I lived in this apartment from Feb. 04- Feb. 05. I lived in a one bedroom on the third floor. The apt. is large- somewhere between 750 and 800 sq. ft. The kitchen in my unit was updated and looks great; there is a newer fridge, dishwasher, and garbage disposal. But, there is no a/c or ceiling fan in the bedroom. (There is a wall unit a/c in the dining room, but that doesn?t help much if you are in the living room or bedroom.) Also, my unit, like most, did not have a balcony or patio. There is tons of closet space if you don?t mind the look of metal folding doors. The entire south side of my apartment was covered with these closet doors that don?t stay on their tracks and don?t close completely. The bathroom desperately needs to be updated, the grout on the tiled floor is horribly discolored and the cabinet/sink/countertop is unattractive at best. And there are BIG problems with the plumbing. Without fail, 3-4 times a month, they would slip a piece of paper under everyone?s door that said the water would be shut off for a few hours the following afternoon for ?maintenance.? When the water was turned back on, it was common to hear a hissing noise from the sink, then water would spit out with black stuff in it. And after a heavy storm in April, my ceiling began to leak water! There were three or four spots where my ceiling turned brown and cracked. I soon discovered the ceiling in the stairwell down the hall from me was leaking too because there was a three foot wide puddle on the floor. On that same note, the common hallways are hideous. The carpet is a nasty turquoise green and the wood is ugly and mismatched.

When I moved in, there were no garage spots available and no surface spots available in the lot behind the building, so I had to park on the street until April. Once I got a spot in the lot, it wasn?t any better. The spots are not angled and incredibly difficult to get into. There is also a retaining wall right behind the parking lots and that makes it very difficult to get in and out of your spot.

There is no trash chute. I had to walk my garbage down from the third floor to the basement and all the way across the garage to throw it in the dumpster.

This fall they decided to replace the decks (some units have balconies) and do some landscaping in the yard behind the building. I agree that this needed to be done, since those decks were an eyesore, but the maintenance guys were loud, and always parking their big trucks in the parking lot so I couldn?t park in my spot. Although the maintenance on the ?yard? and decks is now complete, for some reason the maintenance guys still park back there on random occasions. I have come home from work many times and been unable to park in my spot because some repair guy parked his truck back there.

This is the part that bothers me the most- when I moved in, Tycon, the Mgmt. Company was running a special- one month?s rent free. My apt was supposed to rent for $790, but they prorate the one-month free so I paid approx. $718 a month every month for 12 months. Then, 3 months before my lease expired, Tycon sent me a letter saying I could renew my lease for the low price of $820 per month!! That?s a 12.5% increase. I counter offered and said I would keep paying $718 and sign a one-year lease or go month to month for $748. At the time, 1 BR apartments in that bldg. were renting for $748 a month. Tycon said if I signed a one-year lease, they would let me stay for $790 a month. So I decided to move out. Unfortunately, my move out date is about 4 days after I take the bar exam, so I asked about staying an extra 2 months to avoid the added stress. Tycon said sure, for $860 a month I could stay an extra 2 months. Today, they are running an ad renting 1 BR?s for $695! Keep in mind, they initially offered me a one year lease at $820/month, citing the increases in the cost of heat, and all the maintenance they had done on the deck and yard. They run these rent specials to get you in the apartment, and then expect you to keep paying higher rent after the first year, knowing what a pain it is for people to move. Don?t fall for it!

I paid my rent on time, I never complained about the water constantly being shut off or not being able to park in my spot or the noise from the yard work but it didn?t matter. Tycon apparently does not care about keeping current tenants in their apartment. It has been a big pain to move, but I found a comparable apartment 4 blocks closer to the lake for $725/month. I suspect that somebody can?t afford the $275,000.00 in ?renovations? and is trying to pass this cost along to tenants. And by the way, someone overpaid, cause I don?t see $275,000.00 worth of improvements.

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