Amber Apartments, with the Big R. There are two Amber Apartments in Royal Oak, so make sure you have the right one when you are calling to make an appointment to see a space, or for that matter call for a service man to come and fix the heater.
Either way, I lived here last year - from March of 09 to April of 10. I think that's plenty of time to decide whether or not it's a good place to live or not. I lived in a one bedroom spot on the lower level of a 12 unit building.
As far as the apartment itself goes, it was decent. An older building yes, with older amenities of course, but comfortable? Sure. I was in an end unit, so there was plenty of wall space (although the exterior walls proved to be difficult to drill into for hanging pictures and such), and this made the paper thin walls seem only slightly unbearable (now, upstairs neighbors, that's another story).
The kitchen was dine in, and all of the appliances were small - don't expect to fit a roasting pan, cookie sheet, jelly roll pan, or for that matter anything aside from a casserole dish or cake pan in without the door being ajar just a bit (this provides you with a problem if you're cooking Thanksgiving dinner)... There is no dishwasher, and the counter space is small so that can pose a problem.
The bedroom was a decent size, but if you have anything bigger than a full size mattress, you might have a problem. I fit my bed, a nightstand, large dresser, and small chest in the room, and it was pushing it space wise. The closet was walk in and thus a nice feature. You must keep in mind that you have to keep your bedroom tidy if you have guests over, because the bathroom is available only through the bedroom. A nice, basic bathroom, not modern, but alright.
The security deposit on this place was only $99, and it made it very affordable to move in. Heat and water were included in the rent. If you as me, though those are perks, for the apartment I was living in, it was still expensive. Running the air conditioner in the summer was absurd - it only cooled the living room and was very inefficient energy wise. In the winter I would advise either heavy curtains or some kind of sealant for the windows - they're quite drafty.
The repair men will be there within a few hours if it's something serious. My bathtub drain was not working properly and thus emptied into my bedroom somehow. They were there to take care of it and put in new carpet padding within four hours. They came in with dryers and all sorts of things to better the situation. Any time something was problematic, they were there to take care of it. The management team was friendly, and always easy to deal with.
I think any problems I had with this place were not with the management company or the service men, because they took really good care of the place, but issues were with the people that live here. It's a bit pricey for the space you get, but inexpensive generally - so you get a lot of people who are young, and don't really care if they play their bass guitar with amp at 3am on a Wednesday. Or for that matter play the "drums" on the floor over your bedroom.
So, would I live here again? No. Was my time here alright? Sure. Would I recommend it? If you need to get out of your current situation, the move in price is great, and the rent is not terrible, so sure. If you have time to look around - Look around! read more