The Belmont

You live here because someone in your life (you or a significant other) go to Duke. Otherwise, move. You’re right next to campus. It’s more expensive here.
Pros of the Belmont:
1) Walk to campus, walk to Kroger
2) Under new management and they actually care about the place.
3) Big bedrooms and closets compared to the Heights
4) Ample parking
5) It’s a massive complex, so you probably have friends that live here
6) The front desk folks are super nice. Sometimes incompetent, but I it depends on the person and on the time of day.
7) BUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNIIIEEEESSSSSSSSSSS. They mostly come out in the summertime though. Tiny bunnies!
8) I never felt unsafe or got robbed.
Cons:
1) The workout room is tiny and gets super busy in the evening
2) Not as plush as the Heights. Just feels older. The paint isn’t that nice shade of rich-​people avocado. The countertops aren’t granite.
3) They used to have freshbaked cookies at the front desk under the old management. Miss those days.
4) Don’t try to use the alarm system. It barely works and the county of Durham will charge you for a second false alarm if the cops have to show up.

The staff appears friendly… at first…
Fine amenities. Gym/​pool/​apartment is about what you would expect for the price. Good for dogs (plenty of space to walk them around).
However, the staff is terrible. Throughout the year (2012 – 13) we had many issues with our washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher. While the Belmont promptly came to repair these issues, they did not do so properly (even after numerous complaints). My roommate had a number of dress shirts ruined in the dryer (which the Belmont reimbursed him about half their value) and the Belmont was never able to get our dishwasher to work properly.
Furthermore, they try to nickle and dime you out of EVERYTHING. For example, they charged us a $ 50 fine for paying our rent a day late when there was an error with their online system. They charged us a $ 150 fee each to sublet for the summer, and at the end of the summer they charged us for numerous «damages» and «cleaning fees» for things that were messed up before we moved in (e.g., $ 40 for a microwave cleaning fee!).
In short, I’d highly recommend living elsewhere. While the housing is fine (nothing spectacular), dealing with the staff is not worth the headache.

I just wanted to say that I will be telling everyone to avoid these guys and to live in other apartment complexes. My roommate and I were told that we could use the Key Release form to let people (most of them working for charities) enter our apartment and pick up remaining furniture for free, and if we leave it behind these guys will charge us a fee. Now that we’ve moved, I was sent an email by staff, stating that we were no longer allowed to do this, as it’s an «inconvenience» to her, and that we have to find a way to remove our furniture despite being 500 miles away now. The lease agreement says nothing about this, and all she has to do is hand a key to someone.
We started out the year rough, after the management refused to give us the $ 100 bonus we were offered upon signing, and these guys have been slow on maintenance, and slow to help ever since then. I just want this post to serve as a warning to potential customers that there are much nicer (including the new apartment complex opening across the street) complexes available that are cheaper and have MUCH friendlier staff.
Rooms were nothing like the site makes it seem, and there are lots of hidden fees thrown in. They will make every attempt to put fault on you and charge you!

Spacious Apartments. Friendly staff. Dog-​friendly. Close walk to campus. They are newer apartments which is nice for you electricity bill for air conditioning/​heating. Free coffee and cookies in the club house everyday (and dog treats). They have monthly free food events which I love! I have not had any bug problems, and any problems I have come across the maintenance staff is quick to fix. My dog loves it here, I love it here so I have lived here for 3 years now and am already signed up for my fourth. I would definitely recommend it.

Somewhat Frat-​tastic living accommodations near Duke. Your car won’t get broken into parked in the lot as the one next to it is nicer than yours. The pool is ideal for hot days and the apartments are spacious and well kept. Electric stoves.