My roommate and I had numerous problems with the management staff at Hornbrook. We strongly believe that they purposely try to screw people over.

First of all, my roommate and I wanted a short-term lease for 3.5 months (summer housing). We were told that we could either pro-rate the end of May or the beginning of August. We decided to pro-rate August. Shortly after we moved in, the management staff changed. When the end of our lease was approaching, we went to discuss the process of pro-rating August and were told (by the new management) that we could not pro-rate August. Management discussed the situation with their supervisor (someone regional') and was told it would be fine for us to pro-rate August.

Because we were pro-rating August, we were told to pay just the pro-rated amount instead of the full month's rent. We were planning to move out on August 20th. Two weeks before our move-out date, we received a notice saying we had a week to pay the remaining balance on our rent or else we would be evicted. At the bottom of the notice, management had to select their notification method. The choices were:

"I personally delivered this notice to the tenant." -or-

"I mailed this notice to the tenant." -or-

"I faxed this notice to the tenant."

Management selected, "I personally delivered this notice to the tenant" and signed it. However, we did not receive the notice from the person who signed it. My roommate was leaving for work one morning when a random woman approached her, handed her the notice saying "Here, this must be for you," and walked away before my roommate had time to question her.

Secondly, my roommate's room smelled like cat urine. We did not list this on our move-in checklist because the smell of carpet cleaning solution covered it for the first week. Once we discovered the smell, we informed management right away. The new management staff sent carpet cleaners in again, but the smell was still there.

Shortly before we moved out, the old management staff returned. A month after we moved out, we received the notice of charges deducted from our security deposit. "Old management" inspected our apartment and charged us for a $60 carpet injection because of the cat urine smell. We were told that "new management" didn't make any notes in our file about our complaints of the cat urine smell. We have disputed the carpet injection charge and are currently in the process of getting the issue resolved.

Another thing.. during our tenancy there, one of the side mirrors on my car had been knocked off completely in the parking lot, and the mirror was nowhere to be found. It did not look like an accident.

Lastly, our move-out date was on a Sunday, and they do not have office hours on Sundays for us to return our keys. "New management" told us not to lock the keys in the apartment and to drop them off Monday morning when the office opened. However, "old management" told us to just lock the keys in the apartment because we would be charged another day's rent if we didn't.

Other little things that bothered us about the apartment:

There was absolutely no air flow to the smaller bedroom in the 2-bedroom apartments.

You must mail your rent check to Michigan, and it must be received by the first of the month. Very inconvenient.

There were no recreational facilities, such as a swimming pool or fitness center or anything.

There were a few things we did like about the apartment, such as the size and location of the apartments, and there was always hot water. The price was reasonable too, but I wish I had seen this website before we decided to move into Hornbrook Estates. That's in the past now, but I hope that my review is helpful for anyone considering Hornbrook. All of the bad things significantly outweigh the good. It just isn't worth it.

I would suggest paying a little extra money to live in a place that has a more professional management staff and better customer service.


Advice for those who still plan on signing a lease with Hornbrook (based on lessons I've learned):

Ask to see the exact apartment you will be living in before you sign.

Get everything they say in writing.

Keep a log of any discussions you have with the management staff. Include the person's name (because the staff will probably change),the date you spoke with them, and a summary of what was said.

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