Village At Southern Oaks

Hmmm, where to begin.
We lived here for three years. We had a three bed/​two bath apartment that was on the top floor. The HVAC system was inadequate for this space. Our air conditioning unit basically ran non-​stop in the summer months, and as a result, electric bills that were in the $ 250-​$ 300 range per month was not uncommon — and we kept the temperature at 78 – 80 degrees (we had to use digital thermometers to figure that out — the in-​unit thermostat was something out of the 1970s that made it difficult to figure out what the true temperature was). Because of the drafty doors and windows, I don’t think getting the temperature cooler than this was possible — at least during the day.
While the granite throughout the apartment was nice, all of the appliances were about as cheap as they could be. We regularly had issues with the washing machine not operating correctly (and the same happened with the dryer not actually drying things). The dishwasher was extremely loud, and as a result, we would only run it when we were headed out for at least a few hours. As with any electric water heater, don’t take more than two short showers back-​to-​back, or else you are running out of hot water for quite some time. As I said above, the doors and windows were drafty. They were also extremely cheap and the screen door to the balcony was basically useless, because it didn’t stay on the track. Attempts to get this fixed were basically met with a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ from the on-​property management and maintenance crews.
When landscapers were not mowing (they loved using leaf blowers to clean things up, so imagine how noisy that would be), things were generally pretty quiet. Of course, being on the third floor, we wouldn’t hear too much noise from the neighbors, except from the apartment that was back-​to-​back with us, and we could always hear when they slammed doors and whatnot shut. I have no idea how noisy it would be with sounds coming above if you are on the first or second floor.
However, what was most stunning/​alarming, was how evident the complex was falling apart in the three years we were there. As of this posting, the place is about 10 years old. Shingles are falling off of buildings. Siding is broken and in disrepair. Sidewalks and breezeways are not kept clean (despite multiple attempts to get them cleaned by us). Mud splatter from heavy rainfalls were just allowed to accumulate on the sides of various buildings. Again, it was a general ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ attitude from people that worked there towards the general care and condition of the buildings.
Sure, the people that worked there were generally nice to myself and my wife. But there was never any urgency to get things done. When there were issues, sometimes they were taken care of the same day, but most often it was several days later, or a week, or sometimes it required another visit to the front office to remind them of something. I was of the general opinion that people were just there to collect paychecks. Speaking of people, in the last year or so, it has been a revolving door of people working in the front office. I’d guess at least a dozen people worked there in the last year. It is apparent that the decline in care of the place has to do with the high turnover. I have no idea what is going on with management, but they need to fix things in that manner in a hurry.
Oh, and about your deposit. Your results may vary, but it took five weeks to get our deposit back (after they took out $ 125 for ‘cleaning’). That should be a cost of doing business, but whatever. We left it extremely clean, but they still needed to replace the carpeting, however that’s because of 10 years of wear-​and-​tear on cheap carpeting, it still looked like crap when we left.
If I had to do it over again, I would not have rented from them. Your results may vary, but you are likely better off renting a house. It will be cheaper if you need three bedrooms and it will likely be nicer as this place continues to fall apart.

I lived here for a little under a year and really liked this complex. The management at the time was great, the neighbors are quiet, parking wasn’t too much of a problem, the hot tub was always nice and warm and the gym wasn’t half bad for an apartment complex either. If I ever have to move back to Pensacola, I would definitely consider living here again.