Harbor House at Ann Arbor

This review is from my experience living here 06÷2014−07÷2016.
The apartment amenities are decent with large bathrooms, walk-​in closets and nice built-​in bookshelves and a fireplace. But that’s all the good this place has to offer. Noise is an issue with the interior shared entrance as I can hear my neighbors walk up and down the stairs and leave/​enter the building all the time with the door slam shaking my living room walls. Spa was never in service the multiple times I tried using it. Kitchen appliances are ancient (dishwasher was so gross I didn’t even want to use it). Management wanted to charge several hundred dollars in additional rent per month on top of the already high rent just to upgrade. But what really makes this place terrible are the horrendous rental policies. Management never disclosed that rental insurance was required when I signed the lease. They make you pay for a garage parking space even if you don’t own a car. They try to force you to sign a lease as early as October to get the «best rate», then turn around in April when they’re desperate for tenants to offer the same deal. They are not flexible with lease terms either since if you decide to sublet (or what they call relet) because you were forced to sign a year-​long lease in October, they charge you a fee (even if you find the tenant on your own). If you relet from a tenant who owned a pet, guess what, you’ll be paying a monthly pet fee even if you don’t own a pet!
My advice: avoid this place. There are much better places with better management to be found in the area.

Not a place for professionals. As cited by other users the management is horrible. They do not respect their tenants and cannot be trusted. In my 6 years of renting from other companies I have not experienced this level of non-​professionalism where the management doesn’t care about their tenants happiness. They are abrasive and confrontational lacking any customer service skills.
You cannot give them a rent check in advance of the rent being due because of travel or a vacation since they will cash it right away as though you have piles of money sitting in the bank for them.
In addition they’ve been pushing back renovations for months. Make sure they show the actual unit you will move into before signing anything. Do not take their word it’s most likely untrue. They haven’t completed anything on the list I gave them when I moved in.
Finally remember you are the one who will live here and they don’t. So if want to make this your home look elsewhere.

Worst place I’ve ever lived. Outrageously expensive, cardboard walls, loud neighbors, construction workers cursing, smashing, and driving enormous trucks 6 feet outside my window every other day all year round early in the morning. I’ve lived in Cairo, Egypt and Manhattan and this place is noisier than either by far, no contest. Choose Harbor House if you hate sleep and want to listen to «beep beep beep crash smash curse bellow yell» all day. What a dump.

The apartment is ok but management is terrible … My friend was promised a unit with upgrades. Most of it would be done before he moved in and the cabinets would be done later. When he got his keys, NOTHING was done … And they don’t have a date on when these upgrades would be done …
We spoke to a few others. They were promised upgraded apartments in August… It’s end of sept already… Now, it just seems like a scheme to get the higher rent for a very mediocre apartment. No date on when any upgrade would be done .: the extremely old appliances in the kitchen are falling apart … So BEWARE!!!
And there is carpet in the bathroom!!!

The customer service is abysmal. Every time you go into the leasing office they make you feel like you shouldn’t be there, let alone asking a question. Everyone seems to dislike there current place of employment and maintenance requests ate not completed in a timely manner. The facilities and amenities are nice, however, I would give all of that up for good customer service

The apartments themselves are very nice As well as the clubhouse. The maintenance department responds promptly and deals well with my two dogs (which can be a lot to handle).
Now onto why I gave harbor house 2 stars. The management here is absolutely terrible. They really enjoy saying one thing when they mean something entirely different. For example I was told my apartment would have an updated kitchen, it did not. I was then told the apartment complex would relet my apartment to someone who wants to move in earlier for a $ 250 fee, only to go to pay and be told it would cost $ 1000. I was then treated like I was the idiot even though in the email mentioned nothing about $ 1000.
Another issue is that the management is down right rude. Each time I call for anything I’m greeted by some of the rudest people. I personally believe when a 1 bedroom apartment costs $ 1300 a month, the least the management can do is be kind.
Bottom line it’s worth anyone’s while to live in any of the other apartments near briarwood for the same price and much better service.

