My significant other and I started looking at apartments in February 2008. I must admit we were somewhat naive in the looking process. We did our research online, but not thoroughly enough, and took a tour through the grounds and in a couple different styles at Whitnall Pointe. On walking through our tour of an example apartment, we instantly noticed how much space was in each apartment and how open it seemed to be. We decided to select an apartment that we hadn t even walked through and signed the lease. We moved in shortly after. Upon completing the initial inspection with two girls from the front office, we promptly moved our belongings in. Everything was downhill after this.
Within the first week of being here, we instantly noticed there was an issue with parking. Our building has the smallest parking lot on the property. They tell you, when calling to complain, to park in the street. But when you pay $10 for a stall, you don t want to park on the street taking the chance someone will sideswipe you because Cortez Circle is just that, a very narrow circle. On their own time they will have someone come out and look at the parking and issue warnings. They tell you on the warnings that they will ticket next time. I m pretty sure by next time they mean by the 10th time. Both of us have gotten warnings for being parked in our own lot, when our permit is displayed clearly on the car. When calling to ask what this was all about, all anyone can say is We are sorry . In the meantime this still is on your record. The parking issue continued to be a problem until we asked for an underground parking spot for a discount. We pay $20 instead of $50 for an underground spot. Though make sure if you get a spot they give you a key AND a garage door opener when you sign the papers. I found out through personal experience if you don t have a key to get into the garage, you are locked out from your car and therefore are late for work! The answer to this mistake on their end was Oh, the key is just an option . Because I am supposed to carry around a huge garage door opener'''
Around the same time as all of these parking issues were discovered, there were tremendous issues with the basement. June 2008 Wisconsin had record rain fall just about every time it rained. We complained about this issue in the beginning of June before all the rain became a huge issue, and they simply said they were aware of the issue and they were looking into it. Three weeks later, after all the heavy rain had come through, we still had several inches of standing water in our basement. There is no ventilation in this basement, nor are there any places for the water to drain. This time however we took this matter to the city. The city of Franklin sent out a complaint form the very next day which we promptly filled out and returned with several color photos. A very nice gentleman by the name of Greg came out the very next week to take a look at our building. Instantly he noticed several issues, the first one being the horrific stench coming from the basement; mold. Once he had completed his walk through and had taken several pictures on his own, he stated there were 16 total violations in our building alone. I can only imagine what the other buildings on this property look like as well. He brought his review right away up to Loretta, the Property Manager, for her attention. He asked that she send someone promptly to our basement to mop up the standing water and put a dehumidifier down to remove any odors of mold that were down there. Loretta s response to his request, Sure, we ll send someone down next week. This was on Tuesday. Greg kindly informed her that she needed to send someone down right away to get this cleaned up. Someone was then sent out within ten minutes to clean up the water. I guess there was not schedule conflict after all''
Two weeks after his original visit, Greg came back out to talk to Loretta about the cost of fixing this place up. The biggest expense on Whitnall Pointes end was going to be fixing the foundation. Within a few days of this meeting several property maintenance people arrived to asses the damages and go about with repairs. We noticed they had started the painting process though there was still visible mold on the walls. We are assuming they took the easy way out and just painted over all the mold hoping it won t come back. Upon starting this project they must have realized how much work this was going to be because Whitnall Pointe then filed an appeal with the city against fixing the legitimate issues of this property. The city however did the proper thing and came back within a few days and denied their appeal. Since this appeal has been denied the entire basement has been painted, again, over all the mold and we haven t seen many people out here since.
A couple other notable complaints about this place.
There is no security for this building at the point of entry. The buildings toward the front have intercoms or locks on the doors, but ours do not, nor do several around this area.
Our particular building has no out going mail box. Not really an issue until you have to mail something. At this point you have to walk up to the front office and put it in a large bin . We asked why our building doesn t have one but others do (the one next to us does) and their excuse We took them out due to 9/11. So some mail boxes in certain buildings are more dangerous than others' Note, the year is also 2008 at this time. Also worth noting, some personal mail boxes are much larger than others. Ours, you can barely fit a Harry Potter book in.
The lockers they provide you in the basement are a joke, at least in this building again. Their idea of a locker is 2x4s and some chicken wire. Also note, they give you keys for a lock on the basement door, but the door is not locked. Again, no security for your personal possessions.
You wouldn t need to worry so much about this locker if you had adequate storage in the apartments. What they give you is again a joke.
The kitchen they feature in all the fancy pictures is nothing like that in real life. The kitchens are small and not workable . I love to cook and I hate this kitchen. The counter top space is also a joke. The counters are probably as old as this building and the cupboards are SERIOUSLY made of cardboard. Also, these cupboards are way too high for a normal person to be able to comfortably reach.
The ladies at the front office are the most unhelpful people around. They have gone through a lot of staffing changes recently (apparently not management) and nobody knows what they are talking about. If you need to deal with someone, deal with Sarah. Maintenance is just as bad. Most of these guys are probably getting paid $10 an hour and have no education about any of this. I say most because not all are bad.
Our deck is rotting out and nobody seems to be concerned about it. Our neighbor stated he complained about his deck for years until they finally came out and replaced it.
We had power issues in August 2008. This was not Whitnall Pointes problem however. What was their problem though is that they have no back up lights in case of something like this. One particular day I almost fell down the stairs trying to get into my apartment because there was no light in the hallways. We called the city to find out if this was acceptable and apparently it is. However, Whitnall Pointe takes the chance of having a lawsuit filed against them if someone were to injure themselves.
There are other complaints I could list but I m sure you get my point. Please, if I can keep one person even from coming to Whitnall Pointe properties, I would be happy. Please just avoid this place all together. It s not worth the time or money to be unhappy here for a year like I presently am.

User Responses
From: bunnehop	Date: 09/02/2008
i live in whitnall pointe and i do agree with some of the issues you have faced, as for the counter space and cupboards didn't you look at apartments to see what you were going to get, i viewed a few and they all have similar cupboards and counter space, i have lived in other apartments and most are similar with their storage spaces. i think you are a little harsh on your review, yet there are some issues at this place but not nearly as bad as some of the other places i have lived in the past
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/23/2009
In my building the basements were being drylocked to seal the outside walls. Management also worked on the exterior drainage lines and it seemed to resolve most of the problems in the wet basements. It's a basement and I just don't store anything valuable down there. The cupboards are like that in most properties that are 30 years old.
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/13/2009
Thanks for posting this. It was very helpful.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/03/2009
I have lived at Whitnall Pointe for two years and I couldn't disagree with you more. Yes, thay arn't perfect but they certainly do great work overall. As you stated yourself, the rain fall that June was a record high. Some water damage was unavoidable, especially in older structures. The damages were repaired almost instantly. You can't expect repairs to be done over night, especially if there are other buildings that are having issues too. Your review is harsh and inacurate. As far as the other issues, you sound like a dramatic nit-picker.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/03/2009
To the person before this, I'm glad you like paying rent to Whitnall. I have since moved out and hear the crime rate in that neighborhood is going up. So I'm glad you love it there. More power to you. yes I am picky, but I did not grow up in this part of the state either, so I'm going to be picky and expect more for my money. That's why I moved out. As far as the water damage, it was done WELL before those record June rains last year. We moved in the END of MAY and there was already previous water damage done. I guess this dramatic of a problem was over looked for quite some time.
From: emperley	Date: 08/11/2009
These complaints are all valid. Why would anyone make them up? They don't. Whitnall Pointe is Franklin's ghetto, that's why the crime is increasing, and, Loretta is incompetent, not to mention insincere and dishonest. I'm not harsh, just honest.

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