Cortland at Raven

Current Resident 303975

Resident • 2008 - 2009

Convinent but just OK

I've been living here for a year and a half. I like my unit because it has a garage attached but it's pricy for the size of the apartment and you hear every movement of your neighbors. The gym is nice but there is usually at least one of the cardio machines broken and the TVs work intermittently. DirectTV is the only option and their service is terrible. No serious complaints but if it wasn't such a pain to move I'd go looking for a better deal.

Current Resident 225202

Resident • 2009

6 months at the Raven

Great 6 months. The appartmetn was spotless when I moved in. Nothing was ever a problem. Pool was clean, neighbors were quiet.

Current Resident 416565

Resident • 2010

great location

I just wanted to say how pleased I was with my new apartment. I work right down the street and it is very convient commute for me. I finally found an apartment complex that had the floor plan I was looking for and the move in deals were great. I received a 32 in flat screen tv and 50 percent off of golf at the raven when ever I want. Also the other cool thing it only takes me 10 minutes to get to chase stadium. I feel this apartment is going to be a good fit for me till I buy a house. Thanks office and maintenance team for helping me move into my new place.

showDP

Resident • 2009

Awesome place

I am a new tenant and I love my place. The apartment is beautiful and the property is just as beautiful. I dont see why people say so many negative comments about the property. They were probably the "------" ones they were talking about. I am very satisfied!

lewis2006

Resident • 2008 - 2009

Way overpriced for the ------!

The new management team here isn't very competent! They forget easily, misplace things, and don't communicate with each other very well. It often times takes 2 or 3 tries to get them to return a call or respond to an issue. Since they took over in early 2009, the rents have increased, and the property is much less attractive. (How can they justify raising the rent from the previous year, when the economy has tanked?!?) Now there are cheesy banners and decorations out front, making it look more like Mayberry than a luxury apartment complex. Also, they are currently replacing all of the lights throughout the complex with super bright white light bulbs, which has totally killed the warm ambiance of the property at night. The residents don't clean up after their pets, and management doesn't seem to do anything about it - Makes you wonder what is the point for a pet deposit and pet rent. Just take a walk along the grounds and see for yourself, especially the grassy area in the back - just watch your step! If you're really set on living in the area, then move a couple miles east in Tempe, or south in Ahwatukee...Rents in those areas have actually gone down, and you will get a much better deal for the money!

Current Resident 895236

Resident • 2009

Love the Retreat

I moved in two months ago and it's the best place i've ever lived in. The property is just beautiful, the pool is awesome! The new management team is friendly and really helpful and treat us like family. They really care about their residents and making everyone feel at home. Maintenance is great! my work order got done the next day and they even asked if there was anything else while they were there. I like the activities and the free brunch they have every month. You won't be disappointed, it exceeded my expectations!

sunflower2010

Resident • 2008 - 2009

Very, Very nice place to live.

I have been living here since Nov.'08 I really like these apartments, very friendly and kept very nice. I feel secure living here and would highly recommend them to my friends. Grounds are kept very clean and the pool is just beautiful and kept up well.

raxx

Resident • 2008 - 2009

Lipstick on a Pig

The apartments are nice, but that doesn't change the fact that they are located in the ------. Because you're in the ------, your auto and renters insurance rates are about 10-20% higher. The management team is friendly, but not very good about responding to phone calls and maintenance requests. Qwest/DirecTV is the ONLY choice for telephone, internet, and television, and well everyone knows how famous Qwest is for it's wonderful service (or lack thereof). There's much nicer places out there for the money.

Current Resident 336015

Resident • 2008

DONOT RENT FROM THIS PLACE

DO NOT LET THE ENTRANCE OF THIS PLACE AND POOL THINK THAT IS THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE.. THE WATER OF THE POOL IS FULL OF PLANTS AND HAIRSS... THE OFFICE ALWAYS TRY TO CHARGE YOU MORE READ CAREFUL WHEN YOU MOVE IN ... WHEN THEY SHOW YOU THE APARTMENT LOOK UP AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE MODELS FULL OF SPIDERS SUCKS ... IM JUST BENN HERE FOR 6 MONTHS AND READY TO MOVE OUT.. 3 BROKEN IN APARTMENTS BROKE WINDOW OF MY CAR SUCKS NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT ITTTT....

Current Resident 643254

Resident • 2008

Not sure

I have lived here for about 3 months now and Im still not sure how I feel about this place. I was really uneasy about the location, a.k.a the ------; but then when I moved in I was for sure my concerns would not be a problem. But after a few months Im still not sure. The apartments are beautiful, but there seemed to be a lot wrong when I moved in. And I had to basically harrass maintanence just to get them over here. But nothing major was wrong. And then there is the pool. Its a beautiful 24 hr pool, but its closed more than its opened. They seem to be "working" on it a lot yet I never see anyyone out there doing anything to it. Its always just closed up. I dont think I will be renewing my lease. I think the amount of money the apartments cost is just based on the appearance of the place which I thought was a decent price, but knowing that you basically have to fix things yourself and that you cant ever enjoy the pool, i'd rather live elsewhere. Also there seems to be a noisy bunch that lives in this complex. I hear people yelling and/or fighting a lot it seems.

