15%
overall rating:
Parking:
Maintenance:
Construction:
Noise:
Grounds:
Safety:
Office Staff:
MOLD, sewer smells, terrible customer service & management - RUN!
From: bewareofvista@yahoo.comDate posted: 10/3/2008
Years at this apartment: 2008-01-01 - 2008-01-01
4 responses
First of all, I have to say that the "anonymous" people posting ads and responding to the negative reviews with comments are highly suspect as either leasing agents or management. Why would any renter have any reason to attack these stories so viciously?
Secondly, I just moved out of Vista after a 5 month stay (it was supposed to be a year lease). I got out of my lease without penalty, because the management company volunteered this as a "solution" to my problem. I took them up on it for reasons that should become clear. The apartment number that I rented was 1735 (A3, third floor) - so if you are going to lease there, steer clear of that apartment! Otherwise, you are asking for problems!
About a week after moving in, my kitchen tiles came completely loose. I found out from maintenance that there had been water damage to the apartment before I moved in, and that was probably what caused the tiles to detach. They had not disclosed this information to me before renting me the apartment. Then - while maintenance was cleaning up - the assistant used the shop vac and blew the entire contents of the shop vac into my apartment. I had to tell him to stop because he didn't even notice it. The air was thick with dust, and all they offered to do was wipe everything down with a wet rag. Since I have suede furniture and a lot of valuables, I declined. Management refused to offer any additional help, and seemed to think that this was no big deal. Then, about 3 months in to my stay, I started smelling an acrid smell in my apartment. I thought it was dust remaining from the shop vac incident, so I cleaned everything again from top to bottom. It did not help. So then I checked the air filter, and discovered that there was only a 30 day air filter in the unit. They had told me that they would replace the filters, and my lease also states that it is the company's responsibility to do so. I had assumed that 90 day filters were installed, so I did not think it was odd that they had not called to replace them yet. I immediately went out and bought a high quality, 90 day filter, and thought this would fix the problem. It didn't. The smell just got worse, and I started having severe allergies (I don't normally have allergies): sneezing, itchy eyes, swollen nasal passages, and every day it got worse. Then I started having sores break out on my legs. They were very itchy, and I kept getting new ones every day. I went to the doctor, and he said it was a fungal infection. I then told management that I suspected there was mold in the HVAC system, and that I was having symptoms that were unexplainable and uncommon for me. The maintenance people came, and told me there was no mold, and no smell. My friends confirmed my apartment smelled pretty bad. I kept asking management to do an air quality assessment, or check the HVAC system, but they refused. Instead, they looked for moisture in the walls. So I did a home mold test and the results came back that there were elevated and unusual mold conditions in the air vents. Once I told management this, they immediately offered to terminate my lease without penalty. I am currently filing complaints to recover the $513.xx in costs that I have incurred due to this situation (doctor bills, medications, air filters, mold testing, and vet bills because my cat also developed an infection that the vet says is due to allergens/environmental irritants). The management company thus far has refused to reimburse me for any of these expenses.
On top of all of this, the entire leasing office staff treated me like I was complaining for no reason, and have been very condescending and unprofessional. It is extremely difficult to get in touch with the apartment manager, let alone anyone in corporate. I tried to escalate this to corporate, which is the only way I was able to get the apartment manager to return/take my phone calls. Corporate never responded to my phone calls. Just check the Better Business Bureau - Vista at the Park (under Fairfield Properties) has an unsatisfactory rating because they failed to respond to a complaint filed with them.
As other people have said, the sewer smell is terrible and with a year lease you WILL have to endure "above 80" temps for a good portion of your time there, so the fact that it is getting cooler right now (as one response said) should be irrelevant. The trash is disgusting, and for a supposed GREEN COMMUNITY (Vista claims to be Living Green Certified ) they don't offer on-site recycling options to reduce trash waste, which is the first requirement for being certified. They only offer battery and cell phone recycling. Also - if you park anywhere near the dumpsters (which sometimes go 2 weeks without being emptied), you will have to battle the torrent of flies, and they get inside your car. It s disgusting, and it is hard to avoid because my building was situated between two dumpsters. Also watch out for wasp nests!
If any potential or current resident has any questions, you can email me. I will only respond to serious and respectful inquiries. However, if you are the management or leasing staff, be forewarned that if you harass me through this email address I will take appropriate measures and document them along with the complaints I am filing.
UPDATE: All of my symptoms have subsided, and my cat's infection cleared up! We are both glad to be out of that environment. But dealing with Vista was (and still is) the absolute worst experience I've ever had in my long history of renting. They are refusing to pay me a dime for any of the expenses that I incurred through no fault of my own in this situation, so I am pursuing taking them to court.
Last updated: 10/20/2008
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User Responses |
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| From: Anonymous | Date: 10/27/2008 |
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I am curious where you found a 90 day air filter to fit since the size is 14 x 18 x 1 and is custom for their apartments. I went looking everywhere and then ended up going to the office and having them give me one and found out it was custom.
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| From: bewareofvista | Date: 10/29/2008 |
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Youâ??re right - I could not find that size anywhere, either. What I did was buy the closest size filter and then cut it to fit. I first tried a 90-day cut-to-size filter (you can get them at Target for less than $10 - it is a green filter with a second charcoal layer). Then I tried one of the high efficiency allergen filters (theyâ??re white/pleated), size 18x18x1, and just cut one end of it to be 14x18x1. The second option is easier, but also a little more expensive.
The custom size that you got from the office is only a 30 day filter, and it is specifically designed to protect the heating and cooling system from larger particles that could damage it â?? NOT to filter out smaller particles such as allergens (dust, mold, pollen, etc.). If you look at the blue fiberglass weave/â??hog hairâ?? in those filters, you can see that there are a lot of empty spaces. The lease at Vista specifically states that it is THEIR responsibility to change the air filters â?? but as I said in my review they never once changed mine in the 5 months I lived there. But since the filters they give you donâ??t do anything to improve air quality (and actually might contribute to reducing air quality), I would highly recommend buying your own high efficiency filters. They wonâ??t reimburse you for them, though â?? believe me Iâ??ve tried!
The reason this didnâ??t work for my situation was because the mold was already inside the air ducts, PAST the air filter. I tested one of the big black chunks of mold that blew out of the vent and it was positive for â??elevated and unusual amounts of mold.â?? It got there presumably because they did not properly remediate the water damage that was sitting around for awhile (prior to my move-in), and the inevitable mold spores can easily bypass the fiberglass filter. So at that point, the only thing that can be done is to clean out the air ducts, which they refused to do (unless I paid for it, which was not an option).
Obviously they donâ??t care about the air quality of their tenants â?? even in cases of blatant contamination like mine.
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| From: Anonymous | Date: 01/16/2009 |
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I agree with this post. Vista never once changed my air filters (over a 12 month span). I think it is absolutely horrible that their carelessness caused you these illnesses. They owe you more than just reimbursement of medical bills. I believe you should take them to court.
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| From: Anonymous | Date: 04/14/2009 |
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I live here, I agree. The smell is the water - it is reclaimed. Don't drink it.
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