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Beyond imagination...
From:
Unhappy10186
Date posted:
2/29/2008
Years at this apartment:
2008
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2008
7 responses
I was supposed to move in here (from out of state, I may add) on a Saturday. Saturday, I received a phone call from one of the leasing agents letting me know that they just found out that the tub was cracked, and they would have to reglaze it, so I would not be able to pick up my keys until Sunday. I told him that was fine, and that I would just have to get a hotel room. We paid for a hotel room, and came in Sunday morning. (But boy I wish we hadn't)
(As we walked up, the cops had two people pulled over in front of the community)
First off, one of the leasing agents was helping someone who was looking to move in. We came in and nothing was said to us until she was ready to walk out the door to show the other girl the apartment. Shortly after she left, another couple walked in (at the time I was not sure whether or not they lived there or if they were touring).
The leasing agent came back in, sat down with the first girl, and said nothing to the other couple waiting. After a little bit with her, she sat down with us. (still not saying anything to the other couple waiting). I asked her if we could see the apartment first (since we were traveling from out of state, and had yet to see it) before we started signing the lease, she said that was fine, and then proceeded to tell the other couple she would be with them in a little bit, as we walked out the door.
Walking down the sidewalk, nothing seems to be amiss. The grounds are well kept, and it seemed to be fairly quiet. She opens the door to a 3 bedroom rehabbed apartment in L building, and we were serenaded by the sweet sounds of the mariachi music coming from the stereo on the kitchen counter, surrounded by cans of spray paint and a tool box. Ok, no big deal, they are finishing up. As we walk into the bathroom, not only was the tub not finished, but it was painted over instead of actually repairing the crack....Hmm...
The second bedroom's electrical outlets were covered in dirt / food, not to mention there was a hole in the wall above one of the outlets.
Furthermore, the kitchen had not been cleaned. I was told this unit was NEWLY rehabbed, and that nobody had lived in it since it was rehabbed. There was food in the oven, and all over the shelving, etc. as though a family of 5 had lived there. There was paint splattered on the laminate wood floring, and the refrigerator had a handful of hair in the door, as well as a slimy green substance all over the front of the door.
The paint throughout the whole house looked watered down. You could see each and every area that the roller went over. All of the edges were painted nicely, and then the rest of the walls looked runny.
The leasing agent had the following to say about everything:
Paint : "Sometimes they don't always catch every spot since they only did touch up paint in this unit, they couldn't see the difference until after it dried." (Funny - because if it was a new rehab, I would think that the whole unit would have been painted with at least one coat, not just touched up)
Cleaning: "Sometimes the maintenance guys or vendors eat their lunch in the units they are working on." (And what, don't clean up after themselves' What'd they do, cook a Thanksgiving feast in the oven')
She then proceeded to say that she should not even have the keys to the unit if the unit was not ready. (Hmm...I guess that means maintenance considers this a turned unit.)
Of course she didn't have anything to say about the hole in the wall. Then again, I don't know what you could possibly say that could excuse it.
The carpet had dirty footprints, the bathroom counter had gunk on it - that looked like hair gel, there were wood shavings in various areas on the carpet, among many other things.
Upon making our way back into the office, the couple was still waiting. The leasing agent went to the assistant manager's office - who had been in the office the entire time! The couple was still waiting, and the asst manager decided that whatever she had been doing the last 30 minutes was obviously more important than the customers waiting.
I, myself, am a property manager in California. So, I understand the importance of certain things needing to get done or finished. However, I also understand that customer service, and providing the proper attention to prospects and residents is more important than anything.
The leasing agent came out and said that the assistant manager was calling maintenance to find out what was going on. I explained to her that I was very unhappy with how unorganized everything was, and that I was supposed to move in the day before - yet was told we couldn't move in until today, and the unit was STILL not ready. The leasing agent then said, "Well, that's funny. Because your file says you are to move in today. Everything says you are supposed to move in today. Even in the computer."
