We picked up on this apartment complex by using Rent.Com and read all the reviews here on apartmentratings.com too. We arrived from England on May 2nd and signed a 12-month lease on May 4th, slightly rushed and needful. While we were waiting to sign our lease a guy came to the office to ask for his last month of his lease to be waived as he wanted to move out a month early. He was told somewhat coldly that wasn't possible and therefore would have to pay a months rent when he'd already moved out. Funny how that disturbed me a little, but didn't change a thing, we signed having been warned that our deposit was to ensure we didn't just disappear overnight.

After 4 months we got a puppy, paid the deposits for the pet and happily lived on the top floor in a newly remodeled apartment. It was hot, but we were happy.

But the puppy wouldn't settle and clearly needed a garden. The heat and the long school break meant we weren't so happy there in the apartment. We found a house to rent nearby, in Issaquah, with a great yard and talked it over with Stephanie and Carmen in the office. We were informed that we would be liable until the unit was re-let, but there was only one other unit like ours vacant and given the impression that we could expect to lose a months rent in the move. On September 2nd we moved out and turned in the keys to the office, asking what we owed for September (as the water is added to the rent and so we didn't know the actual amount). We were asked for 4 days rent and water - we paid, thinking maybe that we would lose our deposit, but that was going to be it. Smiles all round for us as we stuffed $1100 back into our wallet and thanked Stephanie very much.

Enter Angela, who had been away when we decided to move out. She was positively nasty, said we'd tricked Stephanie, sent us an account and demanded a payment schedule be setup - threatening us with debt collectors. She turfed our son out from the pool area, said she would not be marketing our unit, there were 13 other units ahead of us and that we owed them $9000. She made us feel pretty aweful and caused stress reactions to my wife.

We paid October's rent, advertised the unit in newspapers, Craigslist, everywhere we coud think of - and included a $200 per month incentive to rent the unit until the end of April (our 12-month lease). People answered but were told they couldn't see our unit. We asked what that was about and the office-person-from-hell said they wouldn't process the apartment until someone asked to rent it. We'd paid to have the carpets cleaned, but they didn't do it until new people signed a lease.

Finally, we got a new tenant, gave them $1400 cash, for the remaining 7 months and were sent a check for two months rent, unused in October. The check bounced! Really returned from our new bank in Issaquah marked NFS (not sufficient funds) and we were charged for that and the fact it made us go overdrawn. A new check came after we went back there (office closed 45 minutes early that day) we left a note, phone messages with the office and the head office in Bellevue. Next day Angela phoned us but didn't apologise.

Now it is behind us, we can forget it. Our advice: read the lease carefully, very carefully and ask friends about whether it is legal. We think there is a clause there that is not legal, they claim you would be liable for any court costs, if you took them to court. Believe me, we thought about doing just that.

User Responses
From: tami4fun	Date: 04/03/2006
You need to call the landlord tenants union and file a report. This is unacceptable as a Tenant you do have rights and what they did was wrong.
From: dbear4u	Date: 04/05/2006
I am a resident of nearly 15 years at Connemara, and have enjoyed living here for most of it. The management has gone downhill over the last six years, and the current staff in the office SUCKS! They are rude, nasty, and go out of their way to make life for residents awfull. If I could afford to move, I would.
From: rne1218	Date: 11/29/2006
Yeah Angela was an issue for me from the moment i moved in. She was nosy and a b word if you ask me.. she is the reason i moved out of that apartment complex

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