O C D Management

I have lived at the Candler Park apartments for a few years now. When I was looking for a cheap place to live, as I was for lack of a better term, broke as hell, I checked out this place. At the time, I had two different friends who were living here, who recommended it. I didn’t expect much going in, I was going from a $ 1400/​m place in Midtown to a smaller, older apartment, and kept my expectations rather low, as this place is half the cost of where I was living.
With that in mind, I’ve stayed here longer than I thought I would. The apartment that I live in, it’s cozy, and quiet. The noise levels at this apartment complex are kept to a minimum, and the management does a decent job of keeping the grounds clean. There have been issues over the years, but the management has handled it better than some of the bigger corporate owned places I have lived at in the past. While I have had some maintenance issues in the past, it hasn’t been something that management has just flat out ignored, or given me grief about. Most of the issues have really just come down to the place being old, and the company does what they can to maintain the units.
The location of the Candler Park apartments is fantastic. It seems that OCD Management does a good job of having units that have excellent locations, while keeping the prices at an affordable level. While you may not have the amenities that the bigger complexes offer, you save a lot of money with not having absurdly high rent prices, and paying for things that you don’t even take advantage of. For example, I lived somewhere before that charged a $ 20/​m «valet trash» fee, when I’m perfectly capable of walking my garbage to the dumpster that is about 40 yards away. But I still had to pay a fee, for someone to come by my place every day, and realize there is no garbage. It’s little things like that, that add up quite a bit.
This particular complex, is full of a decent variety of people. Mostly mid 20s to 30s people, a few with older kids, and a few older people, but everyone keeps quiet, and everyone respects each other. The units comprise of a mixed bag, some have central heating/​ac, while others do not. I believe renovations on some units have been set back a bit by the fact that most people who move in here, tend to stay for awhile, which honestly says a lot. I’m going into my 3^rd lease renewal, and my price has only gone up $ 50 from my first year of living here, which ain’t bad at all. Most places try to charge you an extra $ 100+ per month when you renew.
There have been a few issues with theft in the complex, but no one has had a unit broken into as far as I’m aware. A neighbor said his car was stolen once, and over Christmas, a few of us had our unlocked cars rummaged through late at night. Nothing major has happened in the time that I have lived here, I have never seen broken windows, or anything of that sorts. But honestly, that’s not something that could even be blamed on the place, it’s just something that happens, regardless of where you live.
The major issues I’ve had while living here was a living room flooding from a neighbors water heater bursting, the laundry room caught on fire, a damn tree fell on the building, and my upstairs neighbors bathroom started leaking into my bathroom. Patrick always did a good job of getting things resolved within a timely manner. Again, I have dealt with far larger complexes, and more asinine management, and I have never had any issues with getting things taken care of.
To cut to the chase, I have had good experiences with OCD Management. I have another friend who lives at their location of Briarcliff, and he’s been there for about 5 years now. I have met with random people who poke into the parking lot sometimes, asking questions about the place, and one person who I talked to about it, actually signed a lease and moved in. Whenever someone asks me for a recommendation for somewhere to live, I tell them to check out what OCD has available. I’ve worked with Patrick, and Esther, over the past few years, and they have both been very reasonable. It’s worth a look. The only thing I’ll regret is when I end move out of here, because I’ve grown quite fond of my little apartment.
If you check out the Candler Park apartments particularly, try to score one with central heat/​ac. The units with that option have a newer HVAC, which does an excellent job of heating/​cooling while keeping a low power bill. I think it’s because the units are larger than what the apartment actually needs. We have 2 people living here, with multiple computers, and my thermostat is always set chilly in the summer, and warm in the winter, and a power bill over $ 100 is rare.

I currently stay at the Virginia Highlands Apartments, 789 Briarcliff Rd NE. I’ve lived here for 2 years. This place started out wonderful. Rent was relatively cheap for the area (lower $ 800s), the neighbors are friendly, and its walking distance to Poncey Highlands /​LiL5. Now the rent is skyrocketing (slowly climbing up to $ 900) along with the god awful water bill they do here.
The Apartment:
The apartments are mostly un-​renovated and lack anything that you might find standard in an apartment these days. No garbage disposal, no dish washer, and the stove/​oven are from the late 80s. The counters are in bad need of repair. When we asked them to fix an uneven corner in the counter space they just filled it in with putty to make it level. Management goes out of their way to just keep the building clinging to life. They show no interest in bringing the property into the new century.
Water:
They divide the water among all the residents in the building. It’s not measured by sq ft. nor is it sub metered. Your bill can literally be in the upwards of $ 80-​$ 90 per month. And I swear they’re charging us for water they shouldn’t be. Management recently planted trees along the left side of the building and they had water hoses going on full blast for a week and guess who’s bill was up that week?
Parking:
The parking lot is terrible! It’s too small and nearly half the resident’s cars get hit by the other residents trying to get out of the complex! There is a No Parking section in the back where we are supposed to be turning around in order to get out of the complex but idiots keep parking there and management does nothing about it.
Building:
The walls are really thin and the place is poorly insulated. Not to mention that there are cats everywhere! Some residents who have dogs will refuse to pick up after their dogs, leaving poop everywhere. Management one again does nothing about this. The have a laundry room all the way in the back, but its horrible and useless. The washers and dryers are like 40 years old and the dryers do not dry on one cycle. Plan on spending time at the laundromat.
Maintenance:
The maintenance guys are good when they’re not being spies for management. They will literally enter your apartment without notice, unannounced, and snoop around. I stayed home once when I was sick and got walked in on without having clothes on! Extremely rude! We have asked management twice to please have them call us before they enter and they have ignored our requests.
Management:
If you need to get in contact with management, don’t bother. Patrick is probably the most unfriendly and unprofessional manager I’ve ever met. You can call him, he will pick up, and as soon as you start telling him an issue you’re having he makes an excuse to get off of the phone without returning your call. Ester responds, but rarely does anything. OCD Management also acts as though they are not familiar with renter’s rights in the state of Georgia.
All I would give this building a 1 star. This star is specifically for location and that’s it!

This company owns several properties. I live in the 2040 – 2044 Dekalb Ave «Candler Park Apartments» division, and have been told several times that the owner does not think of this location as a priority. This was fine at first, because the rent is cheap (under $ 700) and the location is nice (close to MARTA, downtown, and Decatur). Just understand that they are unconcerned with the upkeep of this property, and take a very laid back approach.
The management is unprofessional at times. I have made maintenance requests that were ignored, doubted, misunderstood, or otherwise performed sloppily. Although the maintenance employees are nice people, they would rather rig something quickly than actually do quality work. The people at the office have been inconsiderate of my concerns, and have even blatantly mistrusted me.
Also, car break-​ins have been occurring more often in our parking lot lately, and they have made no effort to make this property be or feel more safe. They haven’t even acknowledged them.