I lived at Great Hills for 9 months. I would like to say that the maintenance staff and many of the leasing staff are great. I had many issues with my apartment when I first moved in. When I was first able to view the apartment prior to signing the lease, the apartment REEKED of stale cigarette smoke! For someone who does not smoke, this was awful! I was assured by the leasing agent that this ODOR would be gone by the time I moved in (a full 3 weeks away.) On the day I moved in, the STENCH was worse! I was so disgusted. I immediately went to the leasing office and complained. I had to call again on the Monday after I moved in to complain again. I was told that they would take care of the smell by cleaning the carpets and air ducts again as well as "bomb" the apartment. This did not help with the stench. I personally had the carpets cleaned and vaccuumed almost every day for the first 2 weeks I lived there. I had to have the apartment "bombed" for a 2nd time. The odor lingered for at least a month after this.

There were also many maintenance issues upon first moving in, such as the tub did not drain, the tile in the entry way was cracked, the fire place was not cleaned out, as well as broken screens and windows that did not stay open. Then the cold front hit with the ice storm and my heater did not work. It would not turn on until it was 60 degrees in the apartment, even though it was set at 76. As well as not turn off until if was 80 degrees. I had to have the thermostat replaced 3 times and it still did not work properly.

I have sinced moved out. Upon moving out, I asked to have a walk through scheduled. This was difficult to do due to my work schedule. Maintenance was kind enough to walk the apartment and let me know if there was anything wrong. I was told that the apartment was great, but the fridge was not cleaned out and I was going to be charged $25 for this. There was no taking it out of the deposit I left. I had to leave a nonrefundable deposit on the apartment, as the refundable deposit was $500. Who has $500 to just give' I had to take time out of my schedule again to go back to the apartment and check the fridge prior to turning in my keys. The fridge was clean! I knew this as I had cleaned the fridge out prior to leaving the apartment on my moving day. It was all very frustrating.

I also had several problems with bugs. Little worms and millipeds as well as roaches. I am a very neat and clean person and this really distrubed me. I believe I had them exterminate my apartment every other week for the last 4 months I was there and still had problems.

I would like to say that overall the maintenance staff and leasing staff are very helpful. The apartment was just awful and I felt the fridge charge was uncalled for. I would not reccommend living at this apartment complex.

Manager's Response
From: Manager	Date: 09/07/2007
Hello, I am the Property Manager of Great Hills. We were very sorry that the smoke smell was still lingering when this resident moved in. We did all we could to try to get rid of it from painting, to bombing (more than once) and cleaning air ducts. Smoke is a hard odor to get rid of depending on how long someone occupied the apartment. We contintually strive to make each move in experience better and each complaint is important to us. We really appreciate the compliments made in regards to the staff! Thank you. Bugs may enter an apartment and can be easily addressed by signing up for our FREE weekly pest control service. Maintenance issues may arise during your residency and we are more than happy to fix any problems upon notification of them. Upon move out damages are evaluated and if there are cleaning issues or damages that were not noted on the move in inspection the charges are passed to the resident-this is standard practice. We do give everyone the opportunity to come back and clean to avoid charges, as we did in this case. Deposit options offered at Great Hills are: Sure Deposit : non refundabel $87.50. This is a one time premium. This is a less expensive way to secure an apartment for the prospect and guarantees the performance of a resident according to the terms of a signed lease agreement. Or... $500 Refundable deposit: Can be paid to secure the apartment. However, whichever option is chosen, this does not negate any damages caused to the apartment.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/15/2008
Are you a pamphlet or action taker? Did you consider offering this person another apartment on-location while your staff handled the stated issues, then reopen the old apartment for another potential resident?

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