The FACILITIES (exterior of buildings & interior units) on the property are just plain poor. The apartment complex is very old -- I think it was built in the late 1960s. At any rate, you must sign a warning notice regarding possible asbestos / lead paint contamination in your unit when you sign your lease. In retrospect, this is unacceptable in 2003 -- this problem should be corrected in all buildings during a massive renovation of the property that is well overdue. There were exterior doors on the buildings that did not function properly and some of the light fixtures were falling off of the buildings.

As far as your COMMUNITY AMENITIES are concerned, while I was living there, the volleyball court was often overrun with grass / weeds in the sand. I have heard that they no longer have the volleyball court. The pool was closed for the better part of one season due to an unexplained repair problem that was not fixed in a timely manner. The laundry facilities are always unclean with trash everywhere, and I did not feel safe visiting them after dark.

INSIDE YOUR UNIT, be advised that the walls are paper thin and you will be able to plainly hear your neighbors' radio, tv, vaccum cleaner, and /or arguments. The floors are very old & in a state of disrepair such that in my first floor unit, I could hear every step of my upstairs neighbor (who was not particularly nosiy and / or overweight). The noise was so unbearable that I began to sleep in earplugs just to get some decent rest. Many of the appliances are very old and I do not know when (if ever) they will be replaced. My sliding closet door was often "stuck" such that I had to keep placing it back onto the track to get access to the left side of the closet.

Although the managment often performs upgrades on the landscaping, as a paying tenant, I would prefer that the building within which I live be renovated. As nice as it is to pass by a flowerbed on my way home, it is unpleasant to arrive at my building to find the the broken exterior door standing wide open (a security issue that lasted for several months) and then have to walk on a soiled carpet in the common hallway (that often feels as though you may fall through it) to my apartment.

As for SECURITY / SAFETY, I think that in the four years I lived there the residents of the complex changed substantially. It seems that the soicoeconomic status of the residents diminished and as a result, crime in the area increased. Although I was not a personal victim of a criminal act, there were notices of increased crime in the area. I don't know if it was particularly at Berkley Hills or the general neighborhood, however, it was unsettling to me regardless. Toward the end of my lease period, I began to feel unsafe in the complex at times due to the changed demographic of the residents.

To end on a positive note, I think that the management staff and maintenance staff at Berkley Hills are top rate -- helpful, friendly, prompt with repairs, responsive to tenants' concerns, etc. Regardless of the professionalism that the staff displayed to me, I would not live there again, nor would I recommend the complex to others.

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