<p>My DS is looking at this place. Any opinions either way? I know there is a shuttle but on off hours can you ride a bike to campus or is a car needed? He wants to get a 4 bedroom and has one roommate committed and was thinking of letting them match two others to save on costs. Any thoughts on their roommate matching program? Is the area safe? do they normally fill up? should we sign the lease now or wait to see what specials if any they have later on? Thanks in advance for your help.</p>
<p>My son was at the Retreat for 2 years. Very nice place. </p>
<p>He did use the Crimson Ride, but he also had a car for the times that it wasn’t available.</p>
<p>It’s gated and crime is low.</p>
<p>Nice place…great facility…but…not managed well…at all…(understatement)</p>
<p>If your son ends up moving in there, you need to document everything…every tiny thing that is wrong when you move in, including pictures, video and in writing and make sure it is sent to porperty manager upon move in for evidence. You wil be needing it…trust me.</p>
<p>My D is moving there next year. We will take Searchguy’s advice and document the condition of the place when she moves in. The girls are also planning on setting up their own utilities to avoid overages. </p>
<p>NJPeeps, they were offering specials last month.</p>
<p>My son is considering moving into The Retreat. The online reviews are very concerning, to say the very least. From the condition of the homes, the staff, fines and overage charges, to safety. Yet, this community gets the top ratings from the BAMA off campus housing website.I would really appreciate any additional information or shared experiences from the CC community.</p>
<p>I was not happy about the overages at The Retreat, but my son insisted that they were because one of the housemates was an excessive AC/heat user and took long hot showers.</p>
<p>So that would have been a problem wherever he was with this one housemate. </p>
<p>However, I wasn’t happy with the charges after move-out. I found out after the fact. I would have fought this. Son was there for two years. When they moved out, the Retreat charged them to replace the carpet. The boys did rent a cleaner and did a good job cleaning. The only carpet in their 5 bedroom unit was on the stairs and bedrooms. The entire downstairs and all bathrooms were hard flooring. Each boy was charged $300…so 1500 for the carpet. I realize that this may not have been the whole cost, but it was likely cheap carpet to begin with and likely a few years old already…so normal wear and tear.</p>
<p>I still wonder how old that carpet had been when they moved in. If it was already a few years old, the complex shouldn’t have charged them. But, I couldn’t fight it because son and the others paid. </p>
<p>If I were to do this again, I would make them show me how old the carpet is at MOVE in and document it.</p>
<p>SUGGESTION prior to move in not only document every single thing but video the conditions as well with a time/date stamp.
We live in a condo and several of the movers and contractors use this method in the halls when moving items in so as not to be charged.</p>
<p>^^
Totally agree.</p>
<p>And I wouldn’t just ask when the unit was last painted/carpeted, I would want to see records.</p>
<p>I will be calling to get further details. Thanks for the feedback. If anyone else has any additional information, I would certainly appreciate it.</p>
<p>seekingknowledge, my daughter knows people who are happy living in The Retreat though they do have overages every month. Due to the experiences that some CCers have had there, we will be quite diligent about documenting move-in condition (including photos/video). Also, the girls have opted out of the utility package. I’m not sure what the best route to go is, but they will be getting their own utilities. </p>
<p>m2ck, the carpet story is disconcerting.</p>
<p>lattelady: I have also read that some residents recommend opting out of the utility package. I will look into it. My DDs (older than my son) had experience with a landlord that was also an attorney. When we moved them in, I made them photograph (with time stamps) the condition of the carpets, etc. They though I was crazy. When they moved out a year later, the photos came in very handy. He tried to keep their deposits. After a few firm emails from my DDs, with pictures and a paper trail of old emails attached, he told them to keep their deposits, as he made more money in an hour than the deposits were worth. If my son chooses this living arrangement, we will send a film crew in!</p>