Chesapeake Ridge

jefframsey57

Resident • 2012 - 2014

I have lived here for a couple years and continue to resign my lease because it is the nicest place to live in Cecil County. The management agency (Bozzuto)has worked with me with every issue that has come up and done an amazing job! For almost 1,000 square feet and as nice and new as the community is, the rent is beyond reasonable. I would HIGHLY recommend this community to anyone looking in this area.

Current Resident 246068

Resident • 2014

Today my Wife went to the office to check if we had a delivery that was due a week ago. Come to find out we had additional deliveries one that was very important to me mailed 4 months ago and had been sitting in the main office. The contents is now damaged and completely irreplaceable, pictures of my son in the Marines. The last ladies that worked there would let us know we had something down there soon after arrival the new staff clearly needs to return to their previous career. All this today and finding a dead dog in a trash bag over the weekend on the property, is really making me question my families present location.

Sadrenters8283

Resident • 2013 - 2014

Where to begin? I would not recommend living here; save your money and sanity and continue looking. Numerous issues with the upstairs tenant, extremely loud throughout the day and night, dog barks for long durations. Made numerous, professional complaints to the office with no resolution. The lease pet addendum specifically states the zero tolerance with pet complaints. Poor or little insulation which is apparent with the neighbor noise and high electric bills. The vinyl and ceramic floors are frigid (first floor apartments are directly above the unconditioned garage spaces below). Again, shows the lack of insulation. Last time I checked, you were supposed to insulate the walls, ceiling, floor cavities between conditioned and unconditioned spaces. Issues with the mechanical equipment go unaddressed...again numerous calls to the leasing office requesting assistance. The maintenance personnel are just "handymen" with no apparent specialization, which is fine, but the apartment is too cheap to hire a professional. All "heating" is by way of heat pumps, which is garbage in this region due to the low ambient temperatures being too low for them to operate even close to efficient. They save the professional help for when the sprinkler main ruptures and floods out two garage spaces. But did the complex notify the tenants saying they would be without running water for 12 hours or that they were even sorry that people's stuff in their garages may have been damaged? No, radio silence, but not really because the fire alarm panel insistently beeps due to the sprinkler issues...loud and obnoxious 24hour beeping unless silenced by maintenance. You call the office for them to notify maintenance to silence the alarm and you catch attitude. I'm sorry, but the last time I checked, the leasing staff doesn't live adjacent to the panel making the noise. Do your jobs people, they're plenty of people waiting in line to do your job for you. But that's ok, it's all about the bottom line here at Alta. PS, don't be fooled by leasing specials. I hate sounding like a cynic, but this place brings out the worst in people. Cheers and happy hunting.

nifer071

Resident • 2013 - 2014

I have lived here for a few months now and I have to be honest when I was doing research as to where to go, I became skeptical because of some of the reviews on here but I absolutely love it here! The rooms are large for an apartment, the appliances aren't anything too fancy but they are fine and I have had no problems with them, the washer and dryer they are beyond excellent. I was surprised how nice this washer and dryer was compared to other ones at different apartment communities, they are also high efficiency which is a major plus. As far as noise goes the neighbors and everyone around seems to stay quiet. With the exception of a kid here and there, it's not bad at all. Occasionally you can hear someone walking upstairs but it's nothing major and it's not like you can hear anyone's conversations or televisions, the place seems relatively well insulated. As far as traffic from the road, yeah you hear it... It's not horrible. But I don't know why everyone makes a big deal out of it it's not like you should be surprised, you know the road is there you can plainly see it. I have had zero problems with parking. There are always spaces, extra spaces even, and I can usually park close so I don't have a far walk. It seems everyone kinda has a usual spot they normally fall into so it's not a constant battle like some people on here make it sound, there are parking zones and everyone gets a tag to hang from their mirror with a coordinating color. Simple. Staff always seems pleasant and happy to help whenever needed, no problems there. All facilities are clean and seem well maintained, as well as the outside of the buildings and lawns. You frequently see maintenance walking around cleaning and keeping the place picked up well. The parking is well lit at night, makes it feel more secure when getting home late. I'm glad i went ahead and took a chance on this place, I absolutely love it and will definitely be renewing my lease and staying for a while.

Current Resident 70573

Resident • 2011 - 2013

In short.... do yourself a favor.... KEEP LOOKING. I moved in to Alta Chesapeake Ridge about 2 years ago when my job moved me to Maryland and from the exterior appearance of the property i thought it would be a decent place to live. I asked the usual questions prior to signing a lease... Noise, parking, etc. I was assured that i would be happy with the decision. Here's the fall out: Parking is HELL. People are forced to park along the street bottlenecking traffic down to one lane and causing near accidents when people don't pay attention. It's only a matter of time. The appliances are terrible. The dishwasher flatly refuses to clean dishes. The "full-size" washer/dryer (stacked units) has a rank smell emanating from it that would gag a maggot. Regardless of maintenance's attempts to resolve the issue. There is a troop of teenagers that has full reign over the gym and buisiness center and makes working out a total drag. For the convenience of paying your rent online you will be charge an additional 2.75% of your rent. Never mind they have reduced the amount of man-hours to process billing. You get to eat an additional cost. Management has just shifted from Dolben to Bozzuto and i will say i'm singularly unimpressed. I was sent a letter shortly after the turnover that stated that i would be charged a fine and back charges for harboring a dog in my apartment even though I have never had a dog in my life. When i brought this up to the individual manning the front desk she was skeptical and stated she would need proof that i didn't have a dog and a letter from me to that end. *sigh* Never mind that someone from the management would have to have been in my apartment without the required notice to come to this conclusion.... Certainly if i had a dog i would have taken it out for a few days if I knew they would be entering. Give me a break. Maintenance and the office staff make you feel as if you are an inconvience every time a request is made or you walk in the door of the main office. The girl at the desk couldn't get off her phone long enough to walk to the back to get a package dropped off there for me, so she took it with her and continued texting as she handed it over. Additionally, when i informed them that an individual in my building was leaving a mound of garbage outside for days on end i was assured the matter would be addressed. That was 6 months ago. I took the garbage out myself this morning. The are dog land-mines everywhere. Don't walk without looking down... The buildings are filthy... don't rub against the siding or you will be scrubbing your clothes. It looks like recently a halfhearted attempt to clean them was started and abruptly dropped. Last point: the proximity to 95 is such that noise is a constant problem. This might not be an issue for the buildings closer to the front of the complex but for any of the buildings in the back it's a total nightmare.... if you could sleep... but you won't so don't worry bout the nightmares; you won't have the chance to have one. This is allegedly a "luxury" community and certainly the price of rent reflects that even if the accommodations do not. There are much nicer apartments at better rates being built right down RT-40. Go there. I certainly will be the minute my lease is up.... I already set my 60 day notice reminder for April 15, 2014

Current Resident 374962

Resident • 2013

Me and my wife have been living here for several months now. In the beginning we loved everything about the apartment and the community. After a few weeks and months we started to question why we were paying so much for so little. From day one we complained about the most unpleasant smell coming from our washer and FYI the washer and dryer are stored poorly, don't ever drop anything behind either one and expect to get it back, we had the washer "fixed" and cleaned weekly it still smells horrible. There is dog feces everywhere, my own dog has a hard time trying to find somewhere to squat. You would think there was 10 ppl living in our apt the water bills are ridiculous! and we only wash clothes 2 days a week at the most. When it rains the sidewalk floods terribly. Our patio looks like its never been cleaned ever and when the garage underneath us opens its shakes the whole bedroom, waking us up everyday at 5:30/6am then again anywhere between 12am-1am!! Its really off-putting that the building we live in has a rusted orange color with multiple cracks in it..I just would expect better conditions from a so called "luxury apartment home" community. They were so particular about the dog breeds and weights but there are A LOT of dogs on the premises that are WAY ABOVE the weight requirements!! The business center is a joke, there is only one computer that actual works and even that is on its last leg, u cant even see the keys on the keyboard, and there are always someones kids in there. If its a business center there should definitely be something implemented so that people who actual use it for its intended purpose. Hopefully things will get better or we will definitely be leaving when our lease is up.. I expected better. I have to say i would not recommend these apartments to someone who expects to get what they paid or are paying for with no exceptions..If you are more flexible with your expectations then by all means, this is the place for you.

branayd

Resident • 2013

Alta Chespeake Ridge is a great place to live. My fanily and I have lived her for a total of 5 month,and we LOVE living at Alta. Moving from a single family home to an apartment we were not sure if we would enjoy it. But the rooms are large with washer and dryer included,having a very large garage is ideal since we moved from a house and needed the storage space. The dog park is wonderful, for the most part people clean up after there pets. The grounds are kept clean and trash is always picked up. My interaction with the staff has been nothing but top notch. Elizabeth, Page, Will, Chris and Zack not only have been professional but friendly and are always there to help. All in all we are very happy living at Alta Chesapeake Ridge.

Current Resident 482656

Resident • 2013

The new management team is horrible. They are slow to address resident concerns (if at all), there is debris throughout the community, dog waste on the lawns, etc. The staff, particularly the maintenance team are ignorant, are not always dressed professionally (e.g. work in their "street" clothes", smoke while they are "working" and act like they can't be bothered when a work order is placed. The office staff NEVER picks up the phone when you call and act like its a chore when a complaint is brought to their attention and have to ask multiple times for the simplest request.

jstov96327

Resident • 2012 - 2013

The Ridge continued to disappoint over and over. We lived there for one year and could not wait to get out. The parking is HORRIBLE, if you plan on parking anywhere near your apartment you better get home by 3pm. Paying that much money when there is not even enough parking is very frustrating, and the new "parking passes" didn't help at all. The apartments are loud, I could always hear my neighbors and the appliances were cheap. The washer and dryer are not even full size. When our fridge broke we put in a maintenance request, they never called, never came, and never left a note! They completely ignored it so we fixed it ourselves. The office staff are unbelievable, I would go in to pick up a package and they would not even say "hi" or "how are you today." The new manager seemed nice at first but upon moving out (FINALLY) she had no idea if we owned money or if they owned us money. After 25 minutes she finally said to leave and if there were any issues she would call. OK. DO NOT let the "referral program" fool you. We referred four students to the ridge (only because they go to cecil college) and the students moved in 3 days before we moved out. The students put us down on the referral paper and we filled out all paper work necessary and they said they would forward the checks to our new address. Well after 3 weeks and no checks, we called. They acted like they had no clue who we were and said they would call corporate and get back to us. Well, its been a month and they have not called and every time we call they do not answer!!! Real professional Elizabeth! If you are going to offer a referral program, be true to it. I have nothing nice to say about this place, it is poorly managed, and that is why almost all of the reviews on this place are horrible, because its true!!! Do not waste your money, find somewhere else!!!

dpratt123

Resident • 2013

Alta Chesapeake Ridge is a great place to live. Having sold our home of 26 years in New Jersey to move to Maryland for my work, were uncertain how apt living would be. I am happy to report that this place offers a very nice setting to live in. While my buildings proximity to 95 lends itself to a steady hum of traffic, the location of the community, open floor plans, friendliness of the staff and neighbors and upkeep are terrific. We have a 3 bedroom unit on the 2nd floor and feel it is a great substitute for our home while we search for a more permanent residence in the area. We also have one of the huge garages that you can rent for a minimal amount ( I can put my canoe on the floor and still have room for my utility trailer or car). All of my interactions with the apt staff have not only been professional but friendly as well. Elizabeth and Paige always smile and actually know your name when you walk in the office door. We have only had the chance to use the pool once but again the staff was friendly and the water and sitting areas were clean. The sidewalks wander thru the community and offer pet owners like us the opportunity to walk our dog, get some exercise, and see some of Mother Nature s handy work (trees and a few views from top of the hill. All in all I would have to say this is a great place and it s very close to the city of North East which offers more than a few great parks and restaurants.

Current Resident 46482

Resident • 2013

This place is an absolute dump! The construction is poor, you can hear everything your neighbor does! There is NEVER any parking , unless you park your car midday, the staff has no ambition and is incredibly disrespectful, the grass floods, there is slime on the walkway that no one will clean up, dog poop every where, no one cleans up after their pets, if you ask for a service request, maintenance acts like you have asked for a miracle to happen. This place needs help. better management with smaller egos. seriously , don't waste your money or time here.

Current Resident 105847

Resident • 2011 - 2012

I lived here for about 8 months. I had to terminate my lease early due to some family issues and unfortunately for me, I was told I had to pay a large lump sum because I broke my lease. I was told by Kristine, the property manager, that I could set up a payment plan. The plan consisted of 3 monthly payments of around $1,200. I made each payment on time, but the management decided to send my bill to collections. In the middle of paying off this debt, I received a letter from a collections agency stating that I owed the large lump sum to Alta Chesapeake Ridge. Needless to say it impacted my credit. I was able to prove that I payed off this debt. I do not trust this office and would not recommend it to anyone. Besides this episode, my apartment was fine, neighbors were nice, and I felt safe. The amenities were accommodating, too. However, when a company negatively impacts one's financial situation, all of the good aspects of that company vanish. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPLEX TO ANYONE!!!!!!! PLEASE BE ADVISED

rabrownridge

Resident • 2013

My wife and I have been living here for 8 months while waiting for our new house to be finished. We had not lived in an apartment for 40 years so I was very concerned when moving here. The management, Liz, Jen and Paige, and maintenance staff have been exceptionally responsive and very polite. The apartment has been well maintained. They come periodically to clean the furnace and for spraying. The grounds are well kept. I have two dogs and for the most part the other tenants pick up after their dogs, with few exceptions. Only twice in the 8 months that we have been here have I even heard the person up stairs. I have been in the building at the bottom of the hill and there has been no problem at all with the parking. The business center has been very convenient. I have used the fax machine constantly. The exercise room has been well taken care of. A few times, I have seen other tenants not using the equipment correctly and on three occasions one of the pieces has been broken but it has been fixed very quickly. We met several of the neighbors who were very friendly. We met them at the various functions put on by the apartment staff. I highly recommend Alta at Chesapeake Ridge.

j5fish14

Resident • 2012 - 2013

I moved in at the end of last summer, and I like my apartment a lot. Sure my neighbor upstairs sounds like he wears cement shoes, but it's part of apartment living....no big deal. I have really enjoyed my stay here, the staff (both prior management & current) are great. I have had no issues with them. They are responsive & helpful. The only issues or complaints I have about this place are the tenants. You never see any of your neighbors!!! Not everyone picks up after their pets & ppl park in 'no parking' zones so it makes it difficult to pull out of garages/spaces. I LOVE my washer/dryer in my apt, I live alone and my water bill is anywhere from $15-20 a month, super reasonable. My electric bill is low & I tend to work from home a lot. I would recommend this place to others.

renter21901

Resident • 2011 - 2013

The ladies in the front office are very helpful and responsive. 5 stars to the great customer service.

