All of their buildings smell moldy and there is definitely black mold within the structure as you can smell a strong mold smell. But all of the black mold is not visible and covered up, which is what they tried to do to the black mold infected bathroom vanity in my unit until I contacted the health inspector to confirm that Northland Investment Corporation was indeed gaslighting me. Most of my neighbors were druggies. My apartment smelled like cigarettes mixed with weed mixed with different types of drugs most of the time. Northland Investment Corporation, the company that manages this place, are very friendly and relaxed towards the druggies in their apartment complexes and don't have a welcoming policy towards non-smokers and those who don't do drugs. If you don't smoke nor do drugs, don't live here as you will have smoke and various drug odors in your apartment all the time. They have the same problem at Cliffside. Also at both Cliffside and Boulders, they make you sign a disclosure saying that there might be asbestos in your unit. But there's holes in the drywall, the popcorn ceiling sometimes falls off a bit, and if you ask if there's asbestos in the drywall and the popcorn ceiling then they say they can't tell you for sure if you've been exposed to asbestos or not. If you're concerned about your health then avoid Northland Investment Corporation. The Regional Manager Peg called me about my Google review and was extremely rude and it. UPDATE: All the laundry machines here are either broken for half of the time or all broken. The laundry machines in my quad are all broken and my soggy clothes are just sitting there. Mellissa, the manager here, does not care about the well-being of residents at all. They just try to save money for everything, which brings the residents a lot of inconvenience. UPDATE: Despite numerous requests to fix/replace the washers, they remain broken. Also, there is NO HEAT in negative Fahrenheit degrees temperature. Obviously the heat breaks down and residents are left without any heat in the winter, while maintenance is slow to fix it and you're left in the dead of the night when it's -6 degrees outside with no heat. DO NOT LIVE HERE IF YOU WANT WORKING HEAT IN THE WINTER. read more

Today something unbelievable happened. The alarm in our apartment started making a loud, prolonged beeping sound--even though there was no smoke or fire. It was unbearable. I immediately reported the issue to the office with the front desk, but she seemed unfazed. She said she had already contacted maintenance and that we just had to wait. I explained that the noise was intolerable and stayed out of the apartment for nearly an hour, expecting it to be resolved. When nothing happened, I went back to the office and insisted I would not leave until a service person came. The front desk only repeated that she had communicated with maintenance, without treating the matter as urgent. I stressed that it was not something people could live with and that fixing it would probably take less than five minutes. Still, she showed no concern. Out of options, I asked if I should call 911. She dismissed it as not an emergency, but I called anyway. The fire station came, and they resolved the problem immediately. This is not the first time management has failed to act quickly. Previously, when our fridge broke, it took a week to replace, and we lost a month's worth of groceries. It is clear that the real problem is not just broken appliances, but their inability to identify and prioritize urgent matters. read more

No quiet enjoyment at the Boulders in Amherst. Think twice before signing a lease here. The worst year of my life. Management could care less about tenants quiet enjoyment. read more

I lived here last year and there are a handful of good things but also not pleasant things about this apartment complex. The good: - Bus stop - Lots of parking spaces - Good snow plow system; roads are almost always clean - Staff are friendly; issues are usually fixed quickly - Apartment sizes aren't bad for a small family or a college student renting for the first time The bad: - Apartments are all very worn down (some parts of it are moldy, the appliances clearly show its use and are dirty, bathroom floor is gross and warped because it's wood, the caulk on the sink is moldy). - Kitchen appliances came very dirty. - Our refrigerator never kept food cold, it was always just above room temperature. It wasn't until halfway through our lease that they decided to order us a new fridge. - About a handful of apartments share the same trash container and it's usually full before the end of the week. Not very well taken care of and people usually just dump their trash outside of the container when it gets too full. - No recycling bins - I religiously try to recycle and there wasn't any option to here. - Price - for two bedrooms, the price isn't bad; but given the cleanliness of the apartment and how trashed it looks, I wouldn't want to pay a dollar over $1,200 for this place. Unfortunately, rent was about $1,400 for a two bedroom and very much subject to change. read more

Living here is probably the worst decision u could ever make. None of the workers have any idea what's going on and they are extremely rude and unprofessional. I think I would be a better worker here. In the winter we lost power for a week and no management ever reached out to explain what was going on. Washers/driers constantly broke. They found every possible way to charge us for things that were their fault. Tried to scam us out of our security deposit so we had to contact the NY office to get anywhere. This place couldn't care less about the people who live in it they just want ur $$$$$ SAVE YOURSELF LIVVE ON THE STREET read more

