Review for Clearwater Bay Apartments

I was looking for an apartment because my house was selling and I needed a place to go. Most of the apartments in the area were full- unless you wanted to go really expensive or excessively cheap. I settled on Clearwater bay because they had one unit that had "just been remodeled"; though, it was $50 per month more expensive than the rest.

The remodel consisted of replacing most of the appliances that were worn out and putting new carpet in- which is supposed to be done anyway. The walls were painted and that's about it. Keep in mind, while the appliances were new, they were the CHEAPEST version money can buy.

It stunk. Like people had been smoking inside for a long time and it didn't matter how much cleaning I did, the smell would not go away. I tried opening wondows but the design of the apartment does not allow for a cross breeze. The outlets are old and don't hold plugs anymore, there is one in my kitchen that is arced out and I finally had to replace my own in the bedroom because "they" wouldn't do it. The main breaker in the panel box has been replaced with a 60 amp because they're $12 rather than the 100 amp that's $52. How do I know this' Because mine fried and I had to take care of it. The water heater had been replaced but the wiring consisted of electrical tape- it wasn't even grounded. When the weather is warm, the stagnant water from the pond creates HUGE amounts of insects. The doors and windows are old so they don't have any problem getting in. The window in the master bedroom won't open and it has baseboard heat so I would stay in one room during the winter with the heat off in the rest of the apartment. My electrical bills were still between $80 and $130 for ONE room! There is one wall mounted air conditioner and it's in the living room so don't even pretend you're going to be comfortable in the bedrooms.

I specifically asked when I rented the apartment if they plowed the parking lot when it snowed. I was assured that they did and was placed the one of the apartments furthest into the complex. Well, they don't. There is over 6" of snow right now and still snowing. I have been stuck five times in a 2005 cadillac CTS.

The apartment managers Pat and Cathy. Pat is a very nice guy. He's calm and understanding, fun to talk to and genuinely nice. Cathy is the opposite of that. She prides herself on being rude and *itchy. She is a very unpleasant woman. Yes, I am being kind here.

There have been other issues that have been brought up with the apartment management. In my apartment, the mixing valve in the shower doesn't turn off all the way so it is constantly dripping water, the toilet in the spare bathroom runs constantly- they tried to fix it and failed so I finally just turned the water off and don't use that bathroom. The lighting is HORRIBLE in the bathrooms and the vent fans don't work. Oh, they spin, but the air doesn't move.

There is more but I think, if you have read this far, you get the idea. Needless to say, I will be moving out as soon as possible.

The mexicans that live in the apartment complex next door playing their Spanish music until 1:00 am almost every night are a nice addition. And the soooo cute ducks don't go to sleep. They quack quite loudly all. effin. night. long.

Um... the free covered parking is nice.

I keep thinking of more! The first four months I lived there the pool was unusable but they wouldn't give me a discount on my rent. I asked about getting out of the lease in case I didn't like it there. Cathy proudly said," the remainder of the lease is what it costs. Why would I have a buy-out option'" The "security gate" is open when it's supposed to be closed and won't open when you want it to. Seriously. They have remote controls to operate the front gate, or if you're leaving you drive over a white line to get the gate to open. The gate will open about a foot then close so you have to push the button again. Usually it opens on the second try but every once in a while you get lucky and it will stall out, setting off an alarm.

There is mold in the bathrooms to the point the sheetrock is deteriorating and crumbling. The closet doors are from 1972 when the place was built but there are 35 coats of paint on everything (I think that's to make them feel new...). Aluminum windows that are so poor you can feel the cold air blowing through them, the screens are falling off or missing altogether, birds were living in the exhaust tube for the vent fan and tiny little bugs were dropping from the ceiling in the bathroom. The smell was really bad but they took care of that issue pretty quickly.

This place really really sucks. I'm actually leaving in 2009 but that's not an option in the pulldown menu.

All in all, this apartment is about $250 per month too high. It's a ghetto being masked as a decent apartment. I truly hope this little message gets out and prevents people from moving into this place being forced to sign a 9 (yes, NINE) month lease. Don't make the same mistake I made!