Review History for anonymous

Paradise Palms Apartments


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anonymous

Resident 2012 - 2014

6/29/2014

We lived at this property for 2 1/2 years. Was it all bad? No. Could it have easily been better? Hell yes! Location: Pros - The property is in a great area of town that is accessible to a lot of different areas very quickly. Plenty of stores and restaurants close by. Cons - The property is right next door to a ------ property and you will have to deal with that element. The common response of management with regards to that property is that they can't do anything about it (which is true) but they then act as if them saying that makes it cease to exist. Management: Pros - Kevin (the leasing manager) was always nice. Some people I spoke with did not care for him but we never had an issue with him. Cons - The property manager changed while we were there and it was not a good change. Just a crappy, sleazy, you owe me something kind of attitude from the new manager that left you knowing you could not trust her. Also, catching someone actually in the office can have the same odds as hitting the Powerball....twice....in one month....with the same numbers both times! You get the point. Maintenance: Pros - For the most part, the maintenance guys were always nice and at least the ones that were there for more than 2 weeks were overall professional. Cons - It seemed like a revolving door of guys at times. They seem strapped by AIMCO corporate garbage which hinders them from doing the best thing for the resident at times. There were also times where it literally took months to get a maintenance request fulfilled. Financial Stuff: Pros - It is easy to pay online which can be good or bad for different people. It is worth noting that the ONLY way they accept payment is online now so don't try going to the leasing office with a check. Cons - First of all, they have a late fee of $75 plus $10 every day thereafter after the 1st of the month! I'll note that I never paid late in 2 1/2 years there but that is a ridiculous policy. I have never known any other property to not at least give until the 3rd of the month or often the 5th. It's also worth noting that the $75 late fee plus $10 every day after does not apply when they decide to over charge you. They will hold whatever money they owe you for as long as they feel like. Yes, I had that happen to me and it took a month to get the money they owed me. As far as their deposits go, don't expect to get anything back. The concept of normal wear and tear is thrown out the window and they will charge you no matter what for cleaning the apartment after you move out regardless of the fact that it is flat out illegal to take cleaning fees (for normal wear and tear) out of someone's security deposit. If you clean the apartment and leave it spotless you will still get charged $140 by them as that is their policy. If you pay a pet fee and you get told when moving in that it goes toward any additional cleaning needed (which they expect) when a pet lives there just know that is a blatant lie. It will not apply to anything. They take that money and pocket it for absolutely nothing. The bottom line is that when it comes to issues, especially with money, you will get told 3 different things from 3 different people there. One is typically a lie, one is correct and one has no idea what they're talking about...it's up to you to figure out which. Good luck with that. If you want to renew your lease they will jack up your monthly rates a lot (this is the time for you to negotiate). Property: Pros - There is a good amount of grass and the grounds are overall well kept. Cons - People doing drugs on the property (I saw needles and foil that was used to either cook or smoke stuff). Dog crap everywhere. Laundry rooms are overpriced. Buildings not in great shape and AIMCO doesn't want to fix them correctly because they would prefer putting a band-aid on a severed artery. Apartments have HORRIBLE energy efficiency and the inefficient AC units can never catch up in the summer. Invest in fans...lots of fans...if you live here. No workout facility. No clubhouse. Essentially, 2 pools (which are nothing special and which also get used by people from the next door property) and nothing else. Carport parking is available if you are willing to pay $15/month more for it. In the end, Paradise Palms is overpriced for what you're getting. If you look at their pricing per square foot and the amenities they give you can get WAY more bang for your buck at other properties in the area. The apartments are spacious (1000sf for a 2 BD, 1 BA) which was nice, but you will wind up paying at least $1,000 - $1,100 /month when you add in all the utilities (for that size apartment on the south side of Colter). Water,sewer and trash was usually $50-$60/month and our electric averaged around $150/month (around $250 in the summer months) and we were very conscious of our energy usage and keeping that bill as low as possible. The units on the north side of Colter were worse for utilities. Pet rent was $40/month for 1 small dog (again, a crazy amount...about double...compared to what other, better quality properties charge right in the area). At that same price per square foot we now live in a gated community without the ------ next door, we don't hear our neighbors every day anymore, washer & dryer in the unit, a garage, 2 1/2 bathrooms, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, etc. Again, this is for THE SAME PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT that Paradise Palms charges. So the million dollar question now is would we live there again? Knowing what we know now and after watching how the property drastically went downhill, no way. It was nice early on and when we first got to AZ, but it went down fast and we are very happy to be out of there and done with being lied to. We actually feel bad for the people working there who we liked.

    Review 50 out of 107

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