From:
-Anonymous-
Date posted:
11/30/2004
Years at this apartment:
2003
-
2004
1 response
I lived in Colonial apartments, the sister apartment to Treehouse in the same complex for a year. I wished I had not signed a year lease after the first 20 minutes of moving in. The rent was cheap and I didn't know much about Richmond, and the model they showed me was suspiciously nice. When I moved in to my apartment, there was black crud around the edges of the sink, dishwasher, fridge, all of the bathroom fixtures, etc. The bathtub was dingy, and when I tried to clean it, I realized it wasn't shiny because it had been PAINTED with latex paint. After removing the paint, I realized it was because the tub itself was corroded and permanently stained with black magic marker. Either the apartment people painted it to make it "look nicer" or whoever had it before me painted it to pass the inspection and get the deposit back. The closet doors contantly came disconnected, the walls were filthy, and the heat smelled like rotten fish.
The facilities were also unsavory. There was no hot water in the laundry room, and half the time there were only 2 or 3 working dryers out of 9 or 10. There is also a very loud radio on in the laundry room at all times that is controlled from a locked room, so if you don't want to liten to it, too bad for you. The pool was disgusting and the tennis courts were cracked like there had been an earthquake.
The worst part, though, was the crime and the noise. On more than one occasion, I came home to people handcuffed on my stoop. There were always police cars there - this didn't make me feel safer, because if they are there, they are there for a REASON. I witnessed drug deals and fights in the parking lot regularly. There were lots of break-ins which prompted only a note from the office on our doors to "be careful and lock up." Too bad there was only one lock on the door from the outside. One apartment's balcony caved in while I was living there. There were also several fires. The backs of the buildings were never cleaned and there were years of built-up spiderwebs on the outsides of the buildings. The gutters were always full and never cleaned out. And the spiders were often IN the apartment.
The noise was unbearable. There's a cute little sign as you drive in that says "no loud music please." Yeah right. I was awakened every night by music from the cars outside, and because the walls are paper thin, I often heard my neighbors screaming at each other, screaming at their kids, talking loudly on the phone, blasing their radio, etc. Sometimes I could even tell what video game they were playing just from the sounds I heard. And I could always smell what they were cooking. I did not sleep well for a YEAR. Do NOT live here. Do NOT let your kids live here. It is UNSAFE and LOUD and FILTHY. The rent is cheap for a reason. And there is no way a college student who is at all serious about their education can effectively study.
Recommended: NO
Overall Rating
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User Responses
From:
chickyska
Date:
04/30/2005
YOU ARE SOOOO RIGHT!!! I lived at Colonial '01- '02 and yes the cheap rent was probably why. And I had all of the problems you mentioned: the police almost every day, crud, nasty carpet, balcony falling apart, fighting neighbors, etc. Towards the end of my lease there was a drive by right outside of my apartment, luckily we lived on the second floor. It sucked that the pizza guys could not deliver after dark....that in itself should say something. I had friends who lived in Treehouse who one of which was mugged twice, another once. This place is highly not recommended!!!
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