Apts in Des Moines... (Urbandale, Ankeny: budget, maintenance, apartments)

[Arrabella]

Hi, there. Am being relocated to W. Des Moines in June and hunting for apts on the internet. Scary thought, but need some good info on neighborhoods around W. Des Moines. Prefer quiet, clean, friendly neighborhoods and economical rent. Am getting confused with all the apt listings. Your other posts on IA have been very helpful so far. God bless. Arrabella.

[Luke9686]

Pretty much any neighborhood in any of the western suburbs of Des Moines are going to be good. A good place to look is either www.craigslist.com or www.desmoinesregister.com.

If you post your budget for rent you may get more responses as to specific apartments. What is confusing you about the listings? Probably the variety of locations I would assume????

Luke

[Arrabella]

You got it. Urbandale, Ankeny, etc etc. And finding out about neighborhoods. Apt listings show their good side, of course. Apartment Ratings has interesting opinions posted, but some sound like they are out for blood instead of just warning or praising. Thanks for your help. Arrabella.

[nascar9girl]

From a fellow apartment dweller,

Avoid:
-Turtle Creek and Saddle Brook. Visually STUNNING, but horrible construction. My friend was the first person to live in her apt and woke up in the middle of the night, flooded under thousands of gallons of water and worst of all - mgmt refused to let her out of her lease!
-Sun Prairie and Vista Court. Cheap, but you're definitely getting what you pay for. Noisy, ghetto, HUGE with lots of people that rotate in and out based on their 6-month leases, horrible maintenance and bad management.

Consider:
-Cambridge Court. Easy interstate access, but you don't feel like you're right ON the interstate. Private entrances w/elevator and indoor pool. I think they are about $650/mo to start.
-Regency Woods. Used to live there - cheap, lots of S.F., pet friendly, lots of trees (I couldn't even hear the interstate!), good mgmt. Last year I paid $535 for a huge 1 bd w/den.
-Polo Club. A little pricy $800/mo for a small 2bd) and on a busy street (EP True & 50th), but very nice. Bedrooms are a bit small, but the kitchen is a good set up and the area is really nice.

Hope this helps!

[Arrabella]

Thanks so much! I am also considering Urbandale. Sherwood Glen Apts look nice and have paid heat. Any opinions?

[mehl2020]

Hi Arrabella.

I have an aunt that lived about 7 years at Sherwood Glen. The biggest plus to it is location for Sherwood Glen. I never saw the inside of one of the townhouses so I can't comment on them. They look nice on the outside, however so did the buildings for the apt units. I do know that my, well, I guess aunt-in-law, always had a hard time getting routine maintenance taken care of by the manager. Also, when she finally moved to a home, after 7 years living there paying rent on time they refused to give her the deposit back despite the fact that the apt was left in perfect condition except they said she didn't replace 2 of the light bulbs that had burned out.

She finally got her deposit back, but it took legal assistance and time loss from work for her. One last concern was always the fact that it seemed to take no less than a signed petition from all residents and alot of nagging by them as well to get the manager to take care of safety issues such as salt on the dangerous steps and sidewalks or maybe shoveling the parking lot.

On the plus side as well is that the neighborhood is very peaceful. I don't think there's alot of drama as far as criminal activity. It's always very quiet and the pools nice.

I don't mean to be long winded it's just when I saw Sherwood Glen, I thought you should know about her experience. How much are you wanting to spend? Post a range. Maybe I know of something. GL either way!

[Arrabella]

Willing to spend about 725 a mo. Like the heat being paid. Most apts in Urbandale and surrounding seem to not include heat. Figure it is the cold winters. Michigan has cold winters, also. Anyway, appreciate any info, however long winded you think you are. Not bad in my opinion. I have seen longer. Arrabella.

[OverAnalyzer]

It IS cold in the winters in DSM!

I lived in DSM for 3 years, 3 years ago (law school) and I lived in the Park Avenue Apts -- do NOT go there. We had much difficulty w/the LLs and had a car broken in to, etc...just not a nice place. Utilities were included but it was a coin laundry that seldom worked, etc....

A very nice part of town is Grand Avenue (like 2800-4800 range) -- if I remember right there are some very nice apts right in that area (3200, 3800 block) that are right in your range and fairly nice.

I will say that if you can't find an apt w/utilities included, a garden view apt would save you a bundle -- cool in summer, warm in winter!

Good Luck!

PS Urbandale is right next to WDSM.......Ankeny is north and east of there, so it would be a longer commute. Other cities than touch WDSM include Clive, Johnston...

[Arrabella]

To Mehle2020; It looks like Sherwood Glen is situated on a hill. Is that accurate? And how is that hill in the winter? ?? Dont wish to use my car as a toboggan. Arrabella.

[Amac]

I'm going to go against the recommendation of the 3200 grand area. The apartments are older and are in worse repair, and you're closer to the only real "bad" neighborhoods in Des Moines which are roughly east of Drake and north of I-235 heading east.

If I were you, I'd stay west of 86th street and/or north of Hickman and you should do ok.