The Vista Apartments & Townhomes in Portage, Michigan

We moved in late summer of 2016, just after ownership changed. We had a one year lease and moved out when it ended, on July 31 of 2017. They're working on improvements, but they did repave the roads around the complex right away, which was good as they were previously a minefield of potholes. All in all, the apartments were pretty nice, but there were some things holding them back. I lived in a two bedroom townhouse. Pros: - Ground floor entrance - Central air works marvelously - Bedrooms are decent size and shape - Laundry hookup on second floor by both bedrooms - 1.5 bathrooms, full bathroom on second floor by bedrooms Cons: - Living room is a weird shape. It felt roomy, but it was too long; we had a good amount of space that was wasted because the viewing angle for the TV was too severe. - Kitchen is small. The actual floor space seemed alright, if a little cozy. However, there was not much counter space at all. It was difficult to actually cook much with a microwave and a drying rack on our main counters. - The price increase. This is nothing against the actual people running day-to-day operations at the Vista - even though the people we signed with were replaced about 6 months in, the few interactions I had with the staff were pleasant enough. However, we signed a lease for $825 a month, the price before the ownership change. The higher-ups decided that this was undervaluing the property, so they decided to increase the prices to about $940 a month. It appears that our floorplan is going for $950 minimum now. If the price wasn't going up $115 a month after our first year, we probably would have stayed. In retrospect, I'm glad we didn't, as we have a space that we like much better and we can better utilize. Overall, I didn't hate The Vista while we were there. I wasn't even really all that unhappy, just a little annoyed at the space issues.

Great staff at the office who are very friendly and very proud of the apartments recent improvements as they should be. Victor and Louis - the maintenance crew- really work hard to continue general upkeep while also addressing problems super quick. We have a 3 bedroom townhouse with kids in each level of schooling and my kids love the schools that come with these apartments. This is a really quiet area and never any issues with neighbors for us. Very pet friendly.