My lease is up end of this month and I feel like my prison sentence is up. Oh, and let tell you about all the things that suck. 1. Once you become a resident they screw you! Current residents are not being renewed for anything close to what new residents are coming in for. This may be good for new residents now, but trust me they will hike up your rent to way above market when you renew. Here are a few personal stories on how current residents are getting screwed. I have a one bedroom and I am paying $2200 a month!! New residents are paying no more than $1600 a month. So guess what they're offering me' They are kindly offering to renew me for the same rate!!!!! These people are idiots for making such an offer and it's quite insulting I must tell you. Last night at the BBQ we ran into this guy and the first thing he asks us after we say hello at the grill is how much we're paying for rent. This guy and his wife are paying $2500 for a two bedroom and they are offering to renew him for the same rate when one bedrooms are going between $1800 and $2100. The most heartless and disgusting thing about this place is that this guy told them that all he wants is for them to treat him fairly and like new residents, especially since his wife has breast cancer and the bills are piling up. Melanie in the leasing office tells him that all they can do is renew for the same rate. Melanie is really sweet and doesn't make these rules, but I personally would have used my judgment to call whoever I needed to in order to find out if we could make an exception to not screw this family that is going through a tough time. After all, all this guy and his wife want is to pay the same as current market rates! They are not asking for special treatment. So these awful and poor business decision making people are forcing this couple to either move during a difficult time or be stuck at a place where they are throwing away money that could be used to pay off medical bills. 2. The gym is disgusting these days and they no longer provide towels or wipes. 3. Bikes are being stolen and cars are being damaged and the security cameras are not working. 4. I also found out this week from other neighbors the following: some residents signed up for direct withdrawal of rent. First of all, I would never trust these incompetent people with my account! Guess what, they withdrew rent twice on one month! They told residents that they would get the money directly refunded into their accounts. Residents wait and wait and nothing happens. When they go back weeks later to see what's going on, Marina Terrace pulls out printed checks that have the refund. They couldn't bother to contact these people or send an email (and they do send us lots of worthless emails with stupid updates) to tell them that they should come in to claim their refunds. Very unorganized and unprofessional. I met this other neighbor downstairs and within a minute to chatting we're comparing notes. This guy is paying $2800 for a two bedroom and they want to renew him for the same rate!!!! He's leaving too. Another guy is paying $2300 or $2400 for a two bedroom and they are increasing his rent by $300!!! How can they do this when he's already paying above current rates''' I'm actually going to research when i have the time on whether this is something the department of fair housing would be interested in. 5. The internet still sucks. There are days where I just don't have internet at all. 6. They don't put paper in the printer in the service center. You have to bring your own paper. 7. I met two different neighbors that told me they got locked out of their place and when they went downstairs, they were told to call a locksmith. This is because the leasing people are busy not answering phones and figuring out ways to screw residents. And the leasing staff changes more than people change cloths. Nobody stays here and there is someone new to deal with every week. If the owner of Marina Terrace or someone with actual decision making authority reads this and cares about not losing more business because of these unskilled people you've hired, please respond to my post with your contact information and I am more than happy to call you and verify all of this and give you more details on why everyone is leaving this damn place. And if you don't want to post your information because you're afraid all residents will call to complain, then just ask your staff who they suckered into paying $2200 a month for a one bedroom...trust me they know by name since I've made my complaints no secret! It's a gorgeous building, but you need better people working for you and better business advisers on how to not alienate and chase away residents. I can recommend a number of consultants that can help!!!!

THE BELOW LANGUAGE IS FROM AN EARLIER REVIEW I DID> I FELT THE NEED TO UPDATE WITH REAL FACTS AND DOLLAR FIGURES.
You are throwing away money by moving here and your rent will continue increasing as the service get crappier.
Horrible Management:
The new management is horrible. There are up to 5 people working in the leasing office and you always get a voicemail when calling. They just hang out and have a good time and your needs come last. They will even hang up on you when you complain about something. And if you ask them to explain something they won't have an answer and you'll get something like "that's just how it is."
Some Get Special Treatment:
I have been here for over a year and made the mistake of renewing my lease. I have come to find out that people renting a two bedroom are paying hundreds less than I am--I have a small 1 bedroom with old carpeting and a damaged fridge.
Lie About Who Lives In Your Apt:
When you move in, just add an extra person on your lease so you get a second set of keys. There is a $10 per key fee they will not waive, even it it means losing a tenant. And that's $30 if you want your apt key, bldg key and mail box key). Apparently they need the money to pay all these people in the leasing office who drink coffee all day and socialize.
Trash Everywhere:
The grounds look nice on the outside and the elevators they use to show tenants around, but there is constantly trash in the elevator waiting areas from the parking area. The elevators also have trash and spilled drinks that won't get cleaned for over a week. They cannot afford to pay $50 for trash cans but will charge you for every little thing and screw you on your rent. I am counting the days until my lease is up.
Internet And Cable Suck:
You have to go through their provider and it's very slow. Also, there are days (at lease 3-4 days a month) where your internet will go out and you can't access internet. Same with cable. Sometimes your cable will go out and you won't have TV for a few days. The HBO channels are of poor quality and will hurt your eyes.
Noisy:
They do nothing about noise complaints. The same person has been playing the piano after midnight since I moved in...nothing has been done.
Parking:
If you have friends and visitors, then you are screwed. The visitor parking is limited and very full on the weekends. You have to pay for an extra spot.

