Avalon Blue Hills

Also the water coming out of my faucet was brown constantly I had to let in run for like 10 minutes in order for it to clear up

Recently, visited a friend at this complex. Externals are generally clean and attractive. In light of the magnitude of this developer’s holdings, I was disappointed to learn that, though there are recycling signs at their waste collection stations, the reality is that all of their trash is ‘single stream’. And, if this waste management policy is in force at all of their locations throughout the country then Avalon has an inexcusably large carbon footprint.
As a consumer advocate concerned about the many lives lost daily due to global warming, the owners should revise their trash management policy to an earth friendly and ecologically sound strategy. That 9 ft snow dump should put all corporate leaders on notice, Fiji’s 180 mph monsoon, entire island nation’s under water, India’s farmers having to move to the cities, extreme tornadic events in the US, the loss of Artic glaciers, 50% of all children born autistic by 2025, et. al Geez! Are our corporate leaders’ heads in the sand? Their lives are in jeopardy as well.
Moreover, I would think that the Avalon Hills current rate structure would afford tenants hot water for bathing and laundry. Every single time I needed a shower, the water was only luke warm to cold.
Learned even more… that smoking in Avalon buildings is allowed. Really? Even in light of the research that confirms the impact of second hand smoke on the health of non-​smokers.
Though the landscaping is aesthetically pleasing, I noticed lots of holes in the grass where pets have urinated or defecated. Seems that pet owners need a reminder that the dog park is there for a reason; and, moreover, pet owners need a reminder to quiet their animals in the building.
But, resources abound! There’s certainly a nearby Boston College, Northeastern, Wentworth, MIT or Harvard environmentalist with a more evolved minimalist solution for landscape to replace high maintenance grass that reduces costs while achieving a more earth friendly aesthetic without paying a pesticide slinging contractor to further poison the air, humans and their animal companions.
Of course, developers should build better sound buffering acoustics into their structures; so, tenants do not have the torture of a neighbor’s snoring, family arguments or furniture moving projects. But, since tenants are unlikely to receive any remedy to their acoustics, a reminder to keep their decibel levels at a minimum would be a fair accommodation.
Time has come for corporations to put people before profits by moving all lawn care equipment to electric and construction equipment to biodiesel or similar. As well, when building new structures, why not have the foresight to recognize the savings with heliotropic solar car ports, green roofs and/​or geothermal? Why get the tax credits with installation of permaculture and permeable pavers to manage storm water? Why not use green building materials so healthcare costs are not externalized to be shouldered by the general population when tenants get sick from accumulated VOCs from off gassing of cheap, toxic building materials? Why not design-​build to restore ecological balance? Why not build to the US Green Building Council’s Gold LEED standards? With new profits, why not retrofit old buildings to compensate for dated Avalon architecture that will continue to damage our ecology and the lives of our grandchildren?
Corporate Avalon… get on board with development choices that are part of the solution.

The maintenance at Avalon Blue Hills really good crew. When the air conditioning system broke and leaked, they were able to drain it and repaint the ceiling where it leaked. When the water heater stopping after we first moved in, maintenance was right there to fix what was simply a breaker. I was a bit dismayed at their insistence on painting the front doors with a third party vendor given access to the apartment, especially since my family has a child at home. It’s not the painting so much, its that the front door has to be open while they paint it and presumably to wait for the paint to dry. I’m sorry, but I just don’t feel comfortable leaving the front door to my apartment open when my daughter is present. I tried to resolve the issue by calling the front desk, but unfortunately the two teams are not in line with each other. So maintenance demanded that they paint the front door to an apartment where a child is present. I’m sure its very low probability event that my daughter would happen to wander outside, but that’s not a risk I’m willing to take.

I agree with another reviewer here. If I could give no stars, I would have, too. I agree that the leasing office associates are nice-​how else will they get you to sign up? I lived here for 2 year and was only mildly annoyed for the time I leased. It was truly during move out that i graduated to full blown anger. I rented the largest 2 bedroom for just myself and 2 dogs. I had to request via paper request to get a 2^nd pass card even though I was paying a lot of lot of money and living there by myself. There was almost no lighting outside for safety when walking the dogs at night. The trash compactor was directly behind my building and there wasn’t one week that it wasn’t overflowing halfway through the week and trash left outside all over which not only smelled in summer but brought skunks often. Imagine the fun of walking your dogs in the dark and running into skunks. And many of the dog owners did not pick up after their dogs and nothing was done about it by the management company. And then I moved. And I paid the extra fee so I wouldn’t have to clean the apartment. And I painted so I wouldn’t have to pay the fees. And guess how much of my deposit I got back? None. Which they also waited until almost the very last day of their grace period to notify me of. So the best and really only positive thing I liked was that I could get packages sent to the office and they were always there waiting for me… although there were times the office was closed so you had to wait or go back for your package. Be forewarned. There are better ways to spend your money

