THIS PLACE IS NOT WORTH LIVING AT!

I lived at Jackson Park Place for approximately 8 months, between 2006-07. I am VERY glad I moved out, there are several issues I had with this complex, listed below:

1) THE MANAGEMENT IS INEFFECTIVE:

They are more or less polite, however, their answer to any inquiry or request is "I'm sorry we can't help you, our policies are set by our corporate office somewhere in Nebraska..."

There are several disadvantages to living in a complex that is owned by some faraway corporation. There is no understanding of local needs, practices, nor is there any flexibility in their policies (some of which are listed below). What's the point of having management if they can't do anything except enter data into a computer'

2) THEY REQUIRE A 60-DAY NOTICE TO MOVE-OUT:

Most apartments only ask for a 30-day notice, but they require 60 days. They will lie and tell you the law requires this, which is NOT true, the law only requires that LANDLORDS give 60-days notice when they are asking a tenant whose lived there for 1 years to move out.

Anyone who's tried to find a new place, knows that apartments usually only become available 2-4 weeks in advance so trying to have a new place set up 60 days in advance so you're sure you'll be moving is a pain. What this policy is really designed to do is to trap you into living at Jackson Park Place, or stick you with paying an extra month's worth of rent because you were only able to give a 30-day notice.

3) THEY CHARGE THE TENANTS FOR WATER, SEWAGE & TRASH, ON TOP OF THE FACT YOU'RE ALREADY PAYING ELECTRICITY & GAS.

Yes, they charge the tenants for water, sewage, and trash, and it's not based on your actual usage. Meaning even if you conserve water or are barely home, you'll still be stuck paying a hefty share because there's no individual meters and other tenants may be wasteful. Basically, what they do is they take all of the total charges from the complex and divide it up amongst the tenants based on some magical formula tied to your apartment size.

They may not tell you about this when you first look at the apartments or move in. But when I went in to renew my lease (which I ended up not doing...thank goodness!) they suddenly tried to spring this extra paper on me saying I was required to sign it. When I read the paper, it was basically a contract authorizing some third-party company to charge me to set up an account and bill me for the complex's water, trash, and sewage!! This is especially outrageous, given how wasteful the grounds maintenance is with the water (see below).

4) THE GROUNDS ARE POORLY KEPT.

They FLOOD the grass every night so there's fungus (mushrooms) growing everywhere and tons of mosquitoes festering in the standing water. Not only that, they overwater the grass so much that the water pours onto the walkways and sidewalks, so when you're walking to your apartment you're walking through puddles of water. There is also tons of dog poop throughout the grass.

The outside lights are often burnt out, so it's dark and difficult to see at night. I'd estimate that at any given time 30% of the outside lighting is burnt out or not working.

The pools at times have algae growing in them. The half-basketball court and tennis courts are in a sorry state, cracks everywhere, torn nets, and broken glass. The machines in their "gym" (all 3 or so of them) are usually broken.

The front gate is ALWAYS broken.

5) WORK-ORDERS FOR REPAIRS ARE HIT OR MISS.

I found that about half of my work orders were completed within 1-2 days, the other half were never fixed at all (simple things, like a broken shelf in a kitchen cabinet, or missing mini-blind wand). I have no clue why.

6) THEY WILL TAKE YOUR SECURITY DEPOSIT AND RUN.

My apartment was cleaned and left in excellent condition. After I moved out, I got a bill for almost the full amount of my security deposit, things like $85 for "touch-up paint". They don't actually give you receipts or anything showing that they actually incurred these charges, they just rack up a bill out of thin air to try and keep almost all of your deposit. I hear they do this to everyone. Make sure you take pictures of your apartment when you move out and take them to small claims court to get your deposit back!!

BASICALLY, THIS PLACE IS A RIP-OFF AND NOT WORTH IT WHATSOEVER! The apartments themselves are average and just like any other unit you'll find in Fresno, and living here is not worth the hassle. On top of all the problems mentioned above, they will increase your rent every time you renew a lease, even if the market is declining.

And don't be fooled by the model unit!! with all the brand-new appliances, I got an apartment with an older and not nearly as nice washer, dryer, and stove.

I'd encourage folks looking for a good place to live to find a smaller, locally-owned and managed complex with a friendly and flexible landlord. Jackson Park Place is just not worth it.

User Responses
From: mack2901	Date: 11/09/2009
I absolutely agree, Not worth the trouble. There are so many nice places in fresno, this is not one of them.

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