Review History for JJoshH

The Palms on University


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JJoshH

Resident ā€¢ 2018 - 2019

11/1/2019

Keep in mind that I'm only speaking about management-level employees here - I'm marking two stars only because the rest of the employees are great. In early June 2019, my outgoing ex-roommate unlawfully subleased his room to another person for the summer - that is, he moved out and began accepting rent payments from a third party who moved in, and neither one of them cleared this arrangement with The Palms. About a month after he moved in, I came home from class to find my front door key didn't work. I went to the office and was told that an employee had seen an "unauthorized guest relieving himself off the balcony," so the locks were changed, and an email had been sent to all residents explaining the situation (I received no email; more on that in the main post). New Guy had invited friends over occasionally, but there was one friend who had been here for three or so days straight, so I thought they were referring to him. It turns out they were talking about New Guy. Shortly after this, New Guy and one of his several guests broke into the remaining two empty rooms using a butter knife and a credit card (photos 1, 2, 3), to use the beds, bathrooms, and host a number of guests. They had used - and continued to use - the common area as their personal space, occupying it until the early morning, being as loud as they pleased, not considering or not caring that I typically had to get up at 6 AM; they hogged the fridge space, left the air conditioner on literally 24-hours per day, and broke the microwave (The Palms has still not fixed or replaced it). This not only violates The Palms' refrain of being UCR student housing, but it violates my safety and that of my belongings. I don't know who these people are, and if there's some sort of disagreement (and there clearly were disagreements), who am I supposed to turn to? There's no avenue of recourse when one of the tenants is not bound by a contract and the management not bound by conscience. The room break-ins happened in late July. When I asked The Palms what could be done, they said to lock the door when they leave, and when they try to get back in, call the cops. New Guy had his belongings in the apartment. This was not a solution, and it also put my safety in jeopardy. After some back and forth communication between myself, my cosigner, and The Palms, employee [person #1] told us on July 29 that they (The Palms) would come in and take New Guy's stuff out, and then leave a note on the door informing him of their action (photo 4). This did not happen. At this point, I could no longer trust the person(s) living with me nor the management at The Palms, but I still had classes to attend, and I couldn't afford to just pack up my stuff and leave. Around August 9th, new guy somehow got a key to the front door. As the only legal tenant, after the lock was changed, only I was given a key. If it weren't for the fact that after my many communications with management that New Guy began giving me hard stares every time I saw him, I might speculate that he somehow copied the key, but it's pretty clear that parts of my private communications with The Palms were shared with this person, so I find it likely that he was given a key by some employee. Please read that again. An email was sent asking how he had obtained a key. The Palms elected to not respond to this particular email. This is how much the Palms respects its tenants, its paying customers. On August 15, another email was sent. The reply from management was that they would be posting a 24-hour notice on the door for New Guy. It was implied to be a 24-hour eviction notice - It was a 24-hour notice of maintenance for "inspecting dishwasher installment and make necessary repairs" (photo 5). This notice wasn't even posted for another five days. It was yet another in a string of deceptive actions. On August 27, 2019, a resident meeting was held at The Palms to address the murder that occurred in The Palms' parking structure on August 17, as well as to address general security concerns, like poor/absent security personnel. The Palms did not initiate this meeting, it required another student resident to post flyers around the complex and start a petition before The Palms moved to address these concerns. A regional manager for Scion (the company which manages The Palms) named [person #2] flew in from out-of-state to attend the meeting and answer questions. I went to that meeting to try to finally get someone to address the safety issues that were coming from inside my apartment, my home. After the meeting, I spoke privately with [person #2] and [person #3], a manager. Among other things, I was told that I hadn't received the notice about the unauthorized occupant because I had opted out of receiving emails. I opted out of receiving email notices and at the same time opted in to receiving those notices by text, meaning I should still have received notices. Regardless of the messaging system, surely it's a prudent move to bypass email settings in order to communicate crucial information, like "There is an unknown person in your apartment. Maybe you're safe, maybe you're not. We don't know," or "We're changing the locks to your front door the second you leave your apartment." Wouldn't you agree? Crucially, [person #2] and I came to an agreement that I would either be let out of my lease or some sort of concession would have to be made for the nightmare of the previous two months. She told me to name "X amount" and then email that amount to her. [Person #2] waited until after my next month's rent was due and then replied that she would not make any concession whatsoever. She made no counter offer or compromise. She claimed her "supervisor" had refused (she would not provide the name or contact information for this "supervisor"). I then asked for a reduced concession amount; she again offered nothing. Twice during this period, the locks to the front door were again changed; once when I went to a dentist appointment. I was gone for two hours, and when I came back, I couldn't get in to my home. I then noticed that my mailbox key no longer worked, either. There's zero ambiguity here: in California, such lockouts are strictly unlawful. After this, I just wanted to move, and tried to invoke the other option of our agreement: to be let out of my lease. Here is part of the mutual termination contract they drew up (photo 6). Notice that they try to indemnify themselves against honoring the concession agreement that was made, and they also dispute my "claimed" disabilities (I am disabled; I can provide more than a decade's worth of documentation). [Person #2] verbally agreed to some form of recompense, only to renege on that agreement; and I was then asked to sign a binding contract to not mention that the agreement was ever made. Shameless. I wouldn't sign what amounted to a nondisclosure agreement, so I'm still at the Palms for the remainder of my lease. I should note that at one point they offered to move me to another unit. This was not a solution, it was burden - a burden on top of a burden. Summer classes are fast-paced and time-consuming. If I had moved, my GPA would almost certainly have slipped due to time lost, and I need X GPA to even apply to graduate school. If I don't meet that GPA threshold, the goal I've been working toward for years is gone - just negated. It wasn't worth the risk and it in no way addressed the overarching safety issues. Students: Do you want to be forced to divide your time between rigorous coursework and navigating The Palms' unscrupulous, underhanded, and predatory management - instead of securing your future and having the college experience - and all while paying for the privilege? Of course you don't, and that's why The Palms doesn't deserve your business. There are other damning components to this story, but the character limit doesn't allow me to convey them. However, I assure all readers that I have not willfully omitted any pertinent, critical, or contradictory information here: this is how it went down. The Palms will likely try to have this review removed, ignore it, or spin a reply that absolves itself of wrongdoing. Please be on your guard for this. Given half the chance, their tactics become cartoonishly ghoulish. I warn you sincerely to steer clear of The Palms.

Review 9 out of 56

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The Palms on University

March 2024

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