Kerri and Phil are great (Phil complains, wants to retire and move away, and you hear that from him constantly...) but overall, decent, quiet place to live.
I think it caters mostly to the older population. No real amenities. Dog park, yes, but it's filthy, volleyball net, but no one ever uses it, basketball court, yes, but no hoops. No washer/dryers in units.
In addition to your rent, get ready to pay for MANDATORY WIFI ($70/month, garbage: $25/month, parking, $25/month. Right now, they have "specials" because they cannot rent their available units, so they are waiving those fees. PLUS, there is a $300 "admin" fee for moving in, on top of the $27 application fee.
The rents, for what you get and its location are very high. Compare to other neighboring towns, that actually have amenities like pools, washer/dryers in the unit, 2 air conditioners, bigger, more modern apartments. I'm not talking "a little cheaper" than High Meadow, I'm talking $400-$500 less per month! Kerri's rationale is "Ellington is expensive"...not that expensive considering no restaurant will deliver all the way out to High Meadow, so you are stuck having to go out at least 15 minutes each way to grab dinner if you don't feel like cooking!
I think Navarino wants to sell the place. They are not putting any money into the look of the property. Windows/sliders are OLD and drafty, the entire property is non-smoking, which is great if you are a non-smoker, but as soon as Kerri leaves, all the smokers come out, including 420 friendly folks, and it's crazy!! The exteriors of all the buildings are in desperate need of a make over, and the rooves leak in the winter. One tenant was actually shoveling his roof because all the snow caused his roof to leak. That should have been handled by a professional company, not a tenant. But, clearly that tenant wanted to preserve their belongings because management was not doing anything, or at the very least, enough. The landscaping is horrible. Dirt outside your slider, no grass, Nothing really pretty, except for the leasing office.
If you don't believe me, look at a few apartments in Vernon then go to High Meadow. Some Vernon apartments are up/down, with washers and dryers and $500 cheaper than High Meadow, with phenomenal maintenance workers. All that I looked at also included heat/hot water, so that is not a selling point, in my opinion, for High Meadow! Most places do..and have "real" amenities!! An aging population like High Meadow has just won't play volleyball or basketball, but they brag about those "features" like it's an olympic sized swimming pool.
There is, however, plenty of parking. You are assigned one spot, but you will pay $25/month for it. You cannot say, "I'll just park in visitors parking." Nope...they will force you to pay for your spot!!
Kerri took down 2 similar reviews I wrote on Apartments.com...clearly, they only want people to read how awesome they are. But really, look around, you are 18 minutes from 84, further from 91, and getting to Vernon Circle is 15 minutes. You are in the middle of no where, and while that does have some advantages, you are right across from the farm, which gives Ellington, the "SMELLINGTON" name for the cows.
If you like looking at dirt from your slider, on call maintenance that doesn't show after hours, and Phil lives on property, but the other rental places they coordinate with do not show up, and an aging population (it is nice there are no/not many kids, so noise is not an issue) but the walls are thin..you will hear EVERYTHING your neighbors are doing, and if there is a tenant above you, you will HEAR EVERY MOVE THEY MAKE! "QUIET HOURS" are from 10-10 every day...so if you get up early to work (most tenants are retired), you will get emails from Kerri and/or leasing violations for noise complaints. You may even get a notice that you are facing eviction for "excessive noise" when all you are doing is getting up, showering, making coffee and getting ready for work. It's crazy!!
And if you think you're going to get your security deposit back, think again. No way! They charge for EVERYTHING and it's small, things like a room that wasn't vacuumed, just swept, a blind that wasn't dusted or a cabinet that wasn't wiped out. Those two small charges will cost you over $100 dollars EACH because Kerri "has to" do the cleaning. I'm sure she is so hard on move outs because the more she charges, the bigger kickback she gets from corporate. There's no way there's no incentive for her to charge for minor things, because she does and it's crazy and unfair.
Don't believe all the great things you read on Apartments.com. She takes down the honest ones that point out the flaws of the place. Look around. You can and will do better.
Honesty is the best policy. High Meadow is clearly afraid of what honesty looks like because they do not allow any negative reviews on Apartments.com or have any on their website. read more