Reviews & Ratings

Unhappy	Overall:	November 7, 2009
	0 out of 0 people found this review helpful. I would have to agree with everyone's comments that the staff is nosey. Last halloween, one of the ladies in the rental office who also lives in one of the townhouses, proceeded to peek her head and look around inside my home after she had brought her child trick-or-treating at my door. Completely uneccessary and extremely rude....I must say though, one of the staff members in the office has always been very nice to me. She is really one of the only reasons I choose to stay living at Forest Ridge. Although I appreciate the fact that they have hired security for the neighborhood, I very much dislike one of the security guards they have on staff. He lives in the neighborhood and feels that he must be nosey, even when he is not on duty. I do not want to go into details, but his misjudgement on a TRULY harmless situation, has made a life changing impact on my family's life. The heating bills in my townhome are absolutely outrageous in the winter. The basement was partially finished by the previous tennant. I can assure you the Electrical Safety Authority would have something to say about the electrical changes made by the unqualified tennant. I do not use the lights in the basement for this reason. Only to load my washing machine and then I turn the light off when I am done. In a nutshell, I would not recommend this place to others. Then again...it's an affordable rental...so you get what you pay for I suppose. I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

Jenn	Overall:	September 23, 2009
	0 out of 2 people found this review helpful. I lived there for 2 years, and I am sick of people who are saying how great this place is when they have lived there for many years. The people who lived there that long are usually over 50 and/or retired. We were in a townhouse with neighbors who had been there that long and they were a real pain in the ass, their son drove around a very loud RC car at least 2 hours every weekend. The same neighbors took plants out of my garden without even asking. Then paying 700 bucks every two months in the winter for not even keeping our house warm was so stupid, windows and doors freezing shut most the winter is not kosher either. Also the nosy admins who looked into our place through the mail slot, they thought we didn't know but our mail slot would creak open and I would see them walking down the hall away when they saw I was there. All of the previous post said they cleared away the snow that year, they didn't till at least 10 am when some people had to be at work for 8, also they cleared away less and less snow as the winter went on, by the end there was just enough space for 1 car let alone 2 cars and parking. We also lived in a apt there before and we had a non working intercom the entire time, and we put into have it fixed and they "couldn't" because "all of the intercoms are connected and all the rest work and we can't pull out all the wiring if it is only yours that doesn't work". Also the fact that if you needed any paperwork from the office it took a week because the accountant only came in once a week. GRRRRR this place made us so angry, we were so glad to leave that black hole of horribleness I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

S..J	Overall:	July 28, 2009
	4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Hello , I have been one of Forest Ridge's tenants living in Rockway Cres since August 2000. I would like to share my experience living here for almost ten years. It has been an absolute pleasure and honestly can't think of one negative when it comes to living in Forest Ridge. The office and maintenance staff are fantastic and have always been extremely pleasant to me and my family. Forest Ridge goes out of their way to make this community a fun,safe and happy place to live. There is a nice sized lifeguarded outdoor pool in the summer. They have a Christmas Lights competition in the winter as well as the most beautiful garden contest in the summer, both for cash prizes. they have events like fundraising bingo and this year Forest Ridge's first annual Canada day bash with a whole day of events for all family members ending with an amazing and incredible fireworks display at night. The few times in almost ten years work was needed in our unit the office had workers there sometimes in minutes or hours and fixed the problem extremely fast. The community superintendant is incredibly kind,friendly, helpful and very skilled, the ladies in the office have always been sweet, helpful and friendly. I really enjoy living here and would highly recommend living in Forest Ridge to everyone and anyone. Thanks for reading =) I recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

