Review History for Calladus

Sierra Meadows


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Calladus

Resident 2000 - 2003

10/21/2013

Don't move here. This is a Gary Brown property, and that company is vindictive. I lived at Sierra Meadows from 1996 to 2003. We moved there because it was a beautiful apartment, with a large back yard. The wonderful manager told us that the carpet was old and due to be replaced, but we didn't mind because we had a dog, and kept the carpet as-is, "just in case". During our time there, the Eucalyptus tree outside our front door dropped a large branch across our roof, cracking our walls and making our door stick. After we moved out, (7 years later), Gary Brown properties kept our deposit, and our pet deposit, and charged us an additional $2,200 in "damages". Included in the bill were the cheap window blinds, that they priced at over #100 per window. Also, they charged us for new carpet, and a "broken" dishwasher that worked fine on the day we moved out. Also on the list of charges was the cracked wall (from the tree) and a broken toilet seat. (It was fine when we moved out - it broke when their handy man stood on it to service the bathroom vent.) I offered them $800 out of frustration, they took me to court and "won" a settlement of $400. All together they got my $400, $300 move in deposit, and $300 pet deposit. Moving out turned out to be quite expensive! They told me, "There's no such thing as 'wear and tear'". The photos of the apartment that Gary Brown's representative showed the judge were terrible - generic close-ups of damage, and no way to tell where they came from. I couldn't recognize anything as our apartment. Other apartment managers told me that at the time there was a Clovis judge who was a "friend of the family of Gary Brown", and most small claims cases in Clovis went to her. All I know for sure is that she recused herself from my case, and sent us to a judge in Fresno. That is probably why I got away with $400 instead of $2,200. I moved into the Vintage Woods apartments in Fresno, and lived there from 2003 to 2010 (7 years again). On move out I asked about our outgoing inspection, and the manager just laughed. "You've been here so long that everything is just 'wear and tear'. Don't worry about it." It cost me $200 to move out because they had me clean the carpets. I even got my pet deposit back. You'll enjoy moving in here. You'll start to get annoyed with the management after a while, (Once a month "fire alarm" inspections? Really?) And they will make you hate life when you leave. Your only defense is to document, document, document EVERYTHING on move-in. That scratch on the kitchen counter they said, "don't worry about"? Yea, they will bill you for that.

    Review 3 out of 32

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    Sierra Meadows

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