My husband and I moved to Richmond for just 12 months for his job, knowing we would be moving back to the home we own in another state. We gave ourselves only one weekend to look at apartments (our fault) and I will say that from the apartments we saw (ranging from the fan to other complexes) this was the best in terms of cleanliness. The unit we rented had just been renovated, so I can't say how the older units are. One thing that caught me offguard was the outrageously high electric bill. In comparison to our home, the rates are higher, but we also used more electricity despite trying to conserve more after seeing the first bill. Basically I attribute this to poor insulation, because even with the AC set on 78 it runs constantly. The walls are paper thin, and you pretty much know when your neighbors are having sex, but we were lucky not to have any party-lovers or fighters living in our building. The one time I ever needed to call maintenance, they fixed our problem quickly.

I am very surprised to see that the office staff has high marks, however. Maybe it is because I am accustomed to being treated with respect as a living human being rather than cattle, but I have been appalled at the staff. One thing that creeps me out is that their only method of communication is to skulk around putting notes on doors. It is very strange to be sitting in my living room, to hear someone at the door, to get up and look out to see noone there, and when I open the door, there is a note. A note telling me they will be entering my apartment at some unknown time tomorrow whether I like it or not. God forbid they call me (or knock!) and say, "Mrs. Doe, we need to come do a brief inspection, what day would be good this week'" Yes, I do want to be there when a complete stranger enters my home, and yes, I do expect to be given more than one day notice, and yes, I do expect you to work with me on what day would be best for me. This has been the normal pattern of communication from the staff, and quite frankly, it is offensive and disgusting.

In all, it has not been a horrid place to live as I had the knowledge that it was only temporary and can now flee back to our home, but if I were looking for a more long-term home, I would think twice and look hard else where before choosing The Oaks at Gayton.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/14/2009
Completely disagree with your critique of the staff. I lived there for 10 months and they were always very prompt and courteous. You are right they do leave notes on doors and I often did not hear them knock prior to leaving notes but they have not clue who is home and who is not. But big deal, you still got the note and if you had a problem you could call (or email or drop them a note in their mailbox)to advise. You are also right the walls are paper thin but in any apartment living 2 feet from your neighbor you're going to hear everyone, especially like me living on the 1st floor I knew I would hear by neighbors above constantly.
From: homeofgayton	Date: 07/14/2009
move out this is not the ghetto.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/14/2009
Yeah, welcome to apartment living, douche. Walls are paper thin everywhere. And no, the staff doesn't have to or have time to knock on every single tenant's door and coordinate schedules with them. That's not what you signed up for when you decided to rent an apartment from a corporation. You want that kind of service? Rent directly from an individual - usually they are much more willing to offer that flexibility. Corporately run apartments couldn't give two shits, because honestly their policies are the same as the next corporately-run community.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/15/2009
Damn why did Movingout8034 *&^??? up the ratings of this neighborhood me and my wife like it hear, why dont you go live in jackson ward, or church hill, where your electric bill will be like $40.00, and the only staff leaving you notes on your door are people trying to rob you. Be thankful you have somewhere to live, look at the economy some people dont even have a rough over your head and your complaining, wow.
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/08/2009
I agree that the head person here (begins with an m) is a total b***c, considering how much the rent is.
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/27/2009
I disagree with this reviewer and agree with the people who commented. Yes, you DO hear your neightbors. Thats apartment living at its best. And NO they will NOT knock on eveyones doors, coordinate schedules, and take up 4 hours of their time when they can write a note to EVERYONE. Plus, when "talking" you sometimes leave out important info like times, dates, type of service etc. I know I would not like someone knocking on my door, esp if I was in the shower or something. I think MOVINGOUT8034 needs to go back to HOUSE living.
From: MovingOut8034	Date: 09/02/2009
Again, Anonymous on 8/27/09 is a staff member. Previously this post was attributed to a "CPviolet". Again, it is completely illogical to say that you do not want someone to knock at the door while you are in the shower, but to assume it is okay for staff to just walk in at their convenience, when you may be in the shower. Further, maybe you don't understand that it is possible for you to talk and write at the same time. See, you pick up the phone and call me. You say, we need to come do a final inspection before you move out. We would like to do this on [date]. What time would be best for you? Then...hold it...you WRITE DOWN the date and time. Viola! Magical! What you do NOT do, is attach a note to my door telling me you will be entering my apartment tomorrow and cannot schedule a specific time. What if I had been having a party that day? What if I were in the shower THEN? What if I worked 3rd shift and you woke me up? Finally, if the office staff were not completely illiterate morons who think that "roof" is spelled "rough", they would have sufficient skills so that it would not "take up to 4 hours of their time" to complete this task. Phone call writing it down = 5 minutes.

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