THIS PLACE IS NOT SAFE- DO NOT MOVE HERE - HIGH CRIME AREA - PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DECIDE

I lived at The Ethans for three unfortunate years and recently found out I was paying $65.00 more for my apt. than my neighbors, who lived in the same type of unit. They can charge anything to anybody for any reason. Check with neighbors or talk to people first to see if you are being ripped.

1. HIGH CRIME AREA - THIS PLACE IS NOT SAFE
The crime there is horrible and is my worst compliant by far. There have been armed robberies, abductions, vandalism and tons of car and apartment break-ins. Get a police crime report of this area to see for yourself.

My apartment was broken into several times. When I reported that my apartment had been broken into - management went postal and started yelling at me! The staff simply do not care - they say, make a police report, and that is it. You are just another problem they want to get rid of.

My neighbors truck got keyed, for no reason, with all kind of obscenities. He was a laid-off American airlines worker who was in Kansas City for re-training. His truck was keyed and broken into several times - he did not know anyone in Kansas City - he was from St. Louis - I met his wife and kids, they were very nice people - working folks like the rest of us. When he reported it to management, he got the same response as I did.

I caught one of the maintenance guys breaking into the maintenance shed and notified management - he was whacking at the door lock with a hatchet. Scary!!! . . . and they do background checks on the people who work there'

I also caught people stealing the extension ladders from the maintenance shed to break into the second and third floor apartments. I reported it to management and called 911 but I never heard or saw the police come or heard that the management did anything about it.

Recently, there was one woman who had her apt. broken into. The guy tied her up, stuffed her into the trunk of her own car, then stabbed her a couple of times with a screwdriver, until she gave up her ATM number. She was abducted from The Ethans and left in the trunk of her car at a Bank on Barry Road. A policeman patrolling the area saw blood on the car and when he went over - the woman started screaming, which is how she was found. FRIGHTENING!

2. SAFETY
They have outside lights in the parking lots but they would come on and then suddenly turn off - they were off more than they were on - coming in at night, I was often in the dark and very scared. After 8 pm you can not find a parking place and I was forced to park on the street or in another area altogether.

In the winter, the wooden walkways were very slippery, as were the wooden handrails - it was treacherous! If you live on the third floor your wooden walkways will not get shoveled or salted.

3. MANAGEMENT NEEDS A NEW ATTITUDE
The front staff and management has changed so many times in the three years, I was there, I stopped counting. I can safely say this place is a nightmare. Management acts like a slumlord by treating the tenants with rudeness and disrespect when dealing with issues. What else can I say, they are nice to begin with but that quickly changes. BEWARE!

4. DUMPSTER AND WILD CAT PROBLEM
The dumpster situation is horrible. They are usually overflowing, especially on Sunday nights. They have a huge wild (feral) cat problem. When I would open up the lid to put trash in the dumpster, I never knew what was going to come flying out at me. I have seen roaches, raccoons, cats, mice and rats as big as the cats.

They do not want people leaving trash around but the dumpsters are usually filled up with old furniture, ripped out carpet, mattresses, you name it - no wonder they are overflowing. The maintenance shed has old appliances, water heaters, rusting junk and lots of tree limbs and brush, which attracts wild animals like rodents. It looks like a junkyard most of the time. It is an eye sore at best.

5. RODENT, INSECT AND MOLD PROBLEMS
They also have a insect and rodent problem. The guy who lives on the first floor of my building got bitten by a brown spider and was in the hospital for a week. He also has roaches - and while they did come and sprayed his apt. - the problem never went away - he also had a serious mold problem and was constantly sick from it.

Because he complained about the bugs, the management got upset and had his car towed, they said it was because he parked on the street the wrong way. Yea right! It cost him over 300 bucks to get his car back. How is that for customer service!'

6. HIGH UTILITIES
My one bedroom apartment was about 700 square feet and my KCP&L bill, in the summer, ran over $100. Even KCP&L thought that was high for the size of the apt., when I called them about it.

The water bill, in the summer, is 40.00 a month for a one bedroom. They use the sprinklers in some areas and the grass is green and nice but in other areas the sprinklers don't work and it becomes a desert in the high summer.

