Brownstone Apartments also owns and operates townhouses on Benley St, which is where I live. I am a 25 year old high school teacher, and I have been cussed for the first time this week. Not by a student, or a parent, or a boss, but by my landlord and the owner of my apartment. I pay my rent on time or early every month, I never have people at my apartment, and I am very rarely there other than to sleep. I live by myself in a two bedroom apartment. This weekend my sister and brother-in-law came to visit, and we arrived at the apartment in their car at about 11:45. At 12:00, we were all in bed, but I answered a knock at my door and was informed that the car had been booted b/c it didn't have a parking sticker on it, and it would be $95 to take the boot off. There were plenty of open spaces, because my car was at my boyfriend's house, so I had one of my spaces open, but no kind of explanation satisfied the matter, b/c my sister's new car was supposed to be parked on the street. I knew about the stickers, but I had never complained about people being in my spaces, and did not feel safe having her new car parked on the street all night because there are constantly people out in the road drinking and no telling what else all night. We called the number on my lease that said it was the office number and the owner/manager called back complaining that we called so late and yelling and cussing, using language that we never use, and that noone considers appropriate in a professional setting, especially directed towards a customer. She didn't answer the phone, but would call back, cussing and yelling, and then hang up before even listening to what had happened. She then called again this morning and repeated the scenario. If she doesn't want to be bothered, she needs a new job, or she at least needs to list a different number as the office number on the lease.

I have lived in four other apartments in M'boro without problems like this. I moved in and the apartment was filthy, and I had to clean it. The back door lock (where you park) didn't work and wasn't fixed for three months (after letters were sent periodically and every month with the rent check asking for maintenance to fix the problems). There was an abandoned couch that wasn't moved for two months. The downstairs toilet leaked (and I had a $67 water bill). There are Sharpie marks on the inside of the closet door that wasn't painted, tears in the kitchen floor, and burns, stains, and frayed edges on the carpet. Dust was everywhere. The trim looks awful, and the paint is awful. There was sawdust all on the floor behind the bathroom door that I had to clean. There are constantly roaches or spiders that I have to take care of. There is trash all along the fence row behind the apartments and it looks just gross. There was no preparation of the apartment before I (or proabably the last five people before me) moved in.
I was also talking to a cop that was on my street one night, and he asked if I lived alone and warned me to be extra careful there because they've had problems in the neighborhood, and so I was scared since that was a week after I had moved in. `


Overall, I think this place is horrible and you should definitely find someplace else. The rent is less expensive than other places, but it's not worth it to live in squalor and be disrespected by the management. It's a sad thing that she is able to be in such a position.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/10/2008
I lived on Benley Street too back in 2003, as a single mom with a 3 year old. I will never forget walking into my townhouse the night I moved in and seeing roaches scatter everywhere. My oven didn't work, the windows weren't sealed properly, and the parking situation was AWFUL. My neighbors kept very late nights, and once I woke up to someone POUNDING on my door at 3 in the morning after confusing my house with my neighbors. The landlord was horrific. Everyone is right - I got butterflies every month when I went to pay my rent, because you never knew what kind of mood she would be in. She had my daughter petrified of the dog that sat behind the desk. I ended up paying to break my lease early (which was a struggle - it took me three conversations with her and basically saying that I just wouldn't pay rent anymore for her to break my lease) because of the pathetic state my townhouse was in. I couldn't take my daughter outside because there were broken beer bottles everywhere. The mailman stopped delivering mail because of all the visitors parked on the street. It was sheer hell. I wouldn't go back there for a million dollars.

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