Often when I am asked if I would like the good news before the bad news, I d say no. It s always good to offset the negative with a positive afterward. However, when it comes to living at Clifton Luxury Apartments there are positives, but it is not a positive experience. Especially for me, being a first time renter.
The apartments at Clifton are large, and despite lazy maintenance repairs (such as obvious paint spots covering holes, and stains in the carpets) the apartments are cute. The road the complex is located off (Briarcliff) is often busy but the location is great! You re minutes away from Lenox Square, Midtown, Little 5 Points, Downtown. There is plenty of public transportation, including bus routes, MARTA stations and a free Emory shuttle. Parking is never a problem for me. I get the same spot every day, right in front of my unit. Occasionally, you can hear your neighbors but generally it s pretty quiet.
But all of this isn t enough to make up for the lack of motivation in the leasing office/maintenance staff, and the scam being run on residents by the management (The Connor Group) and the water/sewage company (Heartland Regional Power), both of which are based out of Dayton, Ohio (red flag!).
I was moved into my two bedroom/two bath, on the bottom floor in early August. About two weeks later, I woke up to water flooding in my bedroom closet, as well as in the bathroom through cracks in the tile. I know this was a problem before I moved in because the carpet in that closet was already tore up when I moved in as if the padding had been recently replaced and the closet stank of mildew. During this time period, I was also experiencing a series of asthma attacks and other respiratory problems such as wheezing and dry coughing, both symptoms of mold exposure. It s clear the office was aware of this problem, and to this day I still can t figure out why I was allowed to move into it. Since then, every single time it has rained all they continue to do is vacuum up the water. There have been no attempts made to correct the actual problem except for some new drainage pipes (which, still hasn t stopped the flooding). I have repeatedly told them that someone needs to come in and look at the foundation in the closet but they keep insisting it s the landscaping. To date, my apartment has flooded probably 10 times. With all the recent rain and flooding in Atlanta, one of the office employees admitted to me 27 units flooded. While I was paying rent the other day, I heard this same employee giving another resident the runaround over the phone, saying that the landscapers are not finished, and that they will be here over the next four weeks. I haven t seen a landscaper in the past week and a half, and the head of maintenance admitted to me that they were finished with the work.
Now onto the Connor Group/Heartland scam, charges appear on the bill for Common Gas and Common Electric . When I called and asked them about it, the rep from Heartland stated it was for common areas such as a pool house or laundromat. Neither of which Clifton has. The only thing other thing I could attribute this to is the lights in the hall ways and leasing office. Correct me if I m wrong but shouldn t that be covered by the management company' The other rip off is a $6 gate fee every month for a gate that always seems to be having problems. A $9 monthly pest control charge even if you re not having any pest problems, which is highly unlikely in Clifton. Due to poor sealing in the door ways and windows and sliding glass doors that do not close all the way, I ve had visits from ants, various beetles (no roaches though! Yet ), silverfish (which are centipedes with long, stringy legs and are attracted to MOISTURE, probably due to the ongoing FLOODING), spiders, slugs aaaand earthworms! In addition to all of this, the water/sewage portion of the bill is calculated by adding up every resident s usage in one building and divided by the number of units. So don t bother using methods of preservation here because you re going to end up paying for your neighbors usage anyway.
I hope this review influences you into making your decision. I wish I had done more research on the place, but I was blinded by the $500 off rent for the first 3 months and the initial friendliness of the ladies in the leasing office. Don t be fooled though, they ll tell you lies all day and run specials month after month to get you to move in. I would recommend Clifton only as a last resort. I m having the Department of Health come next week to inspect for mold. With their findings, I will be able to terminate my lease without penalty and find a more suitable place to live. One that cares about the health and well being of its residents.

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