We lived at the Preserve for 6 years through several managements. All of them were great, always took care of what we needed.

Let me break down everything else by category.

(Grounds and trash)
The grounds are always kept up and looking good. There was always a crew out there grooming or laying in a new plot of flowers. The trash was always picked up too. They also provide a trash pick-up service for free where you leave you trash at the opening of each breeze-way a couple times a week. This is a nice service however you also have the jerk that doesn't abide by the rules and throws it out there every day of the week or even worse leave it outside their door. However, if you tell management about it, they will say something to the offender.

(Security Gate)
They have one that has a swing gate and a drop-down arm. For years it stayed on the blink because idiots would plow though the arm or worse plow through the gate itself. The gate company was always out there repairing it, it must have cost a fortune to keep it operating. Cameras were eventually installed at the gate and the arms were finally removed and that pretty much took care of that problem. Occasionally, but not too often, there were some car break-ins. The staff did respond to those incidents quickly however by contacting the police and sending out letters to the residents.

(Neighbors & Noise)
As with all apartments, there will be neighbor noise problems. The only way to get around this is to move into a house. I personally judge this by the neighbors beside you, not the ones above. You will always hear the neighbors above you, no matter what. The side neighbor noise at the Preserve was low, I went though several neighbors and heard very little. The noise above in my opinion was lower than most apts., maybe it was the 9 foot ceilings, keeping the noise a little further away, speaking of which is very nice, the 9 foots ceilings have some real nice crown moldings.

(Pools, work-out, laundry)
The pools, work-out room and laundry always seemed to be in working order and clean. The only problem I saw with either was the pools in the summer of 2005 when they started to be overrun with teenagers from outside the complex. This lasted for awhile but I believe the management did something because all of a sudden that quit.

(Heating & cooling)
They use heat pumps to heat and cool the apts. In the 6 years I was there, mine had to be serviced about 3 times. They were prompt repairng it each time. The ac and heat are adequate, nothing special.

(Plumbing)
Plumbing is a weak point of the apts. They use those water saving toilets that use about a teaspoon of water when they flush. If you have to wipe more than twice, then flush in between, because they will stop up. Bring a plunger when you sign your lease.

(Rodents, bugs, etc.)
Never saw any mice. I lived on the first floor and we did get spiders and those thousand-leg bugs with the seasons. They did spray regularly but it did not control the ones I mentioned above. We went to Wal-Mart and bought some stuff and sprayed the inside baseboards from time to time and it took care of it. I have seen deer the property on several occasions, the property butts up to the Ellington Agriculture Center and the Seven Mile Creek property.

(Parking)
There is enough parking but it doesn't seem to be layed out right. The fronts of some buildings will be packed and others will have leftover parking. It just depends on what building you get. Look around the complex before you lease, you can tell which buildings have the better parking.

(Misc)
Yard sales' Don't plan on having one there in your garage if you get a garage. They don't like it and will make you close shop. They do however have a community yard sale several times a year. Get that schedule from management, there is good traffic when they have it and you can set up at the office or in your garage on those days.

(Parties & socials)
There is no club house but they do have plenty of social get togethers for adults and family events and fairly often free food and prizes.

(Maintenance)
Being there for 6 years I saw several workers. There really wasn't a bad one in the bunch, they all seem to want to help and do their jobs. Some went above and beyond.

(Pros)
Overall I give the Preserve a really good rating. The price for the area is a little more but you get a nice apt. and what I thought were better than average neighbors. Nice scenery, safe place and plenty of social events.

(Cons)
Weak toilets. 60-day move-out notice.

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