1 nice leasing agent, 1 rude leasing agent PLUS 23 factors to consider before moving here.
From:
-Anonymous-
Date posted:
11/20/2005
Years at this apartment:
2005
-
2005
3 responses
Well first things first - I must talk about MANAGEMENT!
The leasing management staff is like Dr. Jeykll & Mr. Hyde. One of the leasing agents, Megan, is Dr. Jekyll - she was a pleasure to deal with, was more than helpful, seemed to love her job & take pride in it, & is a very cheerful & bubbly person - if you talk to her about an issue she'll try her best to resolve it. If you plan on stopping by C.L. to take a look around, definately ask for her - in fact, if she's not available & you're really interested in living at C.L., I'd make an appointment specifically with her & come back then. She definately made me comfortable w/the whole rental process, so kudos to her.
Mr. Hyde is the other leasing agent - I won't even mention his name, that's how much he irritates me, but if you talk to him you'll know who I'm talking about. But it's funny, his name rhymes with "Peeve". Had he been in the office instead of Megan the day I was apartment hunting, I wouldn't be living at C.L. today. If you're not a people person, DON'T BE A LEASING AGENT - SIMPLE AS THAT. I don't know what his problem(s) is, but I hate it when people obviously can't leave their personal problems, whatever they may be, at the doorstep - you make yourself and more importantly, your company look extremely UNPROFESSIONAL. Anytime you talk to him, you'll get attitude, sarcasm, you name it. Before I even met him face to face, when I spoke to him over the phone he had attitude, and I was just asking him simple, standard apartment-related questions! I don't understand why a leasing agent feels the need to be snippy with potential renters. The few times I've had to deal with "Peeve" face to face, he was a wretched, rude person to deal with.
Gosh, after all that you probably think C.L. is a horrible place to live, but it isn't. When you compare it to the other places around VCU, for the most part I think most people would be satisfied.
The good:
1. Free cable w/HBO.
2. Free wireless internet.
3. Your own bathroom, which is actually quite spacious for an apartment. The countertop space is ample. There's not a medicine cabinent, but there is a large wall length mirror, which I personally prefer.
4. No bugs.
5. The apartment overall looks comtemporary/up to date even though it's not fancy. I like the high ceilings, and the bedroom space is ok. The windows are the size of windows in a house, so you won't feel claustrophobic. The closet is tiny though.
6. You need a card to enter the building - where I lived last year around the corner on Grace St. was so unsecure & bums slept in the building, so I definately wanted to live in a secure building.
6. One check pays for everything.
7. Maintanance is pretty quick - I think there's 3 guys & a girl - the older gentleman is very nice, will speak to you in the hall, etc. I wish I could think of his name right now but I'm drawing a blank! Very friendly . . . the other ones, not so much.
8. There's a little computer lab on the 3rd floor w/internet access & a printer (bring your own paper though) - I thought that was a nice touch, so if your computer ever breaks down, at least you won't have to trek to the library or school of business lab.
9. There are soda & snack machines on both floors. They haven't taken my money yet, and my snacks haven't gotten stuck inside of the machine.
10. If you park on the street, you won't have a problem finding spots on the weekend since most of the people here go home or somewhere else for the weekend.
11. The floors are totally carpeted (except for the kitchen, of course).
12. The the air is cool & the heat is toasty.
13. It takes 10 minutes or so to walk to classes & Starbucks is exactly 53 footsteps away from the building.
14. Locks are on the bedroom doors, so you don't have to worry about whether or not your roommate is a klepto.
The bad:
1. The fire alarm goes off at least once a week . . . so when you're driving down Broad St. past C.L. & you're wondering why you see 20 people standing in front of the building, that's why.
2. Sometimes the internet gets slow or it's hard to get a good connection - I assume this varies according to where exactly you live in the building. I am satisfied w/my connection, but I've heard others complain.
3. The water pressure is horrible. I heard through maintenance that it's bad on the second floor & worse on the third floor. I installed my own shower head, & the pressure in the bathroom is now good, but the kitchen sink's pressure is really horrible. You would think something COULD be done about it, but whatever.
4. The walls are paper thin - I can make out my neighbors conversations when they speak in a moderate/semi loud volume.
5. Parking . . . I think you should really spend the extra money to get in the garage, especially with basketball season starting up - GOOD LUCK FINDING AN ON-STREET SPOT AFTER 6 ON GAME NIGHT! Besides, if you have a roommate, the cost is 45 bucks for each of you monthly to park in the garage (90 if you go at it alone - OUCH). You'll have a guaranteed spot & you won't have to worry about your car so much if you are one of those people who doesn't really drive their cars during the school week. Unfortunately it's hard to get in the garage - I've been waiting forever. When you go in the garage (the dumpsters are in there so you'll go in the garage eventually), it's always half empty, no matter what time it is. If you choose to park on the street, good luck to you. Bowe St. is ok, but once you start parking on some of the streets beside Bowe & Kroger Grocery Store, the neighborhood looks sketchy. So just be aware of your surroundings, take your valuables out of your car, & walk briskly to the apartments if you're by yourself. Oh yeah, like others have mentioned, your 2 parking spaces is really just one long one - you park behind your roommate, which sucks if they have a problem with you moving their car or vice versa.
6. The homeless people don't really walk down this direction of Broad St, but there is one of those temp agencies DIRECTLY across the street from the building, so people do hang around in front of that building, starting at 3/4 am. If you're a girl, you will hear "Hey shorty/what up ma/can I holla at you" but those guys don't usually move from in front of the temp. agency. This is another reason why you should consider parking in the garage, especially if you tend to leave alot, you work odd hours, etc - Broad & Bowe Streets are NOT streets you want to be walking down during the middle of the night.
7. People dump other people's laundry out on top of the dryers if they need to use a dryer. There's a laundry room on both floors, which is good. I don't know how often machines are broken since I've never ever washed my clothes at C.L. If you choose to wash, be aware of your wash/dry times - I wouldn't be surprised if some trifling residents go through some people's clothes in order to "upgrade" their wardrobes.
8. People smoke in the lobby. There is a glass enclosure between the lobby & the steps though. Also, trifling residents leave their undesirable/unwanted mail around the mailbox & on the floor. Usually by the next morning, maintanance will have cleaned up the area.
9. You'll always hear sirens wailing down the street, but you are living on Richmond's longest street, in an urban area.
So yeah, this was pretty long but my upset tummy is keeping me up & I hope what I typed helps someone. As far as recommending the apartments to someone else, I can't say that I would & I can't say that I would not (I wish there was a neutral option, but oh well). It depends on your needs, what you can live with, and what you absolutely can't tolerate.
However, if you deal with "Mr. Hyde" aka "Peeve", I would definately ask myself if I want to give my business and money to C.L. I think I've made it quite obvious that he was my biggest negative factor about living at Coliseum Lofts, but after you sign the lease hopefully you won't have to deal his unprofessionalism or even see him again. After everything was said & done lease wise, he pretty much said as long as I didn't violate the community rules, he and I wouldn't have to see each other. How rude is that' If situations like that are going to be the main reason why you'll continue to look elsewhere, there are a couple other "all utilities included" (and places that pay everything but electric) apartments around the VCU area. I hope all this helps someone!
|
|
I'm the author!
Free estimates on moving trucks
Free quotes on movers
