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Has anyone ever lived in any of these apartment complexes? Do you have any comments (good/bad) about your time there? I am really just trying to get some input from a current or previous tenant:
Cameron Court
Shelton Apartments
Boylan Apartments
St. Mary's Apartments
Raleigh Apartments
Wedgwood Apartments
Cameron Village Apartments
I am relocating to Raleigh, and while I have heard good things about each complex, I have also heard some horror stories. Does anyone know why these apartments have some terrible online reviews? Thanks in advance for your help!
When I was doing apartment research I found that ALL apartment complexes have some truly rotten reviews. I think that many times the really bad reviews are from people who may have had personal issues with the management that most tenants would not experience. I usually looked at the balanced reviews and disregarded the really bad ones as well as the unusually glowing ones.
I have a friend who lives in the Cameron Village apartments. Her apartment is small but nice. It is no-frills, but the location can't be beat. They worked with her on allowing her very well behaved and trained large dog because they have a weight limit. I haven't heard any complaints from her.
I live in St Marys apartments which are next to impossible to find info out about (besides from the company who owns them) so I'd be happy to give a review.
Pros: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. I can walk to anywhere in downtown and I LOVE that, as well as anywhere in Glenwood South. I could probably walk to Cameron Village, but I drive. Lots of people are out walking in the evening, so I never feel unsafe going for walks in the surrounding neighborhoods, restaurant areas, etc. It's great because once you walk out the door, there are a ton of directions you can choose to go- walks never get boring! The upsides to the inside are: beautiful hardwood floors, but I know the guy across from me has carpet, so I'm not sure how many have hardwoods. There are a TON of windows, and I love natural lighting. I think the living room and bedroom are a VERY generous size. My electricity bill from mid September to mid April is $15 a month. Thank you, free heat! Maintenance is out here really quickly after you call them. There is a locked security door to get in, on all 4 sides of the building, which makes me feel really safe. If something gets stolen, it'd be pretty easy to figure out which of your 11 neighbors did it. Speaking of neighbors, they're pretty quiet. There's a big age range, which I like. One lady downstairs has lived here since the 1950's.... to me, that's just awesome.
Cons: There are some funky things going on with the walls (bubbly looking paint, cracks, etc.) that maintenance only ever 'patches' and doesn't actually fix. My bathroom wall looks like it has an STD. The low power bill is AWESOME, but using window units and radiators is getting old quick. The window units aren't so bad, but the radiators can get really hot! I usually leave them off and just the heat it creates from passing through the walls is sometimes even a little too warm. Plus, at the beginning and end of the cold season, they have them on when they really don't need to be or don't turn them on when they DO need to be. You're either sweating or shivering for a couple days in September and April. The halls stay REALLY hot in the summer since there's no central AC. Sometimes I'm sweating just from going out my front door, and heading downstairs. Having no dishwasher makes me want to cry. I hate dishes. There is a common washer/dryer in the basement. I guess it could be a pro AND a con. It's almost always empty when I go to use it and it's not a huge deal, but man, I'd love to have one IN my apartment.
OK, that got really long but I think I'm done! I didn't pick Raleigh Apts (my other contender in my price range) because I wasn't impressed with the way the buildings look. The grounds are pretty, but the buildings to me have no character. I liked the simplicity of one building with just a few neighbors. But that location is great, too.
Thanks so much for the advice and comments. It's really helpful. We are trying to sign something without seeing it first as we are moving from out of town and cannot afford a trip down just to look for an apt. (I know, I know, bad idea, but we don't have any other option at this point.. )
I live in the neighborhood and have looked at all the buildings you mentioned.
Across the board, the thing to consider is that they're all really old buildings (1920s-30s in some cases) so no dishwashers in any of them, and shared laundry. Also some of them don't have HVAC at all, just window units and radiators. Try and avoid gas heat if you can - it's way more expensive than electric and old buildings have notoriously bad to nonexistent insulation.
Personally I appreciate the aesthetic of older buildings like this, especially the ones with the hardwood floors, which is a lot of them.
Raleigh, Wedgewood, and St. Marys are all run by the same company if I'm not mistaken, and they've also got another one called Shamrock that was pretty nice and in the same neighborhood too.
I'd also suggest Elizabeth Apts which is where I live, but they're always in such high demand that there's often a wait list.
Another option you may want to consider, in this part of town (boylan heights, north boylan, cameron village, glenwood south, etc.) there are a lot of old-ish apartment buildings and duplexes and whatnot that are independently owned/managed, and often the rates are better and you don't have to give up the dishwasher/washing machine. You just have to know where to look. Some management companies and landlords to look up - Hiller Properties, VG Murray.
Thanks so much, gardenstategrrl. I also appreciate the older buildings, hardwood floors, large windows, etc. Have you heard anything about the noise level in these apartments? How is it at Elizabeth? And thank you for giving me some names of independent companies.
When my neighbors are vaccuming or have the tv up too loud I do hear it, but it's nothing totally eggregious. A lot of these places ban students or make it really hard to qualify, so no crazy parties or anything.
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