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My husband and I are moving to the area from IN this coming summer. He will be a student at Duke seminary. We are visiting in a few weeks for the first time and want to check out some apartment options. We are looking for a 2-bedroom with a price range of around $800-900. We are flexible on the location, as long as it is in a safe neighborhood and not too far from Duke. I have done some research using this board and other sources and have compiled a list of possible apartment options. I was wondering if any of you could help me narrow down the options (or perhaps there is one that I have overlooked). Thanks for your help! We do not know much about the area at all.
Copper Mill
The Evergreens
Pine Ridge Apartments
Audubon Lake
Glenbrook East & West
Taylor's Pond
Lenox West
Hawk's Nest
Old Raleigh
Windemere
Hyde Park
Camden Crest
Camden Outlook
Camden Manor Park
Northridge
Southpoint Crossing
Well, you've got some good options there, but they're all over the place. For instance, all of the Camden properties are in Raleigh and will be a good commute. There are definitely many in the Durham area that you have overlooked that may be a good option.
Also, you've picked a good amount of older properties. With the market the way it is right now, you can get into a newer, luxury community for the same price as an older, run down community. Newer communities often offer even better specials than the older communities because they need to fill up.
And finally, it's really tough to look for an apartment that will meet your needs now when you're not moving for another 9 months or so. I can say with pretty good certainty that the prices you're seeing now will not be the same as they will be when you're moving. Prices are generally at their lowest this time of year and at their highest in the summer when you're moving because prices are driven by supply and demand and the greatest demand is in the summer. So you may be looking at places that you can afford now, but next summer, you may not be able to. I have an apartment locator company and we don't begin searching for someone until 60 days prior to their move in date because availability and pricing in this market changes so frequently.
Good luck! If you need any help (our service is free), feel free to PM me!
You may also want to look at the Apartments of Stonehenge. We passed over them in the apartment books, just because they are not as *fancy* or new as many other places. But we happened to drive by them after having lunch in the neighborhood; we stopped in at the leasing office, took a tour, and were sold! Applied right then and there. We have a HUGE 2-bed 2-bath that we love.... the layout feels like a small house... and it's in the price range you mentioned. We absolutely LOVE it here (been here about 1.5 months now). Fantastic neighborhood, walking distance to shops and restaurants, very safe, easy access to I540, etc etc. I could go on and on....
The only one I'm familiar with is Lenox West, since I live very close to there. There are no amenities like pool or gym at the complex, but if you don't care about that, I would highly recommend it. It is VERY close to Duke and also convenient to the major highways (Rte 147, 15-501). You will hear many on this board sing the praises of SW Durham, but my 8 yrs in Durham have all been in West Durham within the vicinity of Lenox West and love this area for its close proximity to Chapel Hill, downtown Durham, decent shopping, etc.
Ticon properties which is the management company is apparently very on the ball. They keep the property very well maintained landscaping wise, and I saw a crew this summer repainting and replacing the wood accents on the exterior of all of the Lenox West units. The clientel is largely Duke grad/professional students and is quiet.
Friends of mine have lived in Lenox East for a few years and have never had a complaint.
Here is a link that rates a bunch of apartment complexes in the U.S. Actual tenants tell of their experiences living in that particular community. Hope it helps.
Definitely check out Pinnacle Ridge as well (that's a different complex than Pine Ridge). It's nearly all Duke grad students and is a really great complex, great management, and the architecture is lovely - they worked with nature rather than plowing over it, so there are tons of trees. Very nice pool and tennis courts too. The only reason I'll move is I want to rent a house and I'm probably 15 years older than almost all of my neighbors, ha
I don't know if their 2 brs meet your price range - rent has really gone up - but probably. They have a lot of floor plans.
Here is a link that rates a bunch of apartment complexes in the U.S. Actual tenants tell of their experiences living in that particular community. Hope it helps.
This website isn't really a great resource. I'd take everything you read with a grain of salt. Typically people only post on there when they're angry with management about something, so you'll hear a bunch of bad experiences that usually stem from an issue that was their fault (i.e. not paying rent on time or causing damages!) Also, a lot of the good posts you see will often be written by management. Some companies even have their employees check this site weekly and add good posts or rebuttals to anything negative as if they were an actual resident.
If you mean Northridge Crossings by Triangle Town Center, it's great. We are on lease #4.
That would be quite a commute to Duke. There are so many options within close proximity to Duke I wouldn't go further than 20 minutes with all the choices and try to keep the commute down. I know someone who was happy with Copper Mill.
Apartments of Stonehenge have my vote, also.
If I had to choose an apartment complex, that would be the ideal location. I've toured the grounds and model apartment for a friend who is planning to move here from out of state, and it has my A-okay.
The location is desireable not only because of safety of the neighborhood, but for ease of travel, beauty of surrounding residential neighborhoods, convenience of high-quality grocery stores and shopping in general.
I know one person who lives there and is extremely happy, especially since so many shops are 1/2 block away, including Harris Teeter, Steinmart, restaurants, drug store, gift shops, to name a few.
Best,
toodie
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