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Overpriced slum! Avoid this place at all costs! RUUUUUUNNN!!
From:
artworknkc
Date posted:
7/15/2006
Years at this apartment:
2005
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2006
1 response
We were the very first tenants for this building, and it had problems from day one. It's hard to even remember all the problems this building, management (and owner), neighborhood, and the apartment itself had, but I will try. When we first moved in, the construction wasn't done.. which was to be expected. However, we had a corner unit with 7 windows and no blinds. We also had no shower bars, no parking (which was a part of the lease), no mail service, etc etc.
There was also a massive beetle infestation throughout the entire building.
Eventually these problems were somewhat solved, and then new problems arose. First off, there is a nightclub that operates on the first floor. This horrible place is called NV, and has changed its format, hours, and parking numerous times. As a resident, we realized there would be some noise during its operation. However, at first the nighclub just ran until 1:30 on the weekends, and closed during the week. This is what we understood and agreed to when we moved in. But then the hours changed dramatically. It moved to 3 am closing with weekday hours added, which meant major noise problems. What made the situation worse, was that the owner of the nightclub (who also ran the apartments) did not have the courtesy to inform residents that the hours were changing which meant no sleep until 3 am during the week.
This was a re-occuring theme. The management had no respect or regard for its tenants. Any complaint that was made was met with hostility. One of our biggest complaints was that the ceiling leaked during every rainstorm and snowstorm. And by leaked, I mean constant floods of water. At one point we had to put out about 20 bowls and buckets to catch the drips. We complained to management everytime about this and were greeted with the same response: "Its a new roof, it shouldnt leak". Well it did! Ruining many items in our apartment. And it wasnt just ours. We were friends with many residents and almost all of the 3rd floor apartments had this same problem that was never fixed. When they did try to "fix" it, they would bring out someone from the same company who installed the roof (poorly) and would say it was fixed. But of course the next time it rained, same problem. Part of this is because if you compare their roof with that of a normal loft, they did not tar the entire roof, but just in between the roofing strips. Cheap roof, and cheap renovation throughout.
The managment changed 3 or 4 times in the one year that we lived there. We only had one brief manager who was actually friendly and helpful, but even he was run off. As we heard it, it was because the owner (Del Properties) was so hard to work for. This company/person owns other run down properties in the area. See the review of Normandy Apartments on this site to get a better idea.
One other incident was a party hosted by the owner in an apartment below ours. It was so loud that we first complained and then had to call police. It went until 5 am, and when we complained, we went down and were greeted by a bunch of eyes-dialated people wandering around in a dark apartment (you can come to your own conclusion about that one). We were informed that the owner was hosting the party and that he did not care. We never received an explination or appology on that one.
The nightclub is also becoming a problem, and is dangerous. Drunk people wandering the streets and harrasing people is a constant theme in the wee hours of the morning. One time we had a nightclub go-er wander into our apartment at 3 am, looking for the "NV party" one floor below. Even though its a secured building we always had our door locked even when we were there. It was also a victim of the rash of robberies in 2006.
Another construction problem/clue was our closet. The shelving in it collapsed completely because the shelves were not put onto studs, but rather short screws into dry wall. It took a month for that to get fixed, so we had to have our clothes lay out wherever we could put them rather than hanging up.
We also had a huge leak once that went into the closet. This caused water to stain the ceiling, and ruin the dry wall. Their solution was a huge tarp stapled to the ceiling that just caught the water. So where our closet was, contained a massive sack of dirty rainwater. This also was like this for a month or two until it was fixed. When we cited this as a codes violation and asked for a new unit, we were denied, and had to live with it.
The parking is ok in the garage. But that is only when the nighclub management doesnt fill it up with their friends.
Bums constantly harrass you outside and sleep in front of the building.
The elevator is just about as good as the roof. It constantly broke down (trapping me inside once), and always made horrible noises. Its badly in need of replacing but again, probably won't ever get that.
The air conditioners never ran correctly either. This was another thing we had to complain about, as our bills were sky high. They tried to fix them, but again as they were "under warranty" they never worked correctly.
We were very prompt on submitting our 30 day notice when we moved out. I might also add that within that year, many many people moved out (never moving in) before we moved out. That means it was so bad people broke their lease if you take into consideration that we were the first ones in, so in theory should have been the first ones out.
When it comes to deposit, let me tell you how this company runs. Its a couple hundred for pets and about $300 for regular deposit. The reason it is so low, is because you have no chance of getting it back. He charges low deposits because he knows people wont fight him in court to get the money back. We were cited for an extra month's rent because we did not turn our keys in until the 3rd of the move out month. That was because that was the day that MANAGEMENT set up for us to do. We also were sited for a "cat smell" which was actually the rotted mildew smell from the rain leaking onto the dry wall. Our appliances were spotless and were were cited for thoses being dirty. Also there was construction dust all over the air ducts and were were cited for not cleaning that. Even though we did not cause them to be dirty and did not have a way to clean them since they are about 12 feet in the air.
I might also mention that the apartments are designed horribly if you think about the lay out. With ours, you walked into the bedroom first, then a long space wasting hallway before the living room. The original 100 year old floors were never replaced, containing warped, cracked and breaking boards. Also, the bathroom walls don't connect to the ceiling. Thats right folks, its just an open box, so that all guests can hear the echos coming from that room.
After we left, we had problems contacting management about our deposit. This is nothing compared to the harrasement, profanity, and threats that a friend of ours is dealing with from the owner as she tries to live out her lease.
All in all this place is a way over-priced slum. The only thing going for it is the view of downtown, which is about to be taken away anyways as two new highrises are planned for construction right across the street. This will not only create construction noise, but rob the view starting in 2007.
We are friends with many people who work for city hall and the downtown neighborhood association. From this, we know that the owner constantly is in legal problems with tenants and other people. So that might be a clue to how these things are run. The way these projects work, is that the city gives millions to the owners for renovations, and I can only guess what happened to that money for this property based upon the actual final product of this building.
So to sum up:
-leaking roofs
-horrible management
-loud nightclub
-probably in violation of city codes.
Its just not worth it... look elsewhere for a downtown place. Or as I have done, move to the rivermarket... its safer and has more benefits.
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User Responses
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From:
somnusangelorum
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Date:
07/16/2006
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Yes! Rivermarket Lofts rocks!!! I lived in one of their buildings with two cats for 7 years, and got 100% of my deposit back when I moved out. Whenever anything broke, it was fixed immediately, and the maintenence workers were clean and curteous. THe professional 24hr on-call security team rocked as well, always friendly, and very visible in the community.
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