The Avenues at Winter Springs — Local services in Winter Springs

Legit 3yr (15-18') Former Tenant. After moving in, I found out why units were readily ava to rent. Would give 0/5 for the headaches! 4 prop mgmt cos oversaw this complex during my tenancy=red flag! Got an email asking for a 5-Star rating, in exchange for a gift card=bribe! Recent 5-Star reviews from ppl who only have the first letter of their last name & 1 review, are probably from the office trying to boost ratings.

Safety -Drug deals right by front mailboxes. Someone came up to my vehicle while going to get my mail, mistaking it for the dealer's! Later saw the dealer's vehicle pull up & same person went to theirs. -Sublessees (violation) who smoked weed. -Police & fire trucks always in & out 3+ times a week. 3 days into my lease, a neighbor was grilling inside & smoke had risen into my apt & they found the neighbor passed out. Thank God they came, but there is an addendum about grilling away from the units! -Helicopters circled complex looking for wanted felons 12+ xs. A guy got shot in Dec 16'. Type shooting after complex name & comes up first w/video. -"Gates" worked 5 days & stayed broken remainder of tenancy. -Cars damaged & broken into. -Reported ditch formed after heavy rain, near where children played & to backfill- it was 2'+ deep, but told by office staff I needed to create a ticket. Think they'd be thanking me for actively caring & concerned if someone fell in, liability repercussions would occur: never fixed. A sinkhole in the parking lot stayed open for a while before being backfilled.

Buildings -After Irma, every roof was tarped, siding missing, gutters gone & ceiling to floor cracks on interior of unit. 2 insurance cos evaluated inside after 3mos & nothing was fixed when I moved out (23mos later)! -Pests always there-no matter how many treatments: mud wasps, cockroaches & ants. -Balcony replaced by wood & warped in 6mos. -Broken items in unit took days to fix/never were: A/C, fridge, stove, disposal, fixtures, recepticles, tub, toilet, windows, etc. -Avg mo elec bill= $250! I work for the power co & reported this. Tech checked UG svc & meter=no issue on line side. Appliances so outdated=the issue & never replaced! I now pay $80/mo for a brand new apt 1.5xs the size!

Office Staff & Rent... -Nick was the only helpful one & think he left to work for a better co before I moved out. -Mgr=no help & did not receive notice they were going to keep my sec depo & it was 30 days after moving, when I had to go back in person to ask where it was & was told I'd have to go to court to get it back! They violated FS 83.49 & never sent a certified ltr, claimed they did, but could not provide proof & said I owed $700 to replace kitchen counters that were damaged when I moved in! I had timestamped picture evidence & was on my move-in form. I have my RE License, so I know the process. Called the District Manager, then left a msg I would file a PSC complaint & got my check in the mail 2wks later. -$400 increase in 3yrs! Will charge late fees when system down.

Grounds- -Fresh mulch was put down by apts once & just by the office after that. -Valet trash is a $30 mo fee, yet it was only picked up about 2/5 of the scheduled days & the compactor was always overflowing. 1 compactor for 32 bldgs...insane! -Fountain in pond didn't work 1/2 the time & was told when I toured a gazebo with pier would be built, but never was. -Pics on their site are very outdated. There was a dead pine outside my unit never removed, even though I reported it as unsafe before Irma hit. Luckily, just some limbs fell off, as the trunk could've taken part of the building out.

"Amenities" -Could only utilize pool table & sauna during office hours. -Pool in the back- closed for mos after a car drove through the fence & into it. -Gym=horrendous, stunk of mildew & majority of the machines did not work. Did not return after a couple workouts, as I opted to workout on the tennis court instead. -Car wash=$.

DONT WASTE YOUR TIME/$ HERE, STEER CLEAR! Get a brand new unit @ 1/3 new complexes nearby for same $ when you take the elec...

Positives about the community that I've experienced in the five months I've been here, it's quiet, and the maintenance staff is nice, they will usually come out within the same day to fix the issue.

Now, onto my overall negative experience. It started with the tour, I've dealt with the same gentleman from the front office my entire time here, who on the surface seems like a nice enough guy. He showed me the model unit, and his exact words to me were "your apartment will look just like this one, except instead of the solarium, you'll have a balcony, otherwise, it'll be exactly the same." Mind you this model has nice new cabinets, appliances were decent enough, the model looked like a nice, updated model. Come move in day, I didn't get what I was shown at all. Older cabinets, old appliances, layout is decent enough but it was frustrating. So discouraging start. Not to mention that due to everything being so old in the apartment, my electric bill for a ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT is around $200 dollars a month. So even though your rent is reasonable, the light bill isn't going to be if you're in a "older unit" so make sure if you do decide to make this place your home, that your unit is remodeled, otherwise, good luck on your light bill. I say this because I've rented plenty of one-bedrooms prior to this one, and never have I paid more than $80 bucks on a light bill, considering I'm hardly ever home and when I am, I usually cook one meal a day at home and maybe watch some TV, with my AC usually always on 76 or 78 degrees.

Now, one of the positive things I said about my experience here was the maintenance staff is nice, which is true. The reason I know this is because in the five months I've been here, I've put in 4 maintenance requests. The main maintenance problems I've had though were with my fridge. Twice now the fridge just stopped cooling. This lead to spoiled food that I threw away. First time happened two months into me living there. Two months later, happens again. So I go to the office and speak with the same gentleman. I tell him I need someone to come and fix my fridge again, and since this had been the second issue with my fridge in a four month time period, I requested a new one, just because I didn't want to have to be worried that in another two months it would break again. He seemed to resonate with me and told me that maintenance would come that same day, (which they did), and he would also order me a new fridge, which I felt was a fair deal considering the food I had to discard and just the overall annoyance of the issues.

Now fast forward a month I go into the office to get a new AC filter and ask the gentleman if there was any update on my fridge. At first he had no idea what I was talking about. I reminded him everything and reminded him he's the one that had told me a new fridge would be ordered and he says "oh yea" and makes a phone call. Gets off the phone and tells me that my fridge will be delivered that Thursday, and that it had taken so long because they were waiting on the new fridge to come in. I say, "okay cool, no worries then."

Maintenance shows up Thursday, and it's the same guy that fixed the fridge the month prior. He asked me what was wrong with the fridge, and I tell him nothing yet, but I had spoken with the front office and since I had two issues with the fridge not cooling in four months, they had ordered me a new one. The maintenance guy very bluntly tells me that is not the case. That I was not getting a new fridge, but in fact was just having mine swapped out with another fridge from a different unit that would also be used. He did reassure me that what he did last time would resolve my fridge issues, so I told him if I wasn't getting the new fridge I was promised not to bother switching it out. The problem is being blatantly lied to about having a new fridge ordered when it never freaking happened.

All I say to prospective renters that take the time to read this review is proceed with caution. The rental price is enticing, but you're definitely gonna get what...

I normally do not post online reviews, but my girlfriend received an e-mail from The Park at Laurel Oaks notifying residents that they will be entered in a drawing if favorable reviews are left. That speaks volumes about this complex and property management company- bribing residents for good reviews.

We have lived here for 4.5 years and have had problems since day 1. We had to call an exterminator on the day we were scheduled to move in since we were noticing German cockroaches throughout the unit. This has been an ongoing battle to rid the unit of the cockroaches, but they move from one unit to the next after treatments are applied. At one point, an exterminator told us that our entire building is infested with cockroaches. They are in everything - cabinets, stove, dishwasher, outlets, closets...everything! I have the pictures to prove it too.

After moving in, we discovered that our neighbor was a dealer (and not at a Black Jack table). We were awoken to a man screaming on the sidewalk threatening to shoot the man over a deal gone bad. We called the police.

Who can forget the actual shooting that occurred here a couple of years ago? If you have not heard about it, a quick online search will fill in the details. A man-child shot his own father over drugs right here on this little piece of heaven.

The complex has been bought and sold at least three times since we have lived here. Apparently, it was not such a good investment. Each time a new company purchases the property, the responsibilities of ownership are neglected. The grass goes uncut for weeks. The pools are closed and dirty. The one and only trash dumpster on property is not emptied. Imagine the dumpster filled to the brim, trash bags stacked on the ramp, and the unfortunate stench that is a result. That has happened more than once. I could go on and on.

Our personal experience has been that the level of customer service has decreased with each transition of ownership. Phone calls are not returned. Seriously, my dogs were attacked by someone's akita (or similar), and the property staff NEVER returned my phone calls or even addressed the issue. Our smaller dog suffered injuries and had two related visits to the vet.

Let me address the amenities, they are few and simple. There are two swimming pools and a gym, a decrepit tennis court, a playground, clubhouse, and dog park. NOTHING is luxurious or even remotely close.

Part 2 is coming...

We moved here from an actual luxury apartment complex in Oviedo and expected a similar experience. "Luxury living in Winter Springs" is a joke. If that is what you are wanting, you should turn your car around and drive immediately to The Rize. The front gates have literally only worked for about three or four months throughout the time we have lived here. Half the time, the residents would ram the gates to get the opened (could explain why they are left open now). All residents are forced to pay for valet trash service. That is like an additional $20 a month to carry the trash to the dumpster. The service provide, Invisible Trash/Waste, will randomly chose whether or not to pick up our trash. I have had to call the property staff on multiple occasions as result. One day everything is fine. The next day, the trash bag is too large (yeah, they leave notes), The day after that, the trash (using the same sized bag as before) is picked up. Some days, they do not even come up to our building. I am sure one of the resident children would do it for much less and be more reliable. If you are going to be forced to pay for a service, it is no longer an amenity. It is a service, and it better be performed. All residents are forced to pay for basic cable. The office staff will say that this is included in the price of the rent. We did not want cable because we use various streaming services, so we were able to pay a little less each month. The latest owners decided that was not a good way to make money and forced us to pay for cable, regardless if it was installed in our unit.

Heed my warning: Do...