The Ethans
8300 North Hickory, Kansas City, MO 64118
816-436-8662  WEBSITE save favorite
AVERAGE RATING
recommended by:
22%

overall rating:
2.2
2.2
2.24 Parking:
2.4
2.36 Maintenance:
2.4
2.36 Construction:
2.6
2.56 Noise:
2.8
2.76 Grounds:
2.3
2.34 Safety:
2.2
2.21 Office Staff:
< | >

Not worth it

From: -Anonymous-
Date posted: 11/4/2008
Years at this apartment: 2003 - 2008
User Response is available. 8 responses
 
I lived in the Ethans for 5 1/2 years and my roomate 7. We generally didn't have any problems while we lived there but the current management is running this place into the ground. About two years into living there we abrubtly had to move one Saturday due to a carport catching fire next to my bedroom window at 5 AM. The fire department came and blew water through my window and I had water and smoke damage. At that time it was about two management staffs ago. They were very compassionate and helpful during our move into a new apartment. Shortly after that the new managements began to take over. It was never anything big that made us want to up and leave but we started to see small things that could make people feel unwelcomed. We started to get letters from the office on our door that we were told would go to everyone saying we needed to fill some requirement or be evicted. My roommate and I paid on time every month and generally these letters that were sent out didn't apply to us and I felt it was very unprofessional. Also if you did have a maintanence request it would take about a week before they respond and usually they patch the problem instead of fixing it.
What I am most disappointed about is the treatment we received when we were leaving the complex. Again we were not overly disatisfied with them, my roommate and I were leaving due to a change in life. A month after I moved out I get a letter from them saying that I still owed money. They charged us $50 for not steam cleaning the carpet, which I will admit we did not do and I understand the charge. However then we were charged $85 dollars for our apartment not being clean. I spent two days scrubbing, vacuuming, and cleaning every room in that apartment. I guess I should have paid for a cleaning crew to come clean it because I spent hours working on the place and still got charged twice what it would have cost to pay a cleaning crew.
I also received a bill from the water company at my new address, which I paid. I talked to the water company twenty days after I moved out and they had not been notified of our leaving. I received on the statement from the Ethans that I owed them money for the final water bill. Apparently we both paid the final bill and since they were late in notifying the water company I have to be the one to call the water company and get a refund. (Which means more work for me for trying to do the right thing and pay my bills.)
The staff was very condescending when I went to talk to them about these discretions. They were this way enough that it brought me to a point of agitation. Again I will tell you we never had anyhting but minor concerns while we lived there, but the unprofessionalism that I have experienced in trying to leave in good standing with the Ethans is enough to tell you it is not worth it. I was an renter in good standing for 5 1/2 years and they treated me rude and unprofessional. If you do decide to live there I would document every time something happens, everytime you talk to them, and make sure you are there when they do the checkout. (Something I felt they would treat me fair in after spending the time I did living there, and amount of time there cleaning, but was obviously wrong about.) There are other places in the Northland that are doing a better job renovating and will be better at providing a welcomed atmoshphere.

Recommended: NO
Overall Rating
2 out of 5
Parking:
2 of 5
Maintenance:
2 of 5
Construction: 2 of 5
Noise:
2 of 5
Grounds: 3 of 5
Safety: 2 of 5
Office Staff:
1 of 5
I'm the author!
Lived here?


User Responses

From: phila Date: 11/05/2008
Same OL' Ethans. SEE MY REVIEW FROM 10-04-2007 I was done, close to the same way. DO NOT CASH YOUR DEPOSIT REFUND CHECK ( or you will lose your right to recover money lost/taken )!!!! You had the right by law to be present during the move-out walk-thru. I'm sure the Ethans didn't contact you for that walk-thru, which is required. They know that most people will cash their deposit refund, and that most people don't know they will lose their right to recover any disputed amount. It appears the Ethans uses this tactic often. H.U.D. or some agency really needs to investigate them.
From: andre62 Date: 11/05/2008
I moved into The Ethans in June of this year. I find the management gracious. They provide water, coffee, treats for tenants. The maintenance quickly; a work order is input. I have received a call to check on the repair. Also the worker leaves the work order with what was done, when, etc. The management team is always friendly and helpful. I feel welcome and is like home to me. I am close to Quick Trip and alot of stores. There are sidewalks, an event room, two pools, a hot tub, and an exercise room. The apartment complex is very large. The landscaping is beautiful. The office always looks great and tastefully decorated. My neighbors seem happy as well. I have not heard a complaint. My mailbox is close and the trash receptable is convenient. Their a newspaper stands. I have lived in a house for 28 years and also been a tenant in four different complexes. I appreciate The Ethans. It is a pleasant change. I hope this response helps others to locate here and try it. I
From: Anonymous Date: 11/05/2008
I find it fascinating that in every negative response the Ethan's receives, a person post telling about all the great things there are. I guess the customer service reps has lots of time to pretend to be tenants instead of working on their people skills. They did use my part of my deposit to pay the balance but then charged me another $50 because I forfieted the deposit. They also showed me three pictures that would be easy to dispute but they where cunning enough to know that it was just enough to irritate but not enough to dispute by going through collections and hurting my credit. They did provide a time that could be there for the checkout but it was in the middle of work day and we felt after spending that much time cleaning and the years of being good standing tenants that they would not rip us off. Apparently I thought too highly and trusted customer service reps. It comes down to they will treat you nice when you move in but when you leave expect to be treated unprofessional and rudely too. Document everything and expect things to get worse the longer you live there.
From: Anonymous Date: 11/05/2008
Before you pay the fees for cleaning of the apartment and carpet you should ask for pictures and if there is anything in the lease or move out paperwork that they gave to you which stated that you needed to clean the carpets. Usually they will charge for pet stains or regular stains which can not be removed so keep that in mind. But if you were in the same apartment for 5 years they should more than likely be replacing the carpet anyways. If you had a deposit they should be taking it out of that which at least means you dont have to come up with the money. But it would be nice to get that deposit back too.
From: Anonymous Date: 11/06/2008
thank you for these reviews. I know all the nice ones are from them. i do read between the lines and there is no way i will move in there. i was going to come there tomorrow.but most defintily will not. thanks again. sorry for everyone that has to live there
From: Anonymous Date: 11/13/2008
I have a question about the $85. Was this taken out of your deposit (did you receive anything back from your deposit), or was it an additional charge, since you wrote "A month after I moved out I get a letter from them saying that I still owed money." Does that mean you did not get any of your deposit back AND had to pay an additional amount? I certainly hope not, since I am currently waiting to hear about the results of my walk-thru after I moved out. (I also spent several days cleaning prior to vacating) Thanks :)
From: Anonymous Date: 12/08/2008
Andre62, please tell me you weren't suckered in by coffee, doughnuts and smiling faces? Yikes! Anyway, to all those interested, I took a look at this place last week and EWWW. The buildings are not kept at all and the people I saw hanging around the parking lot looked suspect. I never go by the attitudes of the people who are showing me around no matter what apartment I am looking into. I mean, who is really surprised by the fact that they are nice until you sign the lease? That happens everywhere. BUT, I will say this place looks disgusting and the apartment I looked at (after I insisted on seeing the unit I would be renting) was a pit. NO THANKS!!!!!!!
From: Anonymous Date: 12/29/2008
This all sounds very familiar. Failure to tell the water company to shut off the water making the tenant pay a bill three times larger than normal (which is taking out of the deposit refund). Shady, shady people. They put on there smiling faces and then run you in circles when it's time to move out.
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