OVERVIEW: Emery Bay offers a large 3Br floor plan with views overlooking the nearby canal, two well-kept pools, reasonably available parking and a very nice office staff. All of this can be had for about 25-65 dollars (depending on the special you choose) per month above nearby units. This complex is on the higher end for 3Br apartments, especially in comparison to complexes inside Lewisville instead of on the outer edge, but they are worth it.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION: There are 14(') buildings with 8-16 apartments each on three levels. The interior of the complex has units overlooking each other, parking lots, the pool or (our favorite, and a large selling point) the canal that runs along the entire back of the property. There is no fence between the property and the canal; fishing and other non-motorized water activities (except swimming, which is not advisable in these fast-moving waters) are allowed. There are two pools, each with available restrooms and laundry facilities attached. A courtesy officer is on-property, as is maintenance. Mail is at the front of the property. There are two entry/exit gates and one that's exit only. The office building has a resident "business center"--equipped with a computer with Internet access, a free fax machine(!) and a typewriter(!!)--a fitness center that's available via key code 24/7 and laundry facilities. A clubhouse exists, but management declines to lease it out to residents.

PETS: Both dogs and cats are allowed, up to (I believe) 35 pounds. There's a $250 pet "fee," a $250 pet deposit and $10 per month pet "rent." See below for opinion.

UTILITIES: All utilities are individually metered. There's no natural gas. Tenants can choose their own electric providers and must provide an account number before signing the lease. Water is submetered by an outside company, ISTA North America. Television is available through DirecPath (a DirecTV reseller) and, theoretically, Time Warner according to the latter's website. Phone and Internet service is available from Verizon Enhanced Communities (Verizon Avenue / Verizon Voyager) and DirecPath, but see below.

THE GREAT:

- The view from any apartment facing the water is awesome. There's lots of water and a small office park (single-story buildings that look like wide homes) separating the view from the street. We definitely enjoy seeing little else besides water and grass from our balcony.

- The 3Br floorplan is quite good. It puts the living room in the center of the unit and not against any walls so you won't disturb your neighbors with TV at 2AM, there's washer/dryer connections down the hallway and plenty of windows to allow light into the bedrooms and living room. There is a spacious balcony that's not the usual square shape; it also has an exterior light that's individually controlled.

- Decor inside is also quite good. These were one of only two apartments we viewed that didn't look like an apartment inside. Walls are light-colored without being stark white, fixtures are all brushed nickel (NOT GOLD) and the appliances are all matching white colors. There are ceiling fans in all 3 bedrooms and the living room, and they are WHITE (NOT GOLD). Ceilings are tall--about 10 feet--on the third floor where we live; we didn't look at a 1st or 2nd floor unit so I don't know if they are all that height. The laundry area, bathrooms and kitchen have vinyl flooring, with tile in the entryway and in front of the fireplace (only on 3rd floor; other floors have an entertainment center in place of the fireplace, so I don't know if they have tile).

All the windows are double-paned and have the bars inside the set of glass, so they are easy to clean and still look nice. Instead of a regular door to the balcony--a nice, large balcony I might add--the unit has a sliding glass door that lets in a lot of natural light yet is set back so it doesn't capture a lot of heat. In addition, there's nice touches like curved tops on windows and molding (crown, chair rail and baseboard, depending on room) that give the apartment a nicer look.

- There is a lot of storage: The apartment has an entry closet, a hall closet near the second bathroom and a reasonable pantry. Each room has a closet, including a large walk-in for the master bedroom. However, the best is the outside storage near the front door. Each 3Br apartment has a very large (approximately 10'x5') exterior closet with a locking door (the same key works the apartment and storage room lock).

- The apartment is well-insulated; in addition, only one wall of the 3Br floorplan is shared with neighbors. Sometimes, if our apartment is very quiet (no TV, washer, fan, A/C or anything) we can ever-so-faintly hear a TV or computer from the neighboring apartment. The sound is not loud enough to discern actual words, and when something else kicks on it is drowned out. In addition, the A/C was able to keep our apartment at 76F even during the 107F days recently experienced and still cycled on and off.

- The office staff is very friendly and maintenance is very responsive. I'm not sure where the other negative reviews are getting their impressions of the office staff--or if the staff has recently changed--but our interactions with them have been friendly and attentive. In addition, the maintenance staff is great. We had a few minor issues upon move-in, and all were fixed within 48 hours. After getting settled in, we noticed our patio glass was foggy and couldn't be cleaned. We asked for it to be cleaned or replaced; it was replaced in about a week with no hassle.

- The grounds are well-kept, and the landscaping always looks good. Groundskeepers are around once a week like clockwork, usually on Wednesdays.

- The pools are great, and the main pool at the front has a hot tub with water jets. There's a lap pool at the outer edge of the complex that's lit and marked. Both pools have restrooms with showers and changing areas.

- Apartment turnover, especially among families, seems low. People seem to take pride in their apartments and don't seem to leave often. This unit was one of only two 3Br apartments available, out of the several on property.

- NO SPEEDBUMPS. You won't be jarring out teeth or ruining suspension here.

THE OK:

- Parking is usually available. However, there are definitely fewer spaces than residents visitors, so plan on at least once or twice a month having to hunt for an uncovered space. Covered spaces are $25/month (garages are $75), so if the occasional hunt bothers you, a space is worth the price.

- "Security" is adequate. The gates are usually working, but when one breaks it can take awhile to get fixed (probably because the things get worked hard during the day with all the cars coming and going). There is a courtesy officer, but he's batting .333 in our calls: twice about parking in unauthorized places and once about noise; the latter he answered quickly and dealt with promptly. The complex apparently no longer uses the call box at the gate; we were given the gate entry code to provide to friends and family and were not able to have our name/phone put into the box. This doesn't bother us (more privacy), but some might be concerned.

- Television through DirecPath: If you have DirecTV service, a company called DirecPath runs a MFH1 stacked system in parallel with the MFH2 SWM system on property. What's all that mumbo-jumbo mean' You don't necessarily need your own dish as the apartments are pre-wired, but you may need specialized equipment (called a "destacker") or specific receiver types to have your existing equipment work. If the DIY setup bothers you, or you don't want the hassle, either get a southern-facing apartment or have DirecPath convert your existing DirecTV account. The satellite system functions well.

THE NEUTRAL (stuff that is midly annoying, neither OK or BAD):

- There's no clubhouse for tenants to rent. If you want to have an organized party, you will either need to fit it into your apartment or look elsewhere. This is not a major stumbling block, but if you're used to throwing large birthday bashes for your kids in the apartment clubhouse, this complex does not (currently') allow that. Management has explained this was due to vandalism.

- The floor creaks in places. I can't help but wonder if our downstairs neighbors can hear this.

- The refrigerator is small (and occasionally sounds like a flying saucer taking off). There's at least 4 more inches between the fridge and the edge of the counter and 2 between the top of the fridge and the cabinet, so a larger one could be installed. It does have an ice maker.

- There's flying bugs and the occasional (itty bitty) spider. Most of these probably come from the canal, but our balcony and one screened window is gnat airport during the late evening. There are no roaches, crickets or other creepy-crawlies that we've seen (though the GEICO Gecko's cousins do like to hang out on the bathroom window).

THE BAD:

- DirecPath and Verizon: Yes, DirecPath deserves another mention here alongside Verizon. Currently, according to a Verizon tech, DirecPath has an exclusive contract with the complex owners to provide video. Therefore, Verizon has completed about 65% of the FiOS roll-out in this complex, but WILL NOT sell FiOS service as they can't offer FiOS TV. I have as yet been unable to get a response from anyone on any date for when FiOS Internet might ever be available. This means that the complex is a:

- Broadband black hole: Verizon's "DSL" solution, called Verizon Avenue, is not very good for service beyond web browsing and e-mail. If you are a geek who is addicted to FiOS, either get treatment or stay away. Verizon Avenue goes up to 3mbps/768kbps service, but the connection ends at a circuit shared by everyone on property. Supposedly more capacity is coming, but the connection, as of this writing, is both moderately high latency (65-96ms ping beyond the first gateway) and sporadic speed-wise. I have not tried DirecPath's cable modem offering, as they have received poor reviews elsewhere. This might soon be changing.

- Half of the $500 for pets is non-refundable, and there is an additional $10 per month pet rent. This seems like nickel-and-dime charging to me, especially for a small cat versus a larger dog. However, many apartments in Lewisville have gone this route, so it's not exclusive to this complex.

FINAL WORD: If you are not a hard-core geek (i.e. most people) and you want an apartment that doesn't *look* like an apartment, has friendly staff, quick maintenance and is close to shopping and the freeway, move here. (P.S. I also don't know where people get the issue that "the dump" is such a horrible thing. We've never smelled it.)

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/12/2008
There is a club house that you can rent. It's right beside the leasing office and the gym. I have rented the space twice for a friend's going away party and a bridal shower. It was about a $50 deposit and they held a check for $400 in case of damages. Although I wasn't a big fan of the apartment that I had, I did enjoy the clubhouse when I used it.

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