The Villas on Fir - Granger, Indiana

Karli

NOT LUXURY LIVING!

Our experience at Villas on Fir was far from what anyone would expect for a "luxury" apartment complex with a price tag of $2,500+ per month for a 3br/2ba. While the exterior of the property may appear impressive, it's a facade hiding significant issues that make this place anything but luxurious. Here are a few of the reasons:

1. Poor Building Quality
The building is seemingly made as cheaply as possible, with paper-thin walls and subpar craftsmanship. Poor drywalling, uneven caulking, and fixtures that didn’t fit together levelly were just a few examples of the shoddy construction. This likely contributed to our astronomical heating bill of $300/month, despite keeping the thermostat set at only 71°F. We could hear our upstairs neighbors’ children running around for hours daily, to the point where the plates in our cabinets rattled. This level of noise is unacceptable for any apartment, let alone one marketed as "luxury living."

2. Ineffective and Unhelpful Management
We lived in the unit for about 4-5 months, and despite attempts to work through some of the issues, nothing was resolved. Management’s lack of support only added to the frustrations, making the experience a real headache.

3. Rodent Problems
Right before we moved out, a mouse—or possibly a mole—fell from the ceiling vent in our bedroom, landing just feet from our bed. While I had seen other reviews mentioning mice, experiencing it firsthand was shocking and unacceptable in a "luxury" unit.

4. Questionable Review System
The complex uses a platform called Community Rewards, where residents can earn small rewards for taking quizzes and leaving reviews. While this may seem harmless, it could unintentionally incentivize more positive feedback. Many of the recent reviews on Google appear to come from accounts with few other reviews, which might not fully reflect the experiences of all residents.

5. Pickleball court
They razed the community garden and are putting up a pickleball court right outside where our unit was. I have no hate against pickleball but it isn't a quiet sport...

6. Gym is broken
The gym at Villas on Fir was another source of frustration. At one point, none of the treadmills were operational, and many of the other machines were either broken or in poor condition. For a property marketed as "luxury," a well-maintained fitness center should be a basic expectation. Instead, the gym felt neglected, with limited options for residents looking to exercise. This lack of attention to advertised amenities further reflects the gap between what the complex promises and what it delivers.

7. Too close to the highway
Again, luxury living is not hearing semi trucks driving on the highway in the middle of the night. Not something Villa's can change but a consideration.

8. Odor of Marijuana in our main closet and bathroom
While we didn’t formally complain - because we had lost hope with getting problems resolved by this point - another neighbor who did raise the issue was told by management that there was "nothing they could do," as problems like this are "hard to resolve." This response was disheartening and highlighted management's lack of proactive solutions for issues affecting residents' comfort. For a property marketed as "luxury living," it’s unacceptable that such a pervasive problem was dismissed so easily.

Just to make this review not totally negative I will provide some things I did like. The garage doors are quiet-close and much better than the previous complex I lived at. Maintenance is super nice and responsive.

Final Verdict
Villas on Fir markets itself as a luxury apartment complex, but our experience was anything but. The poor building quality, excessive heating bills, unresolved noise issues, a rodent problem, and dismissive management all point to a property that is meretricious—shiny on the outside but riddled with problems beneath the surface. For the price we paid, we expected far more. I would strongly caution anyone considering moving here to look elsewhere for true luxury living.

Marjorie W.

My husband and I moved to Indiana and The Villas on Fir in August 2023. Zoe was my primary contact during the rental process and was wonderful and continued to be if I/we had any questions or concerns. Brittany has been sweet and helpful on a few occasions, and Ashley handled a phone request from me when we were out-of-town, which required maintenance, with no hesitation. I chose to leave this review after reading how some residents have had poor experiences; that amazes me since mine are so opposite. I’ve had a few maintenance requests which were immediately assigned and handled by Mike, Danny, and I think Kenny. These were performed immediately or within a couple of days at the most. The guys are always courteous and conscious to leave the apartment in a clean state, and I have the utmost confidence if they enter and I’m not home. I enjoy walking around the property as it’s well manicured laid out with walkways. I haven’t used the gym or the pool so can’t comment on those other than they seem to be very nice. I love my apartment and would definitely consider these to be luxury. Unfortunately, all residents don’t adhere to the rules of their community, i.e., picking up and disposing of their dog’s poop, but management does send out widespread emails and texts about these things, and I’d hope if someone had a persistent issue, it would be seriously dealt with by management. Nothing is perfect in apartment living but The Villas on Fir has been a wonderful place for my husband and me, and we’re quite happy with our choice.

