We have lived here nearly 2 years and wish we could stay longer but have outgrown the unit we are in and need to move further south.
This is our third apartment with this management company, (We moved here from Saddle Creek in Carrollton) and I dread going with anyone else now. They are really prompt and courteous with maintenance, even for light bulbs (the hard-to-reach ones) Package receiving is well managed and courteous. Office staff is not warm, but are professional. (These are factors across both complexes)

Pros & Cons of this property:
I love seeing the abundant wildlife here. It is common to see several bunnies anywhere you look at dusk or dawn. Pair of swans and numerous ducks live at the lake. Small groups of ducks forage throughout the complex. Feeding the ducks is optional but very fun.
-Some of the ducks have adopted the main pool area with hot tub. I don't feel safe getting in water with feathers and bird feces all in and around it because of bird flu and other diseases.

Excellent maintenance, both friendly and quick.
-Doors tend to stick- interior, outside storage, and sliding glass. They do not do anything unless it sticks for good.

Great floorplan- good layout makes all the difference. Ours is listed as a 1 br-den but is considered a 2br elsewhere. We also have windows on 2 sides so there can be a cross-breeze when we open up.
-"den" area would be a bit cramped to actually use as a second bedroom. There may be occupancy restrictions on number of people allowed, we are still checking this out.

Full-size washer-dryer connections
-Laundry area is next to kitchen, far from bedrooms. Washer and dryer face each other so you have to twist between them every time. Water heater sits above the dryer limiting space.

Spacious garages-with electricity!!! at a very reasonable price.
-There are few garages for those who want them and you may have to wait a while and/or take one nowhere near your unit.
Good deal = low turnover

Electric outlet on the patio. How do other places expect you to plug in Christmas lights'
-Very restrictive about anything on the patio- cannot use the space for anything they might consider trash or storage, and they sent out nasty-grams to everyone in January making them take down all holiday decorations. They also spent 2-3 months the previous winter remodeling so no one was allowed to have anything at all on the patios all through Christmas! Not even a chair or bench- all had to be crammed into the outside closet so they could work on the patio whenever they got to it.

You can paint the walls any color you want! Supposedly when you leave, they will give you the paint to change it back with. This is the first place we have lived in 13 yrs of apartment life that does not have plain white walls, thanks to this policy. It makes a big difference in feeling like a home. The base color is also not white but a nice pale grey.
'have not tested the repainting part of the policy.

Garden tub is large and comfortable even when 9 mo's pregnant. I recommend putting up a second shower rod so you can have one hang inside the tub and one outside. You don't need any fancy curved one that way.
-Not enough hot water to soak in the tub. It ends up lukewarm if you fill it very deep at all. This used to be better, it could be just our water heater aging.

Location. Preston is easy to go north on. There is a back gate onto Charles Place, from there you can reach Ohio and use lights to be able to go whereever you want, even at rush hour. There is an Albertsons, a 24-hr Walgreens, and several restaurants within walking distance. We actually had to use this when having car trouble sometimes.
-Collin county has very few resources for poor people. We may have to move to Dallas county just to get my elderly mother access to healthcare.

1 covered parking space assigned free for each apartment. If you rent a garage as well, you automatically have another assigned space in front of it. No problem with people in our spot, they are right on top of it.
-parking can be tight if you have multiple vehicles, especially if you haven't snagged one of the garages. Your assigned space may not be the closest by far.

Bus stop right outside the entrance to the complex.
-That route only runs M-F and does not connect to any of the nearest DART train stations. It runs instead all the way to Forest Station. Great to get to Medical City (same bus route!) or anywhere along Coit through Richardson, but takes forever to commute downtown.

/-Gates work at least 85% of the time, for those that like them. I consider them more of a hassle than not, and false security. There is only one visitor keypad entrance, so if you are on the other side of this U-shaped property your guests have to navigate all the way around. However when the batteries ran down in my "clicker" they were cheerfully replaced at no charge.

Medical office complex right next door. We found a great pediatrician there and used the sleep clinic as well.
-There used to be a gap in the hedge between this complex and the apartments where several bushes died. Now that they have been replanted it is a long walk-around to access the stores to the south (Albertsons etc), and you must have your clicker to get back in the gate- there is no gate for people, only cars. Access to the north by foot (Walgreens)is much easier. Some people may consider this a positive development but a gate locked with the pool code or fitness key would have increased both security and access at the same time. No one thought of that.

We have not noted any "ghetto" presence here and I have felt very safe even walking late at night. The construction seems very good. We are on the first floor and very rarely even hear our upstairs neighbors. This is very unusual in apartments!
-When someone does play music too loudly, it can travel through the floors and be very difficult to tell where it originates. The few times we have had trouble it came from an apartment across the breezeway and upstairs from us. Carpet is the usual cheap apartment stuff that stains and mats easily.

Curbside Trash Pickup rocks! They are also serious about keeping people from putting trash out at the wrong times.
-They accomplish this with frequent nasty-grams threatening to open any unauthorized trash and fine the litterbugs $50 per bag. You are only allowed to put it out between 6am and 9am on MWF. If your schedule does not allow you to do it then, you are SOL. There are no alternate dumpsters available.

Lake, landscaping and beach very lovely to look at.
-Our apartment only looks out on the parking lot- not worth opening the blinds.

2 pools, an actual hot tub big enough for 4 people , beautiful lake with fountain and white sand beach (with lounge chairs and volleyball net) that is raked regularly.
-No swimming, fishing or wading in lake, it is (literally) strictly for the birds. Ducks are camping out in the hot tub and upper pool area. Cute but unsanitary. Consider this before letting children play in the sand as well- all the birds roost there at night.

Overall we have been very impressed with Lakeshore at Preston and wish we did not have to consider leaving. We are checking out other Equity properties because they have consistently sucked far less than any other company we have dealt with over 13 years of renting. Move here- stay here- or go to another one of their properties if you can. SEk1KnECheF1ATXbXtrZ

User Responses
From: irish_lassie	Date: 03/29/2006
Wow, thank you for the long review. This was very helpful!

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates