College Park's Cash Hall property near the Florida State University campus is a MAJOR rip-off, and its living conditions are disgusting. The property operates by luring freshmen, who panic when they find out on-campus housing is full, and at FSU, there's only enough for about 10% of students. The incoming students are shown a nice model apartment which is the furthest thing from what they will receive. A never-ending supply of freshman to the school assures their business to continue operating this way perpetually unless this is made public. Here is my experience for the 02 school year:
My apartment was in a condemnable condition when I moved in, and NO REPAIRS were made to it for over a month; some of its problems were Never fixed. I had to shoot a roll of film on things wrong with the apartments to even get management to begin repairing it.
The bathtub was covered in grime and massive brown spots, provoking anyone who dared venture a shower to wear sandals into the bathroom. Furthermore, for weeks the bathtub did not drain properly, stagnant water would sit in the tub for hours after use before draining, provoking large quantities of mildew to grow on my shower curtain.
A significant hole in the kitchen ceiling caused water to stream into the kitchen every time it rained, which, during the early fall in Tallahassee, averages every other day. As with the rest of the problems, this was not repaired for more than a month into the lease. The water damage from the hole severely damaged the stoop on the unit's front door. The wood was also infested with termites.
The water also damaged the kitchen floor and subfloor. The subfloor has rotted and become spongy. When the kitchen floor was to be replaced, the maintenance crew simply put the new floor over the old floor. The subfloor was not replaced, and its sponginess can still be felt.
In the kitchen, there is no flooring underneath the refrigerator; the plywood is visible. When the new floor was placed, once again the maintenance crew neglected to move the refrigerator and place vinyl flooring where it sits. This is simply a sign of shoddy workmanship.
There are large open spaces between the kitchen cabinets and the floor that were never, to this date, covered. The area underneath the cabinets is often infested with cockroaches and other insects.
The furniture provided with the apartment is old, cheaply made, and in a state of severe disrepair. It was never replaced, although I asked Cash Hall management many times to replace the furniture.
The flooring in the bathroom had become a habitat for mold and had bare spots. It was not replaced for over a month.
Massive cracks exist in the unit's ceilings; one runs the entire length of the living room ceiling. These were repaired only by the maintenance crew's applying of spackle; the cracks are still fairly visible.
The carpeting throughout the unit was filthy and stained. The carpeting was not replaced for more than six weeks after the start of the lease.
The miniblinds were damaged, and the kitchen's replacement blinds do not function properly.
Discovered by me, THE AIR FILTER IN THE UNIT APPEARED AS THOUGH IT HAD NOT BEEN REPLACED IN SEVERAL YEARS. The week prior to my discovery of the air filter, which was covered in a layer of dirt and sediment nearly an inch thick, I contracted a respiratory sickness, which I now believe to have been caused, at least in part, by the poor air quality in the unit.
The shower head is loose and not fastened to the bathroom wall. This was never repaired.
I assure you that I am not alone in having problems with the facilities of Cash Hall during the past school year. As yet another example of the property's panoramic array of problems, a friend of mine in another apartment at Cash Hall had a light fixture over her bed that was not installed properly fall entirely off the ceiling onto her bed. The property of Cash Hall itself is over thirty years old and is in severe need of renovation. I would hate for any future resident to face the problems I did and would not recommend this property to anyone. There are many student-oriented apartment complexes in Tallahassee, all in better condition than Cash Hall.
A letter to College Park, Cash Hall's parent company, a few weeks back, has elicited no response.
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