STOP DO NOT RENT HERE
From:
-Anonymous-
Date posted:
5/8/2003
Years at this apartment:
2000
-
2003
Where do I start'
Trash Charged for, only picked up twice a week with restrictions on what they take
Gas No gas appliances in the units, but Im guessing its water heaters, still we pay a gas bill
Water we pay an outrageous amount for water, but it is based on your square footage, so if you have say a 500 sqft unit and live alone you are paying the same amount as someone with a 500 sqft unit that has 5 people living in it. (total water bill for the complex divided by your unit size, NOT usage) You also pay for water for the common ares like the pool and watering the grass. Several of the sprinkler heads get broken when the grass is mowed along Dairy Ashford in the summer. Its quite lovely to have several arches of water shooting over your car when you come home after a hard days work. Well it would be if you didnt know you are paying for that water.
Kids I love kids. Mine, not the scores that hang outside my window.
Dogs again I have nothing against them. But it seems that in Wisteria Gardens if you have a dog, you must have two. They must bark whenever another dog in the complex barks and you are required NOT to pick up after them when you walk them.
Drainage Do you own fishermens waders' If not get some. When it rains there are puddles that can get to about 4 inches deep with no way around them. Parking lot and sidewalks suffer from this.
Balconies dont plan on playing marbles on them, they all slope to one side or the other badly
Electrical VERY BAD. Id call it a safety hazard. Lights go out randomly, if your in one of the buildings where they have added washers and dryers, be forewarned do no run a computer when the wash is going, the agitation cycle causes the power to surge you can SEE it in the lights (Surging brighter with the load). Breakers trip all the time (main ones, not in your unit) I have seen the transformers on the poles coming into the property blow twice. I have had to replace all the food in my refrigerator twice due to Scheduled electrical maintenance they forgot to mention.
Maintenance If no, WHEN you have problems, hope its during the day (most likely you wont be there to notice, right'). The after hours service is non-existent, they will show for flooding (been there), No heat (been there) but that is it.
Plumbing Toilets are old and the retaining bolts are rusty, the insides are gross, mold and stained. They back up constantly. I have had it snaked out 17 times and still flushing it is a gamble if everything in it will go down. How sad is it that it can be a bright spot when it does happen' The showers are a joke. There is little water pressure, debris come with the water. And the drains clog up so often I installed a filter to slow down the number of times I have to buy yet more drain-o.
Walls/Paint In or out they are bad. Cracks are the norm. Foundation problems will eventually be the reason they are condemned. Paint inside was applied with a spray gun. Its easy to tell. Its on the carpet, doors, walls, glass and tubs. Outside the paint is a flat dusty coarse kind. It applied over a thousand coats with no prep work at all. It chips and flakes outside. Paint is on every window in my unit, though that might be what holds a few of them in, considering there is no weather stripping on any window. The metal railings have a couple of hundred coats of paint you can count them from the many chips and cracks on the few pieces that are not rusty.
Windows - The Glass door almost fell out. Screens seem to be an option. The skylights cant be seen through, the TV cable (outside) is run across a few of the skylights. As stated before, weather stripping is not the best. They are putting up plastic non-functioning shutters though.
Mold Hope you like mold, the vents are colonies for it. Some one must be running an experiment. Its in the toilets, under the sinks and on your doors. I think it is growing inside the wood on the outside next to the doors.
Fences Some of the units on the ground floors have fences. They are falling apart and most seem that they are being pushed over by trees.
Air-conditioning It works. All AC units are located outside the bedroom windows so you can tell. There is a heating/fan unit inside, it is very noisy and requires new filters every few weeks. My heater went out once in a January. After calling 3 times someone came out and fiddled with it, it started, he went home. It went out again 2 days later. Long story short, the heating coils had to be replaced and it took three weeks with no heat. The AC units out side were wired poorly, there are exposed wires. The slabs they sit on are slanted and not level.
Sidewalks Cracked with large chips and loose stones. Be careful where you step.
Laundry rooms decent sized with enough machines. Open 24 hours.
Picnic area There is a deck under a tree. It is nice but has tons of graffiti all over it, including gang names and markings.
Parking There are three parking areas. On large on that runs the length of the property (Dairy Ashford to Pinesap) and two smaller ones (One on each street). The spaces are narrow. The lines were recently repainted. The main entrance is supposed to be the Dairy Ashford side, the sign on the gate says no exit but it is always used as one. A simple act of slanting of the spaces would have solved the problem of the almost daily head-on near misses that I see. People all speed children ride bikes, skateboards, scooters and rollerblades be careful. If a delivery, repair or for the lucky ones leaving, a moving truck is there, expect your car to get blocked in if you park near the walkways. Expect your car to get dirty. Pickup trucks are used as trash bins. Old English 40oz bottles have been seen on an ever-increasing rate strewn about the parking lot.
Gates This is a gated community. There is a call box. Only took them two years to get my number in to it. Any food delivery or guest Id have to go open it the few times the gate actually worked. They are constantly being pushed open, this throws the chain off and it gets stuck in the open position. They are wide open more than they are closed.
Management Wahoo! A new record of 15 managers since I moved in! Do not believe it when they say they will paint in April. I have heard this from them three years in a row, and other new residents were told this when they moved in as well, look at the buildings.
They are friendly, but soon leave. Anything on tells or promises you is not conveyed to the next. They love to put eviction notices on the door for being late on the rent or on the water bill. I have gotten notices (started calling them Grip-o-grams) from everything from No talking in the common areas (please go to your apartment for that) to a fee letter (Stating that if you litter, $25, if you park outside the lines $25, if your kids are loud $25 if you have too much trash, put it out too early or its heavy $25) to a reminder to be friendly to other residents, Cause we are a happy family here. I would have liked the lines on to be enforced, but that manager left quickly too. The managers do not live on the property. The office does have decent hours, open till 6 weekdays and on Sat and Sunday, so you can get there. There is a drop box for the rent. There is an ugly fountain that works sometimes in front of the balloon covered office.
Location Great. I do like the area. There are 2 grocery stores, a liquor store, KFC, McDonalds, Chuck E. Cheese, Taco Bell , Wendys, Pizza Hut, Burger king, Popeyes and several other fast food places with in walking distance. Terry Hershey Park runs along Buffalo Bayou just a mile south of the complex. Its great for riding bikes, running or walking.
Over all . Dread overcomes me when I pull into it each night. I have to feel sorry of the homeowners that stuck with this eyesore next to them. If you are thinking about this place, talk to the manager-of-the-day then come back at night, the gates are usually open, walk though the property, do it about 6:30 or 7 pm on a weeknight. You will get a much different view. In conclusion; I hate this place. Im so looking forward to the date I can be free of it
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