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Hi everyone,
I am an international graduate student, joining Duke University this august. I have been looking for 1br apartments within walking distance to West Campus and I have come across with Martin Court Apartments. The apartments are at 943 Morreene Rd and managed by H. M. Roll Properties,Inc. From the information that I obtained from the managers, I can say that the apartment offers amenities suitable to my needs for an affordable rent. However when I searched online, I could not find any satisfying information about the house or about the managers. I do not want to simply decide based on the information I got from them and I cannot come and see the apartment myself before moving in as I won't be coming to US before august.
So long story short, have any of you heard anything about Martin Court? Or can you give me a general feedback about Morreene Rd neighborhood, for instance how safe it is? I am open to alternatives if you know some.
Any help is very much appreciated, thank you in advance.
I work with international students at Duke and I'll give you the same advice I give my students, don't sign anything until you arrive in Durham and can look at the property in person. Lots of students find themselves in a bad situation when they sign a contract sight unseen, then arrive and find out they don't like the property but are stuck with a legally binding contract.
Now all that said, I've never heard of Martin Court Apartments. Which is surprising to me because I know of pretty much all the apartments within walking distance of West Campus. That's not to say anything good or bad about it, it's just surprising to me. Do you have a website for the property? Morreene Road is fine, a lot of students live along that road, and it's eligible for Duke Van service. Many of my students that need more affordable housing end up living in places such as Campus Walk. In fact, Campus Walk has a very high international student population.
That is right near the corner of of Campus Walk Ave and Morreene Rd. Its on the Duke busline (Lasalle Loop) and city busline that run through campus. Not a bad area. Just older, less costly apartments. There is a housing project a couple blocks down. A decent City park is right across from it. I dont think Martin Ct is very big. Just a few buildings I think. I drive through there almost every day several times and I never see a unusual amount of police activities or hoodlums hanging around :>)
I have never been inside or dealt with the mangemant co. though.
Your probably a 1/4+ mile walk to west campus. But that is the edge. Easy 15-20 minute walk to the hospital. take advantage of the bus system close to campus. Check out this: http://parking.duke.edu/buses_vans/gopass/index.php
evaofnc, not being able to see the house itself is my only concern at this point. However, I am also afraid that it may be hard to find a house when I come in august. Couple of other communities that I have contacted are now placing you in a waitlist. As people on the waitlist will obviously be given priorities, it is highly likely that there won't be any available space at that time point. So I am not really sure whether I can easily find a decent place to live in if I start searching in august, with lots of other students also moving in. I fear I may end up in a totally undesirable home. I am now thinking about a short term lease - like 6 months - just to be on the safe side.
Unfortunately, they don't have a website but they have sent me the pictures of the house. As ncmickey suggested, it is not a big community, there are 32 1br apartments and it is managed by a couple.
The transportation options that you have mentioned is one of the biggest advantages of it, I liked the fact that it is on two different bus lines. It is also relieving that you said it is not an unsafe area, a couple of friends said that some neighborhoods around campus can be problematic.
I have asked couple of more friends and still could not manage to find anyone who knows the apartments. Based on what I learned from the management, it really is suitable for me but the fact that I cannot get info from anyone else apart from the managers leaves me thinking.
You can see the buildings on Google maps. A woman died in a fire across the street from there last month. Bedroom had no windows and fire blocked her way out. She moved here to be closer to Duke for health reasons. But they were older construction.
This is a new park they just started working on last week on corner of Erwin and Morrenne Rd. Scroll down to 'Water reclamation pond' A New Look for a Historic Campus | Duke Today
Looks nice.
I think a possible scenario is that the complex's name has changed. I'm sure you've done this already but all you mentioned were "friends"... Have you contacted the International House at Duke? or the Community Housing? They might know some history of the property and may be able to tell you at least if they've heard something negative about the place. The BBB score of this property management appeared to be A+. Good luck!
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