Before I signed a lease, I told the leasing agent I?m allergic to cats. She checked which units had not paid pet deposits, and I settled on a unit, in which she personally knew that the previous tenant did not have any pets. After moving in I had sinus problems, which grew worse each day. By the end of the week I barely had enough energy to make it to work and back, and stay focused while driving. I could smell cat urine while walking up and down my stairwell. I spoke with the head maintenance man ? he showed me how air travels from one unit to another, through intake vents that are connected together between apartments. The intake vents are in the same room as the water heaters, and are necessary to supply oxygen to the gas water heaters. The apartment was untenable for me because cat dander came through these vents from other units. (If you have your bathroom fan on, windows closed, and another unit has a window open, air will come through that intake vent from the other unit.)

I only partly moved in and returned the keys within 2 weeks. The same leasing agent suggested I get a ground floor unit, because a ground floor unit is less likely to get air from another unit. Gee, it would have been nice to be told that before I signed a lease. I lost over $900 in the deal, including $150 for carpet cleaning/refurbishing. That?s what they call their 30-day satisfaction.

I called the manager repeatedly about the carpet cleaning/refurbishing fee charge of $150, despite the fact I left it clean. He never returned any calls, but when he was there I was put through to him. At first he said he couldn?t refund it because it was part of the contract. About 4 months later, he accused me of causing them to have to reclean the carpet, which was nonsense.

I mailed a Certified Letter to LH Perry Investments, LLC, owner of Sterling Pointe. I made several requests which included the following: (1) When a prospective tenant informs apartment personnel of a pet allergy, inform the prospective tenant that pet allergens can pass through the vents from one apartment to another (for apartments where this is true), and (2) For new construction, set aside one building as ?no pets.? I never got a response from the person I wrote or from a follow-up voice mail message I left with the office.

Unfortunately, for people with pet allergies, there is no such thing as Equal Opportunity Housing. It takes about a year for pet allergens to diffuse out of carpeting in an apartment. Washing the carpet doesn?t work. If an apartment allows pets and has not prepared in advance for prospective tenants with allergies, they won?t be ready to accommodate when that prospective tenant arrives. An allergic tenant might get lucky, i.e., if there are no pets in units that have connecting vents. I can afford to move out when it doesn?t work out ? not everyone is so fortunate.

The person I wrote vouches his LDS credentials on the Internet. Despite not responding to me, I hope he practices LDS teachings, including being honest with your fellow man. I hope LH Perry Investments, LLC has trained their apartment managers and leasing agents to be honest with prospective tenants who inform them of a pet allergy.

If you decide to live there, I recommend paying extra for a garage. The unit numbers were on the carports, letting a burglar know when you are not home. Although the manager said there never had been a burglary, I found out otherwise from one of the employees.
vWhRVi5nYYIuEh4W7K3l

User Responses
From: SterlingManager	Date: 02/14/2007
Ah, being the manager of Sterling Pointe certainly comes with it's fair share of headaches. Prior to signing the lease, all soon-to-be tenants are encouraged to walk the apartment and make sure it is satisfactory. All apartments in the state of Utah are required to have a fresh-air intake for the water heater (this prevents carbon monoxide poisoning). We provide free air filters, and only ask that the tenant change their own filter, it would be a fairly time consuming task to change each air filter in all 320 units every month, so we provide them free to the tenants to encourage them to change them. Sterling Pointe Apartments is not affiliated with any religion, nor solicits for or sponsors any religion. Furthermore, we are not owned nor affiliated with a LH Perry Investments, LLC; I would suppose this is why the reviewer never got a response. Can you imagine the nightmare parking would be for 320 apartments if we didn't label the parking? All apartment complexes label their covered parking. Unfortunately, it would seem we can't please everyone, but we strive to be #1. Come see why!
From: geoffhiker	Date: 04/26/2007
The manager states ???we are not owned nor affiliated with a LH Perry Investments, LLC??? A previous Sterling Pointe apartment brochure stated ???Developed and Managed by Perry & Associates, Inc.??? You can visit the Utah Department of Commerce Business Entity Search at https://secure.utah.gov/ bes/ action/ index (remove spaces). On this website, you can type in the name ???Perry & Associates, Inc.??? Then click Submit Query. Then click on the Detail Button for the Perry & Associates, Inc. line item. The Detail page lists an address of 17 E Winchester St #200, Murray, UT 84107. If you go back to the Search page, and type in ???L.H. Perry Investments, LLC??? (including the periods), Submit Query, click Detail for the Active line item with the same name, you will note the same address including the Suite #200 listed. You can also search for ???Sterling Pointe Apartments, L.C.??? (including the periods), and lo and behold, the same address appears. I may have been wrong in stating that LH Perry Investments, LLC is the owner of Sterling Pointe; however, I find it hard to believe the manager???s statement that they are not affiliated in some way. I believe it is more than just a coincidence that they are registered at the Utah Department of Commerce with the same address, including Suite #. (That listing might change soon.) While it is true that large apartment complexes number their parking spaces, for security reasons most that I???ve seen use something other than the apartment #. I used to be heavily involved in Community Watch, helping reduce neighborhood burglaries from 14 one year to one the next year. I was also a board member responsible for security of a condo association. Anything that makes it easier for a burglar to figure out when someone is not home is less risk for the burglar. The manager made comments about the intake vents and filters, all of which are true. It would have been nice to hear the manager respond with something like ???for the future, when a potential resident is identified as allergic to cats, we will inform that person before signing a lease, that cat dander from another apartment can travel through the intake vents, into your apartment.??? A former allergist stated about me that ???He continues to avoid cat and dog dander exposure to the best of his ability. Exposure to dander typically brings on symptoms of nasal, sinus and ear congestion. Also decreased cognitive ability. Symptoms could possibly be experienced in an indoor environment where cats or dogs resided within a one year period.??? Pet dander is so fine that it passes through normal filters. Cleaning a carpet doesn???t work. It takes about a year for pet dander to circulate out of a home. A simple walkthrough is usually not enough for an allergic person to detect a problem. The symptoms can grow gradually over time as exposure to allergens accumulates. In my case it took me about a week to realize I couldn???t live there. These are things that apartment management should know for their line of work. If you have experienced allergy-type symptoms since you last moved and are allergic to pets or mold, you can purchase test kits from Aerotech P&K, to find out if pet dander or significant mold exists in your home. For more information see www. aerotechpk. com (remove spaces), type DustChek in the search window. These kits can be attached to (or held against) a vacuum cleaner hose while vacuuming a 1 square foot area of carpet, then mailed in for analysis. There is a 1-800 number on the website for customer assistance. In regard to mold, some mold exists almost everywhere, what???s important is quantity and type, and that there is no mold growth inside. If you are allergic to cats, you are taking a health risk living at Sterling Pointe. Unfortunately, the corporate apartment industry is much like the corporate shoe industry. If you are a certain size or width, there isn???t much selection.

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates