on 5/6/06, me and my wife went to Kaiser to take a look. Everything went fine with the tour, and we took an application with us. The leasing agent at the time warned us it was "FIRST COME FIRST SERVE" (remember this), and we said we'd be back soon.

on 5/18/06, we went back at 10:30am and met with another leasing agent to see if the apartment was still available. She said it was, and we were estatic and informed her we would be back shortly with the application, all fees, and even the $500 deposit.

At 1:45pm, we came to deliver, and noone was in the office. There was a sign on the door saying what time she'd be back, but no other information. We waited for 10 minutes and decided to try again later.

We returned at 4:38pm (yes, these times are exact) and AGAIN the person had left the office, and the sign said she'd be back at 4:50pm!! This time, we waited by walking around the neighborhood, and promptly returned to the office at 4:50pm....

TO FIND THAT she had willingly shown and let another person who she KNEW came after us, fill out an application literally SECONDS before we came back.

Needless to say I was furious. I called her supervisor to complain that we had been in and out all day knocking the doors of an empty office during their REGULAR business hours, to find that the leasing agent had willingly leased to another gentlemen.

The supervisor informed me, that their policy isn't "first come first serve", but rather, "whoever brings a deposit first, first serve". I thought this was ridiculous considering that every property I've ever leased considered an application a temporary hold on an apt.. And after the fact that we had been trying for HOURS to get in the office, just to find the agent back stabbing us right before our eyes.

The supervisor continued to blatantly blame me for the problem, saying that it was my fault for not dropping the deposit of $500 the first time I saw the apt. She also went on record (because I asked if I could quote her, I was FURIOUS) as saying that "that's how the industry works".

We went STRAIGHT to Avalon Fairway Hills in Columbia, found a larger apt with fireplace, for cheaper rent, and was in and out with an approved application in less then 30 mins. They actually had 5 leasing agents at Avalon, so i didn't have to come back 400 times to "catch" someone. Avalon is only 5 mins away as well.

The IRONIC part, was minutes after we left Avalon, we recieved a call from the Kaiser agent saying that the gentleman she helped had FAILED the credit check, and wanted us to come back!!!!!!

This kind of thing never happens to me, but I tell ya, the whole experience was so "out of a movie" i had to laugh at it.

Please Please Please, avoid Kaiser. The apt's and homes make look nice initially, but the management is TERRRRIIBBBLEEEEE. SROlYjGrgm2VnM-SactV

User Responses
From: susansmith1218	Date: 06/20/2006
The management is bad and the apts. were built up way too fast and they have noise and ventalation issues...plus they have been getting robbed left and right ever since the liqour store extended there hours;)
From: joshua81em	Date: 07/26/2006
I seriously doubt that your ethnicity was a factor in this case. More than likely, it's because apartment managers are, in general, dishonest scumbags. I am white and have had worse than your story happen to me.
From: rwkillia	Date: 10/01/2006
I currently live in the townhomes and I was also told first come first served. I know that things statements like that can mean different things to different people, so I asked them what it meant. They clearly stated that first come first served means the first person with a deposit will get the apartment, as long as their credit check passes. Perhaps if you took the time to ask the questions that need to be asked and NOT assume, you would not have had that problem. I do enjoy the townhouse I have rented. There are the occasional squeaks, but it is not that bad. You do not get perfection when you rent, but this is very nice still. The response from Susan is true with regards to the townhome breakins. However, the Howard County Police department is about 1 mile away. From what I have been able to determine, it sounds like most of the cases have been an unlocked door or window. I have a new car and it has been fine here.
From: TheChosen1	Date: 02/06/2007
Go live at the Commons at White Marsh for a while, buddy. You will know what getting screwed feels like then. It's like jail, but they take your money and you're constantly getting bent over and *bleep*ed
From: julstech	Date: 07/04/2007
You were not discriminated against. To be fair to all potential tenants and not find themselves (the landlord) holding an apartment for someone who may never come back, you have to put down the full security deposit or some places have a "hold" deposit (usually $100 that will be applied to first month's rent when you move in). You clearly didn't ask the right questions and haven't rented enough to know the game. You NEVER go to an apartment community (if you are serious about renting) without all supporting documents and checkbook in hand.
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/12/2007
uhh....your wrong. how about it isnt discrimination and all apartments state "first deposit down". and we all know that no property manager wants their boss to be paying out of their ass for an empty apartment. it's taking money out of their pocket to.
From: Anonymous	Date: 04/30/2008
I edited my original post to exclude the theory of discrimination, as the original post was written in a VERY heated moment. However, to all who are defending their policy of "first come first serve" and how I may have "misinterpreted" what that meant, give me a break. Read my story again. IF the leasing agent was there when they said they were, not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES, I would have been able to actually deposit a check, but instead, I had to wait outside and wasn't even GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY to give my deposit. So you say they had only 1 leasing agent on staff? GET TWO! Is it really hard to pay a 2nd body 30-40 grand a year to man a leasing office with hundreds of residents? Give.. me.... a... break.
From: zither74	Date: 01/27/2009
What were you doing between all those "exact times" you mentioned? The problem is that you could not be TROUBLED to wait a few minutes for the leasing agent to return from showing the property. I just looked at Avalon Fairway Hills... the reason that they always have an agent in the office is that they stall you away from actually LOOKING at the apartments, and try to get you to lease sight-unseen. Do not sully the name of a good and honest establishment with hard-working management because you are LAZY. You went there THREE times and only ONE of those times did you stay for... what was it?... 12 minutes (4:38 - 4:50). Perhaps if you had waited 12 minutes the first time you would not have been writing this review. Try going to the grocery store at Thanksgiving and telling the produce manager "I want that turkey, but I have to go check two other stores first to see if they have a better one. Hold it until I get back." See how ridiculous that sounds. Your ranting and raving sound much more ridiculous than that. You, like many people who have grown up in this era, have the patience and sense of entitlement of a child. You make me embarrassed to be a human being.

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