First of all, The Commons renamed themselves to SANGER OAKS. Beware, it's the same complex! Changing the name won't change their horrible reputation....





I moved in October of 2006 . . . The management accepted my application right away. At first I really liked the apartment. I like the bar leading into the dining room. The linen closet was handy. But a few months later the place slowly, but surely started to fall apart. So I don't forget, I am going to bulletin all the reasons not to live here, and then I will go back and explain.

*maintenance
*management
*harassing/intoxicated security guard
*pools open in mid-summer
*laundry
*CRIME/FIRES/DRUG USE*

-MAINTENANCE-
When I moved in I didn't have many problems with maintenance until about six months later. When spring/summer hit, I started using my air more regularly. Then I noticed it started leaking in the hall way... then the air conditioner kept leaking so bad the ceiling tiles fell through. Every time I asked the apartments to come fix the AC Unit, they would just REPLACE the tiles, never ever fixing anything. It got so bad and so much worse that it seriously looked like it was just raining in my hallway. So of course my carpet was constantly soaked, and I was sick for about six months straight. All the moisture and God-knows-what in the floor/walls... It was a NIGHTMARE. I remember calling up the managers daily (no joke) telling them to come fix it. They alwyas had an excuse, or the only two maitenance men (who had no CLUE what was wrong) would come in and replace the tiles again. I remember vividly telling them numerous times as they were replacing the tiles that I didn't want the tiles replaced because they were just going to fall through again. I said they had to FIX the UNIT. They would replace the tiles and say they would be back, but of course never came back until I called the next day. So the apartments went under new management in late 2007 (I've already been dealing with all the B.S. for nearly a year) and I advised them of the situation as well. I finally threatened to call the health department to come inspect, and that's when the manager perked up and offered to allow me to move into a new apartment. So I spent Christmas vacation moving unexpectedly, when I really just wanted my apartment fixed. No one lives in my old apartment to this day (or half the other apartments in the complex...).


-MANAGEMENT-
This could go on for days... But I'll try keep it short and sweet. . . if that's even possible.

After the hundreds of maintenance requests I never got fixed, there were some heated conversations between the office and I.

The first time was definitely concerning the raining in my hallway, but that's been so long ago I don't remember exactly what was said. But one thing I DO remember...as it was only a couple of months ago...

I came home from work with a lease violation on my door. I had put in a maintenance request for the garbage disposal, and when you fill it out they have a spot to check if you have a dog in the apartment. I paid a $500 deposit for my rat terrier a year prior, and this lease violation was for my dog. It said I owed $100 for the initial violation, $25 a day until I pay the full deposit (that I already paid). Now when I paid the pet deposit, I asked for a receipt and they had advised me they would put it in my kitchen (weird, right') for me the next day. Well they never did. They stole my dog's papers too. Must have just tossed them. I kept asking them for the receipt and it was another excuse. I never got one. I should have pursued it more than I did... But I didn't think the apartment managers were thieves. So when I get this lease violation a year later (under the new management) I go straight to the office (quite heated, I must add). The new management said that they never received the deposit, it was never recorded in my paperwork, and that I would have to pay another one. Well the pet deposit was more than my rent, and I sure didn't have an extra $500 to shell out. I told them that this was ridiculous and that I've heard of their old management stealing rent checks before (I had a friend at work who lived here as well, and they used to cash her rent checks and spend them). Every time I brought up the old management she tried to hush me up. I was upset and I know that it looks badly upon them but I was very upset. I live alone and the last thing I was going to do was give up my dog. When I advised her that there was no way I was going to pay another half a grand for a non-refundable deposit, I did advise her that I've been here for 2 years and haven't paid rent late once. I told her I'd gladly move out, if that was the case. Of course, as badly as they need tennats, she said she would let it slide . . . . If she hadn't I would have been gone a whole lot sooner..Should have left before I signed another lease, but I was giving the new management the benefit of the doubt.



-SECURITY GUARDS-
The new management (Tarintino) in late 2007 implemented some new rules... They posted them at one point on everyone's door so we would be aware. At first the new rules and updates they were PLANNING on doing sounded all right, like they were trying to make this complex a safer place. These included a 10:00 curfew, gated community, and a security guard.

