I moved in February of 2008. It was my first apartment with my first roommates, and after weeks of searching, we found this place for a great deal ($999 a month for a 3-bed, 2-bath; $40 extra for washer/dryer). The office staff were friendly and took well to our hints that we wanted a part of the complex where we wouldn't get complaints put on us. We settled on a unit in building 16 where there's tons of parking, prime access to the back gate, and our balcony was only visible from the far side of the parking lot.

Everything from paint to carpet was fresh and new, all fixtures equipped already with energy-efficient bulbs. I changed only 1 light bulb in the entire unit for the year and a half I lived there. Living, dining, and kitchen were enormous as well as the master bedroom was quite spacious, though the third bedroom was tiny in comparison to the other two.

When we moved in, we were at the height of our partying and did throw a few. We were in contact with our downstairs neighbor (we were on the 3rd floor) before each one to let him know and to make sure we weren't being to rambunctious. He said he'd never heard a sound come from us, or maybe he's just deaf...I'm not sure. Anyway, he moved out and the unit below ours was vacant for about 3 months with was totally awesome since the unit adjacent to ours was vacant at the same time.

When it came time for our new downstairs neighbors to move in, we were confident that we wouldn't have a problem. WRONG!!! Maybe it was the fact that they all weighed at least 200 lbs and had crammed 3 fat kids and a constantly crying baby into the two bedrooms. The parents would leave on the vent fan in the master bath all day while they were gone at work and it drove me nuts trying to figure out what the loud buzzing/vibrating noise coming from my bathroom was. I put complaints on them at least 3 times and for a few weeks it would be quieter, but then it would start up again with the kids bouncing a basketball on the kitchen floor and stomping up their garage stair and slamming every door in the apartment. They shook the entire building constantly. Sometimes it got so bad I would jump up and down in the living room so they'd get the message. I also took my revenge by putting my subwoofer for my computer sound system on the floor and would blast them with bass until the wee hours of the morning. The most ridiculous part was when my roommates had left a few beer bottles on the porch and we had a bad storm and the wind knocked one onto their porch where it shattered, and they put a noise complaint on us. After talking it over with the property owner who was familiar with the noise troubles we'd been having with them, the issue was dropped with us. I only wonder how many noise complaints they did get from other neighbors, because I knew the guy that lived below them and I felt sooooo sorry for him and his elderly father.

We had many issues with our AC at first, but it wasn't until later that I figured out that my roommates were lying to me about changing the air filter which caused our outside unit to short out 3 times. In addition to that, the inside unit froze over repeatedly, causing water damage to the downstairs unit from the dripping water after it unfroze. Part of the repairs done to the inside unit required them to cut open our wall, which had a shoddy patching job done to the wall. Moisture from the cold AC pipes have made the patch crack and the paint over it turn yellow. Maintenance said the outside unit was old anyway and replaced it but warned us the next time it broke we would be charged for the repairs. So three months go by without any problems with the AC, with me personally keeping on top of the filter being changed on time, and then for no reason it stops blowing cold air. After 3 days without AC during September, they came out and tried to figure out what was wrong. It took them over 6 hours to figure out that the newly-moved-in residents on the 1st floor had hammered a nail into the wall to hang a picture, and the nail punctured our freon line which made it crack all the way up to our floor. Their fix' Come to the apartment every morning at 9 AM to refill the reservoir tank with freon until the new part could be delivered, with an ETA of 4 weeks. I guess they got the part, but never installed it since the weather turned cool before it got there and we had no use for the AC for the time being. I'm fairly certain they didn't install our new freon pipe until March or something like that.
We also had a problem with our freezer, which the draining tray had become filled with water which froze, and then dripped water down into our fridge. After 2 calls, which had prompt response, it was fixed properly and we haven't had a problem since. The garbage disposal was leaky and we had some water damage under our sink, but were assured by the office we wouldn't be charged for this since it was leaky before we moved in. The second time it leaked was just after it had to be taken apart because one of my stupid roommates knocked a shot glass down there and tried to turn it on which resulted in a dead-locked blade.

The maintenance team was always friendly with the exception of the head white guy who was very dictator-like and just loved to make surprise house calls and take us unawares. It happened a few times, and the office was always clueless about why maintenance would be in our apartment in the first place without a proper notice.

Safety was never an issue. I never heard of any robberies in the complex except during Thanksgiving holiday in '08 when a string of professional thieves hit the parking lot and stole 5 luxury cars and broke into 1 other car. I always felt safe walking in the parking lot at any time day or night. There was also a paved path through the woods behind my building which went to the convenient store around the corner on Parmer, and was also a very handy shortcut when my car was in the shop since I could walk to work a little ways down Parmer. I would even walk home after 10 PM when I got off work, but I always stuck to the road. The complex is nestled in a quiet neighborhood of older houses and large, shady trees, with mostly families.

I suppose this had mostly to due with the fact that we lived on the top floor and my room faced northwest, but it was always extremely cold in my room during winter and sweltering in the summer. Our electric bill was horrendous, sometimes going in excess of $300 a month during the summer, but that had partly to do with our slowly-dying AC. The water bill is charged individually which was nice since I wasn't paying for my neighbors water-wasting. We never had any hidden charges added; it was always a flat $1039 for rent and whatever the water bill was that month with a 3-day grace period to drop off the check.

We were able to renew our lease with the same terms of $999 rent plus $40 for the washer/dryer for an 8-12 month lease, which we chose 11 months. Considering the multiple lease-holders and several roommates that moved in and out (I was the only one on the lease the whole time) and the constant problem of all of us being jobless (this economy sucks!) and how many times we paid rent late, they were always willing to help us with whatever we needed. I even went in there to get a back gate remote (which is $40 but it's a deposit so when you turn the remote back in you get your $40 back) but only had cash on me and the nice man there just gave it to me.

I was also able to successfully get away with parking under the carport for most of the year and a half that I lived there, since nobody rented out the one in front of my building and people just parked there when there was bad weather. As well, when I got in my car wreck, I was able to keep my totaled car in the parking lot close to my building for almost 2 months while I figured out what to do with it.

I have now moved out as of mid-July and somebody else has taken my spot on the same lease, but I have to say as my first experience with apartment living it was overall good. It would have been much better to have roommates who took care of the apartment as well as I did. I know the carpet in the master bedroom is still pristine but in the living room it's completely ruined from the many parties and drunk people knocking over a lit hookah and spilling jungle juice and leaving huge red stains everywhere. I'm glad I got out of there when I could since I know there's no way our original $300 deposit is going to cover new carpet.

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