Please read all of this.

I moved into Hibben Ferry on June 16, 2005. When I moved into my apartment, the place was in terrible condition. And I don't mean the age of everything throughout the apartments, which they are in the process of upgrading, I mean the basics. I didn't mind having old cabinetry and fixtures, etc., because at $799/mo, the place was the cheapest in Mt. Pleasant.

My carpet was disgusting. And I mean disgusting. I don't know who lived there before me, but it was terrible. I couldn't walk without my shoes on because it was sticky all over and there were stains everywhere. When I asked the staff to have it cleaned, they refused, saying it had already been cleaned.

There was also a terrible bug problem. And for all of those people who are lashing out at any negative comments people make, no I am not nasty, this was upon move-in. I had a major roach and spider problem, and those little black bugs, and flying palmetto bugs. It took me three weeks to get them to have the exterminator come out, and by then I was ready to end my lease, three weeks into it. I had woke up one morning with a Palmetto Bug crawling on my bed. I showered at work that morning, too disgusted to shower in my own home. The staff said "yea, there is a bad bug problem. It's because of the marsh." I've lived on the SC coast my entire life and never had a bug problem like that. They did eventually have the exterminator come out twice, then winter came and the bug problem seemed to clear up.

Let's talk about trash. There is a dumpster and a trash compactor, but there is no lighting in the area. During the time I lived there, they installed pet clean-up stations, but there were none near my building. I have dogs. I would walk my dogs and pick up after them, of course, which not many residents do so watch where you step, and then I would have no where to put the waste. I couldn't put it inside my apartment, Lord no, not to mention the smell that would create but it would also bring the bugs back. So I put a small wicker can, a pretty one, outside of my door. I came home and found it INSIDE my apartment, where the maintenance people had left it with a note, they had gone into my apartment without my permission and put DOG ---- in my apartment. I was sooo angry. So then, I put the pretty wicker can on my screened porch. I got a citation and a fine for having trash on my porch. I took my concerns straight up the ladder and had the manager on the phone all hours of the night. You see, I got harrassing emails from a person who lives or lived near the trash compactor, someone who only knew what I looked like and found me online, someone I did not know otherwise, saying he wanted to do certain acts to me. In other words, I wouldn't go anywhere within 100 yards of the trash area after dark out of fear of rape or worse. I work until 6pm and in the cooler times of year, that means it's dark when I get home. I had a female roommate who also would not go anywhere near the trash area at night. I was really at a loss as to what to do with my dog crap. If they really wanted me to pick up after my dogs, they would have to provide a solution. I was told to get a trash can with a lid that closes that is small enough to keep out of sight on my porch and make sure I empty it often enough that the smell does not exist, with which I complied. But the original chain of events is completely unreasonable. Install more pet stations or give residents some kind of option for disposing of pet waste.

As for the claims that the office is closed a lot - it is. Over a time period of a year, I kept a log of at least 20 times I tried to go to the office and the door was locked. I even sat for an hour one day with a guy who was sitting there with his Ryder truck trying to move into his apartment, and no one ever showed up. It is ridiculous.

Speed bumps, yes they are terrible. I drive a truck, a 4x4, which means it sits high off the ground. My truck still hit them hard, especially the one near the trash dumpster, which is ridiculously high. They are ridiculous.

Pool ?? yes there were several times the pool was closed, but most of the time it was open.

Staff ?? unknowledgable. I always felt like the staff had no idea how to run an apartment complex. I would ask questions and get a blank look.

Noise ?? I could hear every single sound my upstairs neighbor made at all times. Right down to hearing him pee. I knew when he came, when he went, when he ate at his kitchen table. I talked to my other neighbors and they could all hear their neighbors as well. Play your music above an ??office atmosphere?? level and you can hear it through the walls.

Maintenance ?? terrible. The only good maintenance man left to open a new company. I left specific maintenance requests and they would come in and fix the wrong thing. My kitchen light went out and instead of repairing it, they took the light fixture in the dining room and lifted it with a snap-tie, making it so it didn??t hang so low. What does that have to do with the kitchen light' My air conditioning unit started leaking ?? and I mean LEAKING ?? it filled up a huge broiler pot twice a day. They came and ??fixed?? it by cleaning out the drains and it did nothing, I still had another pot full of water overnight. It took two trips to repair it. And our electric bill was over $150 a month ?? I wonder why with a leaking broken A/C Unit!

