Look closely & don't be anxious
From:
-Anonymous-
Date posted:
7/11/2007
Years at this apartment:
2007
-
2007
I had one weekend to find a place to live near here, I saw their website, and arranged a visit. The staff was friendly, the show apartment looked alright, and every problem I noticed was explained away as a construction / renovation issue. So I signed a 1-year lease and put down a huge deposit.
When I moved in, I discovered that I had no hot water anywhere, no water at all in the shower/tub, no screen on one window, no working cable jacks (wires not terminated), only 2 working stove eyes, and a poorly installed new toilet. I fixed the toilet, tried to fix the stove and gave up, and called maintenance about the shower and water heater.
"Maintenance" isn't really there, it's an answering service who calls the real guys for you. And as has been mentioned, they are illegals who barely speak english, though they are very nice for what it's worth. But when you try and explain your problem to them, i don't think they genuinely understand what you're saying. So the guy shows up, goes into the shower, does something, says 'is all fixed now' and leaves. And like a sucker, I believed him without checking. He then left for a 3 day weekend (it was saturday, before memorial day). When I called the number back, all she could tell me is 'they're not answering anymore." So I took cold sink baths for the next 5 days. Eventually they had to rip up the kitchen counter, because they installed the water heater under it with no access panel! Yes, really. "Oh, we're so very sorry" etc. The materials they use are very, very cheap. Open the cabinets, turn the door handles, flush a toilet, and MOST IMPORTANTLY try the shower. They were going for "upscale" but they didn't want to spend the money to put decent materials in the building, and it shows if you look.
There's a surface lot to park in for a medium fee, or a 2 story garage to park in for $80 a month, which I do. I parked my vehicle in it and walked out the second day I was there. Then, I tried to go somewhere, and discovered that they didn't activate the key fob they gave me, so I had no vehicle for 2 days until the office opened again.
I have no idea what I pay in rent, exactly, as I'm supposed to change units. It's not on my contract. I got a note in my door asking for 2 months' rent, when I've already paid one partial one, and the first month was supposed to be free. I called, and got the property manager. She apologized profusely, said to disregard the note, took my work number, and promised to call. It's been 2 days. I called back, left a message, and still haven't heard back several hours later.
I have seen prostitutes out in the alley several times a week since I got here. They like to work out of parked cars. And the alley has drunks yelling at each other every night, as well as pimped out cars booming, so if you leave the window open to get a breeze, you will be woken up. The park across the street is unfortunately full of older drunk men, 16 year old moms, and mentally ill people. Most of them will leave you alone, but it's kinda depressing. Worcester has really gotten pretty bad downtown, and if you visit it during the day on a Saturday, you might not get an accurate feel for how it will be to live there.
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