Wellington Apartments

 
The Wellington is an apartment complex plagued by numerous problems which are mostly invisible to prospective renters. Only after you are committed to a lease do you realize what a mistake you have made.

My lease started February 1st 2006. Since I have moved into the Wellington I have had numerous problems with the safety, management and maintenance of this community. I hope that my detailed description of these problems will help prevent future tenants from falling victim to this community and serve as a catalyst for the management to resolve these issues.

Safety Issues:

There is excessive mold growing in and around garages. My garage has been scrubbed, bleached, and sealed since I have reported this problem. However a new tenant should not have to bring problems like this up to the management. The garage should have been ready for me to move into, without undue health risks, when my lease started.

There are loose and tipsy steps on the stair case. On the day I moved into my apartment I noticed that a 4??X4?? had been placed under the first step to prevent the step from rotating as people walked up the stair case. Unfortunately the 4??X4?? is not attached to anything and slides out from under the step causing the step to twist out from under you as you try to move up the stair case. I have recently informed the management of this problem. In accordance with the Landlord/Tennant Law of Washington they have 24 hours to fix a condition which is imminently hazardous to life. It is arguable whether twisting/breaking your ankle and falling off the stairs is imminently hazardous to life, but I sure hope they fix the stairs soon.

Common lights are burnt out. Three days after reporting to the management that the common light in my stairwell was burnt out they replaced it. I think that three nights of walking up and down a dark stairwell is dangerous, especially with loose steps.

Pigeons nest in the overhangs. I am a bird owner and love my birds. However when I noticed that several pigeon colonies lived in my apartment too, I became concerned due to the associated health risks that the pigeons posed to me and my own pet birds. After I informed the management of my concerns they found a company which humanely removed the pigeons from the overhangs and put up chicken wire to prevent them from re-nesting. I am satisfied with the way in which they handled this issue, however I wonder why someone had to complain before they took action.

Management/Maintenance Issues:

The office staff at the Wellington is among some of the friendliest I have ever met. They are always well dressed, cheerful, and seem genuinely concerned about issues brought to their attention. Unfortunately I feel as though there is a lack of communication and honesty amongst the staff.

On more than one occasion after speaking with one of the office staff about concerns that I had, I would be told one thing, only to find out later that not only were the other staff told something else, but also the staff that had originally talked to me had no recollection of what they had said. I have since learned that the safest way to communicate with the management is through e-mail or letters and I try to avoid talking to them in person or on the phone anymore.

Community standards are not enforced uniformly. Upon moving into the Wellington I ordered Direct TV satellite service. I was very pleased with my service through Direct TV and wished to keep it. Unfortunately the Wellington saw that my satellite dish extended past the railings of my balcony (by a couple of inches), and although there are numerous other apartments within the community that are in violation of the same regulation, they would not grant me a waiver or extend me any special consideration. Due to the large overhangs there is no way for me to receive a satellite signal from within the confines of my balcony. I have since had to cancel my contract with Direct TV and subscribe to the local cable service, which I have been very unhappy with. What bothers me most though, is that the rest of the apartments which were in violation before I moved in, are still in violation. It makes me wonder what their criteria is for enforcing the community standards and why they have chosen to do so only with me.

Parking policy is unfair and bias against new tenants. When I had chosen to move into the Wellington there was only one available apartment. I was told that the apartment available came with a pre-assigned garage and that if I wanted the apartment I had to take the garage. I agreed, although I would not have chosen to rent a garage if I did not have to. The garage assigned to my apartment was full of furniture though. I informed the rental office about the condition of my assigned garage and they moved me to another garage. (Hmmm?? I guess the garages are not specifically assigned to each apartment.) The new garage they moved me to had excessive mold growing on the walls and it hurt to breath while in the garage. (See first paragraph for resolution of this safety issue.) The management??s policy is that if you have a garage you can not have a reserved parking spot. There are two problems with this policy. First and foremost the majority of garages are not large enough to fit a full size car; so now you have no parking spot. This problem is caused by the narrowness of the garage and therefore the subsequent angle you have to pull into the garage just to be able to open the driver??s side door, which then results in your bumper becoming scratched by the wall. Secondly, once you have decided that your full size car or small truck does not fit in the garage they have forced you to rent; you now have to drive around the apartment community to find a non reserved spot. Sure, the first couple of times this may not bother you, but wait until it is raining, you have just gotten off work and have to park several buildings away. Believe me, after a couple of months of this, you will HATE living here. When I asked for one of the larger garages I was told that my rent would go up and the closest one available was even further than my current rented garage. Meanwhile there is an available garage directly at the bottom of my stair case but they will not rent it out because like the first garage they assigned to me, it also is full of some previous tenant??s property. I believe the Wellington should consolidate all abandoned property in one garage so that their current residents have more available parking.