Lived here for a year and loved it the first few months. Everything was going great until issues within the home blossomed. First started mold from improper sealing from the air conditioner slots. Contacted them and they told me "clean it" and "make sure it's not too hot or it'll sweat and create mold" not to mention it was December. That was never fixed. Then there was the rodent. Ate my entire snack cabinet. Wound up being 4 trash bags full of food. Was never reimbursed and the problem was never fixed so i was out of food and a cabinet because i wasn't using it again. Contacted the office on a Saturday, they told me "buy traps, we have none". I caught 8 in a span of 24 hours! Both mice and rats! Maintenance came and did all they could with tools given but no exterminator ever followed. Then it was move out time...and here i am going into my third month with no security deposit back. They've came up with every lie under the sun. "I owe 4,300" "i owe 1,715" i show proof and they just continue to adjust the amount and still NOTHING. It's a small claims waiting to happen. This place is a complete nightmare. Where's my 1,000 boulders? read more

The apartments do show some signs of being "used and abused" but nothing compared to some since this is a college town after all. The price is a good deal compared to what you get. The location is great because it is quiet and still within an easy drive to everything. The maintenance workers are very prompt, helpful, and nice. The office workers are very disorganized though and they all don't communicate with one another. The biggest downfall is that they have their mowing services start at 7:00am every week and being someone that lives on the bottom floor, it is very frustrating to have rocks hit your window and mowers blow by on your day off. read more

I am glad that I moved out. Not worth your 1,200, take your money elsewhere and find a much better place. Several Major Reasons, 1) They only show DEMO - which was significantly better than what you will EVER get, not even 50 percent looks the same in terms of qualities of the tiny bits. SAME LAYOUT but crappy cabinets, shower, old bathtub, KITCHEN looks Depressing, etc 2) I don't care much for noise but here Walls are SUPER Thin, I can hear everything and can't even play music low because downstairs neighbor can hear every lyrics. 3) FREE GYM - it's USELESS unless you only want to on treadmills - Machines look several decades old, go see it for yourself, try using it and you will find out good 90 percent of the machines aside from treadmills missing components like pins for weight etc. It's OLD and gym used to be bedroom. So it's low ceiling and depressing again. There are minor reasons but you can figure out for yourself. read more

I've been living here for four years and have enjoyed every year! Let's talk about the con(s) first: The walls are a little thin and you can hear your neighbors if they're being noisy. I live on the second floor and can hear the people above me walking around sometimes. Depending on your neighbors, some people will have heavier steps and some people will have lighter steps. The noise level around me doesn't bother me too much, but I think it's because I have considerate neighbors. And the Pros: Neighborhood/community is nice and safe. The grounds are maintained very well and the buildings are clean. Heat/water included in the rent. Anything that I don't have to pay for, is a load off my mind, especially heat in the winter! Monthly rent is fair. This isn't the most luxurious of apartments, but it's clean, quiet, and comfortable. You couldn't ask for anything more for the price you pay. Two bus stops within the apartment community. One is located right in the middle of the complex (it happens to also be the first stop of the line) and one is located right at the entrance. The bus comes every 15 minutes during the school year and once every 30 minutes during the summer. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get to UMass and also goes right through downtown Amherst. It's very convenient. Both the office staff and maintenance crew are great! Melissa and Kaylee are always so friendly and helpful. They always respond to any questions I have promptly and are good at providing notice about plowing and where you should move your car. Maintenance responds to work orders very promptly. I always get a response within 24 hours of submitting it. The crew (Tom, Lloyd, and Mike) always have smiles on their faces and greet me by name. Laundry facilities are on site. You purchase a card that you can load with money to use for the washers/dryers. The only thing that I can improve on here is the use of credit/debit cards (the laundry card machine is cash only). The laundry facilities are well maintained and clean. Dog/cat friendly - When I was searching for an apartment, I believe The Boulders were the only pet friendly community available. They used to charge pet rent, but now that's also gone! The grounds are fairly clean for having dogs - pet owners are responsible for cleaning their doggy poop! Overall, I'm satisfied with The Boulders. They offer quiet, clean, convenient, and affordable housing. read more

