October 9, 2007

This letter serves as an official complaint, and also a story regarding the level of respect, customer service, care, and professionalism of Clermont Apartments, specifically addressing the unprofessional work manner of Manager Heather Lies.

I moved into one of the units of Clermont Apartments on September 22, 2007. I have placed a tremendous amount of trust and expectation that the unit would be clean and ready for a new tenant to reside. I made a BIG mistake in signing a 1-year lease contract without doing a walk-through first. Why' Because they aren t supposed to move me in if they ARE NOT ready! I walked into my new unit to find a cracked window and broken screen (they didn t tell me about this!), existing marks on the hall-way wall, black spots that appear to resemble mold inside the bathroom drawers, and spider webs on the upper ceiling corner in the living room. Pictures are available for your viewing interests. These issues can be fixed; however, this part of the story proves one of my points: the lack of care that Clermont s staff gives to tenants.

After looking at the issues I had at hand, I asked my boyfriend to drop by 2 days later to have a little chat with the manager to assess the situation and maybe find a solution to deal with the problems. I understand completely the company s policy of only discussing issues with only the person who is on the lease; however, there are many ways, PROFESSIONALLY, to send that message across. Heather Lies, manager of Clermont Apartments, instead of taking the PROFESSIONAL approach, decided to cut cold on my boyfriend. I would have done this task myself; unfortunately, I had jury duty that lasted a whole entire month in September and beginning of October. She told him, Shut up, you re not on the lease; I don t have to talk to you, get out of my office! My boyfriend didn t get angry because of the policy, we respect that policy and we re happy Heather is upholding that policy, but is that the way she communicates that message across' By giving my guest lack of respect, it paints a picture that she is unprofessional, doesn t give a damn about who comes in and who walks out of the apartment complex. Furthermore, when my boyfriend asked for the name and number of HER manager, she refused to give it at. If she isn t ashamed of what had happened, why refuse' My boyfriend turned around and asked the maintenance manager, Fernando, for the name of Heather s manager. Heather barked at Fernando, You don t have to tell him anything Fernando! In the end, she gave my boyfriend her manager s name and number with a smirk and said, Call him.

I moved out of the apartment within 1 week. I moved in on a Saturday, and by the following Sunday, September 30th, I returned the keys to the office and left. I am asked to pay the penalty fine for breaking the lease when I didn t move out VOLUNTEERILY. The apartment wasn t ready when I moved in, they didn t tell me the window had huge crack and it was broken, and they treated my boyfriend in a disrespectful and unprofessional manner. Heather claimed she knew about the broken window AFTER I moved in, so this means that she didn t do an inspection on my behalf prior to my move in date. If this is the way I am treated right now, as a NEW tenant, how will it be when I am already residing there' I couldn t take the risk. If the unit wasn t ready to be turned over to a new tenant, why not give me a phone call and delay my move-in date' Don t I have rights as a tenant to move into a clean, semi-polished and new apartment' Don t I have all the rights to know what is wrong with my apartment prior to moving in'

I am disappointed in the lack of care Clermont gives to new renters, such as me. However, I am much more disappointed with Heather s unprofessional work manner. I am sharing my story to those who are thinking of renting Clermont Apartments and having Heather Lies working on your behalf. Do a move-in walk through and take pictures, pictures, pictures. Do not move in or sign the lease until you re COMPLETELY satisfied with your apartment. In my case, I already had a U-Haul waiting to be unloaded, and I had placed too much trust in the staff at Clermont. I made a mistake and I sharing my story so that people can learn from my experience and NOT make the same mistake I did.

**Other problems include:
1. Hearing the above neighbor walking back and forth. Not just footsteps, the floor CREAKS!
2. The dryer stopped working the 4th day I was there.
3. Cabinet doors DO NOT close all the way.
4. Front door does not close tightly--air could pass through. There were SO MANY dirty marks on the front door!
5. No patio/porch screen on the back.
6. One of the blinds for on the porch door had a screw in it! I took picture!

Please look at the apartment from head to toe, do a complete inspection. Mark everything, take pictures because they will come back to tell you your security deposit won't be refunded if you don't have proof these issues exist prior to your moving in!! BE AWARE! My advice, don't move here. Find somewhere else where management is more professional because if you really look at it, management is EVERYTHING!

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 10/09/2007
I would have to completely agree with everything that was said about Heather! She is extremely unprofessional and rude! I also asked for the corporate phone number numerous times and she refused to provide it. I lived at Clermont for nearly 3 years, I loved my apartment, but when you are treated with so much disrespect, it was time to go! Yes there were maintenance issues, such as very very old washer/dryer, which never worked properly, but management would NEVER listen to your concerns. They also never answered the office phone. My lease was up in about 6 months after the new management took over and I am glad I moved. Spend your money else where!

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates