Apartment Review for Gainsville Place - Gainesville, FL

This review is long, but will be worth your read. It's an honest review. I really am a student and I really am disappointed.

When I first toured Gville Place, I was in awe at the large number of amenities and how beautiful the model was, etc. However, after living here, I have decided not to renew my lease. Here is why:

MOVE-IN: Move-in was a disaster. It was on August 21st, TWO DAYS before school started! Barely any time to settle in! The room they originally gave me was SO dirty. The kids who lived there before hadn't even moved out yet. My mom went back and complained, and luckily they moved me to a new building. Still, the office was crowded with hundreds of people waiting to move in and

the maintenance area had a long line too of people already needing things fixed. The office is still completely disorganized.

SECURITY: The gates are big and ominous, yes, but they do not work. They never open or close. It is there only as a false sense of security. The community is lighted well, though, and I have never felt scared or anything to live here.

MAID SERVICE: There is no maid service. This was a big selling point for me, and on move-in day, we asked how to activate the service, and suddenly it is not an "amenity" anymore. You have to pay for the maid! The funny part is that although they have not offered a maid service in a year, they are still using it as part of their advertising campaign. Hooray Paradigm for more faulty advertising.

APARTMENT SIZE: Tiny. Seriously. For the money you pay, you are not getting the best room possible. They don't ever tell you the dimensions, but my room is 9' by 11' (I measured). Literally, the room is my bed with a little bit of walking space and not much room for anything else (like room to BREATHE). The desk is nice, except that it is attached the wall and not movable, and if you're like me, this is NOT good because then there are no options as to how to rearrange you're room when you get bored with it. The closet is okay (although not a walk-in), but the rooms are just too small for $499/month.

APARTMENT: Your apartment WILL NOT look like the model. The furniture is ugly (some dark green/blue/red 80s pattern). The carpet is NOT plush and is also ugly. The kitchen tile is dirty and no matter how much you scrub it, it dirties quickly. You would be better off getting unfurnished so your furniture at least looks somewhat decent and modern. There were all kinds of gross stains and crumbs in our couch that we got out the best we could, but it was still disgusting.

NOISE: I know everyone complains about noise, but its bad at Gville Place. Not only are the walls thin, but it is a PARTY community. Only students are allowed in, which means that there are always parties. Also, people are always pulling the fire alarms at all hours of the morning. So far, I've had to vacate my apartment 2 times at 5am (because you can't go back in till the fire department comes and turns them off).

MESS: The trash area is right under the staircase. This is convenient, but disgusting. The people in my building are gross and are always just piling crap right there instead of actually putting it in the garbage can.

GOOD THINGS: -Convenient Bus -Amenities galore -Nice landscaping -Plenty of parking

The thing about Paradigm properties, which this is, is that prices are going to go up significantly. The main thing that prompted me leaving Gainesville Place for Fall 07 is the fact that my rent was going to be $529 instead of $499, which is a ridiculous raise. They claim that its cheaper to stay and just pay more rather than pay moving costs, but this is just a lie. There are SO MANY places out there that are cheaper AND bigger. I am moving to one of those places in the fall.

People pick Gville Place because everything is included and they don't have to worry about paying anything else. But, it is very expensive to do so. Also, you really don't need all those amenities to survive. I promise. I thought I really needed all those things and I haven't used them ONCE. Plus, the gym sucks, no matter what they tell you. It's small and the equipment is crap.

Gville Place mostly comprised of fresh/soph/party students. If you are a serious student, or even a student who likes his/her home to be a quiet place, this is not the property for you. Gville Place is great at advertising, but not great once you are here. TRUST ME! I was SO enthusiastic about this place, and now I can't stand it.

Just look around before you decide. I wish I had. Gville Place was the only place I looked, and of course I loved it, but I wish I had looked somewhere else because I have wasted so much money this year living here.