Aven Apartments

I really like all the windows and natural light, I was drawn to that. The location is great in RTP and on the bus route. But the insulation is poor and the heat/AC bill is higher than I expected for such a small apartment. I have an inch gap on the bottom of my door where bugs, grass trimmings from mowing, and the heat or cold comes through. When it rains I have 6 inches of water to walk through to get to and from my car. It doesn't need to be a heavy rain either. There is no way around it. ... I've put in complaint after complaint, they don't care. I've ruined work shoes, I fell in a huge puddle on Christmas Eve and it ruined my night for church. Friends will only come visit on clear days, they don't want to walk in ankle deep water. I had high hopes when I moved here because it's only 6 miles from my job, but now I wish I stayed where I was and commuted 40 minutes each day. Read More

Would like to give 3.5 stars.
Picked this place because it's literally 4 minutes from work, and there was a rent special on 2Br apartments for $790, and their pet policy was the least picky.
They allow all breeds, limit 3 pets per apartment, so this was the one.
I negotiated vinyl instead of carpet and they were pretty flexible, so I felt really good moving in, but since then maintenance has been a little slow. To be fair, they have been preoccupied with finding a huge water leak, but I don't... think it should take more than a week to fulfill a maintenance request. I've had to wait a month or two for some things, and some of my windows have never opened in 3 months, though I've put in several requests. The maintenance guy is nice, but he doesn't exactly get right on it. He even said he likes to put off the less important jobs - well, my windows are important to me! Would have refused to sign the lease without some kind of dated guarantee, if I'd known ahead of time.
Apartment had a pretty bad roach infestation when I moved in, and I found a nest in one of the cabinets that hadn't been cleaned out. I understand from the neighbors that the previous tenant was waaaay off the deep end, and the property manager had pest people out regularly and the roaches were quickly gotten rid off.
I do sometimes find millipedes in my apartment (because the windows don't seal!) but mostly after it rains, and I don't see them often. I may or may not stay another year, depending on how the windows do over winter, but the rent is cheap and I cannot beat the commute to work in RTP at this price point.
The pool is awesome, and there's a tennis court, dog park, and play ground, and it's nice to see kids playing in the culdesacs on summer evenings. The neighbors are nice, no students or crazy parties. Read More