I paid a $399.00 move in special which included a $250.00 deposit $64.00 rent and admin fee and an application fee. This move in was scheduled for December 1, 2008. I pre-paid for renters insurance for this apartment and ordered electric service for this apartment. I was advised that my keys would be ready for move in on 12-01-08 at 09:30 when they opened.

On 12-01-08 at 11:00 I went to the Audubon Apartments and stayed there wading through the confusion and unprofessional staff until about 12:30. I was told that the apartment would be ready by 5:00 pm because the walls had not been painted as promised. I told the staff that my movers were scheduled for later that afternoon and was concerned about the apartment not being ready.

As I was waiting two residents came in complaining about separate issues. The first lady stated her water bill had increased. The second lady was complaining about her carpet not being addressed and a water leak in the parking lot.

I went to my pre-leased apartment and noticed that I was given untrue information again. The apartment was not ready. It was dirty, the walls had black smudge marks, the apartment was dirty, it had not been cleaned from the last residents. There were dishes in the dish washer, food on the cabinet and dust throughout the apartment. There was also a washer and a dryer in the apartment that belonged to the previous occupants. Besides these correctable issues there were patch marks on the interior doors and the bathroom mirror was missing some of the foil backing. The patio door lock was still from the previous occupants and the exterior door and siding were cracked and peeling in need of paint.

I left to contemplate my next decision and decided that due to this breach of contract I did not want to live at this property. I went back and spoke with a female who identified herself as Natalie the apartment manager. I explained to Natalie my irritation with this situation in which the Audubon Park Apartments had not done their job. Natalie advised me she could give me a concession of undetermined amount on my January rent. I told her that I was not in the office to get a discount, that I did not appreciate the unprofessional way in which my contract was handled and that the breach of contract was a problem. I advised her that I decided not to be a resident at the Audubon and inquired about what would happen with the $399.00 that I paid. Natalie stated she could give me a $64.00 refund from the money paid toward the rent, but that the Audubon would not refund my application, admin fee, nor deposit. I told her this was unfair because I did nothing wrong. The Audubon did not live up to their end of the bargain. Natalie stated an unwritten rule that the complex had until the end of the day to give me the keys to move in. I addressed this conflict immediately stating that I had movers scheduled and that unwritten rule was not in my contract and I was told my keys would be ready at 09:30. Before I left this apartment office I reviewed with Natalie what they would do to correct the problem they caused and since that was not sufficient for me she repeated the $64.00 portion of rent was all they could refund.

After I left the apartment office I was called by Sarah and offered a small discount on a more expensive apartment. Because of my bad experience with this complex, I declined this offer.

Before I filed this complaint I called the Audubon Park Apartments to notify them of my complaint and to verify nothing changed regarding the rest of the money I paid them. I was advised to hold before I was transferred to Natalie and then told Natalie was with another resident . I told Sarah that I was going to file a complaint about my experience with her company, but before I did if she called be before 5:00 pm I would give Natalie an opportunity to discuss her decision. Natalie opted not to call.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/02/2008
dude.....wow. You need to definitely pursue this.
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/05/2008
They should be ashamed to call themselves managers. It is on here for all to see. What scums! Go to FOX NEWS! There is a lot of BAD Management.
From: smith333	Date: 01/01/2009
It's always two sides to every story. I have nothing but a positive experience with the staff. It's also true that sometimes they inform us that the apartments might not be ready until later. Than we sometimes push for it to be ready alot sooner. Why did you leave your previous apartment. No matter where you go you're going to have problems and there's not a perfect apartment complex. My experience with Natalie, Sarah and Amy has been great and I think that before anyone sign a lease agreement for any apartment they should read the lease agreement. Everyone charges an administration fee and application fee. I find this hard to believe because all three of them are very nice and courtesy. And approach is everything and I can make point and be agressive, and firm but respectful.
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/24/2009
So, so true! It is ironic how this complaintant described her situation because her story is my story. Apartment wasn't ready on move in date. Bad odors, rained in the apartment, chimney fell off onto the patio, very dirty and disgusting. Mail box was constantly broken into; I reported all of this and more to the city of Mesquite, Police department and consulted with attorneys because of this ridiculous mess. I did not try to break the lease because it was too late to start all over looking for another apartment. I stuck it out to the end of my lease. I refused to give them the satisfaction of keeping my money for breaking the lease. I reported all of this to cooperate on a regular basis. Many staff members were replaced including the manager and assistant manager. By the time my lease was up....There was a total turnover of staff in the office. I received my complete deposit plus compensation. They even screwed up things with my choice of electric companies. This was one of the worst experiences I have ever been subjected to...Please do not ever consider that place it is bad for your health and will drive you totally insane if you refuse to fight. I fought, I won, I am happy. When I turned my keys in I praised God for getting me through that terrible time in my life.

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