El Chaparral Apartments

I lived here for four years because it was so cheap that I could afford school as a single mother. The price is good for the size, but you get what you pay for. Rent went up every year but only one improvement was facilitated during those 4 years. The balconies would crumble beneath your feet, were fixed directly to the building, and had no support. Someone fell through and sued them, so they did finally replace the balconies. That was the only improvement during the four years I lived there.... The walls and ceiling of my apartment had deep cracks in them as if the neighbor above me was going to fall in at any moment. The people below me had their apartment flooded several times in the same year because of plumbing issues. My sink backed up regularly because the neighbors were putting rice down the sink. Maintenance does very little to resolve issues. When I moved in, the oven was dirty and the dishwasher rack was broken. It remained this way all four years. My kitchen sink hose was leaking when I moved in and every time I reported it they replaced the same piece without the issue being resolved. My toilet leaked where it should have been sealed to the floor. Additionally, the cabinets were so coated and paint that they were flaking and peeling. It is clear that they do not clean them, they just paint over the dirt. All of the windows are drafty and leak, resulting in black mold on the windows A couple of them you could see clean outside through the gaps. Considering how poorly the windows are fixed to the building, you can clearly hear everything outside as if the windows are open. The same goes for your neighbors or anyone in your building. They have two washers and two dryers available, but it's only two washers for 22 apartments to share. The washer and dryers break down frequently and take your money. The office is not responsible for these washers and will not help you with issues. You have to call a third party, which usually does not refund you. You're much better off going down the street to the gateway laundry. The office is simply one of the apartments, there's no physical office building or amenities. The office ladies are racist, as well as smoke and have pets in the office frequently, resulting in a poor, but accurate, image of the apartment complex. Read More

There are little truths, and then there are larger truths which simply cannot be ignored.
Truth: Cheap rent is always nice. Larger truth: You always get what you pay for. Always. Never forget that. Truth: The apartments sit on a rolling hill, with grass and trees, making for a park-like setting. Larger truth: The rolling, steep hills not only flood all apartments downhill (which is 80% of the complex) during any amount of rain and cause major water seepage and mildew on the interior walls. The... same beautiful hills turn into a deadly roller skating rink when it snows or ices up, which happens ALL WINTER LONG. Plan on missing work and outings with friends as you gnash your teeth in the cold, trying to push your car up the icy hill while using your rear window defrost as a hand warmer. BONUS larger truth: Those tree lines and grass are LOADED with diseased, dying feral cats. Try stepping in dank cat dung or letting your pet and kids track it in your carpet. One of these wretched colonies and feeding areas is right smack in the middle of the kids’ playground. Management loves and encourages these pests. Truth: The staff appear to be nice. Larger truth: As already stated, management's attitude is ”How dare you bother us” whipped up in a fake Southern accent. Maintenance is overworked and mostly unable to fix these ailing apartments, which have been abused for 50 years now. Not their fault, but is still the truth. And, if you aren't handy around the home, you'd better learn fast. Thank God for Google. Largest truth: Their motto is: “The Northland’s best kept secret!” But, these apartments are chock full of black mold and wet, rotting wood - that's their real secret. The ceilings, floors, and walls are absolutely full of it. Health violations are matter of public record. Call the Department of Natural Resources. Our "garden level" apartment would have sprung forth flowers if I'd bought seed. Plenty of moisture and dirt within the walls. Their lease states that “management is not aware of mold…” If a lease says that, it should be a HUGE red flag. The lease is also completely slanted against your rights. Bottom line: I was dead wrong, as were many more before me. I've moved on. Look past the price and pretty setting. It was cheap there for a reason, and not near cheap enough. Read More

Looks great on the outside on first impression. Reality is as the title says, a regular Little Mogadishu going on here. Thieves, oregano sales, large groups of said men imitating hitting cars with base ball bats in their troves. The management is of course complicit with all of this, they sign off on who is preferred. Units are not maintained. Your unit can be flooding to the point you have to wear plastic bags over your feet to take a shower while the sewer backs up and barfs all over the... floor and they won't do anything for months upon months. To top, you will not get your deposit back. You'd think with all the deposit profits they'd be able to keep things up a little better. Keep dreaming. Read More

I would absolutely not recommend these apartments to anyone. The office staff are rude and condescending. They try to treat you like you are stupid. The maintenance people are extremely incompetent and never know how to completely fix anything. I could do a better job fixing it myself. Nothing is ever done in a timely manner. I've had so many problems with them fixing anything at all including my air conditioner that they refused to come look at for over a month and was non-functioning. The... decks on almost all of the apartments are practically falling off the building and they are too cheap to fix them. Mine is so rotten that when you walk out on it the board bow and crack. It is not safe at all!! The power goes off at random times for no reason and stays off for over an hour. Nobody seems to really care to try and fix it. I spoke with some other residence that had lived there for awhile and they said that its completely normal and has been that way for over 10 years. There are over 20 feral cats that just run around the complex that people feed but no one seems to want to take responsibility and fix any of them so they stop reproducing. Obviously these people that own the apartments could care less about them. Save yourself the trouble and frustrations and just don't rent from them. If i could give less than 1 star I most certainly would. I will most definitely not be living here any long than is necessary. Read More

Apartment grounds are clean and well kept, and apartments themselves are in good condition. Parking sometimes can be a problem, a few times I have had to park in other building's designated parking because my lot is full. In the winter it is nearly impossible to get out due to 90% of the apartments being downhill. Inside the apartments are old but maintained, very little noise from neighbors unless they are in the hallway. Maintenance is quick and seems to fix everything but talking to Kathy in... the office is always terrible. She comes off as if you need anything you are severely bothering her and wasting her time. Rent was a good price but has gone up $15 each year as well as the price of laundry(started at $0.75 a wash and now $1.50, dryer $1.00 now 1.25). Overall a nice place to live, as long as you don't bother the office very much. Read More