As one of the first residents to live here, this community has gone downhill since 2008.\r
\r
I'm married with 2 children - there are NO family areas to gather in other than the pool. No play area on the premises is a big downer for a family.\r
The elevators stay dirty and the grassy areas are covered with dog feces; it seems the ""threat"" of fining residents for not cleaning up after their pets hasn't worked at all.\r
\r
The management does not enforce common-sense parking, allowing people to store their busted vehicles for months at a time in unassigned spaces; basically people are using these spaces as a garage instead of parking them outside the gate or renting an actual garage. THEY NEVER MOVE. Want a garage? Sure! That's only an extra $130 a month. Small storage? $80 a month for a closet big enough to fit bicycles.\r
\r
God forbid you accidentally bounce a rent payment, they'll blacklist you from the RentPayment website and you'll either have to pay in money orders, by cashier's check or suck up the montly $35 ""convenience"" fee the website charges for you to use your debit card. Don't be surprised when the local sheriff quickly provides you with a court summons - so add the 10% late payment fee along with a bounced check fee, then a court fee to appease the sherrif and you're broke, but your rent is paid.\r
\r
Their office has not caught up to modern technology and allowed residents to pay with a check/debit card at their office. Half the time they don't post your rent total along with your water bill in time for the 1st of the month - just guess, you'll be OK! Of course they're willing to work with you...yeah right.\r
\r
Are you used to having a choice for cable TV or internet services? Don't worry about that here, because you don't have any options! In 2008 Meridian Parkside included basic Verizon FiOS internet and cable as a bonus for paying their outrageous rental prices. Fortunately for them it wasn't in their contract, so they nicely notified their customers they'd no longer pay for this service in 2009 when they had most of the apartments filled. Now we get to pay over $100/month for a home phone, cable and internet service. The infrastructure in the apartments were not configured with basic cable lines, so your options of getting Cox or other cable/phone providers are non-existent.\r
\r
On a good note, I've never had a maintenance issue.\r
\r
Steer clear of this hole, residents are leaving in droves - you should see all the empty parking spots. Also it's funny how their website has ""property photos"" but they fail to show you any pictures of the apartments or grounds.
more