Review History for Strategizer

MAA Kirkwood


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Strategizer

Resident 2008 - 2009

7/23/2009

Borderline Acceptable....You Decide

The positives and negatives offset and I'd call this a borderline acceptable property. I'll explain my positive and negative opinions, then you decide. First, let me say from reading other comments that crime here is not bad. Yes, it exists, but a local police officer lives here and we discussed the subject. He said the apartments are at or below the average crime for any and all apartments across Houston, despite the clientele. About one break-in a month (day time while someone is at work) and the occasional auto theft or burglary. Stafford Police and residents such as myself are all over it, so this is not a concern. POSITIVES: (1.) GROUNDS: If it weren't for the occasional littering by residents, it would be perfect. As it is, the grounds are very nice and I noticed they won an award for it in 2007. Grounds crews are cleaning and straightening up all the time. (2.) PRICE: The price as we shopped seemed reasonable for comaparable apartments. The bottom line means a lot. (3.) MANAGER & OFFICE STAFF ARE FRIENDLY: Through the problems I will note later, many of which they were involved, they never were rude or seemed unconcerned. They seemed, at least, sympathetic. (4.) LOCATION: Okay, location will depend upon where you work and play. However, as for being close to a great variety of restaurants, shopping, medical facilities, and workplaces, this is hard to beat. Walking distance to both US-59 and US-90 Alt, plus only a seven minute drive to TX Hwy 6 in Sugar Land. (5.) MOSTLY PERSONABLE RESIDENTS: Even the teen/pre-teen kids here are friendly. I throw the ball with them and talk to them when they get off the bus from school. I haven't run into any gangster types. Okay, one neighbor doesn't ever say a word and wears a frown, while another is a Cubs fan (shudder). Out of many...I'll take that. (6.) OCCASIONAL EVENING FUNCTIONS: Seems like every other week, something is posted as happening at the community center. We came here from relatively posh apartments in Midtown and they promised way more than they delivered. It seems they are at least making an effort to bring the community together for events. (7.) AMENITIES: 24 hour weight room with an acceptable number of workout equipment pieces. Also, a free coffee/tea machine (office hours) keeps me visiting. The pool area is clean and people use it. The business center has a copier, fax machine, and internet access. The printer they have would be nice, but they won't hook it up. NEGATIVES: (1.) MOVE-IN PREP NOT CHECKED BY MAINTENANCE: There is apparemtly a company that does move-in preparations and the on-site maintenance checks them afterward. The manager told me that he has noticed his own head of maintenance has not signed off on checking this company. As a result, there were an unusual number of blatantly visible items, one of which was mold/mildew in the air system. This held up our move-in for quite some time as the manager kept turning to the same inept duct cleaning company to keep trying to do the job right. I was actually training the 19 year old kid, hampered by our language barrier, how NOT to paint over living mold (you have to clean it first, THEN paint). Other items were sporadic in getting done as the maintenance guys would lose track of what you told them, never writing anything down, or checking off things they thought they'd done. (2.) OFFICE PERSONNEL HAMPERED BY POOR ORGANIZATION: This one seems to be at least partially a problem in Memphis with their home office. The management software changed and information was lost. I had to print out a cleared check to show them I'd paid my first month's rent. They had put an eviction notice on my door. Then they'd tell me I was all caught up, only to add charges the next week and have to scramble to figure out what they were. Then, when I wanted to rent a garage unit, they said I'd have to wait while they figured out which ones were leased. They had to manually audit and ask everyone to identify themselves as garage renters to figure out which ones were being used. I also personally witnessed one of the staff signing into the computer to help me with something and being booted out, not able to reconnect. This will make life hard as you are trying to adjust and get situated. (3.) PARKING IS UNACCEPTABLE: This is probably the worst of all items as you will have to deal with this daily/nightly for the entire duration of your stay here. I have literally circled three laps around the entire complex looking for an open space, wasting 15 minutes, and finally parking in what I hoped was an unused "reserved" spot. People with reserved spaces frequently call tow trucks to get cars out of their spots, so I hung up a sign in my windows with my phone number and prayed. This idea of mixed spots, some reserved and some not, is not working here. Also, if you park in handicap or fire lanes, they will tow you without even being called. I talked to the tow truck driver and he said they make regular unsolicited drives through the property looking for such offenders and towing them as they find them. (4.) POOR QUALITY FIXTURES, APPLIANCES & BUILDING MATERIALS: The nine foot ceiling and crown molding give the initial impression of good quality. The carpet was clean and fresh paint was on the walls. However the faucets, tubs, sinks, knobs, and other fixtures and building materials are the lowest and cheapest grade available. Here is what I saw: A. `There were chips in the tub and rust showed through. Maintenance resurfaced the tub. B. The chrome on the faucets is so thin that it apparently is rusting underneath, causing unsightly bubbles and pits in the faucets. The kitchen sink lacks a spray nozzle and is pitting, too. C. The dual knob faucet type in the kitchen is not good for cooking either as you have to touch the knobs with dirty hands to turn them on. D. Refrigerator is cheap model, small capacity for a 3/2 apartment. It was missing a part and damaged when I came in. (Another move-in issue.) E. The stove has no timer. Cheapest model. Have to use the microwave timer, which pre-empts you from using the microwave for anything at the same time. F. The dryer and washer were replaced for problems upon our first use. G. The folding accordian-style doors for the laundry areas are NOT IN TRACKS! They just swing open wildly in the hallway. Unbelievably, the maintenace guys are adamant that they are supposed to be this way! I'm tempted to go to Home Depot to do it myself. H. The hallway dual-switch light was wired wrong, possibly since the place was built. Maintenance scratched their heads over it so long I finally rewired it myself. I. The outside closet door on the porch would not latch shut upon arrival. (Another move-in issue.) They fixed it. J. The wood on the door facing is rotting, along with several wrought iron pieces that have almost rusted completely through. K. Poor lighting (one 60-watt bulb) per room. I replaced it with the newer flourescent types and got a 100 watt equivalent. Should have been there upon move-in. L. All door stops were removed upon move-in, resulting in at least a few door dings in the sheetrock. (Another move-in issue.) Maintenance fixed. M. Several doors squeaked and squealed. I went around and oiled all myself. SUMMARY: As you can see, most of the items are not earth shattering, save for the mold in the vents. However, if you have so many small things at once, the cumulative effect is quite large. There is no way there should be this many things upon any move-in. Still, if maintenance improves the move-in experience, the office staff gets a handle on its software systems, and parking is overhauled, this place has the possibility of being a top tier complex. As it is now, I'd call it marginal. If management reads this, take note: FIX THE STUPID PARKING!

    Review 345 out of 394

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