I think I should have known better when I couldn't get a return call during the process of signing the lease! The Property Manager tells you one thing then lets her assistant comes in and do something else. Want an example'

1. I was told by The Property Manager 1 month before moving in that we might be required to pay an insurance fee due to a credit score that wasn't perfect. If its going to be required she promised to call and let me know. OK great!

Three weeks and no call later, days before signing the lease I call to confirm since I had not heard from Ashton Woods for weeks. We are all set, ready to go....see you in a couple days.
I show up sign and pressured by assistant to the point of if you want the apartment you will Sign! Well its not enough money to make me walk away and well i don't have time to find another place two weeks before I move in so I bite the bullet.

DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ONE OF THEIR "SPECIALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

THEY CUT AMOUNTS OF THE RENT AND CALL IT A SPECIAL. EX. RENT IS 1425 BUT YOU WILL ONLY HAVE TO PAY 1200. Sounds great right' WRONG! If you break that lease early you OWE THE DIFFERENCE. 225 X 15 months ='s 3,337 dollars that you owe for breaking your lease one month early!!!!!!

THESE GUYS SCAM YOU DO NOT SIGN A LEASE

Maintenance Staff: If you don't mind swear words being every other word out of their mouths these guys are great! And if you plan on using the gym that is never cleaned by the way and if you don't mind walking by the mounds of trash they keep outside of their utility shed.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/29/2008
Ok...the run around before you moved in, I can understand being pissed about. I would be too. But seriously, they are REDUCING your rent 225 dollars, so they EXPECT you to fullfill your lease agreement. Doesnt sound crazy to me. They expect x amount of dollars for a year, now you go stealing them out of 1200 dollars b/c you want to leave early. Ask about "stipulations" before a lease signing and if you cannot get ahold of anybody let that be a pre-curses of whats to come. Dont waste your time.
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/30/2008
Well another issue is we were never told of the "full" rent price of 1425. It was always presented as 1200 for rent when we were looking at it. We did not even know the 1425 number until we were signing the lease. And I fully expected to pay a penalty for breaking the lease...breaking a contract has to have a penalty...which we ASKED about prior to buying a home. We were told it would be around 2k give or take. We were never told about the 225 a month untill we had our final paper work slipped under our door (which we had to ask for twice btw). The bottom line is I think its the lowest of the low to hide something like this and management is very slow to respond to any request, not just a bitter now former renter.
From: Anonymous	Date: 02/20/2009
I would like to thank the original poster for the message. Because I read it before checking out the place, I was armed with the correct questions to ask the management. I will say to Ashton's credit that as soon as I made any mention of the lease breakage clause, it was explained to me clearly and concisely. The downside is that I needed an Excel spreadsheet to clearly quantify what it would really cost for me had I chose in the future to break the lease. I won't go into that actual scheme they use, except to tell you this: 1) They expect 2 months notice, 2) Even with that notice, they expect a payment equal to a months rent. 3) You will pay back any special price. I made an analysis given the assumption that I'll never have 2 months notice that I'll want to move out. (Its just something that I know is true for me) So I calculated using only 30 days notice. For the unit I was looking at, the lease breakage would cost me from $5300 to $6900 at any point in the year. In fact the lowest lease breakage value is at the 6 month point. In the end I did not go with Ashton Woods, electing instead for a townhouse in a community with rent that was a little higher than Ashton's special price, and much lower than the actual price, and a much more forgiving cancellation policy. And I might give this advice to apartment seekers: 95% of the moves I've made in life were not at all in sync with a 1 year contract. New jobs, new spouses, new kids, etc don't happen on a schedule. The only time I left at the end of a contract was a place I hated but couldn't afford to leave. In summary: The lease breakage clause is key, because you are almost certainly going to be subject to it. If you leave on schedule, its probably because you hate the place.
From: Anonymous	Date: 06/17/2009
I was pleasantly suprised to find your original post concerning Ashton Woods. My husband and I signed a 14-month lease there at a "discount" rate as well. We were definately suprised at how much more we would have to pay to break the lease(even just a week or two early). This did end up causing some issues for us as we were trying to buy our first home and had to work around their lease requirements to reach a closing date. So we did end up staying until the end of our lease because we couldn't afford to leave and we HATED living there. The apartments are over-priced for their size and I do not believe their measurements of sq. footage advertised for their units. and the workers and maintenance men were a pain as well. I woke up on our move out date at 7:00 am with workers ripping the siding off of my bedroom windows while standing directly in front of the window (this was a 2nd floor unit). Then as we moved everything down the stairs the workers were painting the stairwell we were walking up and down and gawking at us. Then when I placed a few items in the dumpster and went upstairs they stopped working and quickly ran to take my things out of the trash and put them in their cars. The management really needs to consider who they are hiring to work on these buildings. Also, our unit was VERY energy INEFFICIENT with big drafty windows and high electric bills. Now,our Ashton Woods is claiming that we must pay for the entire carpet to be replaced. We have 2 small dogs for which we paid a $500 security deposit. I did not of course expect to regain this entire deposit. However, since the carpet was already stained when we moved in and was NOT new, I refused to pay for the total cost of replacement. I would advise anyone that is planning on moving there to BEWARE! I can't wait till I am rid of these people for good!
From: Anonymous	Date: 11/03/2009
Try reading my complaint. It as well is written very clearly in black in white and not all it pertained to my lease agreement.
From: Anonymous	Date: 11/03/2009
To all that have complained here.....try reading your lease agreement before making any committment. Everything you are complaining about is in the agreement very clearly in black and white.

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