Berkshire Apartments — Local services in Canton Township

I’ve been here a little over 2 months now. Customer service is good. Office and maintenance are very responsive. The apartments themselves are nice, but maybe not worth the price tag. MJC companies built these apartments and having lived in another community they built, I was skeptical going in. But I’ll start with the pros.

TL;DR - Would I recommend the community? Sure. I just tell myself the monthly rent isn’t just for the apartment itself. The surroundings and amenities add value.

PROS: Love the quiet close cabinets. I can’t stand slamming doors and being this close to other people, they’re great. Pretty quiet here for now, even with on-going construction. Like the small building sizes with only 2 floors and the layouts. The 2-car garage is awesome. Like the boutique finishes with black hardware. Nice shower in the master bath. Like the water dispenser in the refrigerator. Spacious living room and dining area. Like having a washer/dryer in a laundry room with space and a shelf. Nice deck (but see below). Nice vaulted ceilings on top floor. Fun events and nice amenities, but I’ve yet to take advantage. Beautiful landscaping. Almost feels like condo living instead of apartments. And I like being nestled away from the streets.

CONS: It would’ve been nice if they’d cleaned the place before move-in. I’m the first in this unit, so it was dusty from the work and there’s dried caulk everywhere, especially on the bathroom sinks. The light switch and outlet covers were covered in paint and dust. I had extras from a previous place so I just swapped them out—temporarily. For what I’m paying each month, they could’ve put better appliances in here. The dishwasher, washer, and dryer feel cheap. I randomly complained to GE about the lower basket in the dishwasher not rolling out as it should and they were nice enough to send me a free replacement that rolls MUCH better. The main thing for me is the builder has zero attention to detail (or just doesn’t care). I’m writing this from my deck which is made of wood they didn’t even bother to treat or paint. You can see the splinters in the picture. I guess they just slapped it down and assumed everyone would have a rug. Didn’t even bother to remove the manufacturer stickers. Wood cut too short in garage left gaps that needed to be caulked so bugs wouldn’t get in. They also couldn’t even be bothered to paint the interior. The finish carpentry is poorly done in some areas. My sock caught on the stair threshold yesterday and I noticed it wasn’t tacked down well. Door to second bath opens and strikes the cabinets so I had to stick on a rubber dot to prevent scratches. I went to school for this a while ago because I had some money left over from my GI Bill, so I probably notice more and am more critical than the average resident.

Rent will likely go up next year as that’s the norm. I can’t imagine paying more than I do now, so probably won’t renew. I’d rather buy a house because I’m just picky. Would I recommend the community? Sure. I just tell myself the monthly rent isn’t just for the apartment itself. The surroundings and amenities add value. Just ask them to clean before...

For $2,650+/month, the quality here is unacceptable.

Soundproofing is terrible. I can hear my neighbor’s phone conversations, TV, and daily activities from 4:30 AM to 9:30 PM—it regularly wakes me up. She's nice but talks loudly all day on the phone. On the other side, my daughter loses sleep due to music playing until 11 PM or midnight.

Maintenance is hit-or-miss. While they’re generally very responsive, our toilet issue remains unresolved after multiple visits. They inspected it and claim it’s fine, but we have to plunge it every single day. I’m now documenting this with videos and logs.

Management priorities are backwards. The property has ongoing issues: the hot tub frequently breaks, kids trash the pool, fruit flies are everywhere (multiple residents have complained), dog waste litters the grounds, large breed dogs are all over.... there are two large dogs that are very aggressive to people, pets and cars. The owner will lose control one day.

Yet management’s focus? Trash bins left out during travel. I received a passive egressive notice because my bin was still out 19 hours after pickup (policy allows 12 hours)—even though trash pickup can run as late as 7 PM. The email came at 2 PM the next day. This is absurd, especially for residents who travel for work. My neighbors have always offered to help when I can't get someone lined up., but they returned today from a trip as well.

The first time they sent a note last March or so, I left town on a Friday and had someone lined up to pull my trash in that very day. But then the trash was missed and they said to leave it out. I was on vacation in hawaii and had no knowledge of when the trash did get collected and frankly stopped worrying about it on vacation. Until I got a strongly worded email. I should be able to enjoy vacation without a negative interaction back and fourth about my trash bin status.

Every week I pull it in after collection, it's not like this is a pattern of willful disobedience. I run every day and see some out all week. And I simply rhink : "they must be traveling. I'll roll it to their garage for when they get back." And life moves on.

Last - Warning about positive reviews: I’ve identified multiple Google accounts posting nearly identical 5-star reviews across several properties managed by this company, all claiming to be “new tenants” seeing “dramatic improvements.” They also review the management company. This pattern violates Google’s review policies and FTC regulations and the Michigan AG consumer protection laws on deceptive advertising. See photos.

Bottom line: Skip this place. For $2,600/month, you...

Let me preface this review by saying I am extremely picky about where I live. From cabinetry color to matching SS appliances. Stopped by for a tour a couple days ago. Amanda was nice, very helpful. Apartments are insanely spacious with lovely finishes. Refrigerators with dispensers aren’t common in apartments. They have them! This will help me meet my daily water intake. Love that they already have high speed modems in place; all I have to do is transfer my service. Amenities top notch. Excited about playing racquetball. They even have a grand piano in the clubhouse. Awesome fitness center! Wesley was helpful when I wanted a second look at the apartment the next day to make sure my furniture would fit. I decided to apply online that night. The biometric ID verification part of the application kept failing and was frustrating. Once I got it working, applying was a breeze. After that, I had to email some more documentation to them. Probably should’ve dropped them off because I don’t usually like sending private docs via email. Shame on me. They need to have some sort of secure mechanism for that. After I was approved, got an email telling me to go to RentCafe to sign my lease. The email said “Simply click on the link below to access the application form: ^WebsitePageUrlType=Floor Plans^” Clearly that is not a link. It was the second email I got with that. With no instructions on how to proceed, I googled and went to the site. Tried to register and it recognized me but when I tried to log in it said my name and phone weren’t recognized. Why not? I had also tried the Berkshire site itself, but the lease tab was just a blank white page. I work in IT, so I know stuff happens. Still I have very little patience for tech issues that someone should have QA’d. So the application process has been a nightmare and exhausting. Yes I tried a different browser, too. Hopefully they can figure this out tomorrow so I can sign my lease. Other than tech issues, the experience was fine and I’m looking forward to moving in.

UPDATE: Lease signing super easy after tech issues worked out. Beware - they add a $25 monthly fee for trash which was never mentioned during the tour. I specifically asked about valet trash. This isn’t that, but it was a good time to mention that additional cost. Nobody...