Review for Willows Apartments

I wish *I* had! This place has a lot of issues. But first, the good points:
1. I never had a cleanliness issue, the place was immaculate when I moved in.
2. All of your utilities (except for phone and internet, of course) are included.
3. Although the units are a bit outdated with appliances from the 70's, mine has loads of storage space, which is a big plus.
4. Lovely little courtyard which is nice for the one month you can use it in Syracuse.
5. Balconies...see above.
6. Stone construction instead of wood helps deaden the sound from above and below. I have a second floor apartment and rarely get any noise.
7. Pet friendly, but only if you're the right kind of person.

Now on to the negatives:
1. Again, outdated and shabby. They're under new management now, so it seems they're trying to spruce up the place, but it's going to take a lot more than paint to fix this dump.
2. Although I don't get noise from above and below, I *DO* get noise from the hallway. The doors are very flimsy.
3. The security here is very lax. The outside doors are frequently left propped open. In fact, recently when they were repainting the hallway and the outside of our tenant doors, all of the apartment doors were left popped open with NO ONE TO WATCH and the OUTSIDE DOORS LEFT WIDE OPEN. Obviously, they don't care if *my* things are stolen.
4. Management (especially Janet) are horrendous. They don't care about you or anything you have to say. They don't want to hear a complaint, they just want you to fork over your rent and shut up. There's a new guy in the office now who is a real sweetie, but he's the exception more than the rule.
5. Maintenance here is a joke. I have not had a functional stove in nearly 2 weeks. I can't tell you how many times I've complained about it, but it took a letter to their corporate owners to get results. So unless you're handy, don't expect a lot of help.
6. Laundry facility is hit or miss. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's all the luck of the draw! I like to think that when it doesn't work, that's Fate's way of telling me to forget laundry and do something fun instead. As a result, when I get to do laundry, there's A LOT of it.
7. Although they market the complex as nonsmoking, there are quite a few rule breakers, so if you're sensitive to cigarette smoke, I recommend you look elsewhere.

All in all, it's a cheap, pet-friendlyish apartment complex. If you don't mind all of the above negatives, think about it again, and then decide. If you can't handle the negatives, you're probably already crossing this off of your list. Good for you! Unfortunately, I've got quite a few months before I can cross it off of mine.