My daughter was moving to Rexburg for school and we decided to let her look by herself first and then I would go in to "approve" her choice. She was very interested in Cougar Court because of its location next to her school.

When I went with her to do the final look and take care of paperwork there were many problems/situations that needed to be addressed. (Noted below) Since I am the daughter of a large landlord in Utah I know what to look for in any renting situation.

First, when we walked into the club house I immediately noticed that 75% of the exercise equipment was broken (signs everywhere) and since there was a layer of dust on the equipment I assume it had been broken for awhile. Second, a tenant was having an argument with the manager and it was pretty evident that it was heated. The manager never thought to close his door which then allows tenants to jump into the fight too.

Third was the fact that the manager just tossed the keys at my daughter and I and didn't even think "hey most likely MOM is paying for this so maybe we should do a little PR." He stayed in his office and I don t believe he even offered me a handshake.

So off we went to look at the apartment ourselves.

Fourth, there were weeds growing in all over and from many of the ones we had walked past they had been their for awhile.

Fifth, we got into the "model" apartment and if this was the model I would really hate to see what the regular apartments looked like. There was mold on the edge of the carpet and it had grown about 4 inches long. Both the fridge and freezer smelled of mold and I finally had to stop counting the holes in the walls and doors that had not been patched or painted. This model was their 2-bedroom apartment but it looks like they took a good sized master and divided it so that the second bedroom would only fit a twin bed, dresser and maybe a small desk if you wanted to be cramped. The most you could rent that room for would be $60.00 so not enough to choose a 2-bedroom over a 1-bedroom. To be honest I have seen better dorm rooms.

As we were headed back to the club house I noticed a woman mowing the lawn with a residential lawn mower. Obviously the owners of Cougar Court prefer to kill the golden goose versus nurturing it and taking the golden eggs

Finally upon our return to the office I noticed several notices to renters that made me feel that the previous reviews were dead accurate. I had my daughter retrieve her paperwork and we rented at Stone Brook. Yes more expensive but worth what they charge. Cougar Court is about $100.00 - $150.00 more a month than what their facilities are worth.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 06/16/2009
I have friends that live at Cougar Court...and they said the lady who wrote that review probably smokes her breakfast; they love Cougar Court! Weeds grow, weeds get sprayed, weeds die...welcome to earth. And if that lady really is the daughter of a 'large landlord in Utah who knows what to look for in any renting situation' she would also know that any apartment manager spends 90% of his time dealing with those 10% of his tenants who have prioritized their DirectTV and cell phone bills over their rent payment--which explains the heated conversation between the manager and the delinquent tenant. I've seen those conversations at every apartment complex I've ever lived at, so give the guy a break! He's collecting rent, which is probably his job security. Lastly, about the girl mowing the lawn, providing jobs for local college students seems to be a pretty gracious act in my mind...but then again I'm not the daughter of Donald Trump, so who knows?
From: Anonymous	Date: 06/16/2009
First of all, thank you both for your reviews. To Mother of lost prospect- It's unfortunate that this was your experience and we appreciate your feedback. For the record, there is no "model" apartment that is shown to prospective tenants. However, it is quite evident that you were given a key to an uncleaned unit, which I will address with our onsite management, in addition to the PR and argument factors with the onsite manager, which I agree, should have been handled with more tact. I do feel you were a little overboard with your characterizations of the units and characterizations of the property, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that includes you and your daughter. To the second commenter, I appreciate that you realize we're making efforts to employ college students and that they're not perfect. We do care about feedback and will be addressing several items as a result. It is our intention to provide clean, comfortable living in a great environment. I would invite anyone to come onsite and take a tour and make your own assessment, independent of these two views. Thanks- Axiom Management
From: mny_mtrs	Date: 06/16/2009
Interesting two responses to my review since it is very evident from response 1 that this is your "onsite manager" which if he was employed by Boyer (the group my grandparents started) his butt would have been kicked to the curb a long time ago. For the record, the landscaping wasn't a huge deal but mold on the carpets IS. The health consequences of mold is not to be taken lightly and your business can be SUED over it. I spent plenty of time seeing deadbeat tenants and cleaning apartments so I know it isn??t a easy job but you OBVIOUSLY need much training or they need a new manager. First "responder" I think you should be thankful that you are still employed. Maybe its time for your parents to let you get a REAL job.
From: Anonymous	Date: 09/16/2009
It's interesting to note that most apartments now hire private companies to mow their lawns, of which most use residential lawn mowers - if it gets the job done who cares how its done? As for an update all of the equipment is working, and isn't dusty at all. I'm allergic to mold and just so everyone else gets an accurate description of the apartments - apparently this lady is smoking a little too much because there is no mold in the apartments at all otherwise I'de be dying ..funny im not dead and I'm writing this repsonse. Every apartment complex has its pro's and con's its just a shame that some people dont have the integrity to give an accurate discription of the place.
From: Anonymous	Date: 10/06/2009
Would you like me to post the pictures I took of the apartment (Outside look, weeds, mold, holes in walls size of rooms ect) and sent to my husband? I can post them to my Facebook and to my blog anytime you would like. I will promently display Cougar Courts name so that they can get the great publicity they obviously should be getting. Maybe they will let me link to them... :P BTW most apartment communites use professional lawncare companies and they ALWAYS have comercial mowers because they make MONEY the faster they get a job done. 3 guys would have all of the lawns mowed/edged and blown clean in 20 minutes.
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/09/2009
I'm looking at this page because I am looking for a place to rent. Thank you everybody, whoever you are, for your entertaining bickering. I am a PR major, so I find this little dialogue pretty interesting in how it is all handled. I was curious enough to actually go and look at the place to see for myself due to the disparity between descriptions. I looked at two apartments and looked for holes and mold and didn't find any. Everything looked pretty new. Yes, the second bedroom is small, but who needs a big second bedroom? We went into the place with the exercise equipment and there wasn't a single sign. I even got on one the machines and it worked fine for me. So, from a person who is usually pretty wary of apartments complexes, I was a little impressed. Donald Trump's daughter: Get a life. Cougar people: I'll be calling you for a contract. You're welcome.

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