thing for all of the renewers to enjoy a snack and sign paperwork - this time just a note on the door about the ridiculous rent hike minus any niceties. It's not like we would have stayed and paid that much more just because they had invited us to breakfast, but it still used to be a nicer touch. Again, not a big deal unless it's a drastic decrease from what it used to be, and it is because there has been nothing like any of that in well over a year or two.

NOISE - Here's where the management has actually fallen short of more than just feel good resident appreciation stuff - how they deal with (or don't deal with) noise complaints. For the first few years we were blessed with considerate neighbors who never made a peep. And then we got the other kind of neighbors. It's always a craps shoot on who will share your apartment building, but it's what the apartment office folks do that makes all the difference. After trying to first deal directly with the neighbors several times with zero success, the issue was escalated to the office. Again, very polite and understanding on the phone, but zero action. On the rare occasions that it would happen during office hours, they could never come by to actually listen to substantiate our claim. Only when the manager was out on maternity leave and the guy from Colorado filling in did anything even start to happen in the way of resolution. Too bad we all got our renewal letters in the midst of possible resolution, and we would all need to find a more reasonable place to live anyway. That made it too easy. If no response from management on noise issues bothers you, this would be a great thing to discuss before choosing to live here.

And so, this many words later I'll say that for the right price (think mid-range about what Stones Throw or Forest Rim are asking because they are comparable), this place is very worth it, but for the price they are asking as of this writing, it's really not. You can be just as happy in one of the many other decent apartments in the area that are far more reasonable. It looks like rent has fluctuated at this place between reasonable and high in the past as well, so if rent comes back down, it's worth a look if you are prepared for moving expenses if needed around renewal time.

Good luck!

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