Jennifer	Overall:	July 21, 2009
	4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. I have lived on Rockway Cr for close to ten years now. My son and my youngest daughter also reside here. I can't say that I can complain about the staff or the service when something goes wrong. Three years ago I gave the staff a letter with a list of a dozen things that needed attention or fixing and within 72 hours everything was fixed to my satisfaction. Three years in a row I have won the Christmas Lights contest and promptly received a $250.00 check which came in handy after Chrismas. Canada day was a blast and there was a lot to do with kids or without them and the day of fun was finished with an amazing disaplay of fireworks. I can't really complain about anything in particular and although I enjoy living in a townhouse I am moving shortly to the apartment building on Baseline Road. The staff have been friendly and efficient and I'm sure I'll continue to be happy at Forest Ridge for a number of years. I recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

Jenn	Overall:	June 15, 2009
	3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. I lived in a townhouse by the pool for 4 years. My family consisted of my spouse and I, and 3 children. when we originally moved in, the place was well-maintained to the naked eye, we were more than happy to be able to garden, decorate and even built a lattice gateway, and put in a pathway of patio stones. We really enjoyed our time outdoors, found the neighbors to be friendly. We won the annual gardening contest 3 years in a row :) ( 250$ ) they also had a Christmas decoration contest which everyone enjoyed seeing, An organized Easter egg hunt for the young ones and a BBQ planned. (Unsure if BBQ was planned by company or the community though) However, our first winter there, the windows/patio doors had such a buildup of ice, we removed the ice and plasticized them all. We got a letter informing us we were not allowed to do so- as it was damaging thier property, and had to promptly remove it. that winter, and every winter after our hydro bill was enormous. The basement is unfinished, but it was freshly painted when we moved in. During our 4 years there, we had one flood (a huge summer storm, and we had approx 6 inches of water built up, thank goodness most of our things in there were in rubbermaid bins) Afterwards, the mildew buildup was incredible ( up the walls about 1/2 way), and nothing we could do or say would get them to help us remove it. The paint job was done in a glossy finish- which i thought was for bathrooms, but having children, i found it easy to clean :) We did find a painted over spider on one of our walls, but we thought it was kinda cool, so left it there haha In the bedrooms, the windows had the same problem, and after our second year there, we found the paint was simply covering wall dmg and was starting to bubble and peel away showing the rot underneath. They promptly sent a painter in when we notified them, to repaint over the damaged area, which lasted another year..... draw your own conclusions. On the plus side, as in any apartment, you can repaint in any colors you wish, you simply need to repaint back to basic white when you leave. My last issue is with the employees at the main office- they ARE rude and almost never there as late as posted, but if you pay on time and are a little handy with repairs yourself, you never need to speak to them. I liked living here- mostly for the neighbors we had, the freedom of gardening (which is my personal fave thing to do) and found the semi private community to be safe. Although when we first moved in, someone did have their new truck stolen out of the lot, but i guess that can happen anywhere. I recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

Bella	Overall:	May 30, 2009
	3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. While I can sympathize with the other reviews, I guess I haven't had too many issues yet. I've heard horrible, horrible things about the townhouses. I am in one of the lowrises and while the windows do need replacing, I didn't have to shrink wrap them in the winter and they do open. The floors are a little damaged, but nothing too bad. I can never hear my neighbours unless I'm in the hallway, even when they're blasting music. My kitchen and bathroom fans work. I have no issues with lights flickering and my light switches control only one outlet in the bedroom and living room. My intercom was broken when I moved in and they fixed it within the week. The camera in the lobby that was mentioned earlier DOES allow you to see the front door and if you know the person. I mean, you don't need to see their pores or anything, you just need to recognize the person and that should be pretty easy to do without a high definition camera...you know? I've noticed that as summer is approaching, the creepy crawlies are getting a little...large, but I've only seen two of them so far and honestly, bugs happen. They aren't cockroaches or bed bugs so I'm not going to complain. The storage rooms are decently sized, not as small as others have made them out to be. Yes, the lighting is a little sketchy, but it's a basement storage for crying out loud. There aren't any corners that anybody can attack you out of...and if you're worried about that, perhaps you shouldn't live in a building filled with people you don't know. The community is rather nice, with lots of children and a great little park. There are community events and bbqs planned for the summer. I haven't had any issues with cheques going missing or the admins being ignorant. They ARE lazy, and they take some time to get stuff done, I'll agree to that. But I've lived in Minto places (three times) and they took just as long to do things. Would I live here past a year? I doubt it. Is it a good place to stay when you're a student, between homes or just needing a place for a year? Sure. It's inexpensive, it's utilities included and it isn't downtown. EVERY rental (apartment or townhome) will have issues. Face it. I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

