Amber’s Apartments & Studios

Do not live here!
Apartment space is okay, but built backwards. Your apartment will be nothing like the model they show you. The communication of the differences was inaccurate as well.
Water has been shut off on me WITHOUT WARNING 3 times since I moved in less than a year ago.
The heat is free, but incredibly noisy and frequently malfunctions. When complained about the noises heat (it sounds like the pipes are going to burst out of the wall), maintenance said «that’s just the way it is». When asked what amount of noise would warrant an issue with the system, maintenance said «that’s a good question». The incompetence baffles me.
Mail has been stolen by the neighbors.

I lived in Ambers Timber Lodges for a while house hunting. I had an ant problem the first summer, there were thousands of them on the first level floor. I filed a service request and after three days nothing had happened. I called and they said they’d have someone out in a few days. Still nothing. I finally told them that I was going to contract someone and short pay my rent at the amount of the receipt. The Weasely manager in the office threatened me that «that as a very bad idea» I walked into the office that night and when the manager saw me coming, he snuck out his little back door. They finally left me a bottle of bug spray, that was their solution. After that, my dishwasher died and they said they’d put in a new one. That took weeks and the «new» one was hardly new. It was clearly dirty and had greasy fingerprints all over the inside. They also left a pile of sawdust and crap on the floor– didn’t even clean up. Beyond that, maintenance requests were always slow. The property here is grossly neglected. The units were cool and lofty on the inside but they’ve absolutely let the outside property go. The roof has needed replacement for a few years and the paint is peeling on all of the units. The landscaping is horrible and mismatched. The location is great — if only they put some money into it it would be a much better complex, I guess they’re saving all of their capital for the new complexes across the street. So happy to be in a nice home now.

I lived in Amber Oak Townhomes on Coolidge from 2013 – 2015. The apartments themselves were large, clean and a great location. As far as Amber as a property management company, I found them to be great to deal with. To the contrary of other reviews, maintenance requests were scheduled online and the office accepts personal checks for rent. All maintenance requests were taken care of promptly and Amber allowed us to renew on a month-​to-​month basis upon completion of our 12 month lease agreement. Only real negative was the road noise on Coolidge– combination of cement high traffic road and close proximity to emergency response stations/​rail tracks/​third shift manufacturing plant.

I moved into the Mansfield AmbeR Apartments (and yes these are the apartments with the big «R») with my boyfriend. The place seemed fairly decent: fireplace, hardwood floors, big bedroom, etc. However, upon living in said apartment for sometime I came to discover that things really aren’t that great in the world of AmbeR apartments. Getting maintenance to come fix anything is a hassle. You can’t put in maintenance requests online, which to me is very inconvenient. Things seem to break a lot.
Also, this is the first apartment I’ve lived in where they don’t allow you to pay online. Everything must be done in the office. And they won’t take anything except a cashiers check, which made things even more difficult. To top all of that off, the woman in the office is not exactly the friendliest.
Our lease is up at the end of this month and we are not renewing due to the fact that we are moving out of state. Even if we were to stay in Michigan, we discussed looking at other places anyway. AmbeR is just too much of an hassle.

Nope, never doing this again. I was in a «desperate» situation and looking to move out, but if I had known what I was getting myself into I would’ve deemed my situation… less desperate.
I live in the Broadacre Apts in Clawson & boy are they crappy. At first it was ok, but after a week it got old. Tiny space –a teeny kitchen with a leaky fridge that eventually broke, a stained carpet living room where only some of the outlets work, but a decent sized bedroom & functional bathroom.
The rent ($ 700) itself is waaay too much for what you get and that’s with the
advertisement special. Then you still have to pay for electric/​gas/​internet bills. This place is just hell. I can’t wait to move out.
I would never recommend Amber Apartments to a friend. Do your research and find a house or somewhere reputable to rent!

I have lived in Amber Apartments for 2 years. During that time it seems whenever the weekend comes and I am looking forward to sleeping in, Amber Apartments decides to schedule something loud and obnoxious right outside my window. On one day they filled the holes in the asphalt in the parking lot at 7am on a Saturday. Oh and then they had to come back on the following weekend to smooth it over. at 7 am. Oh and I forgot: then they came back again on the following weekend to paint the lines. Which is loud. On Sunday they started ‘painting’ which consisted of painting and apparently the use of hammers and drills. I hate living here.

I actually lived at an Amber apt twice — once from 96 – 99 and a second time from 01 – 02. You’re pretty much paying for the privilege of living in RO because Amber puts little to no money into maintaining and upgrading their places. Old appliances, bad paint jobs, lengthy delays when you need repairs in the apartment.
When I finally left in 02 after buying a house; they decided to throw out some of my belongings even though my rent was paid in full through the end of the month & hadn’t turned in my keys. The primary reason before month end was because the heat was broken & hadn’t been fixed after 3 days. When I called to complain, they had the audacity to pick my stuff out of the trash & move it back into the apartment as if nothing had ever happened.
I’ve never forgotten their shoddy treatment of me & will never recommend anyone rent from them.

Amber Apartments, with the Big R. There are two Amber Apartments in Royal Oak, so make sure you have the right one when you are calling to make an appointment to see a space, or for that matter call for a service man to come and fix the heater.
Either way, I lived here last year — from March of 09 to April of 10. I think that’s plenty of time to decide whether or not it’s a good place to live or not. I lived in a one bedroom spot on the lower level of a 12 unit building.
As far as the apartment itself goes, it was decent. An older building yes, with older amenities of course, but comfortable? Sure. I was in an end unit, so there was plenty of wall space (although the exterior walls proved to be difficult to drill into for hanging pictures and such), and this made the paper thin walls seem only slightly unbearable (now, upstairs neighbors, that’s another story).
The kitchen was dine in, and all of the appliances were small — don’t expect to fit a roasting pan, cookie sheet, jelly roll pan, or for that matter anything aside from a casserole dish or cake pan in without the door being ajar just a bit (this provides you with a problem if you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner)… There is no dishwasher, and the counter space is small so that can pose a problem.
The bedroom was a decent size, but if you have anything bigger than a full size mattress, you might have a problem. I fit my bed, a nightstand, large dresser, and small chest in the room, and it was pushing it space wise. The closet was walk in and thus a nice feature. You must keep in mind that you have to keep your bedroom tidy if you have guests over, because the bathroom is available only through the bedroom. A nice, basic bathroom, not modern, but alright.
The security deposit on this place was only $ 99, and it made it very affordable to move in. Heat and water were included in the rent. If you as me, though those are perks, for the apartment I was living in, it was still expensive. Running the air conditioner in the summer was absurd — it only cooled the living room and was very inefficient energy wise. In the winter I would advise either heavy curtains or some kind of sealant for the windows — they’re quite drafty.
The repair men will be there within a few hours if it’s something serious. My bathtub drain was not working properly and thus emptied into my bedroom somehow. They were there to take care of it and put in new carpet padding within four hours. They came in with dryers and all sorts of things to better the situation. Any time something was problematic, they were there to take care of it. The management team was friendly, and always easy to deal with.
I think any problems I had with this place were not with the management company or the service men, because they took really good care of the place, but issues were with the people that live here. It’s a bit pricey for the space you get, but inexpensive generally — so you get a lot of people who are young, and don’t really care if they play their bass guitar with amp at 3am on a Wednesday. Or for that matter play the «drums» on the floor over your bedroom.
So, would I live here again? No. Was my time here alright? Sure. Would I recommend it? If you need to get out of your current situation, the move in price is great, and the rent is not terrible, so sure. If you have time to look around — Look around!