3.5 stars, rounded to 3 stars because I don’t like the management.
Good location, close to Umich campus and Whole Foods market. I stayed in a 2b/​2b with a roommate. Our rent price is great, I pay about $ 720 a month including everything except for garage parking. The garage ceiling is really low, I had a Subaru Impreza hatchback, if I opened my trunk in there, my trunk door will hit the ceiling. The windows suck, I think they are called the single pane window, it gets really really really cold in the Winter. Second floor has these really high ceiling which is nice. The garage of this apartment is really weird, as you have to walk down a creepy stairs to the garage, I am happy that I parked outside all the time and don’t need to deal with that depress walk to the garage. The apartment is really quite which is a plus.
Okay, now let’s talk about the management. I will avoid that black sir if possible, he doesn’t know the rules of the apartments that well, and his answer might be different by tomorrow. Well, let’s just this management is not flexible, and they don’t tell you all the rules they are playing in the beginning, and some rules are ridiculous. I am the person that plays with rules and laws, then will try to utilize them to gain every advantage I can find. I love to do tax return, you get the picture. This management is a nightmare to my game. It’s not that they don’t tell you these rules in the beginning, it’s just they are not that good, some people called it lazy, some people called it dumb, I called it lack of organization. Was trying to sublease my apartment since I graduated from my master at Umich, their rules just were not clear, and then suddenly when I am done, some other rules popped up then I need to solve it. They just forgot to tell your these rules all the time, until you when you happen to do something.
My suggestion for you is to record everything they said. This way you can defend yourself and not letting them play by whatever they want. This is a good place to live if you don’t have to deal with the management and just drop your rent every month.

I’ve been here for two months now. Refer to Victoria’s review as it is very accurate from what I’ve experienced so far. I’ll just add some things.
These apartments really are a good value. In addition to the cost of rent, you will be charged by Harbor House for a garage parking spot below your building and utilities (water and other miscellaneous utilities that I’m not sure of). I was told they made the garage parking spot mandatory because people complained of non-​residents taking the free for all parking spots during football games. You’ll pay for electricity and gas to DTE.
I found a lot of spiders here during my first month. Nothing too scary, but I don’t like having to kill spiders and at the same time I don’t like knowing that a spider is lurking around. I haven’t seen any since, so maybe it’s just a mid summer thing.
I really like the gym here because they actually have a bench with a barbell as opposed to the Smith machine found at most apartment gyms. There are also dumbbells, a cable machine, a stair machine that looks like an escalator, a stationary bike, and four treadmills. It’s usually empty when I go there.
I’ll give an update if I have anything more to say when I move out.

Really nice apartments, built sometime in the 90’s. The guys at the office are really nice, helpful, and quick to help. Maintenance is good too. Ten minute walk to two grocery stores, a Busch’s and a Whole Foods. 2 minute drive to i-​94. You can drive to the Main Street or the State Street restaurant/​shopping areas in about ten minutes. My only complaints were with the walkways and the doors at the front of the apartment. The entrance door’s handle was really inexcusably loose, like it was hit with a baseball bat, and the key took a lot of finagling to work (I mean a lot). The walkway leading up to that door was crumbly in parts, uneven, and the steps were taller than average and it was awkward (although I suppose a good workout).
The neighbors are nice, quiet, but they mostly keep to themselves. From what I see they are mostly 20-​somethings and 30-​somethings, but there are a few families that live here. There is a child care center with a playground that can be seen, a ways away from the apartment complex, and when the kids play outside, they shriek and scream, and you can hear it from your apartment if you keep your windows open. I just close my windows around that time.
I never felt unsafe here. It’s a good safe area, you can see old people from the nearby old folks home walking around all the time, they’re ok.
The pool is nice. In the whole time I was here, the sauna and the hot tub were «closed for repairs.» In the gym they have a bunch of different machines, and a separate room with mats for yoga and free weights. The internet café they have has macs and pcs, and a printer.
Prices are good for what you get, the apartments are super nice.
If you get Comcast internet, and your bill is unusually high, it’s because they’re tacking on extra charges in hopes you don’t notice. I’m not kidding. They probably think your parents are paying for it, and you don’t even look at the bill. You gotta call them up and tell them about those «mystery charges,» and they will quickly take them off, you don’t even have to fight them about it! Again, Comcast is doing that, NOT Harbor House! Harbor House is pretty darn good.