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| - After living at Camden for almost 5 years, we finally moved out because of the price hike.
Basically, Camden Copper Square provides the best bang for the buck, if you want to live near downtown Phoenix, like, in walking/biking distance.
Of course, the price is tricky, because when you count the price, besides the standard price, there are valet waste, cable, and copper square charge. The new renters might be hit with surprise like hidden cost. I didn't, probably because I saw they start to charging these things, one by one. So to me, they are not hidden cost, it's just the way they want to raise some rent, first the copper square fee (2007?), then came valet waste (2008?), and then cable (2009?). I only start paying them when I renewed the lease.
The apartment complex size is moderate, about 350 units. You got to pick the right unit. The ones on van Buren street will be noisy, and only good if you have strong nerve, or really cheap rates. For the units facing the pool you have pool rate. For the ones facing the west, that's the city view price. Also you don't want the ones next to the dumpster. There are the ones really need a long walk to the parking lot... So the best way to find the apartment is to have a visit, take a layout map, and then go home, check the price on-line, and check out the unit on the map. Once you figure out the right unit with right price for the date you preferred, just give the leasing office a call, make the reservation.
But you have to be quick, because the price is changing every day, the so called market pricing. If 7 units of model H are available today, the price could be 900, and if 2 are leased today, tomorrow the price could go up to 950. It's annoying, I know, and it's determined by the computer system at Houston, so leasing agent can do nothing but smiling at you. Even worse, you never know when your lease ends, how much is the price for the renewal (it's market dependent). Some of my friends move to another unit every time her lease is up, or nearly up. Just keep looking. If you feel no problem with it, then you might end with very good unit. I'm lazy, so we only moved once. However, my rent is still acceptable. I found that the best time to renewal seems to be close to the end of the year. Other better timing seems to be around April, right before the end of spring semester (my two friends have dirty cheap rents). So if you are flexible, you can have your lease end at the "right" time. But to tell the truth, I never figure out.
The overall experience at Camden is still good. To me, the maintenance is the most important aspect, and the maintenance team at Camden is fast and responsive. The emergency, it normally can be fixed at the same day. We had an AC break-down which took 3 days, and we were given a guest furnished unit for stay. The parking is also very good. Just make sure your unit is not with many other units that share the same small entrance at one corner of the garage, the parking could be troublesome for that case. The gym is good for regular normal work-out, and unless you are there at the peak hour like 5:30pm, normally it's ok. The cleaning guys are there at Wednesday morning, so avoid that time also.
Safety-wise, I feel pretty good. Yes, I did saw 4 cars that had been broken into during my 5 years stay, 3 in the first year, and 1 in the following year. All cars are old cars with no alarm, two next to my car. Then I started to see security guys and Copper Square ambassadors regularly.
In general, the experience is very good. However, I don't know whether the price will worth that in the future, because we were priced out. Yes, they just priced us and many others out because they want to remodel the unit, with new wood-like floor, new appliance, and cabinet. I guess the price won't remain the same after the remodeling.
So good luck for the future renters. My suggestion is, if you find cheap unit at right location, and if you don't might moving after your lease is up or paying possibly much higher rent, then go ahead.
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