The Fields of New Durham — Local services in Westville

I lived at The Fields for 5 months (moved out due to buying a house) and overall had a positive experience.

Maintenance is nice, very friendly guy. Cleaners/whoever flips the apartments were pretty terrible and as they had to come back out a few times to do simple tasks like cleaning out the dishwasher and bathroom cabinets (kitchen cabinets were also filthy upon arrival)

BEWARE if you move in or next to building 1895 there are a TON of strays/kittens. Anywhere from 5-7 on any given night. Not necessarily a negative thing (personally) as I love animals but hurts the heart to see them out there in the rain/cold. I did feed them regularly while living there (and no - me feeding them is not what made them stay around, according to neighbors they had been there for months prior to my arrival) I ended up rescuing and adopting 2 of the cats (vet visits were well and they adjusted effortlessly). I HIGHLY recommend to management some kind of animal control. Cats can birth upwards of 4 times a year, you will never control the cat population without atleast TNR in place. Doesn’t seem like management seems to care about that though.

It’s not uncommon in 1895 to see dead mice - possibly from the lake due to the cats killing them but we saw them on more than one occasion.

People leave their animals outside pretty regularly. Cats and dogs on the bottom floor. I haven’t seen any mass texts that they send out about it so I guess it’s not that huge of a deal for them.

They throw community “events” but they are cancelled or pushed back more times than what I would consider normal. Never attended any but I saw the updates via mass canned text. I believe they just use a “FN, message” method. Wish they would only do one per household but none the less we got the updates.

I learned fairly quickly their cameras are for show after placing a complaint (neighbor leaving her animal Harley outside in 19 degree weather) and being told basically they couldn’t see anything. Thankfully the owner no longer has him - hoping he’s in a better place! However other than a slap on the wrist didn’t seem like they took much action against her for such a cruel act. I mean it was FREEZING. Not that I excepted much from the PM, she can only do what she can but corporate should have stricter rules with leaving pets outside for DAYS. It was to the point we thought he was a stray and trapped him for care.

Julie (tentative PM) is the best part of management. I believe she works as the actual PM for another property and is so great they asked her to split her time between two.

While I did not personally have any altercation with Amy it was very apparent she was a ticking time bomb the first time we spoke. I really enjoyed Elizabeth (halfway) through my application process however she was gone before I moved in or finished the move in process (signing the lease) (with Amy as the PM that was not a shock)

Pretty average apartments. Nothing luxury or special, but spacious. Paid 1205 after pet fees (2) in a 2BR/2BR but I could never see paying above that price (aka rent increases) to live there.

Rating for Julie: 5/5

Rating for The Fields (cleanliness, animal...

We’ve lived here for three years, and I feel like it’s gone down hill within the last two.. When we moved into the three bedrooms is when our experience plummeted.

First: instead of fixing things that make the apartment worth it (I.e. garbage disposal & ceiling fans), if it breaks they just take it out instead of replacing it, that’s what they did to our garbage disposal. So if you see a function listed with the apartment double check it’s actually there. Thankfully our fans didn’t break during our time here because they really save your electric bill in the summer when you’re on the second floor(your AC will be running all day in the summer, but your heat won’t be needed in the winter since your downstairs neighbor will be heating your apartment haha). If it’s something they do replace, it’s likely you’ll actually get downgraded in model, that’s how it went for our dishwasher when it broke…we went from a digital, more modern model to an older analogue one. at the very least get the same model as before, we pay enough in rent to cover it.

Second: the noise. If you end up in a unit in the 1984 building good luck because all you’ll hear is semi-trucks engine braking & locals racing down 421 all day & night. If you’re a light sleeper, you’re going to hate your life. I have for the last two years. This isn’t the complexes fault, but be aware if you end up with a unit in that building, you’ll wanna sound proof your windows more! Also in terms of noise, the air conditioner (at least in my second floor apartment) is the loudest thing in the unit. You’ll have to blast your TV to hear anything over it. Poor placement is the issue.

Third: if you have a dog and live on the second floor be careful when you walk them. People who live on the first floor tend to think it’s okay to chain their dogs up unattended & pretend the complex is their back yard. So be prepared for unsupervised dogs & lots of poop. It’s always been the worst around the pond in terms of dog doo.

The people who work on property are awesome, especially maintenance. They’re pretty quick to respond to work orders. However, there have been multiple occasions where I’d try to go to the office and no one was there, and then I’d come back at the time they listed they’d be back only to have the time pushed back which is annoying to say the least. There’s also been a revolving door on people who work in the office so be prepared for that.

All in all there’s nothing that makes this place stand out against the other complexes. a pool, computer room, mediocre game room that at this point minors can’t use without a parent being with them and a small fitness center. They talk about the “market price” on the unit’s but I just don’t see how the units are worth that listed price. we went from paying about $1200 the first lease in our three bed to them wanting to raise to $1600 for the same unit this year. Don’t get me wrong, they have the potential if they want to invest the money but as of right now, You can find better places...

Overall, the Fields of New Durham was a solid experience and the staff, apartments, and amenities are very nice compared to the other options in the area. No complaints regarding the staff's professionalism or the cleanliness of the apartments/amenities. They are truly very nice compared to the other options around this area. The complaints I have regarding the complex are more recommendations to future residents for their awareness. First off, I HIGHLY recommend paying close attention to your Move-In inspection. We had an issue where we did not pay close attention to the staff person performing our move-in inspection and then once we got to our move-out inspection, we got charged for many things we did not do to the apartment. The problem was the person who performed our move-in inspection left the position, thus someone else performed our move-out inspection and didn't know what the apartment condition was previously. I take this as more of a lesson for me as evidently it is my fault not paying attention to the notes taken during the move-in inspection. But all future residents please be aware of this.

The other major problem we had while living here is our neighbors. If you are planning to live in Building 1923, please be advised one of the neighbors smokes cigarettes in their apartment which would then cause our apartment to smell like smoke ALL THE TIME. To our knowledge, this is legal in Indiana so nothing could have been done from the apartment complex. To us, this is a major health hazard as we were basically sleeping in smoke-filled air quite often. This was one of the major reasons we decided to move. Another one of the neighbors in this same building blasts his car music everyday at 6:30am when he gets home from a night shift. This woke us up pretty much everyday and was another reason we decided to move. To be honest, it would happen at all hours of the day, but when it was in the morning it was a huge headache for us. You reading this may not care about these 2 things, just be aware if you are in Building 1923.

I have lived in many apartment complexes across multiple states and this is a solid apartment complex overall. Not the best, but definitely not the worst. The issues I presented here aren't issues the complex can necessarily fix themselves, more of a heads up to future residents if you plan to live here. I'm sure other buildings in the complex don't have the same issues as...