Let me first explain about the FIRST security guard they had. He is no longer here, but the fact that this guy was even hired tells you something...

The first security guard was a wasted old man, constantly smoking cigarettes and taking trips into dark corners to drink. Eventually he got tired of using the golf cart, maybe he hit too many curbs, wasn't enough space for his brewskies...who knows.. so he eventually decided to patrol in his huge old old truck. It was creepy. Not to mention he had no problem coming up to you if you were just out checking your mail, taking the dog out, walking to your car... He'd come up and just start slurring away, telling some random story when in all honesty I want to be left alone.

I usually have friends that come over to watch a movie once a week, and they are smokers. Well I prefer not to have smoking permitted in my home, and so during breaks of the movie they would go outside to smoke. The drunk security guard would see people outside and come over and harass us. He would wait around corners and as soon as he sees someone outside on their front porch (if you can call it a porch...it's just a walk way I suppose) he would speed over to you and force you to go inside. I had a friend over watching a movie and her tag was a month late on her car, and he saw her outside smoking a cigarette, and she came back inside shortly afterwards. He knocked on my door, and threatened to call the cops to come tow her car if he saw her outside again. And this was all due to the 10:00 curfew. And like I said, I do understand that taking measures to make this place a safer complex is justworthy, the route in which the security guard acted was intolerable. Not to mention that when I signed my lease it said absolutely nothing about not being able to go outside of your own front door after 10:00pm. Well frequently I do leave my home after 10:00 for some reason or another... like many people sometimes do. Just walking to my car this security guard has been driving past and as I'm getting in to my vehicle he starts telling me about how I can't be outside. I advised numerous times that I was merely LEAVING my apartment but he was still rather rude. Followed me out of the complex. One time I was doing laundry and he locked the laundry room an hour early, around 9:00. I asked if he could open it so I could get my laundry and he said I would have to wait until they opened them back up at 6am. I pleaded with him just to let me run in and get them really quickly and he wouldn't open the door. So I normally go to work at 9AM. I woke up at 5:50, waited at the laundry facility (in winter, by the way) until about 6:15. Came back at 6:45... still locked. 7:10, still locked . . . this went on until 8:30 when I saw a maintenance man walking around at 8:30.

They have since gotten a new security guard... Who also works in the office. There have been numerous times where he has been just as rude. I remember getting into my car once to leave (during the morning, a Sunday morning) and he pulls up in the golf cart into the parking space right next to me and just stares at me. Since he has been there a while he has seen my friends outside smoking cigarettes as well, as I do NOT want smoke inside. I never signed anything requiring me to keep my company inside my walls until they leave. If they want to smoke, then they are going out side, period. But as I was just sitting there in my car trying to leave he just sits there and stares at me. I wait a minute, trying to see if he has to tell me something but he just continues to stare so I drive off.


-POOLS-
This is another issue, though not quite as important, but it still means something to me as I LOVE to swim!

So when I moved here I noticed how this complex was bragging about their two pools, well that's good because I love swimming. But, be warned, they don't open them until mid-June. If you're not used to Waco please be advised that it gets about 110 degrees quite rapidly here. If you are from Waco you understand. But I had to get a sticker put on my car (a parking sticker, which I can't get off now by the way)...it's one of their new rules. But I went to get it and had to show my proof of insurance and ownership, which of course I have, (it's like they don't trust you, or something..) and I asked the clerk while I was there when the pools would be open. She advised me it would be memorial day...Well here comes memorial day an they're not open. I call Mary, the apartment manager, and asked why the pool isn't open, I've been waiting for weeks. She gets a little bit heated with me and
states in a very loud tone, "We DIDN'T pass inspection ma'am, what ELSE do you want me to say. They will be open when we pass, we cannot open them without passing!" I advised that I understood this, I wouldn't' want to swim in a pool that hasn't passed inspection, but the fact that they wait until the last minute to do all this drives me nuts. All my friends' apartments have their pools open, it'd be nice if I could swim in mine. Not to mention they don't have or allow patio furniture in our pool areas. I went to check my mail that weekend that I thought the pool was "closed" and there was an entire family, grandpa, mom, dad, teens, kids and babies in the pool swimming. I call the apartment manager to ask why they told me it was closed. Well, apparently it WAS closed but the security is so shotty that somehow that entire family got in and swam regardless ... (guess they didn't care that this pool was closed for a reason...maybe chemicals, perhaps'). I called and the security guard answered and drove over there in 2 shakes of a lambs tail to kick them out. But shouldn't there be a SIGN or something advising the're closed' Or maybe better locks to protect the health of these EIGHT residents'



