Lake Forest Apartment Homes

I don’t even know where to start. This apartment has been a nightmare. First, we had a water heater leak that lasted for months, not once, but twice! Turns out the boiler was leaking into our downstairs neighbor’s apartment, and somehow, it felt like management was trying to pin it on us. The first leak happened in September 2023. They left a bucket to catch the water and kept the boiler door wide open, right by our cramped hallway. Maintenance tore up the AC vent and left it open for months. They said to keep the bucket there until they found a fix. Well, they never came back, so we assumed it wasn’t an issue anymore. We didn't know it was leaking until our neighbor reported it. But it became our problem, and it went on until winter. Once we stopped using the AC, the leaks stopped. Fast forward to August 2024, the leak returned. Same bucket, same mess. We called the office, and they sent a guy who just looked at the boiler and said they’d be back. We had multiple maintenance people come through with the same excuse. We emptied that bucket ourselves every day. One call stands out—I was polite but frustrated, and the woman on the phone told me to call emergency maintenance if it was “such a big deal.” We waited until Monday, but no one came. A week later, a contractor arrived and did a half-done job. That was just the big issue. The carpet always smelled like dog urine, the balcony felt like it would collapse, and the walls were so thin we could hear every conversation from the neighbors. The laundry room had only two washers and dryers for the whole building, and broken carports left cars exposed for months. Sure, they updated the outdoor areas, but they shut down one of the pools, and the other was always under repair. To make it worse, we lived right next to a shady hotel, and people’s cars were constantly broken into. Security? Barely around, never doing anything but driving through. We finally moved out, and now they want to charge us for damages we didn’t cause. After everything, you’d think they’d cut us some slack. We just wanted a safe, clean place to live, but we never got that.

Our storage unit was broken into, and some of my things that cannot be replaced were stolen. Manager didn’t care about it, if she did she would have responded to our email right away instead of taking aweek to do so. She already knew break-ins happened but never told us specifically, or bothered to investigate further I guess. Building smells bad, people smoking cigarettes, weed in other buildings. Nasty motels nearby, people around the area and neighbors seem like they are not trustworthy. Not pet friendly like they advertise, not a safe place for small dogs or cats because apartments have safety issues. Things around the apartment, inside and outside building, are crumbling, dirty, not taken care of. We felt sick every day there, wondering if there is mold in the walls - probably they paint over it, wouldn’t be surprised. Months of our life and health/happiness we cannot get back!!

Living at Lake Forest Apartments is the best decision that I have made. The patios/balconies are huge and the ceilings in the apartments are not on top of you and you do not feel like you are on the bottom level of the building. I love to sit by the lake on the deck that they put in. They have updated the property and the units with the new company that took over and I have seen so many things change for the better. Yes, there are somethings that they can't help like people not picking up after there animals but the office is on top of it and they try to figure out what animal did it and they will send that person the correct letter for this. The staff at Lake Forest is very nice and they are willing to help you out. This summer was nice and I got to finally use both pools and they are even heated. ( that was so nice if the weather was not that hot out). There is a nice walking trail in the woods and you do not feel like you are in the city. This place is the best place that I have lived in an Apartment.

If you don't drive your car for a little bit (2 weeks ish), they might just tow it! They'll *say* they tagged it (it's lies, we checked ever day), and they'll it *should* move (that's not in the lease), so yeah. They don't give a crap about their residents, and they'll take their stuff with little-to-no communication about it if they feel so inclined, and because they're the company and you're the resident, you're SOL. STAY AWAY!!!!!!

Living in Lake Forest Apartments is a wonderful community to reside. My scenic view is refreshing during all seasons along with the open floor plan. The enclosed, large decks feel like you have an extra room off your living/dining room. Having two pools to choose from is nice, especially having children. Lake Forest Staff goes out of their way to do a little something special for the children or residents during holidays. As an example: Halloween goodie bag in office, Chritmas they left a little treat bag and even the first day of school, students had a bag of school supplies. They're maintenance staff is efficient and friendly and all the remodeling has been such a beautiful improvement, I can't wait to see the full transformation. You won't be disappointed to live in an apartment community like this, they're hard to find. Quiet, pet friendly with spacious rooms along with enormous decks. A must see!

We've only been here a month and can't wait to get out of here. We weren't able to check Lake Forest out before we moved here as we were moving from out of state. The photos on their website are very deceiving. EVERYTHING is outdated. The kitchen has very little cabinet space. The main bathroom, well the tub and shower area are very small and again not updated. All of the closets have metal doors. The one in the 2nd bathroom is rusty. There are 2 outside pools but the one closest to my unit is FULL of algae and closed. The other one is starting to get algae in it as I went to it to swim and could feel it on my feet and see it. The units do not come with microwaves and there is not a business area or gym here. The carport is $20.00 extra a month. To have a 6 month lease is $75.00 extra. The refrigerator/freezer was going bad when we moved in and I really noticed it when I put ice cream in it and ice cream was softer than soft serve ice cream. Reported to maintenance and was told it was "just an apartment unit", I took that as I shouldn't expect much, and he turned the fridge up. Well needless to say we lost all of our food and they refuse to reimburse us for it. Also when we moved in the kitchen light wasn't working,no knobs on main bathroom medicine cabinet, I got tired of waiting for maintenance to get so bought myself, garbage disposal sounded like it had silverware or something in it, frame of porch screen had newspaper shoved under it , lock on patio door didn't work, no lock on 2nd bathroom door. They do allow large dogs which is great. Although pay attention when you are walking as people don't follow the law and don't pick up after their pet. They do have a nice nature walk and a bench on a dock. The big patios are nice. When you bring things to the attention to be fixed you are told you are "to particular" for apartment living. We pay over $1200 for a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath!! If you want to be told you're "to particular" for apartment living when you want things fixed, pay outrageous rent, have a large patio, swimming pools you can't, non updated apartment, and a nature walk then this is the place for you, otherwise STAY AWAY! !!!

I have a two bedroom apartment overlooking the pool from the 3rd floor. There is a very large living area and the bedrooms are roomy, also. My balcony is the length of the apartment. It's like having an outdoor den/sitting area. The view is what sold me. I have coffee in the morning sun on the balcony and watch the children swimming. It's so peaceful.

My 1 bedroom is huge...16x14 bedroom, living room and dinette very large, kitchen is good with pass thru, gas heat is included. Rent is reasonable considering the great view from the 20 foot balcony (some screened in). Overlooks Soft Water Lake and woods with access to the lake for swimming and non motor boating, kayaking, etc. Only 3 miles to downtown Grand Rapids, right by expressway entrance. Very close to main street with shopping, gas stations, etc. 2 swimming pools included and dogs and cats allowed for a fee. Excellent place to live. I have been here 12 years and hope to stay many more.