Springbrook at Chatham · Apartments — Attraction in Chatham

It's my first time writing google review...but feel obligated to share my experience with Springbrook at Chatham in the past 1.5 years. It started well - "newly renovated" apartment at a reasonable price, heat included, management seems nice throughout the process before move-in. However, the situation quickly went downhill, with a lot of maintenance problems (like many other review said, the "inside" of the house is of bad quality and everything deteriorates quickly) and management who is always trying to squeeze more money out of the tenants. The list could go on and on, but several examples:

8 months after we moved in, the bathroom ceiling started to show moldy spot. We thought it's ventilation issue, until one evening the paint suddenly fell to the floor and it started dripping. Turns out the water came from the bathtub/pipe on the floor above. Maintenance spent the next couple of days fixing it, told us it's all good. However, after another 6 months, same problem started again. We called for maintenance before it leaked, but it was far from ideal to have someone come in for half day in the middle of COVID (we have young children at home). Sure enough, less than 3 months later, we can see mold in the ceiling again - glad it was almost time to move our

My rent increased by $150 the 2nd year, almost 7% vs. previous year. They asked for more at the beginning but I negotiated down a bit because I was already paying more for a 9 month lease. However, I was shocked when I saw in Jan that they were offering a lower price for new tenants (same rate as previous year). Apparently they use that to attract new tenants and increase price every year afterwards. Unfortunately NJ doesn't have any regulation protecting tenants from outrageous rent increase - so you kind of have to live with it if you prefer not to move (which was exactly my case)

In Oct I asked if I can extend my lease for another month over email and was told yes. No mention of extra fees. Then I got a note in early Dec. that my account was overdue, including $125 late payment fee and $250 month to month charge. I called and explained that I was not aware of the extra month-to-month charge, otherwise I would not have extended it. Management called me back, said they will remove the $250 but I still needed to pay $125. I agreed, and thought that's the end of the story. So imagine my dismay when I received the remainder of my security deposit in Feb, which has deducted the $250 month to month fee, and move-out charge ($300, which is another story on its own). Again, none of that was mentioned when they asked for my new address in Jan. After many rounds of calls - I was told that I need written proof that they agreed to remove the month-to-month charge, even though that they know clearly that my account is already closed and I don't have access to the payment details. Lessons learned for me - always keep written records.

On the positive side, the tenants are generally very friendly, and there were quite a few kids of similar age who can hang out together. Maybe that's why some people are still willing to stay there...but I'm so glad to be done with the...

Long story short, I would not live in this apartment again on the first floor. I lived here for a year and had a family of four above me. I could hear them walking, vacuuming(every day), having conversations. I think they made an effort to not make noise outside of the norm, but the ceilings are so poorly insulated that you can hear pretty much everything. I had a friend who also lived in a first story apartment and they said the upstairs neighbor also drove them crazy. Having moved into a place recently where I don't hear the neighbors, the peace of mind of a quiet apartment is critical.

Outside of that I had mixed feelings about the place, I think Kyle and Tony are incredibly helpful and kind. Management can be helpful about some things, but inflexible with other things such as finding a subleaser so that you don't have to pay an early termination fee which would have amounted to $4200.

I enjoyed the dog park and thought it was a nice touch, although it could use an attempt at growing more grass. I also used the gym which was very basic but I made it work. The parking situation a few months ago was crazy, 5-10 people a night were parking in places that weren't designated spots which could cause issues with pulling out of your designated spot or struggling to navigate through the parking lot. There were many complaints sent to management and they said they were looking at long term solutions, but weren't taking steps to alleviate the problem. Having rented a garage spot from them for a few months I know they had a ton of available garages for people to park in. They could have offered 10 people free garage spots through a lottery or something.

Another issues is a large group of children that play outside loudly and leave stuff everywhere. I moved out at the end of June so I don't know how it's been this summer but management sent repeated emails for them to clean up, be supervised, and not yell but the situation never really improved.

Again, I have mixed feelings, it's not a terrible place outside of the downstairs apartments, but they could definitely make...

My wife and I are very happy and fortunate to be living here. We moved to Springbrook at Chatham just under 4 years ago. We feel we are very low maintenance. After I submit a service request, maintenance are very friendly and quick to respond. Andrew and Kyle have helped us with power outages, replaced lightbulbs, cleaned the gutters, fixed water leaks in the ceiling, vacuumed the hallway, painted and repaired the front door, installed a bannister in the 9D hallway when I was recovering from my knee injuries (which I still use), repaired the exhaust hose to our dryer, and shoveled the snow/spread salt on the walkways to melt the ice. They both do a great job maintaining the property. We are lucky to have them. Both are very friendly to talk to and are happy to answer our questions. When Tina and I see Andrew and Kyle walking around the property we know we are in good hands. Thank you Andrew and Kyle for the maintenance that both of you do! We appreciate...