Parkland View Apartments in Breinigsville, PA Review – Thoughts on 13 Months At This Apartment Complex

This review is my personal opinion based on my experience living at Parkland View Apartments.

I am less than two weeks from finishing serving my one year (13 months to them) lease sentence here at Parkland View Apartments in Breinigsville. I have written a few times in the past about my experience here, you can view the following posts if you missed them:

• Parkland View Luxury Apartments in Breinigsville, PA – an initial impression
• Parkland View Luxury Apartments in Breinigsville, PA – a follow-up review
• Parkland View Apartments in Breinigsville, PA – the problems continue
• Parkland View Apartments in Breinigsville, PA Review – The Fun Continues
• Parkland View Apartments in Breinigsville, PA – more fun with construction workers
• Parkland View Apartments in Breinigsville, PA – who needs a good roof anyways?
• Parkland View Apartments in Breinigsville, PA Review – Safe For Women?

More things have happened that I have not yet written about because I haven’t had the time. I’ll cover those things now as well as highlight some of the comments people have left me about the apartments here.

On 5/4/10, commenter “Shut up” left me a comment that included this:

I’m sorry, but I blame you for not knowing better about what you were gettin yourself into. Don’t you have some kind of free rent concession or move-in special? That’s so you don’t complain about the new construction. Also, you can bet your ass that your renewal will go through the roof. Plan on moving again in six months.

There was no rent concession or move-in special when I moved in. My rent was quoted at $950 for a 1BR. I was told about all of the amenities (pool, fitness center, putting green, etc) and that I was getting the last apartment in the complex. When I arrived, the leasing office was being run out of one of the apartments because construction hadn’t actually finished on the leasing center/pool/fitness center/clubhouse. Yes, I rented sight unseen from 2500+ miles away, but that doesn’t excuse the lies I was told. My renewal offer also did not go through the roof – in fact, I was offered a two-year extension at the same price I currently pay. This is a first for me in 12 years of apartment renting. I assume this has something to do with people constantly moving out here – at least that is my opinion based on the turnover and people I see moving out often.

Here is a comment, in it’s entirety, from a commenter named “Unhappy” from 8/4/10:

I would NOT recommend Parkland View. Since my stay here there have been multiple instances where I was misled or misinformed. Scrutinize your lease. If you’re not careful, you’ll be signed into a 13 month lease even though it is presented as 12. Construction is ongoing and the plans have changed. Do not trust the plans they show you for new construction. The original plans showed no new construction behind the apartment I am in, so assume it will go up right behind your building. Construction noise has started as early as 5am, typically starting at 6-7. This includes Saturday and some Sundays. You will receive many changes to scheduled maintenance leaving you unsure of when individuals are actually entering your apartment (perhaps in the middle of a shower). The move-in quality was poor and I moved into a brand-new unit. I have cracks in my walls, scuffs on my walls, large chipped pieces falling from the ceiling, paint on my shower stalls, scratches on my tub, chips in the baseboard, bubbles in the paint on the walls, unpainted or lightly painted spots on the walls and I just moved in. There was mud on the floor and cracks in the ceiling in multiple rooms. Find yourself another option because interaction with the office does not resolve problems. I have had several apartments in different parts of the state and have never been so dumbfounded at management.

I agree that there have been multiple times that I have been mislead by the staff here at Parkland View. Like how a month ago they sent out a thing saying they were going to be changing the filters in the apartments and never arrived. Later an email came saying it was going to be rescheduled (it hasn’t.) Less than two weeks left of my 13-month lease and the filter has been changed once! My lease was also presented as a one-year lease. I, too, didn’t notice it was for 13 months. Apparently this is a common practice in PA called “concealment” that apartment complexes get away with. I just call it bad math and shady business practices. I don’t know anything about the construction plans, but was told at one point that it would be going on for at least two years.

Construction noise is, in fact, a problem here – at least in my opinion. The work does start early. And even though there is a construction entrance, I see construction vehicles passing my building regularly. Some of them are large and loud, which is annoying. And presently, it seems that the construction workers are hanging out in the area where the trash compactor is located – not ideal if you are a single woman. And yes, there seems to be just one trash compactor for the entire complex and it gets overflowing often.

I also agree that move-in condition was rather piss poor for a brand new “luxury” unit. I also moved into a place with scuffs on the walls, chunks out of the door trim and baseboards, paint spots in the tub, areas of paint on the wall that look like they missed a spot or just painted too lightly and such. When I mentioned these things and putting them on my move-in check list, I was told not to worry about it. Can’t wait to see what happens with my deposit!

I also have cracks in several places throughout the apartment. In the bedroom, there is a corner where it looks like you could fit a roll of dimes in the crack between the baseboards. And out of my five windows, only two of them have locks that function properly. This means that I can only open those two windows – and on one of the windows the locks only work on one side. Mmmm, high quality luxury apartments here are awesome!

As I mentioned, I often take my trash down to the compactor only to discover that it is overflowing. Here’s how it looked on August 29, 2010 -

Now tell me – is this how luxury apartments should look to you?

But, my most recent *favorite* moment of WTF?!? here is waking up before 8 a.m. due to the use of a jackhammer and god knows what else outside my building….they were apparently tearing up the walkway for some reason…

Awesome, yes? Did I mention there was no warming of this super loud noise? Or that I live in a building that is supposedly finished? Speaking of the building that should have been finished when I moved in – on June 2, 2010 there were construction workers going around the buildings putting up the trim above the garages, as seen below.

Just another annoyance of something that should have been completed long ago. Kind of like how the door handle on my bathroom door frequently falls off in your hand. Awesome.

I have also had a bit of an insect problem from the beginning. Now, I do live on the ground floor, so some bugs are to be expected. I’ve never seen bugs like these though. They are very tiny, like small ants only their bodies are almost translucent – and they are everywhere. I always seem them on the bathroom walls. And I frequently find them in pots from the cupboard. Just gross, in my opinion.

And let’s talk about the smell of this place. I have no idea what types of materials and chemicals they used to build this place – but it still have that strong, overpowering, new chemical smell – both in my apartment and in the building hallways. In my opinion, they must have used the cheapest and most toxic stuff the could have found. If you are all sensitive to VOCs or have any type of asthma or breathing issues you will want to avoid this place. The smell is really that bad – at least in my building.

The fitness center here is pretty nice. My only complaint with it is that they direct everyone that is going to the pool to enter through the fitness center. That constant traffic can be annoying when you’re trying to work out. And there is no reason it can’t be a 24 hour fitness center, which is usually standard in luxury apartment complexes (at least in my experience).