Let me tell you about my experience at Arizona Commons. I have been living here for about a year and a half, and I hate the place. So you may be asking yourself why don't I just move out if I hate it so much. I am wondering that myself, however; I love the convenience of walking to class (b/c I disliked driving to school and finding a parking spot.) To tell the truth, that is the only real positive reason why anyone should live at the Commons.

I am sure you have seen the signs on Arizona Commons saying, "New Management!" Just because it's new management does not mean that it is better management. If I knew these new owners were going to take over, I would have NEVERED renewed my lease, and now I am stuck here. I am weighing the costs, and seriously thinking about going to the Renters Association and The Better Business Bureau to get out of my lease. (Yes, it is that bad and I do have legitimate reasons to leave.)

Here's the bad:
1. Car safety and parking
My car has been stolen twice -- and both times by the tow company. The first company was C&G Towing. They were illegally towing cars, taking them back to the lot, and breaking them down for parts to sell. The second time was with the new owners with a different tow company. (C&G were caught and went out of business.) I had my parking permit hanging up on my rear view mirror, but this company towed my car anyway. They claimed that I didn't have a parking permit and even took a picture. However, they took the picture at night, and you couldn't see through the front window. When I went to the tow company, I pointed to my parking permit and they let me go. I didn't have to pay the $200 fine, but it was still a huge inconvenience. Also, since living at the Commons, my car has a nice collection of tiny dents.

During the semester, parking is terrible. There are more residents than available parking spots. You have to pay for your parking, and are not ensured a parking spot. If you can't park in the lot, then you have to park in the street. Both get filled quite quickly. There's been numerous times that I had to drive to a friend's and sleep there overnight just because I didn't have a parking spot at my own apartment -- talk about ridiculous!

2. Security
Currently, we do not have security. The new owners decided it was not in their best interest. Last semester, we had a panty thief. He began stealing panties out of the laundry room. Then he became brave enough to break into actual apartments and steal panties from girls. He broke into apartments and stole only panties and only the nice, expensive Victoria's Secret brand. This man was never caught. However, I did catch him in the act and know what he looks like. I was taking a nap on my couch, when I awoke to a rattling noise. I awoke to find a young man standing in my apartment. (Yes, my door was locked.) Apparently, this guy knows how to pick locks really well or had the master key. A description for you: about 6 feet tall, about 20, looks like a college student, blonde hair, medium build, and white. He ran out and the police were never able to catch him.

The managers said they were going to put flip locks on the doors, but they never did. Security was then hired, but the new owners fired them.

We also have had peeping toms. Also, the new owners are renovating, so that means a lot of workers. I am female and I have lost my privacy since the renovations have started. Most of the workers are very sketchy-looking kind of people. When I walk from my car and to my apartment, they stop their work and just stare at me and make sexually harassing comments to each other. One man was staring at me with his hand down his pants. I stay away from him b/c he gives me the total creeps! Fathers, don't let your daughters stay here!

3. Management
The owners are putting up this image that Arizona Commons is going to be so much better. In reality, they are much more interested in their prospective residents than their current residents. In other words, once you committed to lease, they stop caring about you. My apartment is falling apart, and with these new owners, I am constantly complaining. They act really nice in the office and say that someone will be there to fix the problem later that day, but it NEVER happens.

rent:

My last rent check bounced. Why' Because the owners cashed my check in before the 1st. Because I was going on vacation, I specifically told the girl at the desk to hold my check until the 1st. The message did not get communicated to the right people, so my check bounced and I received an overdraft charge. (Very careless management, I would say) When I complained to the owners about it, they acted as if I were lying.

air conditioning:
Last week, my air conditioning was out for 3 days. It took them that long to fix it, and remind you this is the hottest time of the year. It was cooler outside my apartment than inside.

roaches:
With the new owners, I now have roaches inside my apartment. With the old owners, I did not have any roaches. I've been complaining about it and they told me someone would spray on Thursday. Guess what(')-- it never happened.

Internet: Last week, my internet went out, and it took them three day to get a tech to come to the apartment and reset the ip address. It happens a lot here. Spam ware will change the ip address, and then you can't get a connection to the internet. The old managers knew the ip address number, and it was a quick 1 minute fix. The new owners are not willing to learn the new ip address, so, instead, they call up a computer tech to come over -- which could take days.
To give you a good idea how much the internet goes down, my internet is down again this week. It went down on Thursday, and it is still down. This makes life very inconvenient to a student's life.

electricity bills:
Because the air conditioning units are very old, electricity bills are very high. My last bill was $155, and I only spent one week of that time inside my apartment because I was on vacation. While I was on vacation, I had 2 things running: air conditioning at 90 degrees and my refrigerator. When I was back for the week, I used my energy conservatively. I did my research and found out that it was not TEP's fault. The high electricity bills are due to old units, old refrigerators that constantly run, and other inefficient electrical appliances.

carpet and cleanliness:
The carpets here are filthy. With the old owners, we had one free carpet cleaning a year. When I moved in, the carpet was almost black, and it's supposed to be white. There were stains from pets and beer stains. Now, according to my last visit in the office, carpet cleaning is now the responsibility of the resident.

My neighbor's toilet overflowed and the water went underneath the wall and flooded my bedroom. Now the bedroom is moldy and smells. I have been complaining to the managers about the issue, but so far nothing has been done about it. They said they would have someone come to clean the carpet in that room, but I am still waiting.

Recently, the managers called to inform me that I may have a room mate. Do they seriously want her to move into a room after it was flooded by sewage water -- and without cleaning it first'

4. Noise Level
What do you expect' This is a collage atmosphere and it's naturally going to be noisy with a lot of crazy drunks running around. That is not something I'm going to complain about. Personally, I find the noise comforting. If you want a quiet apartment so you can study, then this isn't the place for you.

I live on the first floor and I had neighbors above me. The walls are thin and I could hear them moving all the time. They also had a really nice stereo system with a powerful bass. The bass from their stereo would vibrate my apartment and cause my doors and windows to shake. Also, the popcorn from my ceiling would fall onto the floor. This was quite annoying, especially if you are trying to sleep and want to keep the floor nice.

I know this may all sound hard to believe, but I assure you, that it is all true. I have absolutely no reason to lie. Arizona Commons is what it is and you have to decide if convenience is worth it.

User Responses
From: sgdsfgfgg	Date: 08/10/2005
I want to smell your panties.
From: treefish	Date: 02/20/2006
Wow. You have a lot of time on your hands. Seriously, that was the longest message I have ever read on this site. You should win an award for that ----. GET A LIFE LOSER IT'S AN APARTMENT!!! YOU DON'T OWN THE PLACE. IF IT'S THAT BAD MOVE, I AM SURE YOU WILL NOT BE MISSED.
From: dihhuit	Date: 03/07/2006
I am also a resident, and I agree with everything except the internet issue. Yes it goes out, but that is AOL-Time Warner's fault. The old management took them to court twice and won because they were not providing the service that the apartment was paying for, and the new management is doing the same. Everything else is spot-on.

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