Apartment Review for Staples Mill Townhomes - Richmond, VA

For the price, I don’t think these apartments are that bad, you definitely get what you pay for. These are my observations over the past year. There were a few roaches at the start of my lease, but they cleared out shortly after I moved in, since I am a relatively clean person. Parking can be pretty bad, and you would have to walk a decent ways to get home. My roommate and I heard gunshots, about 6 or 7x, and there have been numerous altercations within the community where the police have been present, but I know some of the older members of the community are trying to form a community watch program. My neighbor got his TV and play station stolen the day he was moving out. Maintenance was ok, Sanchez was awesome. My only complaint that hasn’t been resolved is the fact that the a/c unit is over 12 years old, and should have been replaced already. Therefore it DOES NOT cool the upstairs at all, I tried putting it on 60 one time and the downstairs was an icebox, but upstairs was a sauna. The office told me it was because of the type of pump and that all townhomes are like this. I know this is not the case because I have lived in a 3 story townhome where this was not an issue. The kitchen is very small, and if you rent the washer and dryer, you have to connect it to your sink, which is slightly frustrating. Plus doing so takes up even more room in the tiny kitchen, and the w/d is a very tiny version. The windows are old and need to be replaced, and they are quite drafty, especially the sliding glass door, which affects your heating and cooling bill. You have to pay $39/month for basic cable, which is kinda lame considering you could get better packages for cheaper on your own. I felt relatively safe in my cul-de-sac area, which had a lot of college kids, but outside of it, not so much, I wouldn’t walk my dog after dark. The office has a new staff, and I haven’t had any problems with them. For the price and location, its really not that bad, I stayed throughout my lease, but I am grateful to move to a nicer area into an apartment that has better amenities.