User Responses
From: lanewbie	Date: 04/05/2009
has anyone had a problem with getting their deposit back when moving out? We would consider getting a lawyer if this is true. I see they are putting in new carpets in apartments after people move OUT and I hope this doesn't get tacked onto the amount they subtract from your deposit. Any feedback?
From: lorla	Date: 04/06/2009
I am a lawyer and will take them to small claims court to get my money back if they take that position. I am thinking of asking them to shampoo the carpet at my place since I've been there for 1 year and 8 months. Most apartments do that once a year. You can also do this yourself and it won't cost much. This way it's clean and they can't claim damage to the carpet. Your artument in court is that there was nothing with the carpeting and you shouldn't have to pay for their efforts to enhance the apartments by putting in new carpeting. Just document everything and take pictures to show the condition of things. And you need to give your lawyer the letter/e-mail they sent saying everything they are doing to remodel/enhance the apts (i.e. new carpeting and appliances) so you can prove that this is part of their remodeling efforts and nothing that you should pay for. By the way, if you sue someone in small claims court they cannot have a lawyer present and must appear personally. Unless you yourself are a lawyer and are dealing with a personal matter, no legal representation is allowed in small claims court. This means that the owner must show up personally or send a manger or other employee. You can sue for up to 5K in small claims court. That should be enough to cover your deposit and legal costs (i.e. filing the lawsuit and the cost of serving them- you are entitled to all costs if you win). Good luck! And remember to document everything!!!!
From: MDR4750-RI	Date: 07/12/2009
I quite agree! I also found it that new residents are only paying about $1800 to $2100 a month for 2 bedrooms, exactly same floor plan that I live in (4750/ Building I with washer & dryer). Currently, I am resident and paying over $2500 for a 2 bedrooms. I talked with few residents at common area when I found it, all of them were paying $2400 to $2700 for 2 bedrooms. As far as I know, two of them were already moved out and three of them want to move out as soon as possible. Very unfair.....I want to be treated fairly, like you wrote as "to pay the same as current market rates". Also, yes, I experienced that they withdrew rent twice on one month. I did not singed up for direct withdrawal and paying rent by check but they did it. Because they did not contact or notify us anything regarding it, I found it when I checked my bank accounts by bank website around middle of the month. And called Marina Terrace management more than few times but it is always voice mail. (Most of the time, they usually not answer phone...and I guess...they are not checking messages. I usually call more than several times and leave few messages, but they never called me back. And I always end up to go leasing office in person.) Anyway, I went to the leasing management office and told them about it, then they told me the money will be refunded to residents bank account directly... as you know......I needed to visit them few times until they printed refund checks (I saw so many refund checks. Probably, at least one to two hundreds.) And of course, inconveniently I needed go to my bank to deposit it. But I felt very uncomfortable and shocked that they made NO proper apology. This Stellar Management is horrible. They do not care about current residents at all. Many good residents are moving out for various reasons caused by this management. After all, staff of this management at Marina Terrance are unprofessional. Last few months, I heard awful stories from residents and former residents. And I am thinking to moving out from here and want to connect with you if possible.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/27/2009
i looked at moving into this place last week and after reading these posts i am sure glad I went with my gut instinct. the lady, Lisa I believe her name was, who showed us around was rude, unprofessional, had only been there 6 weeks which she had let us know several times and would not show us any of the apartments that were would be the potential units for us, only the model units, even though the floor plans and layouts would be different....she seemed highly incompetent and although they were offering us a one bedroom unit for $1550, I dont think its worth it, especially given the incompetence of the staff!

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