Archer's Green

We moved to Norfolk from a mid-size midwestern city for my husband's job opportunity and for him to complete a Masters level degree at a local university. I stay home with three small children.
We picked Archer's Green because it is in/around neighborhoods that were recommended by my husbands future co-workers. The landscaping is nice and there is a lot of brick on the structures, so just giving it a driveby makes it seem ok. I was unable to accompany my husband to the model to check it out, but he thought it was acceptable considering we are on a budget and just looking for a decent (nothing special) place to live. We were not able to view the apartment that we would take residence of until the beginning of our lease.
When I came with our kids and furniture to the actual apartment we were leasing, the only comment I could make was "at least they installed new carpet."
We live in the 3 bedroom section. Parking in the three bedroom section is ok. Lock your car doors, our cell phone was stolen. Our cars have been broken into twice. We learned our lesson the first time around and don't leave anything in there anymore.
Our first major issue was the noise. Car stereos, other apartments, etc. Our children and ourselves have awoken numerous times during the middle of the night from immature people thinking that because they are awake, the whole neighborhood should be. We called the cops 4 times in the first month to tell neighbors that they can't blast stereo speakers from their living room with the apartment door open at 2 AM. Forget trying to contact the apartment managers unless it is Monday through Friday 9AM to 5PM. These are just examples - I have plenty to complain about concerning noise levels.
The construction is AWFUL. We were told that the 3 bedroom apartments we live in were renovated in 1991. The Floor dips and sags towards the rear of our apartment (or the center of the building.) The shoddy kitchen cabinets are cheap and borderline clean. The pipes have leaked several times since we've moved in (you can tell they had prior) and we have some unattractive water stains on the ceiling that measure 3 X 5 feet and 2 X 3 feet in our dining room/hallway. The drywall reveals it has been patched numerous times, and in the master bedroom, botched paint jobs have resulted in 100's of small but noticeable stalactite's hanging down from the ceiling. The bathrooms still bore dirt from the previous residents in the corners and along the walls.
Don't waste your time trying to call maintenance, they'll come out but I can't say they'll fix the problem. Our front door knob kept locking us in so my husband removed the center apparatus until maintenance came to fix it. Maintenanve did something, but we still occasionally are locked in/out unless we really tug on it (try doing this with 3 children in tow.)
When we had a clogged toilet (for no known reason) I just called Roto-rooter and paid for it out of our own pocket. They said the clog was because of faulty pipes that hadn't been updated in decades. I just wanted to get it taken care of.
There is mold and mildew. Nearly all of us have acquired allergies since living here.
The management staff of Archer's Green are all very nice, but it seems like the real problem is the ownership (which is an outside company). It just doesn't seem like the managers can get anything worthwhile done.
The most significant of our complaints (as if the above mentioned weren't enough) have been with the heating and cooling. During the hot summer months this year, we have set our thermostat at 65 degrees or below the entire summer. Our thermostat during the day, hasn't dipped below 85 degrees for the entire months of July and August. Our electic bills, needless to say, are staggering. Over $200 per month to not cool down a 900 square foot apartment. In the winter, the poor insulation doesn't allow the apartment heating unit to get the temperature above a comfortable level either.
Poor contruction, horrible maintenance, loud noise, and general discomfort from faulty appliances (A/C unit) are all a part of our experience with Archer's Green. We refer to this place as the ghetto. And if you don't want to live in a place like that, then avoid Archer's Green. We can't wait to leave.

Recommended: NO Overall Rating

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