Current Resident 984850

Resident • 2012 - 2013

We couldn't begin to explain how unhappy we have been with this place. We had watched my boyfriends brothers pets while he went to boot camp and tech school for the army and they want us to pay then tried saying we had 5 cats when there was no way we had five cats. They try and look for every reason to get mroe money when everything is over priced. when we moved in they said given out location we were availablae to get a garage at a discount. We said no at first then decided after dealing with the nightmare of the parking issue we contacted them to get one. they tried telling us we were able to get a discount. WTH so because we said no the first time suddenly our "location" is no longer available for a discount. then they gave us the wrong info for the garage and ended up using someone else garage( just parkign in front of at first) ended up getting into an arguement with another tenant when we tried to explain they gave up the wrong garage info. mind you even after the leasing office "explained" it he was still mad at us and the leasing office tried telling us somehow it was our fault. One dumpster for everyone to use and you have to walk or drive you trash there, plus the car wash port that is a "selling" point you have to pay to use anyway. they sell this place like it's the greatest, then you move in and all thr trouble starts. we gave our "60 days notice" a week late but we are moving out the day our lease is up and even though we called them and told me weeks before giving our written notice that we were moving out it didn't count and we had to fill out paperwork they are supposed to supply to us, which after speaking to them they never said so they are trying to tell us they want about 800 as opposed to 330 because we were a week behind out written notice. regardless tot hem having ample time and us still moving out the day our lease is us anyway. I can't wait to be gone. The carpet is true. they want people to pay full price for brandnew stuff but move us into a apartment with stians on the carpet. The people upstairs are SO LOUD, we had talked to them twice then the leasing office and the leasing office said they spoke to them. The noise never got better so we went up to speak to them again and they stated (which I partly believe) the leasing office never said anything to them and they can't do anything about the noise because it's part of their everyday living. So the walls and ceilings are thing. The washer a dryer aren't full sized so you spend more money on water and electric running it twice the time just to do a normal one load. we can't run the dishwasher while home because it's so loud. the central air sucks, my daughters bedroom is always so much colder, in the winter to the point that we have a space heater which adds to the heating bill. the unit is in a closet inside the apartment which is loud and we have to turn the TV up to hear, more then you would assume. They have a "storage" closet on the patio and instead of being smart and putting the unit outside to limit the noise and give us a closet we can use inside they did it the dumb way. we are by the stairs and with the material used to build the hallways and stairs it creates noise.

Current Resident 296398

Resident • 2013

Cheaply built, money pinchers, a day late they'll send you a notice saying they'll take you to court. They are cut throat can't rent them out fast enough so they gotta make up the money some how. Have pets? Forget your security deposit! One stain and they will replace the carpet at your expense and send you a bill. Paper thin walls can hear the 95 traffic and neighbors. Will not refer my friends here can't wait until I get outta here. Guy that works there helpful and nice the manager, not so nice

Current Resident 444299

Resident • 2013

This place is cheap built. The craftsmanship is shaudie. The paving and grade work is the worst I have seen in a long time, water standing at the foot of the stairs when it rains and pounding everywhere. Be ready to park in the street because that's all that is left in the evenings. The fat nasty woman that runs the place will lie to your face before you sign a lease and then tell you she never agreed to anything and to read the fine print. A den of thieves is all I can say. Renter beware!!!!

Current Resident 457069

Resident • 2012

The parking here is horrible! If you get home after 6pm, you have to fight for a spot. Good luck. There's really nothing special about these apartments, so I don't understand how they get away with charging so much. Do your research, you can find a better place around this area.

Current Resident 352969

Resident • 2012

I live in Alta and I agree that the place is beautiful, maintenance is excellent and there is plenty of areas to walk the dog, I don't like the dog park, it is quite dirty. The grounds are very well kept and I also agree that the pool if fantastic!The construction here is bad, you will hear all type of noises, I live on the second floor and the person that lives on the ground floor (below me)is always knocking on my door to complain about how much noise we make. I have a dog that barks and runs around the apartment but I pay rent for him so I tell my neighbor that she has to live with that noise, my dog is like a family member, he has to walk and play and there is no way I will punish him just because it bothers the neighbors. After mid night we don't make noises, we respect that time as we also have to work and get up early. I have never been reported to the management, I can do whatever I want in my apartment until 12 midnight. I have a garage and I love it. I never had anyone blocking my garage except for one day last summer. Overall, this place is very clean but too close to 95, almost impossible to sleep at night, I agree with everyone that has complained about it. I can hear people coming up the steps but I do not complain about it, and there is nothing management can do about it. I95 is not very convenient if you need privacy and you hate noise, at times it feels like I 95 runs below the apartments. The washer and dryer in the unit is a big plus but it bothers my neighbor, she says that she can hear the dishwasher and the washer when they are on, she even told me to do laundry in the afternoon and not in the mornings as she is still sleeping at 8 a.m, this is terrible! LOL! I find it crazy that people waste so much time complaining about things out of our control. There is tons of bugs everywhere in this place, they live in the balconies so no way I will sit there to enjoy my meal or read a book. The town of North East is cute but nothing happens around here, there is no place to go and everything is far away. I can't wait to get out of my lease and move to Bell Air. The only reason I rented here is because it was a beautiful place but I didn't realize how noisy it would be.