Paul	Overall:	March 28, 2009
	4 out of 9 people found this review helpful. I live in a townhouse at 21 Rockway Crescent of Forest Ridge Apartments & Townhouses, owned and operated by Andrews Brothers Construction. For two years now, I have been trying to affect some positive change around my neighbourhood. I have tried to get other tenants involved, too (documented fact). I even circulated a petition for new windows (documented fact). A majority of townhouse tenants signed it (documented fact). Yah, so, "What did you want?" you might ask. My wife and I wanted to create a 'tenants association,' (documented fact) and to find out if other tenants wanted to jump on the wagon of 'speaking-as-one' for the cause of getting new windows for every townhouse within our complex, so that we could end the perpetual heating of Ottawa-Carleton. We got new windows alright! Yah, right! We got a 'window into the soul of our landlord!' For our efforts, Andrews Brothers sued me and my family of five for $750,000 plus eviction (documented fact). Way to go Andrews! Do you really think I've got that kind of money? And, if I did, I wouldn't be living in a rented townhouse. Anyhow, in the end, the association is obviously dead. Duh! When people hear of the fact that I got sued for such a large amount of money, they run. Good going, eh? As for windows, well I guess the courts will have to decide on that one. What more can I say? Way to go landlord! I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

scarlet	Overall:	March 5, 2009
	6 out of 9 people found this review helpful. I have tried several times to get a receipt for the rent I paid... Apparantly it takes over a week to print a piece of paper...I got evicted... Rent was paid 'late'...cheques were not put-in ontime. Neighbours have been there longer...they got the same notice, and were told "dont worry about it, you wont get evicted for this, just try to be timely"...they were not evicted... we were good friends with all neighbors... except the retard that kept bringing my cat home, telling me to put it on a leash so 'big dogs dont get her"...how stupid can you be? When we viewed the townhome initially, it was very nice...when we arrived at the rental (NOT the one by the stream that we were promised..apparantly its not nice enough for young people)..I found that since I am young, we got a lot of shit thrown towards us that shouldnt have. When we moved in, there was MOLD EVERYWHERE in the basement (Could be smelled from the hallway and we refused to move-in until it was resolved). Carpet was covering the pole and ceilings for some reason, as well as partial walls. The upper walls in the basement had writing and graffiti on it...They promised to replace it, but only took the carpet and replaced the 1/2 of the GOOD SIDE of the wall after about a week of complaining. Our first night there it rained, and I found myself standing in an inch of water in the basement in the morning...When they came to "Fix" the leak, we were left with 2 large holes right through 1 bedroom wall thgough to the next. This was absolutely, without question one of the worst places I have ever lived (Minto actually kicks their ass). I was actually told my the fat lady that works in the office "you get what you pay for"...refferring to the fact that is costed unter 1000$/M rent... As for Hydro...Be prepared to pay upwards of 600$ every 2 months.. My neighbor had to keep their home warm in the winter with one baby, and ended up paying 900$/2 months Hydro. We were promised windows/doors would all be replaced...they got 1/2 way through some buildings then ran out of $$... Convenient all the people who work there got new windows... During the winter we couldnt open any, and had to shrink-wrap to keep from freezing. Dont move there, its a huge-ripoff, and a waste of your hard-earned $$. PS I lived there for over a year. I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

