Berkshire Ninth Street Apartments

Where do I start? My wife and I moved here for 22 months while I was getting my MBA at Duke. Do not be fooled by the fake positive reviews as I did when we were looking for a place to live in Durham (They push people to make those 5-star reviews you are seeing). This is by far the most incompetent, unprofessional building management team we have ever experienced (and we lived in NYC for 6 years prior..). Be prepared for hidden "forgotten" fees that magically appear month to month (please do not... sign up for automatic monthly billing), horrible customer service (management never looks to solve a problem and simply denies any issues or becomes argumentative), false promises, fees for trash, ignored emails, ignored calls, inconsistent services (they do not clean the dog park, pick up trash consistently, or perform any of the services or amenities you pay for consistently and fairly). I could go on and on

I caught a man breaking into our car on the top floor of the parking garage at 9 AM on a Saturday morning. I confronted the man and he ran from the scene, prompting me to call the police. I went to the front office where I was told in a simple summary that this was not their problem and this is part of living in Durham. I asked about video cameras and anything else they could do. Nothing. Many other students my year have similar feelings towards B9 and many have had false charges, fees every other day for not bringing in the trash can (which is strange because when they do not collect the trash around 50% of the time, are we entitled to get our monthly trash removal fee back?), stolen wallets and items out of cars, broken or open gates, garage doors not working, and an overall feeling of B9 trying to nickle and dime you at every turn while not living up to the "premium" you pay to live there.

There are so many cheaper, better options in walking distance of B9, I wish I saw a candid review when we were deciding so I hope this can help any incoming students make an educated decision. Also, if you have a dog you might think that B9 is worth the extra cost (as we did) for the dog park. The dog park is never cleaned and disgusting (half the dogs my year ended up getting sick or kennel cough), also you don't need to live at B9 to use it, they let people in from Bmain, S9, and 810 everyday...dont let them fool you. They will also try to lock you into a longer lease and act like the apartments are filling up and/or have a waitlist, this is all a façade! Read More

Despite repeated maintenance calls and trips to the front office, a loud, high-pitched alarm blares nightly just behind the locked door of the first floor electrical closet. I will happily take this review down when the problem is fixed.

Living here for a few months was one of the worst experiences of my life. They lure you in with a pretty facade and amenities and what you get is a poorly insulated apartment, you could hear every footstep above you, it was unbearable (especially for the price). I was also never told that breaking my lease, which I had to do for health reasons, would cost me over 3 months of penalty. Worst experience I've had renting an apartment. They'll tow your car too if you have any guests. Do not rent here... . Loud parties too with Duke students and the train that comes by the back of the apartment at all hours. For such a beautiful place, it was truly a nightmare. Read More

The apartments in this building are very nice, and the amenities are great. There is also good security. The administration of this property, however, and the process of renting from them is a true nightmare. We paid so much in hidden fees, which can be directly linked to the failure of Berkshire to notify us properly. They also tried to charge us rent for days that we did not have the actual apartment. Dealing with leasing this apartment has been one of the worst, most frustrating processes of... my life. Definitely recommend walking into the leasing office with your attorney. Read More

This is Dorm part two for kids at Duke. They get large groups of friends to move in and they all run up and down the hall into each other homes all hours of the night. Don't move here if you want somewhere that's quiet after 10 pm. Management just kept telling me to call the security guard which was no help. Glad I signed a short term lease and got out.