7. THE AREA
This area has four big apartment complexes (The Ethans, North Pointe, Falcon Point and Crooked Creek). Whenever you have a cluster of apartment complexes like that - you have a lot of people coming and going and there will be more noise and crime. The car stereo noise, from passing cars, was awful. If you are looking for an apartment, find one that stands alone or is in a residential area and not one clustered with other apartment complexes.

The neighboring Crooked Creek apartment complex, is a low income complex and the people would come over to The Ethans to use the car wash, basketball courts, the pools and laundry facilities. I know this because they would ask me for directions on how to get there, telling me where they came from.

The police say there will be car break-ins at apartment complexes where ever you go - so you do have to take responsibility for your stuff and take the necessary precautions but this area is not safe and it has gotten progressively worse over the last three-years that I lived there.

I feel like I have done my civic duty by warning future prospective tenants about this place. Problems happen everywhere, it is how the management team decides to deal with it that makes it enjoyable or a nightmare. They abvious lack a conscience and don't care - otherwise they would not be able to continiously treat people so horribly.

DO NOT MOVE TO THE ETHANS - THERE ARE BETTER AND SAFER PLACES FOR THE MONEY. IT MAY SEEM NICE TO BEGIN WITH BUT IT IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS! - RENTERS BEWARE!!

P.S. I would have loved to have moved after the first year but I was paying off some loans and couldn't afford to move. If the Ethan's management cared about their tenants they would hire a company to patrol the area, as other apartment complexes do, provide better lighting and bigger dumpsters and have a plan to deal with the out of contol critter problems.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 05/26/2008
Wow, i'm a single female and was considering moving to the Ethans. You've changed my mind! Thanks for the heads up. I will not compromise my safety by moving to that area. Wow!
From: Anonymous	Date: 06/05/2008
Hmmmm.... I find it funny that the place was so bad but yet, you stayed for not one but three years????....must not be that bad.....Criminal action are not something that The Ethans staff shall blamed or held responsible for.. You could be anywhere or go anywhere and take that risk of you being robbed or vandalized. So its not fair to put blame on them. And the police are the ones who shall be notified for such criminal actions. Think about it, what can the staff to in the instance of a break in or such? Run out and play detective?
From: GWoman8920	Date: 07/21/2008
I have lived there for 2 years and I'm going to renew my lease for another year. This complex is wonderful compared to some of the other ones out there. And when it comes to how much rent they charge, that's their choice. You don't have to pay it. Live somewhere else.
From: yeag	Date: 10/16/2008
I have lived here 2 years and my only complaints are about the college kids drinking on the balconies on the weekends and dropping their trash. I never had any problems with crime; and I grew up in a Very high crime area. The Ethans does not even come close. Unless you are from a small town of 2500 people, you will have some form of crime. With these economic times it's inevitable. I have not had any problems with maintenance or parking & I come home several times a week late. I live on the 3rd floor and the stairs and walkways have been treated. If it continued to ice & snow all night it may not be clear but it's better than no treatment. I enjoy the location, being so close to my 2nd job and shopping. If you think the Ethans are bad, move to 20th & Washington in KCK.....I bet you would not last a day.
From: Anonymous	Date: 10/29/2008
I was considering moving to the ethans. But am getting mixed reviews. I have 3 small children and do not want to jeperdize them in anyway. I never lived in apartments before, I cannot handle bugs of any kind in my house. Is there anyplace for the kids to play outside????
From: phila	Date: 11/05/2008
If you read all of the reviews, and still decide to move to the Ethans, DO NOT SAY YOU WERE NOT WARNED!!! The rating is currently under 30%!! There are some good units, but they are far and few. If you luck up and get one of those few units, then you still have to deal with the ( in my opinion ) SLUMLORD staff. You can't win either way, for most that move there it is a lose-lose. If you have common sense, KEEP LOOKING! The Ethans has a deposit scam. They do not notify tenants that move, of their walk-thru inspection. The will claim you did not clean the apt., or charge you for not cleaning carpet that has to be replaced anyway. If you cash the partial refund check. You will lose your right for the disputed amount.
From: JessieP03	Date: 12/08/2008
Excellent review! I don't know much about the Ethans other than what I observed last week when I visited and I did not feel good about the place. I already made up my mind that it was a definite NO, but this review was extremely thorough and confirmed my suspicions. I wish others would take note on how to write a proper review. THANKS!

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