Happy at Home	Overall:	September 8, 2008
	9 out of 20 people found this review helpful. As a tenant of Forest Ridge for more then 20 years we have raised our family here and is very happy. We chose to make this our home, I have read a lot of negative information on this site, so freedom of speech comes to mind, there are a lot of great qualities living here,taking one or 2 people at their word doesn't justify. Come to Forest Ridge take a look around its clean, its pretty here its safe for the children , no matter where you live there will be a few problems that can be taken care of , the managment and staff are friendly , Winter 2007 ,,,, record 442.1 cm of snow and it was cleared each day, where do you suggest they put all this snow . A huge thank you from all of us, the grass the flowers always look great, the pool well taken care of,as for Rockway Crescent that is a city street and is supposed to be maintained by the City of Ottawa, so get on the phone and help keep it clean and safe for all of us, as for getting of the street not having a light that again is a city problem which we have had countless petitions over the years fighting for just that,Yes i would recommend Forest Ridge a place to call home, if someone is not happy living here then moving is an option.HOME IS WHERE YOU HANG YOUR HAT. I recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

grateful Reviews: 1Badges: 0	Overall:	August 25, 2008
	6 out of 20 people found this review helpful. We have been tenants for over 8 years at Forest Ridge, and have always found the staff to be receptive to our requests for improvements or repairs and these have been done on a timely and satisfactory manner in our townhouse. We found the staff to be helpful and hard working in maintaining the property, great workers during last winters extremely heavy snowfall, timely with grass cutting and parking lot cleaning. Management has developed programs to build community for the residents with flower/garden projects in summer and Christmas decoration contents. This is to get not only the people involved in community but to add to the aesthetics of the property. There are many long term renters in both the townhouses and the apartment buildings and this attests to the support of the management and staff of Forest Ridge. Management reacted with increase security recently and we along with several other of our fellow tenants appreciate their response to situations in keeping the area safe for all and a pleasant area to live peacefully. I recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

disgruntled Reviews: 2Badges: 0	Overall:	August 13, 2008
	19 out of 28 people found this review helpful. Where do I begin? We are current tenants who are looking to leave here in October. There is a laundry list of complaints. Let me start with the apartment itself. Paint: - these white high gloss primer walls collect every spec of dirt and dust that might come through. It would be nice to have our own colours and paint that we could maintain. - Several spots where painting was lazy can be seen. Hair under a layer of paint ... paint on fixtures and trimmings ... speckles on floor, banister or doors. Floors - Big fan of hardwood floors, however, in several spots the wood slats come up under foot. - Vinyl flooring in Kitchen is absolutely the cheapest kind available and doesn't come clean without the use of harsh chemicals - Flooring in bathroom is meant for a floor with a drain so that trapped water can run off between thick grooves, not create mould Electrical - Even as I type this the lights in my living room are flickering and the power is going on and off every few minutes... but only in the living room, dining room and kitchen area... Complained about it this morning and was told an electrician has been on the third and fourth floor working on it, but problem is annoying - Light switches control three power outlets in three rooms... There is really no need for this in all rooms, especially when two rooms have power outlets on polar opposite sides of the room so you overload one circuit View - what view? You face either Baseline Road or the parkling lot. Heavy noise or extreme sunlight Noise / Smell - Marijuana woman is my favourite. I don't care about smoking weed and don't mind the smell, unless it is at 8am or 12am when this same woman sits under our winder toking up and hacking half a lung out - Most neighbours on my side of the high rise are nice, however, some people are just amazingly loud - Neighbourhood at night is neither safe nor quiet (2 weeks after moving in a kid was murdered less than 1km away) Security - The property manager loves to punish the residents for poor security that they claim to have. Main building has a buzzer system with an out of date and half working intercom to each unit. Additionally each unit, if they have Rogers cable TV, can access a camera that is positioned too far back from the front lobby to be able to vicariously watch others and see when things arrive for them - The property managers have removed the picnic tables from the "community" spaces because of previous vandalisation issues citing that it is our concern what happens. It is, but perhaps if they realized that vandals come out at night and that their lighting around points of interest sucks then they'd not have to worry about their property. It is not up to the community to watch 24/7 when the community is supposedly secure. Ventilation - Windows need to be weather stripped and shrink wrapped in the winter to prevent cold air from getting in - Kitchen over hood has neither a light nor a fan. When asked why I was told because there is a ventilation shaft running from each unit to the roof. For this to work then each unit must vent into said mythic shaft through a couple of bends and well, smoke and steam typically take the EASIEST route ... the kitchen window - Same with the bathroom. Vent there, no fan. It goes nowhere but into a pipedream Amenities - Pool is not a pool. It's a bath and it isn't balanced right. If you smell chlorine, that's actually sweat activating with the chlorine. - Weight room is Value Village donated (or seems so) with broken/rusted equipment that is neither safe or logical to use. Ceiling is equally far too low and the ventilation is HORRIBLE - No secure place for bicycles - Two over priced vending machines that usually take your money and that the front office cannot or will not refund - Laundry facility has out of date washers and dryers in a very small enclosed space that is stifling hot all year round ... more bad ventilation - Storage locker is extremely small and the rooms are poorly lit. You get the feeling like you're going into a slasher film walking down the hall way - Balconies are just concrete, no big deal, however, if you face Baseline Road there's no real reason to use yours unless you like screaming over traffic - Park/Outdoor Pool/Playground ... Rarely used. could have a lot to do with fear mongering of vandalism or security Staff - I am appalled at the incident with the Muslim woman seeking a home here... mostly because I know others practising Islam live here and that all people should be welcomed. - One is very helpful and polite (to me), but the others I have had to deal with are rushed, quick, rude, pushy and inhumane. - Office is NEVER open to as late as they say they are. Never. It's a rarity if someone is around past 3:30pm unless it happens to be the first of the month. Over all this place sucks. You can rent a town home near downtown for the same amount of money you pay for these apartments. The only selling point is that we are moving out soon .... Or that they include hydro (which is also heat), but yearly they raise the rent purely because they can without giving any justification. I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

