Lakecrest Apartments

lakecrestincompetence

Resident • 2013 - 2015

DO NOT LIVE HERE!! The management company is terrible and they just fired all of the employees that were good. They must have done it to save money because the people they are left with are the ones who should be fired. They send you eviction notices when you have always paid rent on time and it takes them forever to correct anything. If something is broken good luck getting the clowns that are left in maintenance to do anything about it if Debbie or Lisa even put the work order in!No local contractors will do any work for them because they don't pay them. The old manager Bryan really turned this place around but it has been downhill FAST since he left. I can't wait to get out of my lease and neither can my neighbors.

Current Resident 438021

Resident • 2008 - 2015

Awful ownership! They just fired the best manager this place has ever had. The cheap owners could care less about this place or especially the tenants. They hired back a lady that was fired a while back that none of the residents can stand!! This place will be quickly going to hell again. I am getting out of here as soon as my lease is up!!

Current Resident 861644

Resident • 2013 - 2014

One word HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE. Ok that was three, but really It was the worst place I ever lived. They do NO maintenance. I lived here from 7/13 to 8/13. Within days of moving in I had asked for maintenance to repair my sliding screen door which fell off. I kept filing maintenance request after maintenance request. I begged and pleaded with ----- the manager. I moved out with it never being repaired. That was ONE of many, many things. The parking lot has so many pot holes it was like driving on the lunar landscape. Every time I called on that one they has some excuse like the entire country was out of asphalt. Really? they think were this stupid? Twice everything in my storage was ruined because of flooding in the basement storage. So fair warning DO NOT MOVE HERE. It's a dirty place where they put nothing into repair. Stay Away!!!

redstickyankee

Resident • 2014

I lived at Lakecrest Ravine from Januay, 2008 through March, 2014. I found this to be a good place to live. I first lived in a studio apartment and then moved to a two-bedroom unit when my spose joined me. The staff was always courteous, helpful and responsive to requests. Some neighbors were loud but the vast majority were neighborly without being nosey. Some pet owners were slobs but again the majority of pet owners were responsible. Maintenance was addressed promptly. In my estimation a good value for the cost and a safe and enjoyable place to live.

Current Resident 814185

Resident • 2013 - 2014

DO NOT MOVE HERE! They will give you late fees when you pay on time and try to take your deposit! Worst place I have EVER lived! Takes them forever to fix anything you have to keep calling & calling! They told me my rent was $680 and then turned around told me my rent was $682 even though I showed them my lease! If you want dogs barking constantly around you and rude neighbors I would not move here! The staff is horrible

Current Resident 704168

Resident • 2013 - 2014

Good location easy access to central Saint Joseph, Martins supermarket is 3 minutes drive away, apartment has very good view of the lake. The sunsets during summer are absolutely stunning. Maintenance is very helpful. When you go to the office make sure to ask for the office manager her name is Lisa she is always pleasant and helpful.

TS9234

Resident • 2013

DO NOT MOVE HERE! I moved here only because I was doing a year long internship and I needed a cheap place to live. You do no even get what you pay for here. Neighbors are trashy and gross. If you do not smoke, get ready, because you will smoke at least a pack a day with the chain smokers that live around you. If you want a maintenance problem fixed... get ready to wait between a month and sixth months. A screen on my window took 6 months and a leaky/streaming faucet took 3 months and 6 phone calls. Spend the extra couple hundred of dollars to move anywhere but here. You will be glad you did. The only positive aspect of this apartment is that its close to the water. Other than that I cannot think of any reason to move here. AVOID THIS PLACE!