I really like this complex The staff in the rental office are always helpful i’ve only met, Marika Eric and Amanda, if you have any problems or concerns they are extremely helpful, also the landscaping is beautiful and the buildings are kept clean.
I gave this place of 4 star because I think no matter where you live you will hear noise from other tenets and I am highly sensitive to noise, when you call maintenance they normally come within a half an hour from my experience.
It’s also nice that you can have pets here even though people have pets here you don’t hear a lot of noise from The pets that is, whenever someone comes to visit me they say how nice the place looks. Other than the noise that you hear from other tenants from time to time it’s really nice. It’s also nice to have your own washer and dryer in your unit. I’ve never had a separate bill for water and sewer before, but I think when you live somewhere else it’s just a hidden costs you pay for it anyways. I would recommend this place to my family and friends.

If I could honestly give this place no stars I would. Well I guess it can get 1 star for landscaping and community up keep. The staff at the leasing office are extremely nice but that doesn’t help when it comes to the fees you will pay if anything happens in your life.
1. Noise policy — do not dare to sneeze, laugh or walk too much in your own apartment after 10pm which is quiet time. If you work a lot and you are home at late hours, you either need to jump from your door to your bed because if you do anything you will receive a complaint the next morning. The walls and floors are so thin ! The neighbors hear you, you hear them.
2. Cheap quality– it all looks so clean and fancy but everything like cabinets chip and peal. The carpets are cheap.
3. Pet Friendly– they tell you it is pet friendly out we get complaints often that at 8pm when we come home our dogs are running. One neighbor even approached us and told us to stop as if we can do that, they are puppies. When we asked the neighbor for a suggestion, he himself did not know.
4. Rent– don’t you dare mail out your rent on the 1^st! If it gets their later than the 5^th even if dated the 1^st you will get an eviction notice and a fee of about $ 300. If something is wrong with your bank they do not care if it was the bank at fault you will be in court paying double your rent. Do not mess anything up on online portable you will be blocked and then forced to call in your payments on the first to assure they receive it. That is $ 38 by the way just to call it in. No matter what do not be late send out rent 1week before it is due. You will be tangled in court fees if you dare to be late. I emailed customer care I have called them when my mother suffered a heart attack and stroke stating I mailed out the rent and it would get there not sure if by the 5^th. I was told even if dated the 1^st I will be evicted. All I have to say is 2 months I paid $ 3000 because life happened. I was told «I am not the post office» .
5. Hidden fees– READ THE LEASE AND PREPARE FOR LOCK DOWN IN SENIOR LIVING. Water and sewage including in rent do not avoid it you will be fined. You might as well buy a house for what you will spend here. Upon move out get cleaners or you will be charged a fee.
Do yourself a favor go to another complex for that price all will be included and for what I have spent I should be in a condo of my own.
STAY AWAY
P. s. Don’t you dare ask the leasing office about rent you have to talk to some in New Jersey or Virgina.

Our time living here was pretty enjoyable. We enjoyed the location, apartment layout, and amenities. The gym and pool were very well kept, as well as the public areas. Snow removal was great and neighbors weren’t loud or unfriendly. Our building was very quiet although we noticed lots of tenants moving out. The apartments don’t have elevators which makes moving in or out a huge pain. The reason I’m giving this apartment community 3 stars is because of our move-​out experience. BEWARE OF THE MANDATORY CLEANING FEE!!! We were told (by leasing office and maintenance guy who did move out inspection) that we had 3 options: move out without cleaning and be subjected to the cleaning fee, move out and hire your own cleaning company, OR move out and clean the apartment yourself. We chose to clean the apartment ourselves. We spent a day and a half cleaning the apartment top to bottom after we completely moved all of our things out. Low and behold, they slap us with a $ 160 «mandatory» cleaning fee that was deducted out of our security deposit. My boyfriend (who was listed on the lease) sent 2 emails to corporate disputing the fee and never got a reply. Instead, they send a response to my email account over a week later. The customer service we’ve received since moving out has been nonexistent but I guess that’s what you get once you move out… Nothing.

My husband and I moved here before we got married. The location is great for commuters. I work on the south shore and he works out off rt 495, So for us this is a good meeting point. We have been here since the complex opened and our building was built. I have no complaints it works for us. 2/​½ years later we are moving, only because we are buying a house. We have quiet neighbors, we occationally hear noise from people above or bellow us but not often. The ladies in the office are very efficient any time you need anything, they also have community events. The maintenance team does their best to return calls and fix things in reasonable time. They use professional landscapers year round including in snow storms they plow and shovel sidewalks (you are only respondsible for around your car). They have 2 community bbq areas with gas grills, a gym, pool and clubhouse that are included at no extra fee.
I know some people right negative reviews. however this is just our experience. For the price, square footage and amenities, I think this is a great place.
As far as someones comment about the trash– yes its a little far from some of the buildings but I am ok with that because on a hot summer day trash can smell and I like not smelling it with my windows open.
So Yes I would definately RECOMMEND Avalon Blue Hills.
Also in reguards to someones comment about car break ins. It is something that can happen anywhere even if you do not hear about it. They did address the issue and notify All Residents and also put up some security cameras on the property!

Living here is like a dream, in comparison to where I lived before. I don’t even know where to start, but I love everything about Avalon Blue Hills. It is in a convenient location for grocery shopping, malls, restaurants, not too far from the city, and if you love the outdoors there are plenty of local hiking trails. In addition to the location, the buildings are nearly brand new. I believe the structures were completed in 2009, so the appliances, carpet, paint, etc. are all new (not to mention PERSONAL washer and dryers… huge plus!!!) No bugs, no leaks, no odors, no stains!
Another benefit is having an on-​site gym. It’s open everyday for a wide range of hours. In the summer, they also have a community pool. There are usually anywhere from 5 – 10 people there, but there are plenty of chairs and a few tables. The only downside about the pool is that it closes on labor day and stays closed until May.
I also appreciate the availability of maintenance staff and hospitality of the office staff. If you aren’t a difficult, problematic, disrespectful resident, then you will be fine here. I haven’t had any problems with neighbors or noise, and I haven’t had any unexpected occurrances.
In rebuttle to the complaint about having to pay for water and sewer – The monthly rent here is a few hundred cheaper than apartments of equal quality. You have to pay for water and sewer at other apartments, it’s just built into your monthly rent. Including utilities, I am still paying less than what I would be at surrounding complexes.
Now, the reasons I didn’t give 5 stars– the trash receptacle is too far away (not fun in the snow/​ice), but they do have a recycling program available which is more than I can say for many places. In addition, the parking is not covered (also a pain in the snow), but there are garages available to rent.

Have you seen the movie «Coraline“‘ It is a perfect comparison to the Avalon. When you first enter the magical wonderland of the Avalon it seems almost to good to be true. That’s because it is!
First off if you look at the complex in the summer don’t be mesmerized by the pool area; it closes Labor Day and doesn’t open until May 31^st. Being a New Englander I shouldn’t have fallen for this but I did. I did use the pool for the 4 months out of the year along with the 500 or so people in the community. It’s like a block party!
Now if you’ve looked at the apartments and you say «Wow! these are amazing, lets go sign up.» (we’ll get to the apartments soon) and you’re sitting in front of that novel of a lease, be sure to read the part about water/​sewer. That’s right you pay for it! I don’t know about you but I’ve never payed for water and sewer in a rental ever.
Finally the apartment; if you’ve gone this far the spider finally has you caught in its web. YOU ARE STUCK! (at least until your lease ends). I don’t know about all the apartments in the complex but mine and my friends apartment are sheep in wolves clothing. First day in our refrigerator poured water onto the kitchen floor. The maintenance team was there within 20 minutes which was great. The actual repair took almost 2 weeks. After that we were fine until the cold weather started and we had no heat or hot water for … wait for it… over a month! Now to be fair they did give us money off the rent but come on! when it’s around 5 – 10 degrees out no ammount is enough. Then there was the bathroom ceiling which had a massive leak in it. It had to come down for a little over a week they worked on it. One of the maintence people were kind enough to inform my girlfriend that it was a good thing we called because the ceiling might have crashed down on top of us. GREAT!!! Then you have your neighbors, now I hope you like people because you will get to know them and very well at that. The walls are so thin I can literally hear the people next door snoring, the people upstairs like to break dance around the clock, and you will hear every single solitary time someone goes in or out of the building.
Ok well if this hasn’t detered you there is one last thing to consider and that is you will be living in the capitol city of NOWHERE! It will take you atleast 20 minutes to get to a grocery store. You live in the woods in one of the worst cities in Massachusetts. Actually that’s one more thing to bring to the table. The first month we moved in there was a rash of car break-​ins and car strippings. Seriously I never lived any place that had car Strippings!
Now my girlfriend and I are desprately trying to terminate our lease for some other personal reasons but the Avalon has a $ 3000.00 cancelation death grip on us and that is where this story ends for now.
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