Hipkiss Reviews: 0Badges: 0	Overall:	July 5, 2008
	15 out of 22 people found this review helpful. For further information on what is happening at Forest Ridge, please visit our website at http://rockwayforest.webs.com. Be prepared to have your eyes opened. "To Educate Is to Liberate." Paul-Robert Hipkiss I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

Marg	Overall:	June 27, 2008
	19 out of 24 people found this review helpful. I lived there for 2 years. I found the staff to be gossips, unprofessional, aggressive and uncaring of people's needs. I also found that they "lost" some of my postdated cheques, and then threatened me with eviction if I did not pay promptly. Protesting that they already had the cheques fell on deaf ears. The low rise building I lived in was inundated with spiders, and many other creepy crawlies. In addition, the balconies leaked water from the airconditions down to the balcony below, adn there were holes in the apartment where the baseboards did not cover empty spaces, hence letting even more bugs in. I would never go back there, and absolutely DO NOT recommend this place to anyone. I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

maryamiina Reviews: 1Badges: 0	Overall:	April 26, 2008
	26 out of 32 people found this review helpful. This all happened today... I made an appointment to meet with a rental agent from Forest Ridge to view a unit for the purpose of renting. After speaking with a lady at the rental office, she suggested to meet with her at 1:10pm to show me one of their vacant houses. I got there and buzzed the rental office, a man's voice answered saying: "we do not rent units to terrorists!". I wasn't sure i heard him right, so I buzzed again to hear him saying the same thing again...only louder this time. My only guess for getting such offensive comment is that I am a Muslim female who wears the head scarf. I tried calling the rental office several times using my cell, but the answering machine was the only thing that I kept getting. I even managed to get into the building to knock at the closed office door....no one opened!! By the way, the rental office is supposed to be open until 5pm. In a way, I'm kind of glad I got to see how ignorant, immature and unprofessional their rental agent(s) can get before renting from them. However, I will definitely follow up with this incident...simply becuase it is shameful and WRONG. I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