OK - So, dates in the computer can be changed, and it would have HAD to have been changed so that it reflected the correct move in date, since I would not have received keys until today. On the file, written in pencil - it had our last name and move-in date of 2/24/08. I don't know when that was really written. You can call the leasing agent I spoke to and he will verify that I wanted to move in on Saturday. I had to pay for a hotel room Saturday night because you guys had to reglaze the tub, which wasn't even done! He called me on Friday to tell me that the tub would have to be reglazed, and I could not receive keys until Sunday morning.
Well, then...the lazy assistant manager decides to walk her happy butt out of her office. "Ok, I'm going to stop you RIGHT there," she says. "I was there for that conversation and nothing of the sort was ever said." Ok, so first off, I don't recall speaking to her about anything. How rude to come interrupt me when I am speaking, especially after she is dictating to the leasing agent what to say about the mistakes in the apartment, instead of kindly coming out to explain to me what had happened. She went on to say, in a nutshell, that I was wrong, and that my move in date was correct, and the apartment would be ready by noon. I told them I wanted my holding deposit check back, and they told me it had already gone to the bank, and it wouldn't be refundable since I was cancelling, and not them.
Geez. It wasn't our fault that the apartment was not ready. Don't take your frustrations out on me because you didn't walk the apartment this morning, or because your maintenance technicians or cleaners did not complete the job. I told them to keep my hundred bucks, and walked out - as the asst manager glared horribly at me, while making a couple of smart remarks. What an impression she probably made on the couple that had waited patiently almost an hour - which turns out, they were coming to tour their community.
The following day, I spoke to an old friend of mine from highschool. Turns out, she lived there for 3 years. She broke the lease just last week because of the several issues she had when HSC took over there. Apparently, there is never any parking available, since they don't enforce who can and who can't park there. Her work requests were either never done, or never completed, and the people who were now in the office were rude as ever. She said when she moved in the unit was great, as was the staff...probably because that was before HSC took over.
Take my advice, don't move in here. You can see along with all the other reviews of this community that it is not a nice one. (By the way, the manager from one of the other apartment communities in the area told me that Monterey Springs is on the market to sell. Apparently, HSC buys properties, rehabs them, then sells them. So - more than likely, with the new owners, rents will raise. But hopefully they can accomodate residents and prospects much better, and with a much more tasteful attitude.
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User Responses
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From:
Anonymous
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Date:
03/01/2008
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First of all HSC is a great company. Certain employees and owners are the ones to blaim. Secondly HSC doesn't buy properties they are hired by the owners to manage them. So when the property sells it is up to the owner what management property they will use. So the statement of HSC buying and "flipping properties" is completely false. Between the time that your friend moved in and now there has been a new owner who didn't use HSC so it could have been the owner who made changes your friend didn't like.
Also, parking is strictly enforced. There are no guest parking spots...only resident parking.
I understand your being unhappy with the move in proccess which is understood completely but don't take your aggressions/frusterations out on HSC when you're basing them on falseassumptions not their fault AT ALL.
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From:
montereysprings
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Date:
03/01/2008
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I am glad that someone made the statement they did about HSC, because I was about to do that myself. The comment about Monterey Springs being on the market to sell is untrue as well.
As far as your experience on your move in day, I am sorry you had an unfortunate one. As one of the staff members that was there that day, I would like to elaborate on some of your statements you made.
