Buttonwood Gardens — Local services in Hallam

I am a 33-year-old male who has lived in apartments, townhomes, and houses all across the country (Texas, New York, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania) over the course of my life. As such, I have seen a great deal of different properties and have had the opportunity to work with a lot of different property management companies. Because of this, I wanted to write a review of my current property, Buttonwood Gardens located in Hellam, PA, where I have lived since 02/2019.

Apartment: Let's discuss the apartment. I live in a 2-bedroom, 1008 sq ft apartment that features a really nice center-island in the kitchen. For me, since I love to cook, this was a major selling point for me. But it is really important to note that this property has a bunch of different floor plans and that the center island is not a standard feature. So, if you aren't as culinarily-excited as I am, than there are other cool floor plan options and features for you too.

Overall, the spaces are really open and configured very well. There is not an overwhelming amount of space in any of the rooms, but the rooms are all very intelligently configured to allow for maximum space for all of your things. Some of the things I like the best are as follows:

Big Windows Intelligently-Configured Rooms, allowing for maximum space with plenty of outlets Great Apartment Flow, it helps the place feel like home, and not just another cookie-cutter apartment Good Quality Carpet, fixtures (lighting and bath), etc. Gas Stove and heat Included Washer and Dryer Very safe Pet-friendly community! Plenty of parking

Things I wish Buttonwood Apartments would include:

Handles/knobs on kitchen cupboards Better weather-stripping and insulation around front door Gas Hot Water Heater

Despite the few things I wish were included at this property, the positives far outweigh the negatives. 4/5

Property Management Team: This is one place where Buttonwood really shines. I have had wonderful interactions with staff who actually seem to care about their residents. Ashely and Nicole have been awesome! In fact, they regularly setup themed 'Community Events' (Cinco de Mayo, Easter, etc.). These events are always relatively small, but I always try and go because they are so nice. Plus, it is really fun interacting with them. I think it is a real nice touch that they actively try and engage with their community, and also try and connect the community in fun activities and events.

Property Management Team: 5/5

Maintenance: Again, this is another place where they excel over previous properties I have lived. Each time we have had a serious maintenance request, they have promptly handled the issue. Not only that, but more times than not...they do it right the first time so you don't have to make multiple requests for the same thing. They aren't perfect here, but better than most. Even after the fact, the quality of the workmanship holds up so you don't have a repeat issue of something that should have been fixed. Lastly, it is important to mention that the people coming in and out of your home are nice and trustworthy. I have lived some places where the maintenance people look like they are contracted through the local prisoner-exchange program. I do not have that same concern at Buttonwood.

Maintenance: 4/5

Cost: At about $1/sq ft, I believe that I get more than I pay for. The quality of the apartment, coupled with a community of people who manage this place with great care really makes the overall living experience very positive. Despite all that, there are some things I wish were included for the cost. Some minor upgrades and aesthetic improvements would definitely bump this category up one point for me. I would love a ceiling fan or two, knobs on the kitchen cupboard and drawers, and some other minor touches that would truly enhance the overall cost/value ratio for me.

Cost: 4/5

Final Thoughts: This is one of the few properties I have lived at, that I would live at again should my lease end tomorrow. I recommend coming to to...

Almost everything about this place is great, from the office staff being wonderful, kind, & considerate, to the maintenance team being professional & groundskeeping tended to regularly. Extremely nice on the outside. The only & biggest issue, which unfortunately determines whether or not you can live & function at a dwelling, is the BEYOND PAPER THIN WALLS & FLOORS. Please take the other reviewers who mention noise issues seriously, it is unbearable. It’s not due to apartment living or multi family communities, it’s due to extremely poor & cheap construction which is only the fault of the actual RP communities owner, for skimping out in such a crucial area: noise insulation for peace of mind of residents living in such close proximity. It is worse than a college dorm, you are paying so much to literally live in the same house as the random neighbors below & beside you. The 2nd floor doesn’t make anything quieter like you would hope. Upstairs you hear nothing but the noise from downstairs, tv, radio, music blasting, word for word conversations, the microwave beeping, dryer alarm going off, closet doors slamming and the sliding closet door opening on its track in the spare room, the washer and dryer slamming shut, and the worst part is the bathroom. Standing in the privacy of your own bathroom you can hear when downstairs turns their vent on, & is in their own bathroom and It is sickening. You can hear when they start and stop their shower and everything in between. There will be nothing but conflict between neighbors, and you will never have peace of mind. You will dread coming ‘home’ to a place that is truly not your own private space. Walls are so thin next door you can hear people being intimate in their bedroom, it’s sickening. We are even on an end unit with no small children living directly adjacent, just elderly people with zero respect for their neighbors. There are lots of babies, dogs, small children, loud young adults, and loud disrespectful elderly people. The noise outside is truly minimal and not an issue, all of the noise, stress & torment comes from your own private space inside. There is no relaxing or peace of mind. We have to keep 2 fans running constantly in the front & back of the unit because without them, all we hear is the noise from neighbors. This is a quiet persons worst nightmare. We have spent $450 personally on various forms of noise insulation, from bass drum rug sets to large foam panels on the walls, noise deadener panels underneath those, noise insulating puzzle piece felt tiles in the kitchen, it’s all done absolutely nothing because it should have been installed between the units during construction, not layered on top by tenants in a desperate futile attempt to achieve...

When I first moved in, it took them 8-9 weeks to make the initial repair visit to the apartment. In the 8-9 weeks, I made 6-7 appointments with the leasing apartment with times and dates for them to come fix the issues. Each time, I asked for them to call me prior to the repairman coming so I could crate my dog. It wasn't until after two months of me living there did they make a sudden unannounced visit to my home. The un-uniformed repairman pushed past me and entered my apartment, and tried to pet my dog by lunging at it. My dog reacted as any dog would and growled and barked at the man. In the confrontation, he nicked his hand.

Hours later, I get a notice that my dog is being evicted due to my dog having "attacked the repairman." When I went to the office to dispute the claim, the manager said that my dog had "run around the kitchen five times and bit a hole in the repair man's hand" and that she "had the documents to prove it." She also waved her hands at me and shouted that she "wasn't afraid to use [her] lawyers" to "get that dog out of here." She then said that she had "records from the county and from corporate" that my dog was "a menace to society." She also demanded that if I "did not remove the dog permanently within 24 hours," she would "enter the apartment unannounced to do spot checks on whether or not the animal was still present."

I asked if I could terminate my lease early and pay two months in advance, the manager stated that I would be required to pay five months in advance.

After moving out at the end of my lease term and having to deal with the whole debacle of rehoming my dog, they still charged me incorrectly $106 for their own carpet cleaning though I submitted the receipt for professional carpet cleaning after I moved out AS REQUESTED AND REQUIRED BY MY LEASE AGREEMENT. And dare I say, they also threw away all mail I had received after vacating the apartment a couple weeks prior to my lease ending. So though the apartment was empty, I still legally had the apartment under my name. But somehow they thought it'd be a great idea to just toss any and all mail and packages I received.

Also, should I mention, I did keep the apartment in tip-top shape. Even the carpet cleaner was surprised with the condition I left the apartment in. So by right, I should've gotten my deposit back, minus the last month of utilities.

Seriously, RP management and Buttonwood Gardens has been a demonstrably horrid company to work with and is awful to their tenants. They've been dismissive and rude. If I could give them negative stars, I would. Stay away from this company and their properties. Especially if you have pets and want your...