We lived there from 2020 through 2021. It was a mixed bag of great and not-so-great stuff…read more
Our apartment was sort of old (despite their website photos of new remodeled units), where everything felt painted over as makeup. But it was clean, well maintained on the inside. And we used it with care, so nothing broke.
The green areas around the buildings are also well maintained and mowed regularly. Snow plowing was always on top, done whenever necessary.
Speaking of old: the A/C-furnace was *CRAZY* noisy. It's an old super loud engine inside your house! Eventually you'll learn to live with it, but noticing it is unavoidable: it's a small apartment. The only way to damp the noise would be staying inside the room and shutting doors.
Mara, the manager, is smart and friendly. But office staff is regularly overwhelmed. Constantly putting out day-to-day small fires. And as they're running a business, they're after each cent you owe. Absolutely no rounding down cents. - "So you need to extend your moving another 3 days? Sure, no problem. Here's a prorated charge for a full week."
Another source of income (for them) are covered garages. The garages are rented separated from your apartment contract. So for an extra monthly fee you can have a place to park your car nearby in a designated roofed spot. Or you can park wherever spot is available in front of the buildings - first come, first served basis. If a next door neighbor decided to throw a party, you'd have to park pretty far from your place.
They also make money being middlemen between tenants and utilities providers, adding their "admin fee" here and there. This is not hidden, they're clear upfront before you sign the contract. Still, it's a bummer of several fees littering the final monthly leasing price.
Speaking of which, they have a crazy pricing model based on demand + advanced payment: if people are willing to rent there, prices go up on a daily basis until you close your contract, and if you're willing to secure a lower contract, you should pay it in advance.
Again: it's not shady, nor unfair. These are their rules, presented upfront.
It's up to you to accept them or not.
We have arrived one month before 2020 lockdown so we were lucky to have our stuff settled down before that. On the other hand, pool, gym and community areas were closed for a year, so I cannot assess them.
Maintenance crew was always courteous and responsive too. Except when it involved the exterior of the apartment. Our rear deck had some nails constantly poking out (from the natural movement of the construction itself), and several rusted heavy duty staples dangerously poking out (see photos) just waiting for someone to walk barefoot.
I had to remove them myself after a couple of months as the crew ignored these exterior calls. Also, the main entrance door that was heavily skewed and out of alignment: I fixed it myself as I knew how to.
The water heater and laundry room were tiny but functional and dependable. Also dependable was the noise isolation between apartments. Each building holds 8 apartments: 4 downstairs, 4 upstairs. We lived upstairs and our neighbors were mostly quiet. Whenever the next door neighbor decided to play loud music, it was barely noticeable - except their bass, that came through walls.
So, overall it's a nice place to settle for a while: it's safe, well maintained, administered by great staff.
But don't forget: with a incredibly crazy noisy loud A/C-furnace system.