Review History for anonymous

Arboretum


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anonymous

prospectiveVisited 2013

12/25/2013

As the mother of a college student, I was the guarantor for my daughter's apartment at the Arboretum during the 2012-2013 academic year. In other words: I paid the bills.:) I also stayed with my daughter from time to time while visiting from out of state. Personally, I thought the apartments were pretty decent. Yes, the carpeting was horrible; yes, there were many loud, raucous parties on weekends; yes, there was an occasional dumpster fire. But for a student complex, it wasn't bad. If you compare it to apartments that "regular" adults would prefer as they pursue their careers, get married, and raise kids, then the Arboretum, of course, would be a nightmare. But I think the Arboretum is similar to housing I lived in while at CMU back in the day. However, I do have one specific complaint about the Arboretum regarding the failure to return security deposits. Other parents who agree to be guarantors for children who sign leases at the Arboretum may find the information helpful. My daughter moved out of the Arboretum in early August, submitted her forwarding address, and returned her keys. She was told she would receive information about her security deposit within 30 days. After many phone calls, we finally received a letter in (appx) October from the complex stating that the apartment had been left in good condition and that she would receive all of her security deposit back. (By law, however, the management had already forfeited its right to withhold any of the security deposit, because it did not provide a response within 45 days of the move-out.) The letter said the deposit would be sent in 7-10 business days. By the end of November, after many phone calls, we were told to send an e-mail to the Arboretum's parent company to tell them we had not received the security deposit yet. We did that immediately. By mid-December, after we still had not received either a response or the security deposit, I sent an e-mail to the Arboretum's parent company to notify management that we would be filing a complaint in small claims court for twice the amount of the security deposit, (as provided by law) if we did not receive an immediate response. It's now Christmas, and we have not heard from the Arboretum or received the security deposit. After the holidays, I'll send a copy of the e-mail to the Arboretum's management via certified mail, wait a week or two, and then file the small claims court complaint--a total hassle. We will be asking for twice the amount of the security deposit plus expenses incurred. (Small amount of expenses, but still. And who knows what the judge will agree to. ...) I'd advise others parents of college students to ask themselves: is this hassle worth it or are there more professionally run student apartment complexes available nearby? I think you'll find the latter to be true. (We've had experience with one other apartment complex in Kalamazoo, and it was professionally and fairly operated.)

    Review 9 out of 95

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