Wish I could give negative stars. First off, administration is wildly unprofessional and uneducated. They overcharge on rent "by accident" forcing you to take action. Their security deposit policy is another huge red flag. Planning on subletting? Be aware that half the security deposit will go to whoever is on the lease at the end of the term, even if you, the original and sole tenant, paid for the whole thing. If your sub-letter feels like being a jerk, they can just take it, because Boulders needs written consent from the sub in order to grant you the full deposit. How BS is that? I'd stay far far away from here if anyone is seriously considering moving in. Leasing from August-August forces you to pay 3 months of rent after you leave Amherst in May. It's a prison there read more

I spent about 6 weeks on a friend's couch here before I found the right apartment. Don't get me wrong: I was ecstatic to have a place to stay, and did pay for. However: -The development is ugly and suburban looking\ -The basement apartment was a million degrees -I heard people screaming for help and police sirens on two distinct mornings. -The neighbors appeared to be drug dealers -The interior was ultra cheaply done. But there was lots of parking? read more

The apartment complex is pretty cheap and affordable, plus they have a gym (which most apartments I've seen in this area do not have). The Pros of living here: The apartments are in a very convenient location. The bus stops right by the apartments and it also is a short driving distance to places like grocery stores and downtown Amherst. If you go to UMass Amherst, it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to get there. I've got to admit, the gym is pretty nice. It is air conditioned and has a variety of machines and weights that you can use. The staff is also very nice and the maintenance comes fairly fast when requested. Now, time for the Cons. Oh boy. Well, the walls are paper thin, you can practically hear your neighbor's conversations. Also you can always hear the front door slam when people come in and out of the building. Sometimes you can hear people walking up the stairs or down the halls depending on how loud they walk. The kitchen is pretty disgusting, even when I moved in. When I first turned on the stove to cook, I quickly realized that there was black smoke near my pot. I thought I somehow was burning a pot of water that I just put on the stove (crazy right?), so I pick up the pot and noticed that the black, burnt smelling smoke was coming from the hot plates on the stove top. Not only that, the drainage in the sink isn't the best. Sometimes it would take a while for the water to go down. Also, there is little to no ventilation in the kitchen. Although there is an exhaust hood above the stove, I was cooking perfectly fine one time and the fire alarm just decided to go off because it detected my bacon scent, which was no where close to being burnt. To use the laundry machines, you have to gain access to the gym in order to put money on your laundry card and lucky for me, my friends lost the one key they gave us for the whole apartment. It costs $35 to replace it, but why put that machine in the gym? You have no use for it while you're at the gym. Why not put it in the laundry rooms? Oh right, about the laundry rooms. They're not in every building, so the building clusters (which is about 4 buildings) share 1 laundry room, which has 4 washers and 4 dryers. That isn't too bad. The problem is, there is no sink in the laundry room and also the floor in there is disgusting. Oh, one more thing. The front door of most of the buildings is totally messed up. The key wasn't made right. You have to slightly pull the key out before being able to unlock the door, but just because it's made like that, the door won't open unless you have it perfectly aligned, which is very annoying after a long day at work. read more

My SO and I lived here for two years while I finished up my undergrad degree at UMass and we couldn't have asked for a better place. The rent was reasonable with most most utilities included, the complex was kept clean, not too noisy or disruptive despite its proximity to the 5 college campuses, and great access to the bus. Our bus stop was basically right outside our door, and since its the beginning of the route it usually sits there for a good 8 minutes before starting the route. The commute to UMass is really only 10-15 minutes, and a great bonus is that parking is free and has very little restriction, which was great when we had friends visiting from out of town. Melissa in the office was always more than helpful and accommodating, and maintenance was quick to respond to any issues we had within the apartment. Maintenance even completely replaced and upgraded the outdated floors in our bathroom when we had an issue with our sink. The only cons we experienced was that we had a mouse problem our last months living there, which maintenance took measures to correct. My outlook is that this happens in a lot of apartments, and at least management was quick to help. Laundry is also a little pricey, and in fact was increased $.10 right before we moved. But overall, it was an excellent choice to live here during our time at Mass. read more

The hallways smell awful and we moved in with many broken things. They will try to get every cent back on a security deposit that they possibly can taking advantage of poor college students. They claimed our sink needed cleaning (where the pictures they send us were just water stains from the horrible water they had there in the first place). The only good thing I can say was the maintenance staff was very kind and helpful throughout our two year stay. read more

I have a love/hate relationship with my apartment. I love it because I live comfortably for an affordable price, and I hate it because every time I come home, the halls outside my door has a different smell. Well I hate it for other reasons too. Today, I was getting some errands done. The usual grocery shopping and laundry day. Wanting to get everything out of the way for the week because of finals, I did the groceries first. I ran out of money on the card for the laundry machine. Here is red flag number one. No apartment, I repeat, NO apartment should make their tenants BUY a laundry card. I had to pay $2 for a stupid piece of plastic that doesn't even work half the time. The machine that you add money to you card does not work either sometimes. Today, for example, I went to fill the card up with money for the dryer. It refused to take my very crisp $5 bill. I decided to go back a couple of hours later to try again only to find that the gym that the machine is placed into (why, why, why?) is closed for the evening (at 11pm). This is the second red flag. Why is that laundry card machine placed in the gym out of all places?!?! It is so not accessible, especially because you need a KEY to get into the gym. Does this make any sense or is the Boulders management just dumb? Students who live at the apartments will probably be doing laundry at midnight so why would you place something that can be put anywhere (like next to the actual laundry rooms) in the gym? Another thing, why is it that every time I turn on the shower, I have no hot water? Especially in the winter time, if someone else in your building took a shower before you, chances are that you won't be able to get warm water unless you let the water run for 8 minutes (the time in which I could of taken a shower and gotten on with my day, although there are no promises that I won't be hindered by the stupid laundry machine). You may be wondering why I gave the Boulders a 4 star after non-stop ranting about the laundry machine. Well, because I like it. The apartments are big and the bedrooms are big as well. The maintenance people come at your request (except on weekends) and fix everything without question for free. There are also three accessible bus stops that are 1 minute away from each other. My stop is 3 minutes away from my building. There is also free parking. It is not a bad place to be living in. I just wish people would be more intelligent about tenant needs. read more

Not a mansion, but a great first apartment. The place is rather ugly from the outside, but the apartments inside are decent. Two large bedrooms (even the smaller bedroom can comfortably fit a double or queen bed, a desk, dresser, and small bookcase) and the closets are enormous. The kitchen is small and can get really hot during the summer, but there's plenty of cabinet and counter space. Stick a fan in there during the summer and you're good to go. The buildings are a little older, so don't expect everything to be shiny and new. But for about $1000/month for (including water, heat, snow removal, and laundry on site), don't complain! It's right off the UMass bus line, there's plenty of parking for residents and visitors, and they rarely if ever tow (I think the only time I've seen Ernie's truck here is when someone's car broke down, unlike over at the Townehouses and Brandywine). I know some people have complained about the management, and all I have to say is I don't know who you talked to at the office, but they have always been ridiculously friendly and helpful to me and my roommates. The women at the office try really hard to get to know your name and where you live so that if you pop in just to ask a question, you're not just a nameless renter. They always promptly reply to emails as well. The maintenance staff is fantastic -- I never had to wait more than a day to get anything fixed (clogged sink, new blinds, etc.). When our dishwasher broke, they told me it would take three days to get a new one because they would have to order one. I figured that was pretty reasonable and actually better than I expected -- I didn't expect them to just have spare dishwashers hanging around -- but the NEXT DAY they showed up and installed a new dishwasher for us. Win! I've never had to call their 24-hr emergency maintenance (like if your toilet is overflowing at 2 am), but judging by their normal response time, I'm sure their emergency response time is just as good. It's a pretty quiet complex, great for grad students or 20-somethings who are right out of school. There's a really large Chinese population who lives in Boulders, so don't be surprised if you're the only one on the bus who doesn't speak Mandarin. In my grad program, there were a lot of Chinese exchange students staying in Boulders, so it was nice to have some common ground we could talk about. There are also quite a few small families in the complex, but they kids are pretty quiet and all of my neighbors have been really friendly! read more

I started the rental procedures from abroad since I needed to spend a year in Amherst. Everything was done easily and the people in the management office where very nice and helpful. The apartments are relatively large and bright. There is a gym which is very helpful since winters are so cold and snowy. In general, the relation cost-benefit is positive and I would recommend these apts. Even when I had a flooding in my apt caused by a careless upstairs apt dweller, everything was carried out well. read more

Living here was an absolute nightmare. I'm currently in an ongoing legal battle with them after they attempted to scam me out of my security deposit. When I moved in, the apartment was filthy and multiple appliances were missing/broken. They charged me extra to clean and replace things I was not responsible for and I can't emphasize enough how little they care about their tenants. Our ceiling caved in above our toilet and it took them days to fix it. Our shower was routinely broken over the course of 2 years because the maintenance staff refused to fix a leak. They have routinely threatened to break their own rules set forth in the lease and violated my rights as a tenant. Do not live here if you value your money or your sanity. (I created a yelp account just to warn other people about the scam they're running) read more

Overall, I really enjoyed living here - it was very quiet, my apartment was really comfortable and affordable, the gym is fantastic, it's a short drive to the shopping centers on rt 9, and the bus was extremely convenient. It's far from perfect, but I would have happily stayed here if I hadn't moved halfway across the US. Before I start complaining I want to weight in on what some other review say: QS said that she was unable to get into the gym to refill her laundry card at night (and I realize her review is pretty old so maybe this wasn't the case then), but the key to get into the gym is the same one that you use to get into your building. Derek T. mentioned that Wings Over Amherst won't deliver to the Boulders, which is no longer the case as I used to order from them pretty regularly and never had an issue with delivery. Now on to the complaints! 1. The maintenance crew is super friendly and very responsive even on weekends. Unfortunately, the person who manages them is an idiot who has a policy of patching things over fixing them, so we had to fill out service requests pretty often. Once we had our kitchen sink back up and overflow onto the counters because there was a blockage and every time someone above us used their sink, the water came up our drain, carrying bits of spaghetti and vegetables that had been put down the disposal. Yes, it was disgusting. The maintenance guy who fixed it was able to deal with it pretty quickly, because apparently this has happened multiple times. For several months we had someone come every few weeks because our ceiling was leaking and eventually started getting moldy. The solution, apparently, was to keep painting over the leaks. Fortunately for us, it wasn't a plumbing issue; the tenants above us were using a portable washing machine that got water from the bathtub and leaked like crazy, so the leaking stopped after they were evicted. 2. The parking directions for snow removal are extremely vague, both in terms of when you're supposed to move your car and what side of the road you're supposed to park on, and the notices were consistently filled with grammatical errors. 3. The building numbers are poorly marked and it can be difficult to describe where you live to your friends or the delivery guy. 4. And finally, communicating with the property manager Melissa Pratts via email is a nightmare. If you want to talk to someone, call or do it in person. For example, when we got a pet, we emailed her three questions about the pet policy. It took several more emails to get her to answer all of our questions because she only answered one question at a time. We also received a call once because our rent payment (split between three people) was off by one cent. That said, every time we had to talk to someone in person, they were very friendly and helpful. read more

The people that manages the Boulders Apartment in Amherst are bunch of bureaucrats. They have rules that does not make sense. When my son rented his apartment there while attending UMass, the Boulders required him to leave a security deposit. I have no problem with this requirement. However, I have questioned to whatever happens to the interest earned on the previous tenants security deposit. Were their earned interests returned to the previous tenants. Under the MA rental law, the landlord is required to keep the security deposit and the last months rent in an interest earning bank account. The account must lists the names of the tenants and the Boulders. Upon the termination of the lease, any earned interest is returned to the tenant. I had questioned this with the Boulders and was never given an answer. I am wondering if the Boulders Corporation is keeping the earned interest for themselves which is a violation of the MA. apartment rental law. If this is their business practice, I wonder how much money is owed to the previous tenants as well to those that have renewed their lease currently. Although the complex looks outdated and is going through an exterior a face lift, the apartment that my son had was good for the money. However, the Boulder management tends to nickel and dime you for every little things that are otherwise are considered normal wear and tear. As a word of wisdom, make sure your apartment is cleaned and maintained in good repairs or else you might be subjected to a deduction from your security deposit. My son had experienced a light cover fall on him in the kitchen. Upon further examination, the cover was never secured properly. The fixture was found with missing retainer screws holding the cover in place. He had contacted the Boulder Maintenance and was assured that it will be fixed. I just hope that the Boulders would not deduct any money for this issue. This remains unknown at this time until the termination of the lease. He had vacated his apartment upon his graduation from UMass. Another issue to contend with the Boulders is related to subletting your apartment. Boulders may have their requirements as to who you can sublease to. Make sure you check with them first or else the Boulders may presents some obstacles in this matter. read more

My brief experience with the Boulders Apartment Complex in Amherst, Ma. And Ms. Mellissa Prats was exceptional. My son needed a place for 6 months and she (and her staff) was accommodating, professional, cooperative and they even saved me one months' rent by finding a tenant for the apartment before our term was up. Hats-off to the Boulders staff, Ms. Mellissa Prats and the entire Boulder management group. I would highly recommend this group if looking for any type of living situation in Amherst. Thank you all very much. read more