Julie P

Not normally a review person, but I feel morally obligated to warn people about this den of thieves. Last October, employees erroneously served court summonses to SEVEN PEOPLE in just ONE MONTH for thousands in rent they didn't owe. They pushed me to take out a two-year lease, saying that it would be cheaper to do it that way and pay to break the lease than it would be to lease for a shorter time. Of course that wasn't true; I suppose it was partially my fault for buying into it. They really push you to buy a condo rather than renting, which is also a trap, because one entity owns a huge block of units and therefore has a monopoly over the HOA and can do essentially whatever it wants, including push you out of your home. Wanted to give them a second chance after a full employee turnover, but they clearly didn't deserve one. During the switch, the terms of our leases changed with no notice (advanced or even after-the-fact) and no option to break the lease without penalty. Their only communications come in the form of cryptic emails in the tone of grade schoolers attempting to sound more intelligent than they are by misusing mediocre vocabulary. Then, of course, tenants are responsible for information in said emails that was either misconstrued or simply factually incorrect. Important information is scattered throughout non-apologies for minor issues to avoid dealing with the other massive problems they won't address. It feels like this place is run by an unsupervised clique of middle-school 'mean girls'. The rental office is only open on weekdays and during business hours when people with day jobs are at work. You can also forget getting any kind of work done; I was promise they'd fix the cracked glass range, HOLES IN THE WALL THAT EXPOSE LIVE MAINS POWER, breakers that trip multiple times per washing machine cycle, and warped and unhinged doors BEFORE move-in. I have lived here for a year. None of that is fixed, because they arrange service appointments such that you'd have to take an entire weekday off work on incredibly short notice. Plus, the people responsible for maintenance do not speak a single word of English, and politics aside, this leads to misunderstandings with the only-English-speaking office staff. Parking is nightmarish, and you're not guaranteed a spot unless you pay over double the base rate of $75/mo. The gates to the lots don't work, and there was actually an instance in which an ambulance had to plow through a gate and cause incredible damage, because the emergency opening mechanism did not work, and there was no one at the allegedly 24-hour concierge to let them in. They hold your packages so that you can only get them if there happens to be someone in the mailroom, which does not follow any kind of regular schedule whatsoever. I've only ever seen one person working in the mailroom, and he is incredibly nice and helpful but grotesquely overworked. There is seldom actually someone at the front desk in the evening, which is advertised as a 24-hour service, which also means there is no security at night. Anyone who hands in any form of ID (including a non-government-issued student or work ID) as collateral is given the keys to any apartment they wish. The community advertises being completely non-smoking, but they do not enforce this rule at all. The units are also advertised as having fireplaces, but the gas is shut off and you're not allowed to use them. To pay your rent, you're required to either (a) leave a cheque (with no envelope allowed) in an unsecured slot leading to a cardboard box in the oft-unguarded main lobby (that's usually overflowing with other people's cheques) or (b) pay an extra service fee to pay your rent online. Tenants are left to jump through all kinds of unnecessary bureaucratic hoops for things like parking access, pool passes, mandatory routine maintenance, etc. I tried to give this place a chance, because the location is beautiful, and the apartment itself is conceptually great. Sadly, the freshly-painted fountains and beautiful landscaping are just a facade.