Chatcat Reviews: 1Badges: 0	Overall:	February 14, 2008
	25 out of 31 people found this review helpful. All went well for us when we first applied to live in the townhouses. Like the other person our cheques we left way past the first of the month and would bounce now and then due to them putting them through late. As time progressed we found the staff administration staff to be very unhelpful and extremly unfriendly. If something went wrong with our unit they were very slow to respond. They were however very quick and agressive to deal with any misshaps on my part. At one point my daughter drew a chalk figure on the front of the house. We were not asked kindly to remove it but were threatened with charges up to 70$ if not removed. There are still many unresloved issues here regarding many to most of the units. The patio doors were very old and would let in terrible cold throughout the winter as well as freezing up so that we were unable to even open them for weeks at a time. When they finally put in new patio doors the service men left a gaping hole in my screen door, I was promtly sent a threatening notice telling me they were confiscating my screen door at a charge of 75$. I tried very hard to explain to them that it was there when i got home after the service men had been there. I was told that they had no proof. The windows look like they have been there since they were first built. It is my understanding that there is a petition circling around for new windows once again. I found the staff to be gossips and like to be in others business. Many that I know are on unfriendly terms with them as they live here in the townhouses. I have given my notice and I have never been happier to leave any place. They did a routine inspection of my unit and found that there was carpet covering the unkept and digusting hardwood floors ; Fruit flies due to a veggie sub falling behind the garbage under the cupboard (its was removed and cleaned the day before the inspection and as a result there were a few left over fruit flies and a litter box in a the basement containing 4 days of cat waste (Working overtime for a week causes me to become a little behind on household chores). I have been ordered to vacate no later than the 14th so that they can do repairs. There is no reason for repairs more than routine maintenence. I have no holes in my walls and they are clean. I have nothing broken in the unit. I dont understand why it takes 16 or more days when the cat litter and the fruit flies are already gone. I assure you my house is clean and there is little need for more than a paint job and perhaps to fix the very old and unsightly kitchen cabinets. I have been to many places and lived in differnet countries and i have never ever lived in such an unprofessional and and unacomadating place as this. I would not recommend living here as the staff are uncaring and the units are not in great shape. And lastly it is impossible to get out of here in your car in rush hour and other times as well. It desperatly needs a traffic light and people have been petitioning for years to get one but to no avail. Sorry this is so long and messy I would just like people considering this place to know the truth of it so at least they can go in with thier eyes open if they must. I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam

jproulx8 Reviews: 1Badges: 0	Overall:	January 24, 2008
	26 out of 31 people found this review helpful. We initially applied for an apartment for the Highrise apartment on Baseline Road. It is an all around better apartment building than any of the low rises in the back. But, to our dismay, they 'lost' our deposit and we lost our apartment to someone else. So we got moved to the low rise without any notice, they claimed that was the building we applied for. Which is a complete lie, because I didn't want to live in a low rise and if I knew that is what we were applying for I wouldn't have OK'd it. Then, if something was wrong with the apartment (like the bathroom in the apartment upstairs was leaking into our apartment) it took them over a month to get it fixed. There were many instances that we needed things fixed and they we not promptly done. On top of all that, they asked for post-dated cheques for the first of every month, and only to take the money out of our accounts at later days such as the 14th of the month! And, now assuming they had taken the money out of the account after the first, went on making purchases, and they would charge us extra if the cheque bounced when THEY deposited it a month late. Now it wasn't that I was short on money, but it would be like 2 cents or something like that and it would bounce. And they 'forgot' to inform us that we had to give 60 days written notice (not 30 days spoken notice - as they stated when we signed the lease). And so we were sucked into staying an extra two months that we didn't want to do. The onsite pool was never open. The washing machines were nearly always broken. And there was NO visitors parking, without stealing other peoples parking spots. This place is a joke. I do not recommend this place. Was this review helpful? Yes | No | Report as Spam