[Brace yourselves, this is a long one...]
We moved into Saddle Brook site unseen from out of state and overall, the experience was nice. We stayed for a year and we experienced both good and bad.
From the beginning, we worked virtually with Evelyn. She was super helpful getting us pictures of the unit and providing all of the necessary information prior to our blind-move-in. We opted for the larger 1-bed apartment. In terms of size, it's cozy; to put "cozy" into perspective, more than 2 people over for board game night would feel crowded.
The good: I absolutely loved having the garage. Every unit gets one, it's so convenient, and it's great not having to worry about parking. Maintenance is nice. Travis and crew try their best to fix things; it's not always perfect but for the most part, they get things done. There are things that never got fixed, either because they said they were going to do a mass reno (i.e. they were supposed to have all of the patios re-done after we moved in but that never happened so we lived with a broken railing for a year) or it was marked as fixed but wasn't (i.e. there's a chunk of our laundry room frame missing, but they needed a wall guy to come, who never did). Valet trash is a huge blessing for the lazy-hearted like myself. The amenities are decent: there are 2 pools, a basic gym, and the staff (minus 1 person) is always friendly. The business center's incredibly convenient. I can't tell you how many times I've used the printer, probably enough times to have them consider charging per page, haha. The neighborhood is fairly quiet and there aren't many kids. It's definitely an older community with a +40 vibe. The neighbors/other tenants are pretty friendly. We never had any pest control issues beyond spraying for the occasional spider. The location is convenient to everything: gas, grocery stores, the toll, the shopping center that's filled with restaurants, etc. It's also felt pretty safe. I've never had anything stolen/broken into or seen "shady individuals" walking around.
The bad: Our apartment windows and door face Keller Springs Rd and, let me tell you, it's loud (I know this is something they don't have control over). Avoid a KS-facing unit at all cost! Every couple of hours, a fire truck or ambulance will blare by and it's a pain, especially if you have a home-based office. Having a unit on the "backside of a bldg" also sucks because NO ONE can ever find your apartment, not Amazon, not Dominos, no one. The units are also old. My apartment's very poorly insulated and heating it during the winter would cause the heater to run non-stop. Granted, our bill rarely passed $100/month, but it was still a chilly pain in the ass. The plumbing is outdated. You can't run a faucet if someone's showering because the shower water will get cold instantly. The outside of the buildings are in need of some touching up, but I noticed some improvements are happening. Dog poop is everywhere! The community is very dog-friendly but good-grief do people not pick up after their dogs. I wish management would do more to enforce this--like other communities do doggy DNA so they know who the culprit is. They have a dog park but it's a bit small (you're better off going to the one 0.5mi down the road) and whenever it rains, it's a swamp for days. Also, the only "safe" place to walk your dog is the garden in the middle of the community and I say safe because it's one of the few places where there's a sidewalk. Otherwise, you're stuck walking in the road and people here drive like assholes pulling +30mph and nearly hitting pedestrians. Perhaps some speed bumps are in order? Saddle Brook needs to hire a new landscaping team. Their heavy equipment obliterates the grass and creates mud pits that you will (and I mean YOU WILL) slip and bust your ass on. Also, they never rake the leaves and they're just unprofessional in every regard. I witnessed the landscaping supervisor (?) cat-calling a woman. Gross. More negatives: the gate at the front of the community's always broken. When it rains, it floods. The drainage system's pretty bad so unless you want to walk in 4" deep water at times, invest in some rain boots. I never like name-dropping, but I'll make an exception; Rebecca can be difficult to work with. I don't know what it is, but I always get sass from her. Killing her with kindness won't work, so don't bother.
After reading other reviews, I can confirm most of the negatives are spot-on. Are the apartments worth the price? Ehhhhh, only if you can get a good deal. Are they "luxury" apartments? Hellz nah!
I know there are way more negatives listed than positives, but putting them on a scale, I'd still say this is a nice place to live considering all things. The apartments are in desperate need of renovating and I think doing that would fix most problems. read more