Current Resident 406001

Resident • 2008

Great place to live

I have lived here 4yrs and have really enjoyed it. The current managment is the best they have really taken care of this place and gotten it in shape. The pool in incredible and kept at the perfect temp all year. The grounds are clean and it is a very quiet community. The work out area is great and there is a nice path behind the complex along the golf course.

Current Resident 987834

Resident • 2007 - 2008

Don't Rent from Here!!!!

I went through 3 different groups of management in my 12 month stay here. They were all slow to respond and the maintenence was horrible. My master bathtub continually backed up with food for the entire time that i lived here and they did nothing to prevent it from happening and again and would not let me out of the lease even though it was not a safe environment to live in. I didn't have the 3000.00 for the break lease fee so had to stick it out....I'm glad I'm now out of there. I ended my stay there in Feb 2008. I was robbed 2 times in November in my apartment as well. Again they wouldn't let me out of my lease.

Current Resident 334071

Resident • 2007 - 2008

maintence

I love my apartment here however the maintence work does frustrate me. It's been close to a year and I'm still waiting on things to be fixed or re-fixed again. The pool up keep lacks big time. THere have been numerous times the hot tub has been a greenish color and smelling pretty bad.

Current Resident 356019

Resident • 2006 - 2007

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS PLACE

Do NOT rent from this place. Don't let the pretty pool fool you. If for some crazy reason you do you'd better pay the traditional refundable deposit. If you pay the non-refundable $87.50 deposit you are going to get screwed. I lived there for almost 2 years and when I moved I heard nothing from Management about my apartment being dirty so I went about my life thinking that all is well. I just received a notice from a collection agency (4 months after I moved) that I owe $700 for the cleaning of my apartment. First of all, no one from the complex or the company they use for the non-refundable deposit informed me that I owed money and second, I doubt it costs $700 to clean an apartment. The collections representative read to me what they said about the condition of my apartment and I was such a lie! The walls in this place are super thin. You can hear everything and I mean everything! It was so annoying to hear every single step from upstairs and to hear every single time someone flushed the tiolet. I won't mention the other things you can hear. The area is not good at all. Bottom line is this place is not worth the money.

Current Resident 546506

Resident • 2006 - 2008

What a mess

This complex was recently taken over by Mark Taylor. The managment company previous had let the complex slide down the hill. The current management company is a joke. they cannot do a work order properly and are rather lax with getting things fixed around the complex. More and more tenants have moved out and they have a lot of work to do before getting this place back to what it used to be.

Current Resident 858263

Resident • 2006 - 2007

Management - Bad Attitude, not worth the money

I lived at the retreat at the raven for appx 13 months - I relocated from California, and so the entire lease agreement etc was done over the phone. I was offered a choice of paying a $500 refundable deposit or an $87.50 non-refundable deposit upon my move-in, which the manager at the time indicated would cover any cleaning costs at move-out. For the year that I lived there the complex was nice, quiet, clean - the maintenance crew were always helpful even helping me get into my apartment at 11 p.m. one night. But when I went to move out the $87.50 I had paid up front turned into a fee for a $500 bond and I was told I owed an additional $50 for cleaning - even though the gal that signed me originaly indicated that there would not be any additional fees at move-out. When I tried to explain my story to the girl, she was rude to say the least. To top it off, not even a week later, she threatened to send me to a collections agency if I didn't pay her the $50 - even though she had failed to send me a bill. I think that for your money you can find nicer places, in better locations with a staff that is more appreciative of your business.

Current Resident 572892

Resident • 2007

Staff here are excellant,and do a great job of addressing needs of residents responding to issues on property. There are nice, quiet residents and good views. A very quiet complex. Amber and Kimberly are great to work with!

JoeDohnRenter

Resident • 2006 - 2007

I will not be staying.

Everyone else pretty much covered everything.<br><br>Pro's<br>-Apartments are nice.<br>-Nice Pool and exercise room.<br>-Staff is polite.<br>-Discount at the Raven Golf Club<br>-It's gated.<br>-You shouldn't have a hard time getting an apartment! All the other apartments in my building are vacant and they seem to rent to anyone...<br><br>Con's<br>-Parking is a major issue if you have more than one vehicle.<br>-Ants in the kitchen no matter how many times they come and spray.<br>-Our dishwasher is trash.<br>-Neighborhoods surrounding us are "------".<br>-Baseline traffic coupled with nearly constant road construction RIGHT outside the front gate.<br>-Location leaves much to be desired.<br>-Garage is minute.

