406 Packard St

The unit is a bit small for the price, but my partner and I are able to comfortably fit all the things we need in our 2-bdrm. The unit needed a good deep-cleaning when we moved in, but is otherwise in great condition. We've needed to put in a few maintenance requests, but they were promptly responded to.

The real highlight of the apartment is the location. It's a five minute walk from the law school. If you don't want to live in the LC or Phid, you can't beat it.

The management is a little unreliable in the communication department if we need to reach out separately from the maintenance portal. We usually have to send a follow up email, and sometimes the response we get doesn't make sense. That being said, we've ALWAYS been satisfied with the outcome. We were willing to sign a 2-year lease after our first year, so we definitely trust the management.

This apartment is very close to campus and has many storage options in terms of closets. The management company is a nightmare to deal with. Issue (1) They gave us the wrong size beds when we moved in. We requested fulls and they gave us twins. It took them many days to fix it. They were more responsive to my roommate's father than to me, the tenant. (2) They overcharged me for my parking spot. They corrected it when I pointed it out to them (3) They are rude to tenants. When I asked when the beds would be changed, Debbie said, "I'm not going to give you a date because when they don't do it on that date you will get upset and call me again." On another occasion, when I called about the parking charge issue, they did not answer the phone during business hours. When I did call, Debbie claimed I had a poor connection and said, "I left you a very detailed voicemail. If you listen to it and still have concerns, email me" and then hung up the phone. (4) Poor planning. They decided to start construction on the parking lot (to put in a sealant for the garage) right after move-in instead of over the summer. Tenants were originally told they had to move their cars for one week and it was extended to three weeks. I was told to move my car for five separate occasions in one month. I think the management is not well organized, it is noisy in the apartment, and the kitchen is far too small. I don't think it's worth the hassle, even if water, gas, and Internet are included.

Location is close to Ross, less than 10 minutes, but it is with mostly undergrads in the building. Not a huge issue but the building is definitely an undergrad feel and not meant for cooking/hosting. My unit does have two patios which is great and allowed for a nice cross breeze.

My partner and I are both Ross students and we have a cat, which impacted both our budget and options. Overall, we probably found the best option possible given those constraints. We live a 6-7 minute walk from Ross (important in Winter!) in a ~15 unit apartment on Packard that accepts cats and includes several helpful amenities (parking, internet, some furniture provided, a small gym, etc.) at no extra cost. At 1700/month base plus 30/month for our cat I think it's a steal. I will say we've had mixed success with maintenance. I like the local management company overall (CMB), but we've had some heating issues that have been poorly addressed. I also have to add three important contextual concerns for those considering the property: 1) There was a break-in earlier this year. It seemed to be related to an open door issue/crime of opportunity, but some things were stolen; 2) Our apartment has been renovated recently and looks pretty nice; I've heard other apartments in the building have not been renovated; 3) There is 'triangular' architecture in some units given the street positioning, including in our bedroom. A little odd but not a big deal overall. In fact, it allows us to have two balconies, which I think it worth it.