This apartment complex scammed me in the worst way, and at the worst possible time.
My fiance and I were looking for a new apartment, and the majority of the complexes in our area require a 60-day notice for moving out. We were just about at our 60 days at our complex, but wanted and needed something bigger - and nicer - than where we were currently living. We'd gone looking for two weekends straight, and were very disenchanted with apartments in general.in a last ditch effort, we pulled into London Park, which is approximately 5 minutes from our old complex.
It seemed nice. Quiet, lots of covered parking, kind of charming (as far as appearances go) - we wanted to see the largest one-bedroom they had, which was 750 sq feet. We were alerted that "Unfortunately, our particular floorplan was unavailable to see, however we could see a 700 sq foot floor plan, and would be told how that one differs." We figured it would be okay. The leasing agent seemed nice, and it made sense.
We went to see the smaller floorplan, and liked it. Things were laid out nicely, and it looked bigger than it technically was. We were made to believe that the 750 sq foot model was similar in that aspect (looking larger than it technically is) with more livable space, however it wasn't available to see. We were told that the only way to see one when it became available was to hold it, otherwise it would be first-come-first-serve. We put an immediate hold on the apartment.
We were never called to confirm whether our applications were approved or not (they weren't; the complex needed more information from us, but hadn't called or e-mailed to tell us). I called a week or two after our visit and found this out. We were also never called to be told when an apartment was available for viewing; I called a week after finding out we hadn't been approved and was told that "One is available to see, but we needed to hurry because someone was going to move in soon."
We immediately went to see the apartment.
We were horrified.
Regardless of what is listed online, the apartment we were shown was NO BIGGER than the 700 sq foot floor plan. If there was any additional space, it certainly wasn't livable. Every extra sq foot was taken from another room; it mathematically came out to be almost the same size as the 700 sq foot model. Within 30 minutes, we cancelled the entire thing. We figured our application fees wouldn't be refunded because our credit had already been run and we had been approved. But our deposit should be returned because we hadn't moved in or signed a final lease agreement.
Wrong.
After the cancellation (Saturday) we were told we would be contacted on Monday about the matter. We weren't. Five days after that Monday (Saturday) I called again, and was alerted that "Because we put a hold on the apartment, we were ineligible for receiving our deposit back." All subsequent correspondence went unreturned. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Burea on September 4, as of October 14 there was no response there either. I finally got an e-mail saying that they were "Preparing a response for BBB, and to send no further inquiries."
Mind you, we were in a bind because by the time we saw the actual floor plan we were interested in, we were well into our 60 days; we had already put in notice, and had to find another apartment in an area where they pretty much knew who was moving into what 60 days prior. GOOD TIMES.
My advice to you: Don't fall for the same foolishness that we did. Demand to see the floor plan you're promised, or walk away. As we are learning, you will sorely regret doing anything else.
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