Be *very* careful, or don't move in at all!
From:
-Anonymous-
Date posted:
8/20/2005
Years at this apartment:
2003
-
2005
I'm glad I happened on this site, and hope I can advise others about Fairway on the Park. This place is a nightmare. The only reason I've stayed two years is because I can't afford to move anywhere else.
First, when I filled out my application, I had to pay an $85 application fee, and security deposit (I think it was $150). The lady looked it over, said I was fine and took my money. Over the weekend, that lady somehow lost her job.
Now, I get contacted by one of the salesgirls, and she tells me unfortunately I don't make enough money to qualify for renting here. Sorry the first lady didn't catch that, but there's nothing we can do, we've got your fees already and can't refund you. But wait, if your parents come in with you and co-sign on the lease, we'd be willing to accept that. Okay, feeling tense now but still willing to go ahead.
My folks come in with me to look over the lease and co-sign. My dad asks her, "So, his credit is okay'" "Yes, it looks great, we're just waiting for his rental history and then we can go ahead." 10 minutes later in the same conversation, he asks again, "So, his credit is alright, then'" "Yes sir, his credit looks fine, we're just waiting on the rental history." Everything's signed and I'm promised a first-floor apartment, I even get a special deal on the larger size of apt for the smaller one's price, since they were out of the smaller one.
I had to drive back and forth for three days to coordinate the simple fax of my rental history from my previous apt to Fairway. I had to stand in the office, on the phone, for half an hour, making sure Fairway had received it.
Come one week later, hearing nothing, I stop by the office to find out how the rental history is coming. The same salesgirl says, "Oh, that's fine, we received it, but I'm afraid your credit is too bad for us to rent to you without an extra $200 deposit." I froze all over. "What' What happened to a week ago when you told my father *twice* that it was great'" "I don't remember saying that." "He asked you *twice*. You even said the words, 'his credit looks fine'." "I'm sorry, I don't remember telling you that." I was furious. I asked, "Okay, do you have a checkbook anywhere here in the office for when you refund tenants'" "Yes, right here." "Please write me a check back for my security deposit. I can't afford the extra $200." "I'm sorry, sir, but the agreement you signed says you lose your deposit too if you cancel the application." "My *security deposit*." "Yes sir." *pause while I thought* "Okay." I stood up. "Thank you very much for your time, I'll just have to absorb the loss. I can't afford any more." I shook her hand coldly and walked out. My car was pulling out when she came sprinting out and stopped me. "Listen, my manager overheard, we know you'll be a good tenant, and we're willing to waive the extra $200." Not being able to afford any better, I went back in.
Now, come move-in time. I still get the same price promised, but oh, sorry, we changed you to a second floor apartment, nothing we can do now. You'll like this one better, we promise, it's just had new carpet put in.
The apartment is reasonably nice, except for the few dead roaches in the kitchen cupboards when I first moved in, the carpet coming up at certain corners and the fact that some sort of yellowish drip-looking stain shows up on my bathroom walls every month or so no matter how many times I wash them. Oh, and the windows have torn-in-half screens. I don't mean torn. I mean half the screens are missing. And no screen on the patio. Which is okay, since my patio looks like it's about to come loose from the wall. I never go out there, and never open my windows. I don't like bugs, but they get in under my misaligned front door's half-inch crack at the bottom.
One thing I will say for mgmt - prompt response to noise complaints. Unfortunately, all your neighbors are noisy, and there's zero sound blocking. But call, complain politely, and the problem will be resolved. Has been for me, anyhow.
However, maintenance sucks. They prefer to leave things alone that "won't hurt anything if I don't fix it" rather than repair something that looks ugly and is obviously broken if it still at least works. One night I smelled something like woodsmoke coming through my vents and called the emergency maintenance number. I got a rude and lazy sounding employee who wanted to know what I wanted him to do about it at all of 8 PM in the evening. My A/C won't go below 80 degrees on hot days. At one point the machine above the bathtub got so full of water it started running out the ceiling panel. Maintenance came by, opened it up and poured dirty water all over my bathroom and didn't clean it up. When he couldn't get it closed again, he drilled two long screws through the lid, into the ceiling, to hold it shut.
On to safety - there is none. I had a young black guy hopped up on something try to sell me a cheap watch for $2000 while I was just going for a walk around the complex. You find beer bottles and cans all over the place after weekends. And our friendly neighbors at the nextdoor Warren Inn are constantly sneaking between the forested stream between our complexes to break into the cars in the backlot where I park. I had one arrested a few months ago, and have scared off three more since then. There's no fence, and no security. One night I heard sounds like gunfire outside, and the next morning found a 9mm luger casing next to my car.
Electricity is hideously expensive, considering your AC doesn't even cool properly. Water's the same, since you pay for the idiots around you in a lump sum. They recently had in "EnerCore" people to make "renovations to our apartments to increase our energy efficiency and save us money". Two guys came in without any notice (after 24 hours advanced notice was promised), and installed some sort of 1/8 inch thick plastic shield behind some of the electrical outlets in my apartment. Not all of them. If they were inconvienently placed, or in use at the time, they didn't bother. Then they installed weatherstripping around my front door, after hacking out part of the frame, destroying the strikeplate for the knoblatch. My door doesn't shut properly ever since, I have to force it.
And, last on the complaint list - why have they stuck a non-smoker on the 2nd floor and ringed the apartments around him with smokers' My kitchen and living room reek of cigarettes now.
Overall, this place is, quite literally, a nightmare. Don't trust them, don't move in unless you have no choice.
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