|
|
|
Horrible! Complete Liars!!
From:
stef315
Date posted:
5/6/2008
Years at this apartment:
2007
-
2007
That first post was obviously the owner. I would say manager but I doubt she can type complete sentences or even knows how to use the internet.
I don't normally rant on these things and if you search my other reviews you'll see that I'm honest but fair. This place is horrible and I'm thankful every day that I backed out of this place.
My brother helped me look for a place while I was still in Texas. He went here and they showed him an apartment that was nice inside. It had granite counter tops and of course was bigger than the one I wanted (they showed him 3bdr instead of 2bdr). I was mostly attracted to this place because it had a garage (I had one before so I thought I needed one) and it was spacious. They advertise the two bedroom as 1120 sqft. When I called to speak to the manager (Rose) she was very rude and snippy to me. I left a message but she never called me back. When I finally got a hold of her she acted like it was a big bother to talk to me and that my questions were dumb.
One question I asked was if the garage was included in the square footage of the apartment. Since I was moving from a cheap place with spacious apartments, the apartments in CA all seemed so small. She answered "No." I then clarified "So the square footage is living space'" She replied snootily "Yes of course." I was excited and even though the garage wasn't attached I thought I couldn't pass up the spacious apartment. I told my brother she was rude and he called to ask her about something else. He reported that she was nice to him and when I made another call she seemed a lot better. So I had doubts but thought maybe I misread her or caught her on a bad day. Oh, the rude call was so bad that a woman near me in Starbucks said I shouldn't have to apologize for asking those questions. She said they were perfectly normal questions and it was their job to answer them.
I arrived in CA late on a Friday evening. On the previous day (Thursday) I made plans with the manager to pick up the keys. I asked if they were open on Saturday and she replied (back to a snooty tone) that they are open on Saturday so whenever I want between their hours (something like 8-5) was fine. I was staying about 70 miles away so I drove and arrived about 1pm. The office was closed!! I called and heard the office phone ringing then saw her run from her apt to get it. I knocked on the office door and she cracked it and peered through and said "Yes'" I said my name is XXX from apt XXX. She stared at me blankly. I said "I'm here to pick up my keys." She said "We're not open today." I was like "What' I thought you were open on Saturdays." She said "We are but not this Saturday." I reminded her that just 2 days earlier I made plans to pick up the keys today. I explained I drove over an hour and used all that gas just to do this. She said "Well, normally we are open but I worked too much this week so we're not." Wednesday was a holiday (4th of July) so I know she didn't work that day. Tuesday I had left a message but again she never called back which is why I ended up calling her again on Thursday. I asked if I could get the keys and she said "No. He took them with him." I assumed he was the owner. She said she didnt know when he'd back but I'd have to come back Tuesday (they're closed on Monday).
I came back to get the keys and she wanted me to sign the lease first. I said that I wanted to see the apartment first. She called her husband, the maintenance man, to show me around. He explained the "business center" which was a closet sized room with a computer that had in his words "connected you to AT&T but you had to get your own email like Yahoo." He then showed me the garage which was in the middle of an long row of townhouse style apartments. My apartment was directly behind the garage in the middle so it means I'd have to walk around the entire building from middle section to middle section. Oh, they also had video cameras everywhere for safety but I know the way that woman and man are they probably use them to spy on everyone.
I had my brother and mom with me. I got in the apartment and the size (or lack of) was shocking! The dining area would barely have fit a small card table. The kitchen appliances were all new but the cabinets where old and warped and you could see the bubble plaster wall from inside the cabinets (no back). The guy went through a whole speech of how I should wash my dishes down to which brand and style of dishwasher detergent I should use. The carpet was not nailed down completely, the walls were dirty in places, there were obvious paint patches on large sections of wall (he said it was impossible to match the color), there was huge balls of hair in the clothes dryer, the bathroom sink never got hot water after letting in run for 3 minutes, the heat consisted of electric wires running through the walls and ceiling and the guy explained if you accidently leave the temperature up your electric bill will be $300 plus even in the summer when you have it turned off. The two bedrooms were upstairs and I thought I could maybe fit a queen bed in one of them if I didn't need a dresser in the same room. The "walk in closet" the manager had previously assured me about on the phone was a closet that had room style doors that opened out. However, it was still a small section of closet that walking in would consist of taking a step in and standing touching the clothes. In other words, it wasn't a walk-in at all.
I asked the guy if the square footage was really 1120 and he said "Do you want to know the truth'" Um, no, continue to lie to me. He said "It's actually 1090 but the way it's calculated is by taking a square of the outside bottom floor and multiplying by two because there are two floors." Okay, so this includes all walls, stairs, etc. Remember the manager telling me it was living space' How many of you can sleep hovering above the stairs' The guy then told us some of the rules. He proceeded the discussion by saying "We don't like young single people. We can't not rent to them so we just tell them there's nothing available." At this point I'm thinking he must think I'm old because I'm definetely single. He said that it's a non-smoking facility so you cannot smoke anywhere withing the property gates. I don't smoke and actually hate the stuff but didn't like the control. He then said "Also, you can never have more than 5 people in your apartment." I said "Well, you mean no parties right' If I'm having Thanksgiving dinner or something it's okay'" He answered "No, never. You cannot have more than 5 people in your place." Wow.
Anyway, so I told them I changed my mind because the place was not as big as they said. I had put down $750 deposit. I was never told either verbally or written that there is a non-refundable holding fee. Yes, that would have been standard but since I was not told this I felt okay in giving the deposit. Otherwise I might have waited till I could see the place. The manager claimed she had nothing to do with the deposit so I'd have to contact the management company (Trilar Management Group). I kept calling them and no one ever called me back. I tried randomly calling extensions and kept getting the run around. They directed me to a manager and on his voicemail I explained the situation and stated I would contact the housing authority if I didn't get a response. I left two numbers and no one called me back ever on either one.
This places are downright theft as far as I'm concerned. They trick you then think you have no choice. I had already had my mail changed to there and it was a bit of a pain to change credit cards, etc. so soon. But, in the end it was well worth not living there. I ended up going to a big complex in a nearby city which is way more spacious even though they advertise 834 sqft. I got kind of screwed since I couldn't qualify for any specials. I was just lucky they had a place available. My mover was on his way to the other place and I had to beg him to take a lunch break and wait for me to call him with where I'd be living. He then had to wait while I completed all the paperwork. The Arbors took my money, time, and peace. Don't even bother with this place.
Final update....I did contact Better Business Bureau in regards to Trilar Management Group. They said there was no response but I eventually did get a $100 check in the mail for the rest of my deposit.
|
|
|
|
Disclaimer: No attempt has been made to verify or assure the accuracy of the claims made by the author of this opinion or responses. You must judge the truthfulness of any review and accept responsibility for your use of this information.
Free estimates on moving trucks
Free quotes on movers
Up to: The Arbors Carlsbad
Carlsbad apartments
|
I'm the author!