There is only one community dumpster, and it is NOT convenient to the majority of residents. The community dumpster and recycling containers are located next to the rental office, which is located at the entrance to the community. The Wellington is a huge community. For the management to only have one non-centrally located dumpster is unsatisfactory, especially since they still pass the cost on to us at $7.00 per month. ($7.00 * 240 apartments = $1,680.00) Before signing a lease at the Wellington I recommend that you carry two bags of trash from one of the apartments at the top of the hill to the dumpster, and then walk back up the hill. You will soon do what most of us do, which is load our bags of refuse into our nice vehicles on the way to work, so that we can stop at the dumpster on the way out. Please don??t forget to double bag your trash though. It gets really messy when your bags of trash leak in your car.

The Management adds monetary fines to residents rent. Just when I thought that it couldn??t get any worse, it did. The monthly news letter that came out in March informed residents that if they were seen walking their dog without a bag (to clean up afterwards) they would be fined $25.00 per occurrence, whether your dog poops or not. I always walk my dog with several bags in my pocket and I always clean up after her, it is part of being a responsible owner. What concerns me is the legality and defense of this new policy. What happens when one of the management staff claims I did not have a bag with me' Are they going to confront me on the spot and let me show them my bag or are they just going to put a notice on my door when I??m not home' This new rule frightens me and I am certain that it is going to result in a lawsuit the first time they try to enforce it, unless they are planning on just calling the local Sheriff??s office every time a resident is walking their dog without a bag visible.

The advertised amenities are not available! The Whirlpool has been closed for repairs since I moved into the Wellington. The Wellington is a community of 240 units. If it takes more than a month to repair the Whirlpool I would have expected them to buy a new one. I??m sure they can afford it. Instead the Whirlpool has been closed for residents use since I have moved here. Additionally the pool is heated, therefore, and especially since they have closed the Whirlpool, I would expect it to be open for residents use year round. Unfortunately it too has been closed until ??pool season??. Finally, depending on which apartment guide you read you may find a racquetball court advertised. Please let me clear up this terrible rumor right now; there is no useable racquetball court. I believe at one time the community had a racquetball court behind the weight room; but now the windows are covered up with thick construction grade paper and the room looks like a construction zone itself. On a side note, other local apartment communities offer free tanning bed time and have indoor heated pools, the Wellington does not.

Community maintenance is slow to respond. 54 days ago, during my initial move in inspection I noticed that the handle to the dishwasher needed to be replaced. Due to normal use of the dishwasher (opening and closing), the cracked handle has spread throughout the whole top of the door. I am worried that due to the spreading of the damage they will find me liable for some of the maintenance costs, which are entirely the cause of slow maintenance and normal wear and tear under the presence of a pre-existing flaw.

Appliances are outdated, undersized, and minimally functional. Considering the amount of rent the Wellington charges its tenants I would have expected them to update the appliances sometime within the last 16 years. Unfortunately they have not. Even after you complain (see previous paragraph) months go by with no corrective action. In addition to my dishwasher problems, the stove sits at an angle which makes frying eggs more difficult than it should be, and makes it impossible to cook a good German Oven Pancake. The fridge is not a full size fridge and is certainly not big enough for two people. Finally, the apartment does not include a microwave. What really makes the Kitchen and Bathroom stand out as outdated though is the peel and stick vinyl flooring strait out of the last century.

I do not like the music my neighbor listens to. This may seem like a dumb complaint; however there is inadequate insulation and sound barriers between apartments. Therefore at 0200 when my neighbor gets off duty and comes home and listens to his music at a slightly louder than considerate volume my dog starts barking like crazy, which if the music had not already woken me, my dog certainly would. I have chosen not to complain to the management about my neighbor listening to his music so loudly so late, since I??m sure my dog??s periodic barking can also be heard through the walls and no one has complained about that yet.

This is a long list of complaints; but the worst part is that I have only lived here for two months. Imagine how many more issues will come up over the rest of the year.

I know and understand that credibility is important when reviewing the opinions of others posted online. Therefore if any of these issues concern you and you would like to learn more about me and my credibility please feel free to send me an e-mail.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 05/15/2009
A-holes like this are the reason why I got out of the Navy. I have been at the Wellington for nearly 5 years and absolutely love it.
From: Anonymous	Date: 05/16/2009
How very intelligent of you to resort to calling this poster an a-hole. You must fit right in at the Wellington. I'm sure the honorable men and women of the Unites States Navy are better off without you! Hopefully the Officer who wrote this article is still defending our country and will never see how you disgrace everyone who still wears the uniform!

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