When speaking with you on Friday, we set up a move in date with you for 2/24. We did mention that there were a few things we noticed that needed a touch up after it had been remodeled (such as the crack in the tub), but again that was all being addressed before your move in. When you came in on that day to move in, you brought in 2 people that you wanted added to the lease. We explained that it was required that they be screened first (just as you had been) before they could sign a lease contract. You were clearly upset about that, which unfortunately there was nothing we could do, as that is the policy for anyone renting. I am sure that you, being a manger can understand that. There were several comments made then, that you wanted to cancel your move in. At that time we went over your options and what would happen if you cancelled. When staff brought you to the apartment, there was a portable radio and a toolbox in the apartment. I can definetly understand why that would have been a little startling-I agree completely. However, that apartment was brandnew and had just been cleaned and remodeled, so the comments about food, hair,etc. everywhere are completely false-they are brand new appliances! Staff made no comments as the above mentioned, and as you recall, only made references regarding the tool box and radio, stating that "maintenance must have been doing some touch ups, but that we'd be sure to get that addressed immediately." Once arriving to the office other staff spoke with maintenance and discovered that, that was exactly what had happened. Maintenance had discovered a few spots that needed a touch up of paint and that he was heading to the aprtment right then and there to remove it. We explained to you what had happened, and apologized that it was in there when you had saw it (that is definetly not how we do business), but that it was all gone now. We definetly understood that you thought the apartment was not done, but explained again that it in fact was. It was at that moment that you expressed that you thought it looked like it had not been cleaned, so one of our members went to the apartment to inspect. Once they returned, they explained that it was all clean, and maybe the counters had residue from when maintenance was in there, but assured you that it must have been cleaned up when maintenance removed their items a moment ago. Staff even offered to have you return to the apartment with them, to show it to you. You declined and again mentioned that you did not want to wait to have your other roommates approved. We went over the options of you signing a lease with just your name (as we originally had your paperwork), and then adding them to lease later after they had been approved. It was clear that you didn't want to do that. After both staff members discussed with you for several minutes some different options, and also explained again that if you cancelled your deposit would in fact be nonrefundable, you chose to go that route and cancel.
It is unfortunate that you decided not move in-we would have loved to have you. If you were under the assumption that you could add on roommates without being screened, then I apologize, but unfortunately there are certain rules that must be followed. You mentioned that you are a manager, so I know that you are very familiar with the Fair Housing rules and can understand that we have rules and policies that need to be followed. So it was clear that you were put off by that, and it wasn't the situation of an apartment being unprepared for move in. I am not quite sure why you would make the statments you did about the apartment. The apartment was absolutely beautiful and you were even offered to view it again. I am sorry that you feel the way that you do, but can assure anyone reading this, that that is not the way we do things here. People are more than welcome to come by and see for themselves! Our staff is friendly and always welcoming. Even in a busy office when all staff members are with other people, we always welcome people coming in and assure them that we'll be right with them. Our staff is friendly and our apartments are anything but dirty. You are more than welcome to not only view our model but any other apartment that we have vacant. I am not only saying this to the person who wrote this review (and the person I was just speaking of), but as I mentioned a moment ago, we would love for anyone to come by and see and this for yourself!
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From:
Anonymous
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Date:
03/02/2008
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couldnt agree more with you "unhappy10186". that place needs a serious overhaul. and as you said, if they were so great they wouldnt have so many bad reviews and wouldnt have to justify themselves.
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From:
wellingtonishell
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Date:
03/13/2008
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I lived here when it was called Wellington Springs from May 2004-May 2005. I moved there all the way from Texas so I can understand your frustration. My boyfriend lived in Portland so I went up there about 3 times a year and actually got to see these apartments several times before I moved in.
PROS: I have to say that the price, size and set up of the apartment was great. I paid $525/month for a huge 700 sq. ft apartment that had a pretty big balcony, washer/dryer and a huge closet. At that time they were running a special where if you signed a 12 month lease you get one month free, so in actuality my rent came out to $481/month. Not bad.
CONS: Living on the second floor of a three story!! The neighbors that lived above me had two adults and three children (all living in a one bedroom) stomping around and running all day long. The noise was unbearable that I called security several times only for them to come down to my apartment and harass me. Parking was horrible. I always had to park on the street curb and there was one car that was not working that sat in a parking spot in front of my apartment for most of the year that could have been used by someone (like me) that actually had a running car. A huge van with handicap tags always took up two spaces near my apartment instead of parking in one of the many (unused) handicap spots. I noticed that there were alot of ghetto people that lived here. A couple next door were always fighting and I had to call the cops several times because the yelling was so loud. Children always ran around unsupervised and ran up and down the stairwell in my building making alot of noise. There were many more things that went wrong that would take up a few pages....
Overall, I would have to say that the people that reside here is what made this place horrible - as well as management. If I had lived on the third floor perhaps this would have made a small difference. I ended up moving back to Texas because of this experience.
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From:
Anonymous
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Date:
04/28/2008
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Parking is not strictly enforced!!!!! over the past 2 months of coming home from work early in the morning on Saturday and Sundays and not finding a single parking spot in the complex (nor one on the street all the way up to 90th). I went for a walk around the parking areas close to the office. I found several vehicles (in the double digits) that did not have parking stickers in there windows. One would think that informing security would at least get a phone call to the tow company to come "cruise" the parking lot. dumb looks is about all you'll get. Parking here is a nightmare and as long as your car is broken into on the street it none of any body's concern or care in the office. My opinion of the complex here is that its way over priced, office staff is the worst I've ever met. Much more to say about the place and not much of it is good. If your moving here good luck to you.
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From:
roxilicious
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Date:
05/03/2008
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The staff from this apartment flat out lied on one review. I caught them on it, but somehow, my response disappeared. They had mentioned in the review "sucks sucks sucks" that a person was 'obviously not living there for long because they said 8 apartments had burned down, and it was only one'. I found a story on kgw.com that said otherwise. It was if I remember correctly, 20 apartments totaled. I have moved to the great state of Arizona a year ago. My car was towed from there in their little 'predatory' towing scheme. Parking when I was there was ILLEGALLY enforced, by having a towing company come and 'patrol' the parking lot and 'predatory' tow. It's funny when the residents that live there get towed as well, back when I had been there, and they refused to do anything about it. Sad, if you ask me.
Also, Unhappy, I do believe that there is some sort of Landlord/Tenant laws that have been broken. I hope you have that on paperwork. I would definitely contact an attorney on that to see what your rights are. Also, I would contact KPTV, KATU, KGW, and KOIN news and have them investigate it as well. Not only would it clear things up, but it would show the true colors of the apartments, their management, and their employees.
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From:
Unhappy10186
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Date:
05/11/2008
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I'm glad this got so many responses. I moved into a community down the street from this one and drive by Monterey Springs on a daily basis now. From all the reviews that I have now read, I am certainly glad we did not move in. I know apartment ratings is, more often than not, just a website for angry residents to rant and rave. However, for as many apartments that are there, they have an unusually high amount of complaints. Roxi - unfortunately, there were probably many landlord tenant, or fair housing rather, laws that were broken. However, unfortunately there is probably not much I could do about it, legally. I put a stop payment on my holding deposit check and of course they sent me a letter stating I had to pay it back. I have called and tried to reach the district manager for Monterey Springs at their HSC office...and guess what...? To no avail, of course. Naturally, that was something I completely expected. I wouldn't expect anything better than the service I received when we were at the property. Just a word of advice to anyone who may be looking at a place to live in Clackamas - don't go to Monterey Springs; they have serious issues that need to be addressed by management and the owners before anything will ever get any better. A few suggestions: I've heard that the Overlook is great (staff and property) - they are at the top of Causey Ln. Town Center Heights which is on Steven's Rd. (off Sunnyside Rd.) - you can actually catch it by driving up Monterey ave, once they open it at 90th. Town Center Heights is great. There's usually not anyone in the office, but their units are large and great for the price. I went to Monterey Springs because I thought "Hey, reviews are reviews. Communities that I've managed have had horrible reviews, and turned out to be not so bad..." I am glad I experienced what I did because Monterey Springs needs some professional management that can dig that property out of the ground and start taking control of the residents and staff before they will ever begin to attract residents who will desire to make Monterey Springs their home instead of a transition house.
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