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| - Having returned to Arizona this past summer and seeking a new residence, my roommate and I decided to lease a two bedroom unit at the Indian Bend Apartments here in Old Town Scottsdale.
The apartment complex itself was bought out literally days after we moved in, and is now managed by Priderock Capital Partners, LLC and is being marketed as "The Glen at Old Town" which is a sister complex to the "Visconti at Camelback". Both complexes stand alone from another, were once respectively "Camellero" and "Indian Bend", yet are managed out of the same office.
As it stands at the time writing, there aren't any reviews of this complex under it's current name for potential tenants to review, so I feel it's my civic duty to offer a candid overview for others' benefit and amusement. There have been quite a few changes in the last six months of living here, some good, some bad, but I still believe this is a reasonable place to call home.
Our decision to rent here was based primarily on my roommate working here in Old Town, wanting to be close to work, and the lack of expense in living here relative to the rest of Old Town. Our rent is very, very reasonable lest the utilities and that is far and away the best feature of the unit.
Our apartment has a nice view of the Scottsdale Greenway, the McDowell and Superstition mountains, is relatively spacious despite it's antiquated floor plan and is relatively easy to access in an area that can be difficult to navigate at times. The bathroom has has a lovely tile pattern in the shower, and the vintage concrete block construction offers a feeling of solidity and is very quiet relative to newer apartments.
The neighborhood itself is like a demilitarized zone, and there are some colorful tenants here, although most have been ousted by the increases in rent under the new management. I've watched about half a dozen neighbors move on over the past three months. Upon first moving in parking was an issue of sorts, but now that there are so many empty apartments, there is no shortage of parking. Which is nice... I guess.
The new Management is far less attentive than those we originally leased from, and seldom return calls or have decent responses to inquires. The real estate investment company that bought this apartment complex specializes in flipping financially distressed commercial properties in semi-affluent areas and their management style is purely sales based. They are attempting to renovate the complex to warrant increases in rent and subsequently revenue, but quite frankly, I'm not sure the complex is nice enough to support it.
I'm growing tired of amenities like the fitness center being unavailable while the complex is being renovated. I leased the apartment under the pretense that there would be a fitness center available. It would be one thing if everything was torn up, but it's clean, all the machines are on and it's kind of frustrating seeing that and not have any idea when it might be open again. It's always "pretty soon, we promise."
They have also started using the electric security gates that had been neglected by the prior management. This is somewhat welcome, although the gates are ancient and often break, and there is no keypad on my side of the building which necessitates needless driving around the parking lot. There is an absolutely brutal double set of speed bumps at each gate that makes getting though a challenge, and will make short work of tires and suspension parts. A warning to the car lovers of the world, if you're car is even remotely low, there is a good chance you won't be able to get into the parking lot without scraping. Be warned.
Last, but certainly not least is the utilities. Upon moving in, part of our utilities were subsidized. That's good, because the air conditioner is at least thirty years old and runs literally 24/7 in the summer and still barley holds 78 degrees in our relatively small apartment. Our bills have steadily risen from $100 a month to now approaching $150. It's pretty common these days for leasing companies to resell you local utilities for profit, but it's a fixed amount, won't change if you conserve energy, and no one can account for the billed amount. It's pretty much whatever they want to charge you and there is nothing you can do about it. I fear the bill when it isn't the dead of winter.
Is this a terrible apartment? No. Not really. Is it great? Far from it. If the new management had never moved in I'd have been happy in my cheap, mediocre apartment for some time to come. Unfortunately, the managerial changes are trying to convert this into another overpriced Scottsdale apartment, but most of those have working A/C and lack the 70's funk that is more than present here. Moreover, they are going to be renovating this joint for god knows how long and I really wouldn't lease here until the additions are complete. Right now you never know when you're going to have hot water. I like hot water.
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