52%
overall rating:
Parking:
Maintenance:
Construction:
Noise:
Grounds:
Safety:
Office Staff:
Not at all "luxury"
From: -Anonymous-Date posted: 3/14/2007
Years at this apartment: 2004-01-01 - 2007-01-01
2 responses
I've been living here for three years, and the quality has deteriorated dramatically.
First of all, the roof leaks.
Several months ago, it rained incredibly hard, and rain started coming in through a two-foot crack in the ceiling! We called the emergency maintenance number, but they were slow to act on it.
Apparently, 13 other buildings were also leaking, and 7 other buildings leaked the year before...
and this place is rather new! Anyway, it took two weeks for them to actually repair the crack, and we had to call several times for them to paint (which they never did).
The independent roofing contractor that worked for Galleria Palms actually advised us to SUE the apartment company because they used LEAD flashings for the ventilation ports on the roofs.
So, the rain poured off the lead flashings, and into our apartment, and onto our belongings.
When we contacted the manager, she just said that it was not a legal issue, and there was no health hazard! They also refused to repair the water damage on one of the walls, which had bubbling paint.
I would not be surprised if this soon turns into a mold issue.
Incredible!!
Anyway, roofing aside, the place is incredibly energy inefficient.
We can feel heat radiate from the downstairs apartment.
Expect energy bills in the summer to be about $200/month and $80/month at the cheapest in the winter (this is with restricted use of the A/C and heating since we try to conserve energy by opening the windows).
Even though you are paying to live in a gated community, I've seen months go by at a time without working gates.
If something goes wrong, it takes at least two weeks for their company to repair it.
So, it's just as safe as a non-gated community, only much more expensive.
Parking is terrible.
Even with one assigned spot, guests have to drive around for awhile before finding something far away...
and they are not comfortable leaving their car in a vandalism-prone area.
Bicycle theft is a problem.
Every bicycle on the rack closest to our building and near other buildings were stolen.
I've resorted to carrying my new bike (my second since living here) up a flight of stairs and locking it to my balcony.
Even though there is a night security service, they only come once every evening, and have to be called in at other times.
A nice security guard on duty actually said it would be better to call the Tempe police instead for faster service on even small matters like noise complaints!
These so-called "luxury" apartments are not worth the money.
You can find better apartments you are willing to live less than two miles south of Galleria Palms, and for more than hundred dollars less per month! Believe me, I've already made plans to move when my lease is over...
and that is four months in the future! As you can see, I am very anxious to move out of this over-priced dump.
Last updated: 3/14/2007
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User Responses |
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| From: tomcollinsplease | Date: 05/07/2007 |
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Ok first off who controls the rain here anyways. If the roof leaked it's not the managments fault...did they build the place? Also I was wondering about the roofers, cause only lawyers can give real legal advice, and i looked it up...There is no code saying lead is illegal. I also found out that the replacement parts were much more expensive. Maybe the roof company was trying to get some money from the big complex. Check your facts. Your probably right about the bikes tho, I read in the papers there was a huge bike theft ring busted in Phoenix, probably run by Galleria Palms...again what did they have to do with your bike? Name me one rent-a-cop company worth a damn and I'll appaulogize on all these comments. But all and all, your right I probably would have stayed in this "over-priced dump." for three years too. Stay cool guy. |
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| From: Anonymous | Date: 08/25/2007 |
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I've lived here for 4 years ('02~'04; '05~present) and have not noticed a drop in quality. Management is not equivalent to a 4 star hotel staff, but they do quite well considering this is a 568 apartment community with a 90%~95% occupancy rate.
Regarding energy consumption, I've lived in two different apartments and have noticed that energy usage varies depending on several factors: direction the windows face (N, S, E, or W), apt size, and thermostat type (digital vs. analog), among others.
The first apt I occupied was a 1200 sq. ft. corner unit that faced south--summers were killers during these 2 years: the 105 degree heat from the sun hit the windows directly all day every day so, obviously, the A/C had to run longer to cool the place down, meaning a higher energy bill. Nonetheless, a $20 digital thermostat w/timer reduced the power bill considerably: $124 or less in the summer and $45 or less in the winter--and I never opened the windows. When I came back to AZ, having learned my lesson from the effect that the magic of the AZ summer sun had on my previous apt, I picked a 1200 sq. ft. unit facing N. I still carried my $20 thermostat and installed it 2 weeks after moving in--winter bill: $55 or less, summer bill: $100 or less (Note: Ever since the power company, SRP, switched out the meters from analog to digital --Jan. '06-- the bills have been about 10%~20% higher; sadly, management has yet to acknowledge this despite various inquiries, though in fairness, it is unlikely they have any control/influence over SRP regarding the meters).
Regarding the reliability of the gates, yes, they seem to fail with relative frequency, but not for months at a time. Since mid-to-late 2006, failure frequency and downtime have reduced considerably.
Cannot comment about bike thefts, but I do know that auto thefts do occur. During my first stay, a maintenance worker once told me that a new Tahoe-like SUV was stolen the night before from one of the parking spots in front of a Mail Box area. During my second stay, my downstairs neighbor knocked on my door one day and asked me whether I had seen his vehicle earlier that morning--you guessed it, it was stolen.
Night security is, as I perceive it, of little value. This service is one that has indeed declined from 2002 to 2007. You ARE better off calling Tempe police--they don't question anonymity and respond quickly. One of the most troublesome issues is noise from loud parties thrown by college students, but again, Tempe police do a great job of quieting things down; not so the security guard/service.
Pools, in my opinion, are questionable: from people having dogs (which are prohibited on the property) in the pool to others having sex in the pools to others throwing broken glass, tables, and chairs into the pools during overnight parties--I do not set foot in them at all.
Parking has not been a significant issue for me, with the exception of a handful of times when some unscrupulous individuals have taken my assigned spot. A non-threatening note indicating that the spot is occupied has quickly rectified the matter.
The area could is not the safest place to be going for a stroll on your own, especially at night, and particularly for certain buildings located towards the edges of the property. People outside of the complex at times jump the walls/fences and get into the community, sometimes to look around/loiter, other times to use the pools. Also, I have on 2 occasions heard shots fired nearby--I cannot say if within the property or in the surrounding areas. On another occasion, I overheard a conversation related to a drug transaction through the wall of a bedroom.
A drawback of the apartments, as was alluded above, are very thin walls--being able to hear the neighbor's moaning and intimate expressions during her lovemaking is at times amusing and, at other times (2 AM on a Tuesday when you have a meeting at 7:30 AM with a premier client) annoying--which makes me wonder how private my intimate moments are if my neighbors were to be asked.
Overall, for the price ($800~$1K/mo.), the apt size and layout (1200 sq. ft.), and the location (easy access to I-10, US 60, SR 143/Sky Harbor, ASU, Mill Avenue), I think this is a very good property.
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