Marina Oaks Condominum

After a year of living here I’m ready to help out with the real scoop.
First of all this place is a condo conversion that was selling just as the market had turned. I suspect the wheels were already in motion because I’m pretty sure it was a blood bath. I know because I did an appraisal here back when it was selling. I know for sure they didn’t sell out at their original asking price and eventually they had to dump these for cheap. This place was an investors dream. So the ground work was laid for what it has become today. I was curious recently and checked out public records (
) and went through a bunch of units records. I would guesstimate that there is a 20% owner occupied rate. That may be on the high side. So the units are managed by investors and landlords. There is one company that has a big number of units under their control, which I am with. That’s a separate issue I will get to later.
So with that knowledge understand that this place is not like living in a regular apartment complex. There is a staff; that is not there for you. They are strictly there to maintain the common grounds. The office is literally open for less than 20 hours a week. Weird hours too. There is one person in the office. One person who cleans and does general stuff like pressure clean. There is one security guard at night, I’d say from 8pm-​5am. There are two separate «complexes» and the one person on each detail takes care of both. Which keeps them plenty busy. The maint. man does a fine job. The only issue I’d say is on the weekends no one is there and the garbage becomes a nightmare. Each side has two standard size garbage dumpsters, which is not a lot for the number of units. No compacter or anything, and there is a consistent pattern of furniture dumps. Of course there is a sign that says no to this practice but it is not respected at all.
The neighborhood seems pretty safe to me at any & all hours. The security is actually pretty good too. I actually just recently found out that there is an actual system that makes them physically have to check into each building. There might only be one person for a big number of units, but they do a good job moving around keeping on eye on things in general. Now I wouldn’t count on them being any help in a bad situation but they keep a high visibility. Basically any serious issue they could call cops if they happen to be on the right side at the right time.
As for the buildings and parking situation, it’s not the best. It’s setup where most units face each other or the parking lot. There are a few lines that a more private setup but there aren’t many. The parking is first come first serve and we are pretty crowded. Not terrible but if you arrive after 8pm your always going to be further than you’d like. Good chance you can snag someones recently vacated spot but that is your only hope. I have a really nice location where the neighborhood foot or car traffic is probably top 3 lowest so I can’t really speak to noise. I’m closer to 95 so I do hear motorcycles ripping hard.
People don’t pick up after their dogs well. The admin does provide quite a few, well stocked, doggy poop stations.
My property management team is pretty good for what I have had to deal with. Had an issue that was pretty serious that was originating from an adjacent unit but they dealt with that fairly quick. They also service/​own that unit so that facilitated things.
Otherwise the neighborhood has a good mix of people. There isn’t any group of residents or teens/​adolescents making any issues. It’s a pretty respectable community aside from a handful of pet parents and mild speeding. Mostly a neighborhood of late 20 to 40 somethings.
Location is one of it’s best attributes for me. The price is decent enough for what I get in terms of sq ft, amenities and location. Honestly my particular unit sold me on getting the lease. I looked only in higher end places but felt guilty spending the amount of money being asked. I probably would have looked a lot harder and ended up finding a better place for similar money if not for my exact unit.
Bottom line is this place is worth a look if you have a moderate budget (1000 – 1300) and prefer to be closer to fort lauderdale /​north hollywood /​i95 access. (Being on State Road 84 has it’s advantages. If traveling west at evening rush hour you will have a bad commute) If it’s amenities, reliable office staff you like, look elsewhere.

I’ve lived here for a year now and i haven’t had any real issues.
When you are living in an condo building you are going to hear people but i haven’t heard ANY of my neighbors. The only time i have a problem with people is when they are outside near my window. I can hear them and yes it is annoying but it doesn’t last long or I go outside and tell them i can hear them and they usually say sorry and walk away from my window.
anytime i have gone to the front desk there has been someone and when the one time there wasn’t, she had a note saying she was on lunch break. The tennis court net was down for less than a week before they fixed and i think that’s great that they are on point with maintenance. The one thing that annoys me is that people speed in the complex and some people do not pick up after their dogs but that is not the complex fault. Their are doggy bags but people are too damn lazy.

DO NOT MOVE HERE! Worst neighborhood ever. I can hear people up outside my window through all hours of the night, car alarms are constantly going off, there is never enough parking. I always have to park far from my apartment, and walk a long distance to get to my apartment. People in the neighborhood seem to think it is OK to let their dogs run wild, not many keep them on leashes, not many people pick up their pets mess! It’s gross. In regards to the staff… well wait, what staff?! There is only one security guard that actually seems to care, but one man can’t do the job alone. He is a nice older man. (thank you for trying.) However, Diana the girl in charge of the front desk, is NEVER there! The office is usually closed. She does not enforce rules or policy’s to the people in the neighborhood. If you have an issue, you can make a complaint to her, but she will NOT DO A THING TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE. I can’t wait till my lease ends…

Horrible. Do not live here. They’re never in the office to help you. God forbid you have any issues in your apartment because they are never around. Had an issue with our cable because the wires in our building were shot, and because they literally refused to help us («it’s not our problem») we couldn’t get cable for a month. Do yourself a favor and find somewhere else to live because this complex is a dump.