Broadway Village Apartments, Tucson, AZ

Full disclosure:
Management sent an email asking if people could write reviews for the property in exchange for a shot at free Rialto tickets or some money off your rent. Despite this apparent bias in my review, I had already been planning on writing a review of the property for awhile, but felt it important to note this for potential renters. While it would be nice if we won the raffle, it doesn’t matter all that much. Also, I feel like most apartment places do this.

TL;DR: 9.4/10

 If you’re anything like me, you are furiously researching houses and apartments in Tucson, reading every review you can find, looking at crime rate maps and searching within a certain proximity; so I thought I’d write a detailed review, as reviews for this property were partially-lacking when we moved in.

My girlfriend and I made the move down from WA in August of 2015. We sought out places with the following criteria: 1.) proximity to the UofA 2.) somewhat modern 3.) a yard or pool 4.) Safety 5.) general location 6.) absence of immature college kids

1.)	I moved down here for a grad program, and being within bike-able distance to the UofA was important to me. This property is 2 miles from campus, with a designated bikeway stop light nearby. It’s great because you can literally stop traffic with the touch of a button and cross Broadway to ride through neighborhoods to campus. Biking time: 10-12 mins.
2.)	The complex’s overall age is fairly old; I think it was built in the 60’s? Not sure, but they say it was not an old motel, though it kind of looks like it. From the outside, the place doesn’t look super attractive, but once you walk inside the gates, everything really changes, and it’s actually pretty nice. The color scheme is nice, and feels somewhat modern, and the lighting at night is generally good, though I wish they would turn the pool light on at night.

We lived in a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom unit during our time here. The one bedroom is nice, with wood vinyl floorings, granite counter  tops, a newer gas oven and a decent fridge/freezer. The sink is a double sink; no garbage disposal. The dishwasher works great. We never had trouble with any of the appliances.

3.)	Coming from WA, the weather down here was/is scorching. We really wanted to have access to a pool. The pool area is great. Hardly anyone ever uses it, so if you like pools, it could be virtually your own private pool. When people do use the pool they are respectful (noise wise).

4.)	I knew Tucson would have a generally higher crime rate than where I was from, so I spent a fair amount of time looking at crime maps and reading some of the police blotter. Overall I would say the neighborhood is pretty safe, the only crimes seem to be petty theft. For example, my girlfriend and I each had our bike stolen – but honestly, that is somewhat expected here in Tucson. So if you have a nice bike, store it on your patio/balcony or in your apartment. I did notice management finally put up a camera facing the bike rack, which is nice. Getting access to inside the apartment would not be too hard for a thief, as there have been numerous times where I didn’t have my keys, and have climbed the back gate. The apartment doors have a metal security screen door that would be very hard to break through if you were a thief. Despite of the bike thefts, we have overall felt very safe here. We constantly go running around the neighborhood at dusk and have never seen anyone sketchy. Our car was never broken into.

5.)	The general location of this palce couldn’t be better. Across the street you have a higher end natural grocery store, the best bakery next door and a couple restaurants. Within walking/biking you have the El Con Mall, Safeway, several eateries, and of course, Reid park, the best park in Tucson.

6.)	My girlfriend and I were over the whole college party thing. We didn’t want to be around kids getting drunk/high for the first time, loud-ass music, etc. This complex has been almost perfect. The tenants range from mature undergrads to the retired. I think the mix is perfect. For a couple months we did have a kid who lived under us who blasted music, but I think he got kicked out. I recommend living in a top-floor unit if you can, as if you are on the ground floor you will hear your neighbor’s vacuum or drops on the floor pretty clearly. We lived on the ground floor for our first year and never had an issue when trying to sleep.

Management:
I see some people really disliked the management. I don’t know if the place got new management in 2015, but they have been outstanding since we moved in. Any posts 2015 onward complaining must’ve been used to living on a property with servants and maids. We’re talking same day repairs/ same day plumber. The owner once called me directly because a water heater in the unit above us had broke and was leaking into our unit. He sent out the repair man same day, fixed it and told me to call him back on his cell if we had any problems. I really appreciated that. The owner seems to acutally care about the property, as evidenced by the pool remodel (I thought it was great even before it) and remodeled interiors.

 Also, there have been a few times where we have forgot to pay rent, and they have never made us pay a fee and have been understanding every time. They have not nickeled and dimed us either. When we moved from our one BR unit to the two BR, none of our deposit was touched (at least I was never made aware). I had even managed to accidentally put a fair size gouge into the flooring, and they were understanding. I cleaned it up with wax and one of those the best I could. If they try to nickel and dime us on the way out, I will update.

General points:

•	Parking: I see some people here complain about parking. Honestly, in our two years of living here, we have never had trouble finding a parking spot. There is parking on both sides of the complex, and for Christ’s sake, there about 100 spots right across the street.
•	I see some people also complaining about the garbage truck noise. Yes it can be loud; don’t sleep with your window open and you won’t have an issue, unless you live near the dumpster.
•	The washer/dryer units are shared but are fairly modern and work well. Sometimes they don’t connect to the wifi and will give an error code when you swipe your card. If you come back in 15mins they will usually work.
•	Bugs: We were terrified of cockroaches moving down here. In every place I looked at, I checked under all the sinks and in the closets for signs of roaches. In our time here we have only seen 3 roaches, which I think is pretty good for 3 years. I am pretty sure the property also has an exterminator come quarterly. The only other bugs we have seen are possible termites, but that seems to be a small isolated incident.
•	Air conditioning/heating: The heating/cooling works great. No complaints. There is a celling fan in the living room and each bedroom. They replace the air filters quarterly.
•	Plumbing: Plumbing, while no doubt is probably old, is actually decent. Don’t expect cold water in the summer, get a britta filter and you’ll be set. Only complaint: shower/bath needs higher water pressure. Don’t flush trash down your toilet and you won’t clog it. Simple.
•	Pets: Cats are allowed, as are fish. Pet fee is $25/month/cat. Two owners have had small dogs. Apparently they know the owner so this was okay. I know my neighbor also got permission for his girlfriend’s dog to visit on the weekends once or twice per month.

Cost:
•	I think prices have gone up, but when we moved in to the one unit in 2015, price as $825/month. This included wifi, water, garbage and gas. Electricity bill ranges from $20-130 (in summer, dependent on AC use).
•	The two bedroom unit we got for $925 /month. I think they could be trying to charge $100 more – it seems like they are increasing rent each year, as this area is becoming a bit more trendy – though if you renew your lease they will keep your rent the same and usually give half off August rent. I am willing to bet if you were a great tenant that you could negotiate your rent a bit lower; the management and seem like understanding people.

Pictures:
http://imgur.com/a/iRiTl

Overall:
 We looked at well over 20 properties. This one was the last one we looked at, and it impressed us the most. If you can get prices for what we got, then you are getting an awesome deal, perhaps one of the best values in Tucson. We would live here another year if we weren’t moving back to WA.

9.4/10