Security Deposit' HA HA?? what security deposit' I got a check back for $9 with no explanation. I do believe by law they have to send a breakdown of what they took out. My apartment was clean, and I am an anally clean person, so I mean CLEAN. And when I moved out, my apartment was in line for renovations, so everything was going to be ripped out anyway. So why did they take my deposit'

Parking used to be terrible, but they repaved, repainted the spots, and parking got a lot better. It's always hard to find a spot if you come dragging in at 2am on a Saturday night, but during normal hours it's fine.

Rent?? My rent was less than $800 for a 1080sqft apartment, which is great for Mt. Pleasant. I was comfortable and happy there, despite the above issues, and I had formed great friendships with the neighbors. I was not planning to move out. Then I get a notice within 60 days of the end of my lease that I am being ended for renovations. I couldn??t find a place, 60 days is not adequate for Charleston. They gave us the option of moving into a new apartment, on which the rent was $1,080. Wow. An almost $300 hike for new cabinets, fixtures, carpets, doors??. So what'! I was not happy about having to leave. When I left, a lot of the apartment buildings were 100% empty. Everyone left or is leaving as they end the leases. A very small percentage of people who don??t realize that paying $1 per sqft per month is ridiculous and more than a mortgage, are staying. Those few people lashing out at the negative comments on here, saying they are staying are in, at the maximum, a 10% margin of residents. A girl that lived across from me who was there 6 years left. An older couple who had been in their apartment almost 12 years and lived next to me were leaving ?? after 12 years! A young couple with a new baby upstairs from me were extremely upset because with a new baby, a $300 price hike is just not manageable, and moving takes a lot of money, it??s not cheap. Everyone I spoke with moved out, I couldn??t find one neighbor who stayed.

It??s not all bad though. One thing I loved was my neighbors. They were great. I can??t speak for the kind of people who will move in now with the price hike, but the people who were there were very down to earth ?? everything from young couples to senior citizens ?? and not many partiers or college kids, which was great. The construction noise never bothered me, or the landscaping noise, or the new pavement noise. A tree fell on one of my neighbor??s car the week they moved in, crushing it, and Hibben Ferry paid for it ?? of course, it was their responsibility. A lot of the additions were wonderful ?? screening the porches, screening the gazebo, upgrading the stuff at the pool, the new landscaping and new entryway signs were very pretty. But the rent hike is ridiculous, even for Mount Pleasant. And the lack of warning about the leases being ended was not adequate.

Despite all of the issues over time, I overall loved Hibben Ferry. Had they not decided to renovate my apartment and hike the rent up by $300, I would have stayed. I loved my close neighbors, and I hated to see so many of them go. I had two cops in my building, which made me feel safe. Of course, with the rent hike those cops won??t be able to afford the new apartments.

I recommend it, if you can afford it. If not, there is a luxury apartment complex right up the road offering a 1250 sqft apartment for about $1000. Yes, luxury.

User Responses
From: teddybear456	Date: 07/19/2006
At least you had enough sense to write some good things about the complex! I'll give you that but that luxury apartment that you are talking about, will probably go condo in less than a year. You can't buy a house or a condo that is nice and new like the new apartments at Hibben Ferry for $1,080. You would have to live somewhere else. If you have a problem with your dog poo, don't have a dog! Take some resposibility for your pet dude! Your dog's poop is NOT the managements responsibility! It's yours. And just so you know, legally they only need to give residents a 30 day notice so the fact that they gave you 60 was pretty generous. Maybe you wouldn't have had a bug problem if you didn't have so much poop around your apartment. I'm not "lashing out" we are all telling the truth! By the way, I asked the office why people were not getting their deposits back at the end of their lease because I was getting sick of reading all the crap and the reason is the water bills are billed from the utility company a couple months behind so the last couple water bills were taken from your deposit. IF you remember right, you probably didn't get a water bill for about a month & a half or two after you moved in. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you go accusing innocent good people of ripping you off. And last, the same speed bumps you drive over are the same ones that the staff there drive over everyday too and I'm sure they wouldn't have them there if they were hurting their cars. DRIVE SLOWER!
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/17/2007
I honestly have gone around to all the negative reviews of Hibben Ferry tennants, and there is one reply to each of the negative reviews. the person has very interesting "cute" animal names. I would imagine that you are the staff from Hibben Ferry trying to protect your job. I find you very repulsive. I can not imagine anyone else who would take their time to stand up for this appt complex. Hibben Ferry sucks!
From: sorryisigned	Date: 06/01/2007
Gee, I wonder which member of management you are.

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