NorthernBell26

Resident • 2012 - 2013

Where do I start? My husband and I moved here about 7 months ago are definitely ready to leave. This is our very first apartment as we are young, newly-weds. We decided to move into this apartment mainly for location and we did not want an apartment in Benton Harbor. Also, most of the other places we checked out didn't have any vacancies at the time. For this review, I'll list the negatives and positives of the apartment. Positives >Water is included >Our air conditioner does work >Free heat >Apt has a dishwasher >Apt is considered as a "modern apt" so there are "upgrades" but you pay for them >Bedroom size is nice. We comfortably fit a queen sized bed, two night stands, a chest, dresser and bookshelf in this space >The office has not lost any of our packages >Nice, clean carpet -Negatives >Bed bugs: The first night I stayed here which was about two nights after I moved in, (no furniture had arrived yet, only had my brand new mattress from Macy's that had never been slept on before) I woke up the next morning to see blood on the sheets and a dead bug laying next to it. I had never seen a bed bug in person, I only knew what it was because I had watch the show "Infested" previously. Mind you, I was living with my parents before moving here and within the 15 years living at our house, I had never seen a bed bug. I took the dead bug in a plastic baggie to front office. Within a couple days they had the exterminator here spraying for the bugs. After telling my mother in-law about this, she said that she had read online that there had been a bed bug issue here in the past. In April, we got a letter that there had been another sighting of bed bugs and that our apartment will need to be to be sprayed. June, which is the current month, I was lying in bed, half asleep and I felt something crawling behind my ear. After feeling around I grabbed something and immediately turned on the light; it was a bed bug, that had been crawling behind my ear! Luckily, he didn't bit me yet. I could tell because he was still flat. I put him in a plastic baggie and took him to the office. Within two days the exterminator was at my apartment spraying the base boards, closets and bed with this alcohol mixture. I had been told this is NOT the proper way to take care of bed bugs. I do expect them to come back. They will only spray the apartments directly above and below you, and the apartments to each side of you. I talked to the exterminator and asked him if any other the other buildings had any issues with bed bugs. He said that he has never had to go to the back buildings for bugs at all. He also stated that the front building, where the main office is located, had an apartment that was infested with 5-6 dozen bed bugs. He said they fixed the issue but that goes to show you that there is an issue. I'm sure the front office knows about this. I wish that they would rectify the issue once and for all instead of choosing the cheap way out. At this point in time, I no longer want to stay in this apartment because of this issue. I am paranoid each time I go to lay in my bed. >Modern Upgrades: The modern apartment is not so modern. Sure, they have a white tub, toilet and sink instead of a green one. The cabinets in the kitchen are white and so are the appliances. The closet doors are also painted white. But all the "upgrades" are done very cheaply. It looks like the tub has been painted because I can see where the paint is wanting to come up. The painters who do the painting for the walls do a poor job. You can see hair painted into the wall and you can also see where the paint had dripped and dried. Might I also mention that it is probably the cheapest paint that you could get. Don't accidentally rub against the wall if you have on blue jeans. You'll see blue on the walls. If you try to get any marks off the wall with mild soap and water, the paint will come up! In turn, it ends up looking like you have various grease spots on the walls. The cabinets and counter tops in the kitchen are also very inexpensive. The material is starting to come away from the counter top. We like having a dishwasher but it does not clean or dry dishes well. It is also VERY loud. It's an older Whirlpool basic model. I work for Whirlpool so I know the quality of the product. Since they charge you extra per month (included in the rent) for the dishwasher, I would expect that they would at least get a middle of the line dishwasher with a stainless tub. The freezer is missing a shelf. The stove is missing the burner caps. The labeling on the stove is also incorrect. The knob for the right back burner is actually for the right front burner. On the other side it is reversed too. >Water: Although it is free, it is very HARD water. My dish rack and my dishes have white water residue left on them. I definitely would not drink the water. We have purchased bottled water since we've been here. The water also smells weird some mornings. >Heat: Also, the heat is free but I don't think that we ultimately control it (or either our thermostat is broken). Now that it's summer time, it gets rather hot in here (on the second floor). Even after turning the heat all the way down, some times the temperature in here reads between 70-85 degrees. If I'm up cleaning by the time I'm done I'm soaked with sweat. And with the turning the heat up in the winter, often times it is still very cold. Probably do to the drafty windows. >Noise level: The walls are super thin. You can hear everything. You can even hear your neighbor peeing. You can hear people walking above you. I heard two people talking through the vent before. For the first few months that we were here, we had some loud people above us. They would be running back and forth all through the night. Most of the time it sounded like they were dropping bowling balls on the floor. One night, because of their noise, my husband had to get out of bed to go upstairs and tell them to quiet down. It was almost midnight, on a week night; we had to be at work in the morning. Eventually they moved but now we have new next door neighbors who some times plays loud Mexican music. New people moved in down the hall and they often have people over late and are loud. They also frequently play loud music. >Grounds: The grounds are mediocre. They do allow dogs out here so there have been a few cases where I have almost stepped in dog poop in the grass. Most of the people with dogs won't even take them far enough from the building to handle their business. Usually they let them go just a few feet from the entrance right there in the grass. I now avoid walking in the grass. The tenants are also not very clean. You will often see trash on the grounds especially near the dumpster. There have been many cases where the trash is overflowing and people continue to throw things on top or just put their trash around the dumpster. Now that is it warmer outside, I do see them trying to do some landscaping. >Train: There is a train that runs behind building four (2860). It is pretty loud and annoying at times. When I came to view the apartment back in December, they did not mention that there was a train. >Door Buzzer: The buzzer for this building does not work. Apparently a few years ago there was a fire and they did not fix the buzzer system. That means that each time someone wants to visit you, you have to go let them in. As for the building entry doors, they are not very secure. I saw someone getting in with a screw driver before. Also, if some of the tenants see people wanting to get in, they will let them in. From a security aspect, I don't think that's a good idea. The door that we use to get into the building has a lock that can be a little difficult to open. We always joke that if someone were after us they would get us because it takes too long to get the door open. The lock sort of moves around. >Kitchen Space: The kitchen space is TINY. I love to cook so often times I'm putting stuff on the floor and in the sink for more room. >Miscellaneous Issues: -Cost to do laundry is a bit expensive -Smelly halls -Old water damage and cracks in the ceiling. Often looks like the ceiling is going to cave in. -Holes around some of the light switch plates -Holes in the window screens. I cannot physically see a whole but I notice that when I open the windows when night comes and the light is one, we get a few bugs in here. -Toilet pipes are old. A couple months ago we had an issue with leaking behind the toilet. There was this Styrofoam piece pushed up in the back of the toilet that kept falling down. Shortly after that we had the issue with leaking. The maintenance guy came out to fix it and told us that some part had rusted off and that's why we were having a leaking issue. A few times the toilet water in the bowl was a yellow, brownish color. Not sure why that happened. This was AFTER the leaking issue had been fixed. -Although the property manager (Bryan Yeske) seems helpful and genuine, one of the office assistants (Debbie, I think), is not so helpful. Example: A few weeks after we moved in we noticed that we could not open the living room windows, there was also a draft (we moved in during the winter). You could feel cold air coming through the windows even when they were closed. We also had an issue with the water not draining quickly in the restroom. I went to her with these issue and wanted someone to look at them. It has been months. Nobody ever came. My husband fixed the draining issue. My father got the windows to open. The windows are still drafty. All in all, I would not recommend these apartments to anyone based on the fact the the bad outweighs the good. I cannot wait until our lease is up. We are going to run out of this place.

