The Avenue at Orono

If I could put zero stars I would. Everything included in the apartments (dishwasher, washing machine, etc) is a piece of junk. In my son's apartment, the washing machine caused rust spots on his clothes. The dishwasher worked sometimes. Their bathroom drains were regularly clogged. They had to call maintenance frequently. For the amount of money we paid each month, issues should have been resolved in a timely manner or appliances should have been replaced. Many times that didn't happen. Very very poor management. They just want their money

I lived here so you don’t have to. Everything is built even cheaper than you’d expect from college apartments. Appliances constantly break, countertops and doors are flimsy, drywall is super thin and cheap (tears really easily), faucets leak, dishwasher leaks, doors have gaps, drafts everywhere, no insulation on the first floor. Management will find any excuse to get extra money out of you, the lease changes heavily every year (hope you enjoy reading legal documents) and already-too-high prices get much higher. Constant rule changes, new charges, utility increases, convenience fees for paying rent or utilities in any other way than a check. Any way they can suck money from you, they will. Find a house somewhere else, don’t live here.

If you BBC are looking to get ripped off at every turn, this is the place for you. Surprise bills and overages are the norm. This place goes out of its way to squeeze every nickel out of its renters. Poorly managed and good luck dealing with the property manager.

The avenue is such a good place to live! With effective snow removal plans and a very friendly staff! Looking forward to another year here!

They look great on the outside but are poorly built for harsh Maine winters. The management nickel and dimes you with all sorts of expenses and the appliances are the cheapest variants the advertised companies make. The bus offered to campus tends to break down or not run on schedule. The headache and price of living here makes it one of the worst locations to live in Orono.

The ave is great and they do so much for the residents!!

I rented a room for my son who was attending the University of Maine. I am a Property Manager as well as a Licensed Realtor in New York( 14 years). I state this to make a point. As long as you follow the rules, read and follow your lease you should have minimal issues. They can be a little slow fixing repairs but nevertheless the issues are addressed. There is no perfect brick and mortar structure existing nor perfect staff (It would be nice in a perfect world). I feel the asking price is fair for what is offered. If this complex and its amenities were in NY one would be paying an arm and a leg.

When we took the tour of the complex the young woman leading it raved about how this apartment complex was so well managed that they even hired off duty police officers as security. She said there would be ZERO TOLERANCE for loud music and parties. Lies. There is actually NO security and residents are instructed to call the non-emergency police when there are out of control parties (so basically, every night). Take a tour of the back buildings on a Sunday morning and you will find trash, broken furniture and whatever else gets thrown off of the balconies in a drunken stupor. Classy. And yes, you will have overage charges every single month, even when your apartment sits empty during break. Don't sign a lease.

Wow - to say unethical is an understatement. We kept getting billed overages every month and complaining about it to the point where we left our heat at 61 all winter and were still getting huge bills every month. At the end of the lease they finally realized we were paying the wrong meter and were owed over $450 that we had paid. Now they won't pay us, saying they will deduct it from the damages (and they charge $50 to replace the smoke detector battery) so good luck with that. Then they said they would refund it 30 days past the end of the lease. It was their mistake, why won't the refund the money owed? Just an example of their fun practices. Oh - and after a dryer fire (due to mis-wiring, not abuse) it took them 2 days to show up to look at it.

I am currently living at the ave in a 4 bedroom townhouse and it was clearly a huge mistake. They advertise everything like it's so much more and you get luxury living at an affordable price. First off the hot tub is closed off just as much as it's open, the printers you're supposed to have access to get shut down randomly which is incredibly inconvenient when you have an assignment due. Upon moving in one of my roommates showers had brown disgusting water coming out of it, our washing machine had to be replaced because it wouldn't work, and a number of our fans also did not work. We also had absolutely no heat on our first floor throughout our entire first semester which included pretty much all of winter. We had to cook our food and then go upstairs because it was too cold to eat in the kitchen. Now about a 2 weeks ago they finally fixed our downstairs heating after we sent about 7 emails requesting it be fixed over the course of first semester. The heat is now working but guess what?1?! We are getting charged huge overages every month because of the extra heating. They advertise the price as one number and it seems pricy but you think you can afford it and then once you've signed they hit you with a number of overages and act like they're normal costs. I have not talked to a single person who has not had complaints about the ave. They're taking advantage of students and their policies are honestly ridiculous. Don't get tricked into signing a lease here because you'll regret it.

Problems I have experienced during my tenure at The Avenue: Water damage, broken appliances upon moving in (fridge, dishwasher and washing machine). No heat on first floor, took management 3 months to 'fix', now charge us overages for the heating solution they installed (which is very expensive), broken locks and windows, half painted ceiling, stairs are separating from the walls, scratched flooring, dented walls and misaligned cabinetry and molding. My roommates and I found a number of different insects in our living space and bedrooms before we had even moved our belongings in. Upon signing a lease was told that the utility fee ($40 per month, per person) would cover all utilities, most people I have spoken with have $25 per person overages. Looks beautiful on the outside, but was not worth the headache and steep prices; beware & live elsewhere!

Do not sign a lease here! The Management is completely incompetent and will do everything in their power to keep you trapped in a lease paying whatever they deem suitable until they decided to "free" you. If you find yourself entranced by their "fabulous" amenities don't be fooled. The amenities are regularly closed to the residents and will be closed randomly with no prior notice. Always park in the commuter lot if you do not have a parking pass because they will have your car towed after giving you only 10 minutes notice to move your car. DO NOT SIGN A LEASE HERE! The Avenue at Orono is not the place you want to live. Go anywhere else.