Jacob B.

Lived at 2304 for a year. Had mice running through the walls and garage.

The reason for 1 star is because as soon as you move out, the facility will no longer work with you. The facility did not inform me to notify the power company of my exit date (this was my first time renting) and once I received the bill I noticed I was paying for almost a month of usage that was not mine.

I have sent over ten emails (since October) to Brittany and Ashley requesting them to please contact I&M to correct the move out date and they refuse. They stopped responding to any emails, and will not call the power company. They will try and force you to pay for power that they are going to use to get the apartment ready for the next tenant.

Also, I paid several hundred dollars for a cleaning that Villas on Fir said would take place, but upon arrival the entire place was covered in dust and dirt. Several of my neighbor’s also had the same issue of paying for a mandatory cleaning before move in date and then once they got there it was filthy.

They charged us for power they couldn’t even calculate. They took last years tenants power usage to estimate what our power usage was because all the meters were broke (for several months this happened without us knowing). One month I paid over $400 for utilities while in that same month I was gone for over 2 weeks. Tell me how that adds up?

They treat you well until you move out. I would recommend finding somewhere else rent such as grand view. A buddy of mine moved in there and said GrandView is 10x better than Villas.

M V.

We rented at the Villas on Fir from 2022 to 2024. Here are our Pros & Cons:

PROS : Maintenance is kind and responsive/ Spacious units w/attached garages/ Open concept layout / Nice pool & clubhouse / Multiple community events / P-H-M School District

CONS:
1. Mice entered our unit through stair holes (see photos). (The property resolved the issue by putting steel wool in the holes and we didn’t have a problem again.)

2. Witnessed a gun pulled on someone in the parking lot when an altercation on the property escalated. Police were called to the scene. (See photos)

3. On multiple occasions packages were dumped in a common area and residents had to sort through the chaos. (See photos)

4. Management sent contentious communications to all residents. (See photos for examples)

5. Trash management (our first year, an open trailer piled high with garbage bags was left on the premises, there were also issues with “valet” trash pickup and overflowing trash around the compactor).

6. Vehicle break ins in 2022 (as far as I know they stopped in 2023).

7. Higher electric bills. The Villas were built in 2018, however we’ve found that our monthly electric bill at our new house (which is older than the Villas and not well-insulated) is lower than what we were paying at the Villas on Fir for the same time of year? In 2019 the South Bend Tribune wrote an article about the shocking electric bills at the Villas on Fir, which were managed by a different company then, management assured us that the issues were addressed when we decided to rent, but based on our experience I think there are still some underlying efficiency issues.

Christopher L.

Beautiful apartment complex with great amenities. Nothing but great interactions with the staff and residents. Especially love the dog park. Maintenace staff are professional and friendly and very prompt in any needs that I have.

Bailee A.

I recently had the pleasure of touring The Villas on Fir and was truly impressed by both the property and the outstanding service provided by Breanna, even though I did not schedule a tour she was just so helpful . The complex itself is very beautiful, and very spacious apartments. I cannot wait to lease here next Fall!

Joseph M. N.

I like this place. The response to maintenance issue was great. I like that they have a on site program for cardboard recycle as well as a trash compacter. I willingly pay the $25 for my garbage to be picked up 5 days a week in front of my unit. For me it is located in a great location.

Hunter H.

Got a final bill from them which was paid in full before moving out. A couple months later I get a call from collections saying that I had an unpaid balance to Villas on Fir. I called the Villas office, and they were told me we still owed them hundreds of dollars and didn't pay the balance in full. Thankfully, I kept the original document stating the amount that we were initially. They did not take any accountability in their mistake. Years later we are still having to fight the Villas office/management, collections, and all three credit bureaus to get this collections dispute removed from our credit history. This absolutely tanked all of our credit scores making it unaffordable to take out a loan, plus it makes it impossible to move into a new apartment since it looks like you didn't pay off your final balance when really you just lived at a poorly managed property.

Then when you leave a bad review trying to warn others they somehow manage to delete it. Do not live here. It will save you lots of time and stress.