Current Resident 637650

Resident • 2013

Maintenance has not responded to my pleas for repairs, I just keep getting excuses month after month. My walls need painting, and the ceiling is falling because of water leaks. Cannot use my bathroom to take a shower. Worst apartment building I had ever lived in!

eleighh90

Resident • 2012 - 2013

I have lived in this apartment for 8 months. There has been a fire down the hall, the outside doors were always jammed so anyone could walk in. We had a gas leak in our apartment. The bathroom flooded twice and currently the bathroom sink is backing up every day sometimes twice a day. The management has done nothing to fix this. The people that live in this building are extremely trashy. The only reason I'm still here is because I'm stuck in this lease. Also, the Windows are so crappy, it's like trying to look through frosted glass. The closet doors don't shut all the way, the bathroom looks like it came straight from the 70's, the paint job was definitely botched. There are dried drips of paint, hair painted into the walls, and drops of paint on the bathroom floor. Plus, the drawers in the kitchen are held together with glue and come apart occasionally. If you can find any other place to live, go with that instead.

Current Resident 35663

Resident • 2008 - 2013

I loved my studio apt with western window. The views were spectacular. I had more than enough storage/closet space, full size fridge. Exactly what a single would need who doesn't spend a lot of time home. Staff changes were very frequent, maintenance also, even though that did not effect level of service. Will definitely consider when moving again coming back to this complex. I loved being able to have my pet with me and they proved plenty of area to walk my dog and bags to clean up with.

Current Resident 343185

Resident • 2011 - 2013

I have lived in my apartment for a year and a half. I have had no problems with maintenance or management staff. Everyone is friendly, including other tenants, and the apartments are not noisy. I have two chihuahuas, and aside from this being one of the few places in this area that allows dogs, there is a nice area to walk dogs with waste bags supplied. For a one bedroom, the floor plan is spacious and there is more than enough closet space!

Current Resident 336582

Resident • 2013

I have lived here for a couple of years and I'm dislike these apartments already!!! I use to love it here, but maintenance and staff never get anything done!!! i had a problem with noise, things that need to get fixed that don't! I cannot wait to move out of this hell hole. Maintenance is lazy because they never get anything done!! they are usually free most of the time and just never get the stuff that needs to get done on time!!!!!!!! I see them walking around just talking to each other not doing ----! GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASSES AND DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!

FSpider

Resident • 2012 - 2013

Moved in last summer, end of July, to a ground-floor studio apartment. There's some noise from neighbors in the hallway, and when my immediate neighbors brought home a newborn, I could hear some crying, but for the most part, I couldn't be happier with how quiet my apartment is. My apartment was freshened up when I moved in. Brand new carpet, the walls were patched and painted (though sloppily done), nothing seemed broken. I'm a clean freak and was pleased with how little cleaning was needed before moving in. The apartment itself is spacious, with plenty of outlets and TONS of storage space. There is lack of kitchen storage, but that's expected in a studio. I have two massive closets in the apartment, plus a linen closet in the bathroom. I've never had a problem with parking, though during a very bad windstorm (Hurricane Sandy, I believe), a tree did fall down and ding one of the cars in the lot. However, this is the risk you take for living someplace with a ton of beautiful, mature trees. The staff seems eager to help and usually jump on issues. It seems like they've completely changed over since I started, but all of the new people seem helpful and professional. Rent is very cheap, all utilities except electricity included. I pay an additional $20 a month to have a cat, plus a pet deposit, but there is no longer a requirement to declaw cats. I don't know the policy for dogs. On the whole, I enjoy my apartment. It's old (building is pre-1970s and has a lot of faults with that, but the apartment itself is clean and quiet. Maintenance staff is very prompt to deal with problems. Now for the bad: The A/C is ancient, loud, and filthy, but I didn't use it much. The only ventilation aside from the window is a bathroom fan that is similarly loud, and if it isn't running, it's letting in the emissions from my smoker neighbors. I have it sealed over with plastic and use a dehumidifier instead. There still seems to be a mildew problem--if I am not religious about using my dehumidifier, I start noticing colored patches growing on the ceiling or window frame. The apartment is generally beat up--ceiling beams are sagging into the plaster, closet handles are loose, plaster and paint splotches are everywhere, and tile grout is falling out. I have seen several new types of large bugs, including a cockroach, but after spray-treating my apartment only for them, the bugs have consented to stay hidden for several months now. I haven't noticed any signs of bedbugs or rodents. The maintenance staff is perhaps the biggest disappointment. Everyone who has come to fix a problem of mine has claimed to be "brand new" and "not sure" what they were doing. They come to help quickly, but they don't help very well. One time, I had water pouring from my bathroom light. The maintenance guy deduced that the leak was from the apartment above and they had fixed it earlier, so problem was solved, have a nice day, never mind that my bathroom light had had water in it all morning (electricity water isn't good, right?) and the ceiling was bulging with possibly more water. I had my apartment treated for bugs several times, but it wasn't until I treated myself that I stopped noticing them. My bathroom closet has a very bad odor coming from one of the walls, but aside from it being declared "not mold," absolutely nothing was done to try to remedy it. They do fix things that go WRONG, but not necessarily things that are simply uncomfortable. Despite all of this, I enjoy my apartment. For the price I'm paying, it's excellent. The location is good, my neighbors are nice, and the size is perfect. It's an older apartment in a small town: it's not going to be flawless. I do recommend it to my friends who are starting to look for places of their own, and it's great for anyone on a budget.

Current Resident 553026

Resident • 2012 - 2013

We have just moved in and so far everything seems fine. The management staff is friendly. We wanted to live in this area and knew if we could find a decent place to live we would be well on our way to success. We feel this apartment complex will gives us a good start.

Current Resident 218383

Resident • 2012

This place is the worst place to live. Management sucks!! The staff here are really rude. I called to make a complaint and no action took place. The appliances in the apartment I lived in are really old & falling off its hedges. I called about that too and the Maintence man showed 4 hours later. The people that live here are really unfriendly. There are bugs everywhere in the apartment. The rent here is 600 for a studio apartment oh yeah and the rates may change. It's a ------ place to live. I'll recommend any other apartment complex but Lakeshore Crest Apartments, the view of the lake is beautiful but from my experience I regret my choice .

onyxkat

Resident • 2011 - 2012

Peace and Quiet Neighborhood, Treelined Streets

I moved from Chicago noisy nighttime neighbors to this highly recommended quiet apartment complex. I am totally satisfied. It has washer and dryer on 1st floor, there is a storage facility for your bike. There is plenty of parking and it's safe at night. They have on the premise snow removal and 24 ge maintenance if u need them for emergency.There two major banks e.g. Chase and Bank of America, Martin's grocery, Kentucky fried chicken and many more convent stores of q block walking distance. Yes I would say this place is a gem. I almost forgot to mention the lake is 2 blocks away. The staff here are too notch and the maintenance crew are wonderful too keeping the entire grounds attractive clean.All of my neighbors are friendly and we are diversified in age group. Yes this is one unique place.