Current Resident 980392

Resident • 2005 - 2006

There are better apartments in Phoenix for less

I moved in about a year ago and my lease is nearly up, but I can't recommend it. Here were my experiences.<br><br>When I moved in, the apartments are pretty impressive on the inside and the complex seemed nice. The leasing staff emphasises that it's a gated complex, that there's a nice pool and exercise room, and that there is maintenance and security service always available.<br><br>However, what you don't realize is that:<br>The apartment is not in a great area, the complex next door is low-income. People who live there are constantly climbing over the fence that is between the two complexes. These people try to break into the pool area and exercise rooms. Occasionally they seem to get frustrated and break into an apartment. Either that or they do get into the equipment room and steal the equipment, or throw a pool party at 11 PM with 20 kids that all sneak in. Management doesn't care, the police don't care. Management claims they've beefed up security but I haven't seen any changes. The police say it's "social convention" whereby they don't do anything to interfere with these "lower income" residents as these people "have a mistrust of the police force".<br><br>As far as maintenance goes, if anything inside your apartment breaks, they're pretty good about fixing it. If any of the community areas have problems, good luck. It seems to take months before they even do anything. There's still equipment missing from the exercise room I complained about 4 months ago. The jacuzzi is nearly constantly broken. I had to request they turn on the heat to the pool in the winter and they actually did. So that was great for the kids who live in the complex next door. Good luck sharing the pool with them now. In the summer it's even worse as every weekend there seem to be at least 50 people in there, but nearly always as soon as they're done, they are either walking out the front gate or climbing back over the fence...management doesn't care.<br><br>As far as noise. I've only heard one round of gunshots in the past year at night (from the complex next door) and a car crash right outside the apartment complex. Then you've got the kids (and some adults) sneaking around at night jumping over the walls and snooping around. You'll have traffic noise if you have an apartment near baseline road. <br><br>Also if you're on the lower floor you hear people walking up the stairs, flushing the toilets, walking around, creaking, nothing better or worse than most other places I've been.<br><br>You get a really tiny garage with some of the apartments, but it is going to be the smallest garage you have ever seen. The guy who lives upstairs near me has blocked my garage with his car on several occasions as he can't fit it into his garage and there aren't alot of places for him to park. At one point management had told him it was OK to block my garage...I had to get them straightened out on that right away.<br><br>It's not all bad, when the exercise equipment is all there and working, it is pretty nice, as would be the pool if they could keep the riff-raff out and the jacuzzi operational. It was pretty nice the first month I was here before the public areas seemed to deteriorate. The apartments are nice on the inside, but you can find similar quality in a better location for cheaper. <br><br>Overall, I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone I know. The place does look really great for someone stopping by and taking a look. Management is always smiling and seem friendly, but they don't often get things done, they've claimed that they will be improving security, but don't. They told me that the pool and exercise rooms are "amenities" and that they are under no obligation to fix them... funny, when they're showing you the place for the first time they don't seem to mention that.<br><br>The weekend girl usually hears the most of my complaints and writes them down, but she told me that she can't do anything besides report it to the M-F staff, who are almost always gone by the time I get back from work.<br><br>Oh, one more thing, they'll state a price and give you 10 days to decide if you want to rerent it for probably a big increase about a month before the end of your lease. I don't think too many people here actually renew. Ask about renewing earlier and they'll say they can't even do that yet...what a great philosophy!

Current Resident 250181

Resident • 2003 - 2006

Good property, no benefit to be good tenant

I like it here alot. It's quiet and the area is improving. I have been a tenant for 3 years now and everytime I have moved apts, there has been a new manager. This current manager has been here a while now. She won't give me a special to stay and she is actually raising the rent. I have gotten a special rate to stay everytime my lease has ended. I guess she doesn't care about having good tenants staying. She thinks she will get the business anyway. That is the only downfall to the place. It's just becoming very expensive to live here.

jteezy

Resident • 2005

great layout

as a new resident , the price is phenominal for what you recieve...and yes, there is a benefit at the raven golf course...its 50% off!

orkun2005

Resident • 2004

TERRIBLE MANAGEMENT

I stayed at this property just for 1 MONTH in 2004, from January 5 to January 31. My lease agreement was just for 1 Month. I moved out in January 25,2004 and paid the rent and utilities. I gave the keys to the manager and moved out. However, a collection agency contacted me one month ago that this property has given me to a collection agency. As a reason they say that I did not give a 30 days notice! How can people be that silly! My lease agreement is just for 1 month and this means that , of course , I would move out at the end of the lease. Now I will sue them.

Current Resident 393426

Resident • 2004 - 2005

Jessie Jackson would love it here!

Property next door is Section 8. The bullets fly by and the auto alarms are going off every 20 minutes. Management is non existent. Property is right under power lines. There is no benefit at the The Raven Golf course. You can look, but can't afford to play. Not worth the price. Huge pressure to release at a higher price. This is no luxury apartment complex. Neighbor had her car stolen from the parking. Utilitie bill is $180.00 for air conditioning.

creolee

Resident • 2003 - 2004

Ripoff

The apartments are nice, but they are very very pricey. You could get the same quality apartment for much less in phoenix. Bad location. At least a 20 min. drive every where in phoenix, and that is WITHOUT traffic. They should definetely lower rent. Staff was o.k., just don't make any complaints about apartment. It will be a total 360..

yhht

Resident • 2003 - 2004

good, but pricey

The apartments were very good. I never had a problem- only walking up three sets of stairs everyday!!! They are expensive, but if you have the money, go for it.