To whom it may concern:

This company puts up a pretty good front to potential renters looking for a place to live in the Naperville area. They are part of Equity Residential properties, so if you see McDowell apartments listed, be aware this is essentially the same company with a different name.
I had recently moved to the area of Naperville, a west suburb of Chicago, and found this place to live while searching for a house to buy. I ended up signing a 1 year lease at the end of Feb, 2001 for a one bedroom, at a rate of 950.00 a month, not including water and trash. We had been model tenants, which a month after moving in, I ACTUALLY PAID THE COMMUNITY 4 MONTHS OF RENT IN ADVANCE, DUE TO MY TRAVELS. THIS AMOUNT TOTALED 3700, WHICH THEY GAVE ME NO SORT OF DISCOUNT FOR PAYING IN ADVANCE AS WELL, BUT I WAS ABLE TO LIVE WITH THAT. As we ended purchasing a townhouse in the nearby area, it was approaching the end of August, in which our new house was set for completion at the end of September. We went to the office and explained that we were having a child and purchased a new touwnhouse and that we were moving due to the baby coming. We asked the office what options we had to move out and what we needed to do to satisfy their needs. We were open minded and wanted to do the right thing here. The representative there at the office told us that if we decided to move out that day, we would ower four months rent. She also said that if we gave a 60 day notice to vacate, we could move out with no penalty at all. So we opted to give the 60 day advance notice and stay until then, which was 11-10, 2 months after the form was turned in as required. The office gave us a prorated amount due for the last months rent of 10 days, and we specifically asked if we owed anything additional, they stated no. On the final day of move out, I turned in the keys and asked once more, is there anything else we need to do here' Again, no was answer, so I left in good conscience, thinking we had done everything in good faith here. We also scrubbed and left the apartment spotless, we respected their property and the apartment. About a week after we moved out, I recieved a bill for 2000 dollars for a cancellation fee from the community, with a threat to send to a collection agency if not paid within 10 days'' I was astonished, and thought this HAD to be a mistake. Nope, they said as stated in the lease, they assumed we knew of the 2 month cancellation fee, and that it was not their job to tell or notify us about'' Basically they lied straight to our face. When I called the corporate office about this, he said the property manager's cannot be responsible for what they say to tenants, that again, I should refer to my lease' Are these people not representatives of their company, they should be accountable for what they tell people, and not lie or give misinformation, be accountable for their actions. Essentially here, this company, operated by Equity Residential, located in Chicago, is doing harm and damage to people's families and well being. It is not about the 2000 fee, but mainly about the business practices and ethics that are being practiced here, which is the norm for this company. I have heard they are in court on a daily basis for this kind of garbage, and again, we will have to take them to court as well. Companies like this should not be able to continue to operate while doing harm to individuals and families, they are essentially stealing, to put it in simple terms.

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