Review History for Penguin_

Seriously? SHOCKED by all the negative reviews!

I came across this site the other day and thought I would see what people were saying about my own place of residence. Quite frankly, I was absolutely shocked by all the negative reviews. Just to set the record straight, I felt I had to post my own opinion of Waterford Forest. To start with, I have lived here for almost five years now, so I feel that my opinions should have some weight, especially amongst all the reviews people have left after having spent only a year or two at this apartment complex. And I will not say that I have never had a bad experience. If you live anywhere long enough, you aren't going to like something that happened at one point or another. But I will say that despite the couple of negative experiences, the positive ones FAR outweigh the negatives. And any bad experience I had was always quickly rectified by the great staff in place here. So I'll go through each of the categories I'm about to rate in turn and give my reasons for why I feel the way I do about them. Parking is an easy one. I have never had any difficulty finding a parking spot within a reasonable distance of my apartment. Also, they do offer covered carports for an added monthly fee if that's something you would like, although I have never used one. The noise level within the community is not an issue for the most part. Almost all of the residents are pretty good about keeping it down in the evenings and early mornings. I did have one neighbor that was a bit loud for a short period of time but that was really the exception, not the rule. The grounds are immaculate! No complaints whatsoever here. Actually, one of the very first things I was impressed with when I moved in was that they seem to go out of their way to make sure everything stays pristine. They have landscapers here once a week that work all day long to make sure the place stays nice and it shows. As for safety, I have never felt unsafe in this community. Keep in mind, this is Cary we're talking about, so you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere really unsafe but there is very little crime that I've noticed at Waterford. I won't say never. There was a series of car break-ins a couple years ago. But the break-ins were not limited to our community and the police quickly apprehended those responsible. And the management and office staff were very diligent about posting flyers and notifying residents about what was going on and to keep valuables out of their cars during this time. This really is all they could do and they did a great job with it. Construction seems to be a hot topic in the reviews I read. Yes, the apartment complex is undergoing a massive overhaul right now. Every inch of every building is being repainted to modernize the look. And yes, the painters are a bit of a nuisance at times. They have asked us on numerous occasions to move things off our balconies, etc. so the painters could do their jobs. But this HAS to be done. They are making the community look better and be a more attractive place to live. I mean come on, at least they care enough to make this effort! And the good thing is that this overhaul is almost done... and it looks really good! I can take a few minor inconveniences if the end result is that the place looks much better. And honestly, you can't blame the apartment staff for the ways the painters interact with residents. They haven't always been the most personable but no matter who they would have gotten to do this job, there probably would have been some issues. Moving on, MAINTENANCE! The maintenance staff here is amazing!!! I really can't say enough good things about them. Best of anywhere I've ever lived and I've moved around a lot so have lived in quite a few apartment complexes. If I recall, I think they even won an award amongst the Mid-America communities once. There was a sign about that posted by the office. And they deserved it! They always respond very quickly, even in off-hours, and believe it or not, they're actually very nice people and you can tell they take pride in their work and actually care about the people who live here. Seriously, you do not get that everywhere. I have probably only put in a handful of maintenance requests in my time here, but every single one of them was handled professionally and courteously. No complaints! The office and management staff are equally impressive. From my first interactions with them up until the present day, I have never been disappointed. Again, issues have come up. I recall one time that a maintenance person (no longer employed here) entered my apartment because my A/C unit was leaking water into the apartment below me. I was at work and when I got home, things had been moved around and some insulation was left out on the kitchen counter. As you can imagine, I was a bit upset, especially since I have a dog and was worried he could have gotten to the insulation. I immediately went up to the office to file a complaint. Honestly, I didn't expect much. I figured they would just tell me it was an emergency and couldn't be helped. But the property manager personally came outside (I was walking my dog) to speak with me and profusely apologized for what had happened. She told me she would speak with the employee that performed the work and guaranteed this would never happen again. Really all she could do at that point, but it was the way she handled the situation that impressed me the most. You could just tell that she really cared about my concerns and wasn't just blowing me off. And every interaction I've had or witnessed taking place with the office staff has been the same. Even when they are handling an irate tenant or guest, they always seem to be very professional, courteous and understanding of that person's concerns. And trust me, I've worked and managed in customer service, and it is not always easy to deal with someone who isn't being respectful to you. They do a really good job with it from what I've seen. Again, as with the maintenance staff, you can tell they really do care about their job and the people living in their community. In addition to day to day interactions, they also seem to put on a lot of special events and the like, at least more so than anywhere else I've lived. It isn't always my thing so I haven't been to many, but I could see how some people would really enjoy them and it certainly isn't something they have to do by any means. As a side note, if you have kids, they do a cool movie night at a small theater in the clubhouse once a month and host other kid-friendly events. I don't have kids myself, but am sure if you are a parent, that would appeal to you. In closing, just wanted to touch on the amenities here. They have one of the nicest pools I've seen in an apartment complex and it is always kept up well. They have a full-fledged fitness center that is open 24 hours. Sometimes you do have to wait for a treadmill or other piece of equipment but you're not joining a gym here and it's free and a pretty nice facility. They have a great off-leash dog park that is fairly large to let your dog(s) play in and in general are one of the most pet-friendly apartment complexes I've come across in the area. One of the reasons I chose to live here. They have two laundry facilities in addition to hook-ups in the apartments. They have a car wash area which is convenient and a playground for kids. There is a nice picnic/grill area in the center of the community adjacent to a sand volleyball court. If you like to walk or run or otherwise be active outdoors, Bond Park is just around the corner which is pretty convenient and a brand new Cary Greenway was just constructed within walking distance from the complex. Oh... and they have a racquetball court! Personally, I have never seen an apartment community with one of those so that's pretty cool. I did see some reviews about the fee structure in place here... water, sewage, pest, trash, cable, etc. While I have to admit the structure isn't the greatest in the world because you do have to add on a bit to your monthly rent to get an idea of what you'll be paying each month, think about it this way. If you take your rent and all the extra fees and add them together, you're still paying a similar amount each month to what you'd pay at a comparable community in this part of Cary that included everything in one quoted amount. Trust me, I looked at quite a few before deciding on this one. So while the extra fees may make it seem like they're nickel and diming you, they really aren't. I have been very satisfied with what I get for what I pay here and feel that I would be hard-pressed to find somewhere better for less money. So overall, this is a great place to live! I know I rambled on for a while, but wanted to touch on all aspects and give everyone a good idea of what to expect living here. As I said at the beginning, I am really amazed at the negative comments. There are negatives, as there are anywhere, but this place does not deserve the bad rap it seems to be getting recently. Just wanted to shed some light on the positives. Hope this helps in your search for your next place to live!