More bad than good...
The Good:
- Affordable
- Close to campus (can walk to most buildings in 15 minutes, just go straight up Oakland)
- Two big closets with big mirror doors
- The office - all your packages go to the rental office so you don't have to worry about anything getting stolen
- Kind of secure - you need a key to get into the building and another key to get into your apartment, but people tend to leave the door propped open for their friends and if there is security making the rounds, they don't seem to do anything about it
- Pretty big for a studio apartment
- Utilities (except internet) included
- Furnished with most of the stuff you need (no microwave though)
- The people working in the rental office were always pleasant and friendly and tend to get back to you very quickly
- The only time I needed maintenance, they showed up almost immediately and were very polite
- In the winter they're pretty good about salting/shoveling the walkways
- They try to have a lot of activities to create a community so you can get to know your neighbors
The Bad:
- Parking - they charge entirely too much for parking and they are constantly towing. Not even safe to have your friend park for a second to come pick you up. Wouldn't be so bad if it were a garage or something, but it's just a normal parking lot with no added security. Just another way to squeeze money out of tenants.
- Hot water in my apartment only lasted for about 8 minutes. It only takes 10 minutes for the hot water to turn freezing cold.
- The people working in the rental office are either airheads or they just don't communicate with each other. They tried to charge me twice for my parking permit and FOUR TIMES for my application fee. Thank god I keep records of that stuff, otherwise they would have screwed me out of a ton of money. You have to stay on top of them. Can't trust them to keep your money straight. They were always nice about it, but it's annoying.
- The walls aren't super thick. Most of the time it's fine because the whole building is studio apartments but if someone is listening to music or talking loudly near you, you'll hear everything.
- They don't put much effort into cleaning the place before you move in, especially around the kitchen. Lots of old dirt and grease caked on the walls around the stove area.
- It always smells like smoke. Someone is always smoking cigarettes or weed and it smells like it's happening right in your room.
- Even though you have to pay an absurd fee for on site parking each SEMESTER (not year), they don't plow or salt the parking lot. You'll have to dig your car out each of the million times it snows.
- It's not very safe. The low rental price draws a bad crowd. There was a double homicide my senior year. People who don't live there will stand by the doors waiting to get in, and if you try to go to another door they'll follow you. The only thing "security" does is walk around the parking lot looking for people to tow. They aren't trying to keep anyone safe, they're just trying to make money from towing. If they had someone at the doors or even just walking the hallways I would have felt so much safer.
- They give almost no warning before they come into your apartment. For a showing or a maintenance check, they'll just knock on your door then walk in. Not great if you're in the shower or hanging around in your underwear. Only takes 10 seconds to make a phone call, or send an email saying "We're stopping by today around (time)"
- The beds are GROSS. Probably true for any college place that comes furnished but the mattresses are old, stained, misshapen, and so uncomfortable.
- They look very carefully for things to charge you for after you move out but don't seem to spend any time preparing the unit for the next renter. When I moved in the carpet was dirty, the walls were caked in grease and splatter stains from cooking, and the blinds were broken. Not a huge deal except I've heard (and experienced) horror stories about people not getting parts of their security deposit back for the most insignificant things. They charged me $75 for "carpet cleaning" when I left the place cleaner than it was when I moved in. Can't prove it though, so take a TON of pictures the SECOND you get your key on move in day. Report ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING to them on the form they give you. They are going to try to charge you for as much as they can when you leave.
- You can pay your rent online but they charge an absurd fee for it. Something like an extra $30-$40 just to pay online. Pay with a check - no extra fee that way... which is odd since it requires more work on their end. read more