I'm currently renting in block 18. I was relocated (temporarily, but about to become permanent) by my company, and had to find at apartment at very short notice, and one that would allow a 3 month lease. After reading the many reviews on this site, I got my top 5 (not many would allow a 3 month lease, especially to a non-US citizen with zero credit rating (I'm a Brit).

Anyway, I've been here nearly 3 months now, and have no real complaints. I've never lived in a US apartment complex before, but compared to what I'd get in the UK for twice the price, it's excellent value. So, here's my pro's and con's for the Mandolin, based on the past 3 months, and reviews of this complex and others that I've read:

Noise: No complaints. Sure, when the washing machine is running in the apartment above me, I can vaguely hear something. If they flush their loo, I sometimes hear it, but I'm guess all the bathrooms are on top of each other, so the noise only really exists in there anyway. I barely see my neighbours since we're all out at work, and none of them generate any noise.

Parking: Yup, this is rubbish. I hardly ever have a problem with people parking in my reserved space, but visitors spaces are very rare, and tend to be dominated by the same residents most of the time.

Grounds: Nice. The pool area is very nice, one of the best I've seen compared to the other complexes I visited. There's plenty of trees, the grounds are well maintained, and it's just a generally peaceful place to be. The only downside is the dog mess EVERYWHERE. It's was mentioned in the last newsletter, but if people don't pick up, what can you do' There's some sort of fine system in place, but I doubt it's ever used. There are scoop bags available, so it's really up to us residents to just take a little pride in the place.

Bills: I guess they're high. If I stay, I need to upgrade my room stat so that I'm not heating/cooling the apartment when I'm not here during the day. The water is billed separately, but still by the Mandolin, so you'd think this could just be rolled into the rental fee.

Quality: Based on almost every other apartment I looked at in a similar price range, they're all built the same way. My windows seem to fit ok, but they're laughable in terms of sound or heat insulation compared to what I was used to in the UK, but, I don't think any other apartment is any different. I've no problem with the ventilation (though I've not had to use aircon yet), and everything works as it should. The appliances (oven, m/wave, fridge) are basic but clean and functional. The dishwasher is the noisiest I've ever heard, so couple that with the tumble drier and you got a good excuse to leave them to shout at each other for an hour. They're v noisy, despite being 'quiet by design' as the GE slogan on the front says.

Management: Again, no complaints. My application was far from straight-forward (being based in the UK, etc etc), but it was dealt with well. I've had a couple of issues, both of which were dealt with promptly. The apartment was cleaned before I moved in, but the quality of that clean was very poor; I spent my first day scrubbing everything, but I suspect a lot of people would do that anyway. I pay on time, so never have any issues with late fees; I've read a lot of complaints about those, on here and for other apartments, but if you pay late, what do you expect'

The Gym: This is a bit of a let-down. The equipement in there is fairly old, and one of the two elliptical trainers has been broken since I came here. There's been apologies posted, so hopefully it'll be fixed soon, but waiting months for a repair is unacceptable. I wish the Management team could also leave a spare bottle of water for the cooler as well, as at least 60% of the times I visit, the cooler is dry.

So that's my review. All in all, it's a good place to live. There's a few snags, but generally I enjoy being here, and feel very safe. I've just gone month-to-month on my lease until I know whether my job will keep me here, so it's a bit pricy compared to other places, and I have a new short-list to go check out before I renew here for a longer term.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/23/2009
I am moving here as I signed a 7 month lesae for $618 a month(Prelude Floor Plan). It sure beats my current 1-1 apartment at $860 a month. I chose the top floor away from the dog area before I signed the lease. Hope it's a good place and I can't wait to start saving money!

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