Evergreen at Magnolia Commons Apartments at 150 Cleburne Parkway, Hiram, Georgia.

I lived here for over five years, but I am glad to finally move on. The buildings are in good shape, but like most cookie-cutter apartments, the build quality is cheap, so you will hear neighbors on all sides. The location is decent, just far enough outside the busier retail centers to avoid most Hiram traffic but close enough to walk to the theater and nearby stores. Parking seems a bit overbooked near the back of the complex. If you live near buildings 7 or 8 and get home late, there's a good chance you'll end up walking nearly a quarter mile to your door, even when the permits are enforced.

As far as office staff goes, I don't have any horror stories. They could communicate things to residents a little better and with more notice, but maintenance was responsive and the staff was helpful. My biggest complaints about Magnolia Commons are their corporate overlords, Pegasus Residential, and the community's residents.

Like most corporate-managed apartments, you can expect to be nickeled and dimed wherever possible. The security deposit may seem low at first, but wait until they finish tacking on all the extra charges. You'll pay over-inflated and nonrefundable application fees to move in, nonrefundable pet fees, plus high (and increasing) water/sewage/trash charges with your rent every month. If you pay your rent online, there are charges for that, too.

Make sure you're sitting down when your renewal notice comes. A 10 - 15% increase isn't unusual, especially if they decide to "upgrade" the property (e.g., replace lighting fixtures and faucets, paint a wall or two, etc.), and they can force you to accept the upgrade in your renewal terms. I moved out before the last round of "improvements", but if I stayed, they wanted me and my pet to vacate the apartment for 3 days while they stained cabinets and painted.

The rent increases were what finally drove me out. Over five years, my rent increased to nearly $300/month more than when I first moved in, and the only thing I had to show for it was a sloppily painted accent wall, a leaky faucet, a wobbly ceiling fan, and some off-brand IKEA-style light fixtures that ate expensive and hard-to-find halogen bulbs.

Finally, there's the worst part of Magnolia Commons: the residents. I've never lived among ruder and more inconsiderate people in my life, and I was once an RA in a college dorm. Children regularly run around in the parking lot, scream bloody murder so loudly that you'll literally wonder if you should call 911, stomp up and down the stairs and shake your walls, and leave the lawns and breezeways trashed with snack wrappers and toys. Of course, there's never a parent to be found. There's also a fair share of dog owners who never clean up or do anything about incessant barking, which you hear all day through the paper-thin walls. Most of the neighbors seem oblivious to the fact that they share space with other people. Drivers just crash through the gates, ignore stop signs and drive down the center of the parking lot aisle, stop in the middle and block traffic, and park wherever and however they please (including illegally in fire lanes and accessible spaces). People leave trash in the breezeways and are too lazy to lift and push things into the trash compactor, so it backs up and turns into a 6-foot-tall trash pile every weekend.

A few years ago, I would have happily recommended this place to anyone looking for an affordable apartment, but that's just not the case anymore. For these prices, you can find similar (if not nicer) accommodations much closer to the city, many with substantially quieter and more considerate neighbors.