Website and Brochures Misleading!
Caribbean Villas look like…read moreparadise as you're whizzing by on Wickham Road. It's one of several recently acquired properties in Melbourne by Northland Investment Group of Boston, Massachusetts. But slow down. Get out of your car and walk the grounds.
First, let's look at Caribbean Villa's website. It boasts of a clubhouse, car care center, basketball and tennis courts. Oh yes, and I must not forget to mention the "Lake Views." Now, let's get down to reality and take a good look at what Caribbean Villas really has to offer the unsuspecting potential resident.
We used to have a clubhouse. At one time, a resident was able to use the clubhouse for birthday parties or other similar events. Not anymore. The clubhouse is now a rental center. The tennis/basketball court (shared space) is in need of serious repair. And from what I can determine, the nearest car care center is located down Wickham Road a way. And those "Lake Views," well I don't know about you, but I know the difference between a retention pond and a lake.
Let's move onto the apartments. For the first two years, my ceilings leaked like crazy almost every time we had a heavy rain. Sometimes, it didn't even take a heavy rainstorm to send me rushing for the buckets to catch the water pouring in. My ceiling looks like a patchwork quilt. About a month or so ago, the roofers were back on the roof attempting to once again repair the leaks. Hopefully, this time they got it right.
They replaced the old screens, the ones that actually worked, with totally cosmetic screens. The "new and improved" window screens do not fit the windows properly and are held in place by painted pieces of interior trim molding. It was cheaper to hide the old worn out windows with these new top-to-bottom screens since the old windows did little to complement the new paint job Caribbean Villas was given. So now if you wish to open your windows, you do so at your own risk as you open your home to insects, lizards, and other reptiles.
When I moved in my apartment, I had a screened-in back porch with a back door that opened to the common grounds. Since then, all units now have screened-in porches, however, no back doors included. So now, when I want to use my bicycle, I must bring it back and forth through my living room. Same with the barbeque grill. We can have one as long as we use it a certain amount of feet away from the structure, however, it's a real downer having to drag it back and forth through my place each time I want to do some grilling.
I'm almost done, but not without telling you about my AC system. If it's not the sound of the water coming through the ceiling, it's the sound of the central air. Many of my visitors have made comments as to the water I left running somewhere in the apartment, at which time, I must go through the whole spiel and explain to them that it's a very old system and that I've had maintenance check it out several times and they always say that there's nothing wrong. Yeah, I know. All ACs make gurgling and running water noises. I bet your place sounds like there's a river running through it too!
So, what have I gotten for my money--an INCREASE! That's right, a $120.00 a month rent increase! Maybe, they'll take that $120.00 more a month and put it to a new cost efficient and quiet central air system! At least the savings would help offset the increase in rent.
I know you're probably thinking, "if it's that bad, just move." But who likes to move??? It's a lot of work and very expensive, so like human nature, I endure and remain hopeful that the owners of this complex will do more than cosmetic changes and charge a more manageable rent. I live and work here. I'm not vacationing! I didn't get a raise this year. And when I do eventually get a raise, you can bet it's not going to be 13%!
Finally, I end with a few words of wisdom. Don't believe everything you read on the web, hear from a leasing agent, or see as you're flying down the highway. Slow down and do your research!
