Let me start off by saying I have only lived here for 2 weeks, so I cannot speak for anything other than what I have experienced thus far since moving in- I have not utilized any of the new renovations as they are not set to open until 6/1/17.
My first impression of the complex and my unit- modern, clean, family and pet friendly, good location and community. We managed to get a good deal on rent by signing our lease and moving in before the rates rise beginning in June. However, I think we have already decided that we will not be renewing if/when our rates drastically increase next year.
When I arrived on move-in day, the leasing staff had all my paperwork ready to be signed and keys available, however they did not have accurate records of my payment information. They asked me if I had the upcoming month's rent check, which had already been paid to them AND cashed a month prior. I had to pull up my bank statement to show them and they had to dig my check out of a filing cabinet to confirm. Upon locating the check, it was taken out and left on the desk unattended, face-up for all the people coming and going to see my account info- no wonder it has gotten misplaced. Prior to moving in, I hadn't had the best interactions with the leasing staff either. Don't get me wrong, they are all very nice people, but don't seem very knowledgeable about some things. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, possibly they are new employees still learning. But, if you do not know the answer to a question do not make one up or say whatever sounds good. FIND OUT FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS. When dealing with people's homes, it's probably not a good idea to play a guessing game. For a lot of specific questions I did not receive definitive answers. For example when picking out a couch we needed measurements and needed to know which way the furniture would be facing so we could order the correct chaise. Of course we didn't expect the leasing agent to get measurements for us, but when we asked if we could come take some measurements we were told maintenance would get measurements and get back to us Monday. We didn't hear anything and followed up twice and were finally told "sorry I don't have a measuring tape, but you can come in and do it when the unit is vacant." OK that's fine with us, we would have liked to do that from the beginning anyway. Well long story short, we never got to measure our actual unit like we were told. We did get to measure one with the same floor plan and asked if they were identical to which we got 2 different answers on different occasions (from the same person). First it was "yes they should be the same" key word: SHOULD. Then the second time was "some of them are different." Since we obviously weren't getting any definitive answers, we decided to take a stab in the dark and order the couch we thought would work based on our assumptions. Since furniture takes 2-3 weeks for delivery we really didn't have time to wait around until we moved in for answers. Luckily, our assumptions were right and the couch fits.
The move-in day itself was quick and easy aside from the check mishap. However, I learned my lesson and strongly advise anyone to do an extremely thorough walk-through!! (I know, that should be common sense, but I am noticing things now I did not before) I learned the day after moving in that our unit appears to have a bug problem- ants particularly but I have seen some flying insects here and there as well. They are very tiny- practically invisible on the dark brown kitchen floor unless you are looking for them. This was obviously a problem prior to us moving in- I keep my house spotless and food tightly contained, not to mention this was before we even went grocery shopping or ate dinner here! I still can't quite put my finger on where they are coming from, I notice them mostly when I sweep the floor- which is daily- and they all end up in a little pile. The floor boards are not sealed where they meet the wall, and there is a large, broken gap where our dishwasher meets the counter that looks like it could be a great entrance/hideout for critters.
Turned on the A/C for the first time since living here the other day- it turned on but did not blow cold air. We called maintenance to address the issue, and also the insect issue as well. The dispatcher acknowledged both concerns before disconnecting and sending someone out. They were here in 2 hours and resolved the A/C issue, but told us that they do not handle pests, which is understandable. So I thought maybe a different person would be coming later to help us with that issue, but never heard anything else after. Now this morning 2-3 days later I woke up freezing (thanks Chicago weather!) and the heat isn't working. Apparently when maintenance came to fix the A/C they also shut off our heat. It's not a huge deal as he was here and resolved the issue extremely quickly, but worth mentioning as I believe it probably could have been avoided in the first place. Maybe the gentleman who fixed it the first time is new to the area and didn't think we would be needing the heat 2 days after having the A/C on HAHA. The maintenance men that came to our unit were courteous and knowledgeable. I believe the miscommunication regarding pest control was an error on the dispatchers end.
Overall, it appears to be a nice place to live if you don't move into a bug infestation. The location is nice- central to almost everything and in a good neighborhood. I do try to avoid going anywhere around rush hour though as traffic is terrible in all directions leaving here. The noise level is decent. I can hear footsteps above me, dogs barking occasionally, and clear conversations outside my door or window. I know that my neighbor had tacos for dinner last night because I heard the delivery guy at his door. No traffic noise or anything to keep me awake though. If my issue(s) are resolved in a timely, effective manner, I will gladly provide positive follow-up feedback!
