I had a 1 year lease at the Sterling Pointe Apartments. I lived in them back in 1994-1995 when they were Templeton Gap Apartments. When I moved back in town, it was only natural to move back in them because I enjoyed the place before and had no problems with them.
I went to the office and immediately noticed that the security deposit was quite a bit higher before. No big deal, I thought. I was around 500 bux. Plus I had to pay the first month's rent right away. It was about 680 bux for the two bedroom place. Kind of expensive at the time when I was shopping around, but they do have nice places.
I checked out the place and nothing was wrong with it so I moved in. Everything was great for the entire time I was there. Had a good relationship with the folks who worked in the main building and so forth. I enjoyed the pool and the hot tub and the gym.
The problem came about a month after I moved out. I spent a whole day cleaning the kitchen and bathroom and scrubbing the walls, making sure everything was just as neat as when I moved in. It's something I do wherever I live and when I move out.
I also payed to have the carpet professionaly cleaned which they stated was necessary to get my full deposit refunded. The floor was spotless before the cleaning except for some pink stain in the master bedroom which was there when we moved in. After the cleaning, that stain was actually gone. So the carpet was actually better when we left than when we moved in.
I went to the office on my last day and told them it was ready for inspection. They said they were sure it was perfect and I had been a good tenant and it really wasn't necessary. I showed them the receipt for the carpet cleaning and they said I would get my deposit in the mail with a couple of weeks.
About a month later, I get a letter from them with a notice stating that the amount they had to pay to "fix things" and "clean things" in the apartment far outweighed the amount of my deposit and I called them and was told I was lucky I didn't get a bill for the "huge mess" I left!!!
Again, I took pictures of the entire apartment after I was done cleaning it and had pictures of the carpet and everything. I told them I did and also told them I would be taking them to court if they didn't refund my deposit. They actually told me "with the condition you left your apartment in, you can't be serious".
I was certain they had mistaken my apartment for someone elses. I explained to the girl on the phone that my son had died just a week before I got the letter from them and that I really needed the deposit money back. She told me "that's unfortunate but we're not going to be able to help you". With the death of my son, I simply didn't have the money or the energy to pursue the case in court. I would have definitely won. I had taken the pictures on a digital camera and all the pictures had proof of date on them.
I was a two time customer of theirs and I will NEVER be back to this place. 12 years ago they were good people but after the change of management and renaming to Sterling Pointe, this place is to be avoided. I will NEVER recommend these apartments to anyone I know and will anyone I know looking for a place to live to avoid them.
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