When we moved in here we were in a rush moving from out of state. I had a great new job and we were looking forward to big increase in the quality of living moving from Los Angeles to here, and the apartment we were showed assured our home would be a huge upgrade.
I walked up the front door of my new apartment to find the key I was given didn't even work. I took a trip back to the office and was informed that they make their own keys and sometimes they don't work. Well, it's not that big of deal to walk back to the office before I get into my apartment. I now see that it was a sign of how this place is managed. Figure out a way to do it yourself rather than hire a professional seems to be their motto.
Upon moving in, I saw the dream was over. The carpet was so bad it was amazing that it hadn't been cleaned at all from the previous tenant. There were spots and cigarette burns everywhere, but after such a huge move we didn't have time to complain, and we just planned on cleaning it ourselves after we moved in. After moving in we realized that the spots on the carpet had already probably been cleaned, and proven impossible to remove. Why would they have rented that to me after showing me an apartment with pristine carpet?
Unfortunately the carpet was just the beginning. We performed our pre-move in inspection, which of course we weren't even allowed into the apartment before we were given keys after signing our lease. We were completely led to believe we would be receiving a place comparable at leaset to the apartment we were shown, but the inspection list became a novel of dilapidation. The microwave didn't work, which means the grease vent over the stove didn't work either. The faucet on the sink leaked water everywhere. The shelves in the pantry were broken and lying on the floor. Their was a handle missing from the wet bar sink, there were cigarette burns on the counters on the bathrooms.
After reporting all of these things, we were told that maintenance is too backed up right now, and you'd get to it soon. I believe that if maintenance is too busy to prepare apartments properly for move in, then you are too busy to be renting any new apartments. Do you agree?
I demanded that maintenance come immediately to fix everything, and it began one of 8 visits to perform simple repairs. The first guy to come was named Rick, and he informed me that my microwave couldn't be fixed, and he needed to order a new one and it would take one week, and he would fix the rest when he brought the new unit in. After 2 weeks I came back to the office to complain about this and I had a new maintenance person show up who couldn't read english. I know this, because he asked me to read the work order to him. He then proceeded to take apart the microwave to "fix" it. He also decided it couldn't be fixed and told me he would order a new one. I informed him that one should have already been ordered, but he told me that it was not.
The following week Rick returned and informed me that the microwave had been ready for 2 weeks. He had no reason for not installing it when it came in, just a shrug and a confused look when I asked. He tried for about 20 minutes to install the microwave before telling me he needed to leave and get new tools. After 30 minutes past without him returning I installed it myself. He returned to take his tools back about an hour later. Do you think it's reasonable for tenants to have to install their own appliances? How do you ensure that your maintenance is competent to do simple tasks like this?
I was told that the handle on the sink couldn't be replaced, and I would just have to deal with only having the hot handle on the sink. Rick replaced the faucet in the kitchen that was leaking water, and told me he couldn't figure out why all the red and blue temperature caps on the knobs are always backwards. I figured it out when he left, since the sink was still leaking. He put in on backwards, and since they "always" put them on backwards, it tells me he installs all of them backwards. Does this sound like competent maintenance? Is it reasonable for a tenant to need to reinstall a faucet that your people installed backwards?
I eventually fixed the shelves in the pantry myself, and refused to call maintenance again until my ancient fridge quit working and let all my food spoil over the weekend while I was out of town. When I got back and threw away all of my spoiled food, I called maintenance and was told that the fridge seemed to be working again, and they wouldn't replace it unless it was broken when they inspected it. Do you think it's reasonable for a tenant to keep a fridge that has already cost them over a hundred dollars in spoiled food? I demanded a new unit, and eventually they complied.
As for the grounds, I was told the pools and weight room were 24 hours when I moved in. I've since seen that they are often locked up without any sign of why they are closed. Their was no security in place that
could have prevented the vandalism of the weight room, and as a result, we are denied an amenity that we instead had to pay for from a gym outside of this complex.
The dog feces issue is quite detestable, and has never improved despite all the complaints. It is even more disturbing to me that I have never seen the feces bags stocked in the holder on the grounds. When I reported that it was out of control, I was told that management is in the office all day, so it's out of their hands, and we need to report it. I don't sit outside all day policing dog owners picking up dog feces. Do you think it's reasonable to place that responsibility on the tenants?
I've paid rent on time every single month, and I've never had a single complaint filed against me. I never demanded payment for the steam cleaning that was required to remove the dog feces that was tracked into my apartment. Do you feel that I've lived up to the responsibility to the lease I've signed up to this point?
The final complaint I have is the seemingly arbitrary 60 day notice to vacate requirement that is double the industry standard. I feel that there isn't a reasonable excuse for doubling the requirement except to make it take longer for residents to leave. I've forced to assume, because when I asked what the reason for it was, I was informed that she didn't need to explain it, and I signed it so I should be bound by it. Do you think its reasonable to deny explanation of terms in a contract to a tenant? This is also the only place I've been to that doesn't even provide a letter informing people of the end of their lease approaching. Had I received that courtesy a month ago, I would have placed my notice then.
After hearing this review of all the problems I've had living here, do you feel like your company has lived up to its responsibility to the lease and performed its due diligence?
I requested that the remaining 20 days I was late on giving my notice be waved, and the first bit of consideration for my discomfort living here was shown and the notice was waved. Then I got the move out deductions from my deposit, and sure enough, she completely ignored the fact that she waved the notice and charged me a prorated 20 days anyway. What was really obscene is that they changed my reason for vacating from "management related" to "bigger/smaller apartment." I have this signed and dated from the people who blatantly committed fraud to make themselves look like they were not to blame.
Renee is the name of the manager of the property, and is one of the most unprofessional people I've every had the unfortunate circumstance of dealing with. She blamed employees who had been fired already for the abuse I suffered living there, and never once accepted responsibility for the fact that her company hired them. After giving my notice to vacate, and reading her this review, she actually had the audacity to offer me $300 to reconsider vacating. This was just a slap in the face that she thought this would rectify the harm they did.
After moving out, I received an invoice stating that I was being charged for carpet cleaning! That means these people actually find no harm in giving that carpet to yet another tenant, and disregarding the fact that I myself reported the damage and disgusting state of the carpet when moving in, and had to steam clean it myself. She still felt the need to charge me for that, as well as many other errors on the invoice that they needed to correct.
This apartment complex needs to have charges brought against them for unlivable conditions that have not improved in any way while I was living there. Please do your due diligence as I did not and DON'T MOVE IN HERE!
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