Timberlea Village Apartments have some pretty good things going for them. First of which they are…read morelocated in a great location. Resting just behind Rochester High School's football field there is not too much traffic except on schooldays at 7:30AM and 2:30PM. Also, there are many conveniences in the immediate vicinity. Within less than a 5 minute drive you have pizza, sushi, Chinese/Italian/American dining, Blockbuster, Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS. 10 minutes will get you to Target, Meijer, Best Buy, Oakland University, downtown Rochester, and a couple of gyms. Not to mention you are so close to the Detroit concert/sports venues...I have had so many people crash at my pad after such an event.
Another great thing is the service. The management has always been almost painfully nice to my fiancee and myself in our time there so far. They allowed us to carry over our security deposit to our new apartment (when we upgraded to a double) and have looked the other way on some of the would-be damages that we were expecting to see deducted from our deposit. For those concerned with aestetics, they keep the grounds and public areas of the buildings tidy and clean. Also, I have made only one maintenance call in 1.5 years but it was made at 5PM one night, and the issue was fixed the next day before 9AM. Pretty damn good turnaround time, I don't care what industry you are in. The apartments are air conditioned and spacious. Square footage and layout varies based on your budget, but they usually have a good selection of rooms to pick from. They allow you to do whatever you want to your apartment so long as you either put them back to the way they were, or pay them to do so (like if you replace the carpet orput a hole in the wall or something like that). Also, if you live there for a year or more they will repaint your walls for free (since they pretty much have to do that anyway).
As for utilities, they are pretty standard. You get water price included in your rent. You pay for electricity and gas which given the relative size to a house is not that much. Insulation seems to be good so you won't really be losing much money through the windows. There is Comcast cable TV/Internet available, though you can also get ATT DSL/Telephone service as well.
One of the things that is not-so-great is the price. They have pretty attractive 1-year promo contracts but after that. the market price can be a bit painful. Keep in mind that Rochester Hills is not a cheap place to live though and the prices reflect this. Naturally, utility costs will add to this as well. Also, the apartments all have a single washing machine and dryer to serve 8 apartment rooms (singles and doubles). This can have you fighting for the right to wash your clothes sometimes. They are also coin-op so expect to spend more money there too. Finally, this place is really quiet for the most part. There are a good deal of seniors here so if you play any instruments or are looking for a more college-dorm type of experience you might not get that here. Naturally your mileage may vary depending on who your immediate tennants are.
As you can see based on my rating, the good far outweighs the bad. As a recent college grad just starting a carreer in the area, I couldn't be happier with my living situation.
