The Colony at The Oaks

If you only read one part of this review, let it be this: AVOID LIVING HERE AT ALL COSTS UNLESS YOU LIKE ROACHES, TERRIBLE MANAGEMENT, BROKEN AMENITIES, AND LEGAL VIOLATIONS OF THE KY LANDLORD-TENANT ACT!!!!

Let's begin just one week into my lease with these charlatans. One week is all it took to discover that Colony at the Oaks has significant cockroach infestations in multiple buildings. What's even worse - the property management, all the way up to the regional director Amie Greunke, are fully aware of this problem. They were even aware prior to renting out infested units like my own, yet they choose to rent out these units anyways. As of the time I moved out, they were STILL renting out roach-infested units. How do I know this? Because new tenants were moving into my building, which still had an active infestation, the day I moved out.

I spent the entire year of my lease reporting the roaches. Each time, their solution was to have "pest control" come and spray insect repellant along the baseboards. That's it. No real extermination. No getting rid of the infestation. Just doing the pest control equivalent of slapping a bandaid on a gunshot wound. I called some pest control companies around town, and not a single one endorsed their method as a proper way to handle a roach infestation.

It wasn't until 8 months into my lease, when I finally got fed up and contacted the property management's corporate office, that they offered a more in depth treatment. However, that in-depth treatment only would have treated my unit, leaving the infestation active in neighboring units. It also required significant work to prepare the unit for treatment, and the staff refused to complete these preparations, despite the infestation being their legal responsibility to resolve.

Now, the roaches aren't the only problem with this hell hole. They're just the biggest one. Let's look at some of the other things you'll get to experience living here:

Your electricity will randomly be shut off for a full day at a time without warning, which, by the way, is illegal. In fact, it wasn't until the fourth time this happened that the management started sending out the legally required 48 hour notices. I lost hundreds of dollars in groceries from the first couple of times it happened.

Amenities will constantly be broken or unavailable.

You already don't get in unit washer/dryer, and many units don't even have connections, so you're at the whim of the 4 washers and 4 dryers being used for the whole property, but half of these are constantly nonfunctional.

Were you enticed by the fact that they have a sauna? Well, don't be. The sauna was broken for half of the duration of my lease.

They also have a gym, surely that's good, right? Wrong. You better hold onto your gym membership. Many sets of weights are missing, and they have no intention of replacing them.

Now, let's move onto my next concern - flooding. My unit regularly experienced water flooding into the bathroom and closet - at least once or twice per month. Management refused to do anything about it, even though I informed them that it was causing damage to both the unit itself and significant property damage (over $1000 worth) to my own items. They constantly blamed it on the neighbor's kid flooding the sink, which is odd because at least two different families lived at that unit while I lived there, and the flooding happened during both of their time there. It's also odd because you'd think that if it was the neighbor's kid every time, and management was addressing it, that it wouldn't be happening so often. They then attempted to charge me for damages directly related to this flooding, despite the fact that I reported it time and time again with no resolution.

Many of the things I've listed here are blatant violations of the Kentucky Landlord Tenant Act. They know this, they just don't care. Unless all of what I've described sounds like a dream to

This has been one of the worst apartment experiences I have ever had. When I toured the complex, the model apartment seemed great. Renovations were well done, and I loved the layout. Once I got into my actual unit, however, I noticed that it seemed very different. Doors and windows are poorly sealed, so heat and air escape easily. Renovations were sloppy, countertops were jagged, outlets were loose, or just didn't work, but these were things I thought I could live with. A few months in, however, I started to notice the bugs. Tons of fruit flies even with a spotless kitchen, bugs coming in through the gaps in the doors and windows, and the roaches - I started finding them everywhere and I know that other tenants in the complex have the same issue. Pest control is charged monthly, but they only come upon request and maintenance is very slow to respond, if they even bother. I had to start each of my mornings by killing as many roaches as I could find for the day, and that didn't even make a difference. I feel disgusted and afraid to spend time in my apartment. On top of all the bugs and poor renovations, there are so many hidden charges. Mandatory $75 tech package, convenience fees to pay rent, fees for conservice for utilities, etc. Don't rent here, find somewhere that actually cares about their property and their tenants.

Very clean, quiet area next to a park which is great for exercise or just getting out for a study break. For the price range, these units are incredibly spacious. The staff is extremely friendly and the two times I needed maintenance they were great at getting back to me and sending someone to figure it out (literally the same day). The gym area is also so nice with lots of updated equipment, also pretty much empty most of the day so you don't have to worry about it being crowded. Parking is also nice that people who visit don't have to worry about finding a place to park. Only reason I didn't give it a 10 is I wish they had some type of lock and buzzer thing on the actual building unit just for extra security. Its in a really quiet area but still just would be a nice extra precaution. If you're comfortable living about ~10 minutes from campus this is a great choice!