Klye77

Resident • 2011 - 2012

Great Place To Live

The staff and management for my complex are very friendly and easy to work with. Any problems I had were taken care of quickly.

DogsiKnow

Resident • 2012

Worst apartment complex I have ever lived at!

Will not miss this place or the certain trashy tenants. NOTE: They will try to charge you for things you did not do.

greedymanagement

Resident • 2011

RENTERS BEWARE!

The management firm is outta state. The office help is unwilling to help. The apartment building I'm currently living in is a "-----hole". The hallway air smells of neighbors doing drugs throughout the week - during the day and night. The stereo is blasting on and off throughout the day and going until late at night. Arguments, doors slamming and fights occur which spill over into the hallway waking you from sleep happen throughout the week (especially on the weekend). Police have been called on many occasions, the apartment management has been notified which has fallen on "deaf" ears - your safety and getting involved isn't on their mind - just profit - so RENTER BEWARE AT THIS APARTMENT COMPLEX. When talking to the apartment management - if they say its "sunny" outside - get up and look outside because nothing they say can be trusted.

Current Resident 883942

Resident • 2009

HORRIBLE place to live...

I lived here for 2 years, only because I had to. The pipes behind the wall in the bathroom leaked causing the tiles to come lose. I had complained once and all they did was caulk the faucet back in place. Now I'm getting charged for that damage since I moved out. My neighbors did drugs and many times I could smell it in my apartment, along with cigarette smoke. Forget security because everyone props the doors open. The apartment looked ok when I first saw it but stains started popping up through the carpeting as soon as I moved in, the ceilings and walls cracked because of water leakage, black mold was always on the window frames no matter how many times I scrubbed it. Not worth the money or headache!!!

Current Resident 880718

Resident • 2004

So Happy Now we LEFT

We had so many problems with the staff, the other Tenants, ect. We lived there for 5 years. It went down hill quick. The staff changes over quicker than the Tenants do. In our particular building, there were several domestic violence issues, 6 months after a certain couple were kicked out. They let them move back into another building. When ever there were complaints made about drug use/selling they were never responded to. The weekend we moved out maintenance stopped by because we had a dripping bath tub faucet (hot water). We closed the windows left the air on low (Mid July via their advice said they would fix hot water drip that day.) We had 2 weeks left of our lease. Were advised to keep our keys till the end of the month by office staff. Walked into the apartment the day we were turning in our keys to a non working air conditioner, maintenance had never fixed the drip in the tub. It had to be 100 degrees in the apartment. With Hot water now flowing out of the tub faucet not just dripping. So a Mix of Heat and Moisture in the apartment made for a science experiment gone wrong. All the walls were green and so was the carpet. When we called maintenance with our VERY BIG concern. They had none. We were told we had to clean it. SO we did till 2am. I will never rent from them or their parent company every again. We sent a very long letter of concern to their parent company and no one seemed to care what condition the apartments were kept in, or the fact that most of the buildings seemed to have a "bug" problem of some kind. So Happy we left :)

Current Resident 436614

Resident • 2011

Front office staff couldn't be nicer. Extremely helpful and always available. Bryan has been a HUGE help, and the new guy seems very knowlegable. Very pleasant place to live! Thanks guys!

Current Resident 405056

Resident • 2011

Great place to live!

Can I just say...I LOVE LIVING HERE! I have lived here since January, and before that, I lived in the other Lakecrest property for a year. My studio is clean, cozy, safe, and quiet -- and it overlooks the beautiful lake! The sunsets are amazing! There is tons of close parking, and the property is about two miles away from down town St. Joseph. The staff is incredibly friendly and will do anything to please their renters. I will absolutely be renewing my lease!

Current Resident 205862

Resident • 2007 - 2010

Nice people but can't wait to move out.

The people who work here are pretty nice, the maintenance crew has always been pleasant. The office seems to have very high turnover in personnel, not sure what the story is there. Quality of resident has dropped in the last few years. Too many young adults living there (ages 19-23) so more drinking, drugs, etc. I wouldn't want to live here if I had young children.