-LAUNDRY-
So I decided to move outta this crap-hole a few months ago and was looking on here for apartment ratings (I have found a new apartment, by the way) and just checked out The Commons's reviews and in one of them it mentioned how the laundry facilities (expensive, steal your money) don't use hot water. I tested this, and it is true. I had some cotton sheets I really needed clean and I threw them in the washer, paid the $1.25 for a small load (tiny washers) and waited for five minutes and tested the water. It was ice cold. I waited about 10 minutes and tested again and it was still ice cold. I bet it saves them a shitload on their energy bill to only use cold water in the washing machines. I mean who really thinks about checking that' If I hadn't read it on here, I wouldn't have even thought about it. But it's true! And they're dirty. The laundry rooms soda machines have all been robbed so many times they just took them out. There are no soft drink machines ANYWHERE on the property.



CRIME CRIME CRIME CRIME
I won't go into too much detail about this, but if you've lived in Waco for the last couple of years you have heard about the "fires at the Commons on Sanger Ave." There where about six or seven apartments deliberately set on fire. Caused commotion, worry, it was scary to go to sleep at night. Didn't know if you'd wake up to a flaming apartment. The police finally arrested the guy (some 18 year old that looked like a woman) and the fires have hence stopped, but they haven't repaired any of the burned apartments. They haven't even repaired my OLD apartment that I was talking about in the beginning of this (the one with the rainy AC). There are apartments on two different blocks, and I live on the block across from the ones directly on Sanger. I kid you not, about 75% of the apartments on this side are vacant. Half are burned, half are empty, half are BOARDED UP. Like it's condemned. But the fires aren't even the half of it.

The drug dealing here is unbelievable, the domestic fighting is crude. It seems like when there's a couple outside having a domestic fight, the security guard is nowhere to be seen, but if I have a friend out there smoking, keeping to herself under my porch light, there's reason to put a stop to it. I also have had one of the dealers frequently marching up and down the parking lot screaming on his phone how he's going to blow a "m*therf*cker" away, really scary to live next to. I wouldn't be so negative towards the 'security guard' if he EVER did something to put an end to the LOUD, abusive, crazy people outside, instead of bothering my friends while they have a cigarette. It would be different if they appeared one bit concerned for their safety, it didn't seem that way at all. The newest security guard admitted that he can get me in trouble for being out after curfew and a charge will ensue. AbsoLUTELY ridiculous.




I think the last straw for me was when I received a notice on my door to either replace my mini blinds or pay them $30 to do it. So I couldn't find the right ones so I paid them to do it. And the reason the mini blinds were messed up is because their horrible maintenance didn't install them right, there was no center support and with the 100* sun beating down on it the ends of it started sagging. I paid the apartments to have them replaced as I frantically ran around town looking for the right size and never found the right ones. They only gave me 24 hours to do it as well. Two months later I got another one. When I advised Mary, the manager, that I just paid to have them replaced and installed CORRECTLY with a center support, she started blaming the sagging drooping mini blinds on my NON-EXISTENT CAT. "Well, your cat got into them!" I replied, "Ma'am, I don't OWN a cat". I do have a dog but she's tiny and can't reach the TOP OF THE MINI BLINDS. When I told her that I wasn't paying to have them replaced because their maintenance people wouldn't install them correctly, she just never replaced them. So I've had drooping mini blinds that any passer-by could see straight into my apartment for the last 3 months. After that conversation I started looking for somewhere new.


I could go on for days about why this is a horrible place to live. Rude staff, CRIME, maintenance, of course that could happen anywhere but it sincerely feels as if they don't give a crap about their tenants. For 3 years I have never once felt like this is "home" and I hope no one has to deal with what I have had to deal with at The Commons, AKA Sanger Oaks, in Waco, TX.

User Responses
From: emilywaco254	Date: 06/24/2009
I agree I know someone that lives there now and absolutely hates it.

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