kmfields

Resident • 2011 - 2012

My Husband dog and I have been here for 15 months and just love it here! We are on the third floor and so far we do not have a problem hearing the neighbors. The rooms are large with washer and dryer included, also a fireplace and having a very large garage is ideal since we moved from a house and needed the storage space. The maintenance crew are great and anytime we need them they come right away and fix any problems perfectly! Our office Staff are always helpful and meet our needs. The dog park is very useful especially in the winter and we don't want to walk to far. The grounds are beautiful and all our friends admire them when they visit! 9/29/2013 We are on our third year now, had a little glitch with new owners taking over, but everything seems to be getting back on track now. We have a new maintenance crew and they are now as great as our old staff. We still love living here and would highly recommend to our friends.

Reneson1972

Resident • 2012

This is a good place to live. Unfortunately, it has very thin walls and we hear all the noise, that's the bad part. We have dogs, they are pretty good but the person that lives downstairs called the management office and told them that our dogs bark at 3 am and that we were making noises which is not true because we are never up after 11pm cause we commute to Philly at 7 in the morning. The management, I thought were good but they are horrible, they sent us a letter even saying that we might have to remove the dogs if the noise continues, I am disappointed that they sent us the letter without verifying if this was true or not, they just believed the person that complained and placed the letter in our door, I am not sure if we can sue them for that but we should. We are good tenants, pay ontime and we never complain due to noise because we hear everything but understand that this is a bad contruction. If you have pets don't move here, management will send you nasty letters without checking first, they should randomly stand outside my door at 11 pm and they will realize how quiet we are. Can't wait to move out in february!!! Some dog owners don't pick up after their pets so get ready to find poop everywhere. If you don't want to hear noises don't move here. There is stink bugs everywhere but I am not sure that management can control this. Parking is an issue, some people will block your garage, this is very annoying. The place has good things too, not everything is bad, if you don't mind the negative things I posted then look at the good ones which are: maintenance, the guys are good! Free car wash! Good fitness area, nice pool, a dumpster that can hold the trash of the entire complex which keeps the grounds clean, nice gardens and a dog park which is not very clean but gives the doggies enough space to run around. I 95 is right next to the apartments so keep that in mind, it is very loud at night!

Current Resident 350793

Resident • 2010 - 2012

IF YOU ENJOY...

Alta Chesapeake appears to be a nice place to live. The grounds are nice and the apartments have the "new" look one tends to be attracted to. If you enjoy noisy apartments, terrible parking situations, weekend car break ins, water bills of $65/month, average rent increases of $65/month, having to call the office several times when you have a problem, a fitness center that is 24 hrs but rarely locked for security, a nice fire pit amenity shown to you at move in that never has gas, challenging the climb up the hill on the main road to units in the snow, frequent power outages even on nice sunny days, moving into apartments with worn out carpet and fighting to get your security deposit back after moving out...well then Alta Chesapeake is the apartment complex for you.

Jennifer2616

Resident • 2010 - 2012

NO! HORRIBLE!

I can hear my neighbors screaming at each other every night. The guy on the other side dragged a dead deer into his apartment to chop it up, I imagine. Dogs running loose, dog poop everywhere. NASTY leasing office. Horrible water bill. Cheaply made. Electricity went out every time the wind blew and the garages would stop working. Cannot wait to get out.

ka.schute

Resident • 2012

Great place to live

I have had nothing but great experiences at Alta Chesapeake Ridge. The apartment is in great shape, it is bright and spacious, and everything is so much newer and of better quality than all the other apartments in the area. I have never had any of the problems many other people talk about - I never have to look for a parking spot (we have two cars, one of which parks outside our garage), and I don't even understand what was meant by saying the dryer makes your clothes "too dry" - there are literally hundreds of setting combinations on the dryer, including choosing the amount of time, the air temperature, and the moisture level... Whirlpool Duets are the top of the line, so learn how to use them! Maintenance has gotten to my request and fixed it the same day every time, and they and all staff are friendly and efficient. Love the convenience of online payments. I will be staying here for a while!