Review History for MelBrooksfan

California West Apartments


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MelBrooksfan

Resident 2008 - 2009

4/11/2009

Questionable Business Practices

The price was fairly inexpensive. Unless your choice is between living arrangements and food, don't go here. To start off: Right when my roommate and I move in we're able to compile a massive laundry list of faults with the unit. They subtract $200 from your security deposit as a 'cleaning fee.' That amount surely does not go into cleaning the apartment. The closets were half finished (poorly plastered and unpainted walls. The living room closet lacked doors). The carpets had heavy cigarette burns and stains. Chipped tiles where there was tiling. Holes in the wall are poorly filled and the paint jobs are even worse. As I write this, I can look at my wall and see dents for which the filling was half-assed and paint-overs which didn't even use the same enamel type or sheen. The kitchen's garbage disposal was non-functional. Essentially, they just didn't care. The bath tub sealing was poorly done and I'm sure by the time I leave there will be heavy water damage because of it (More on this in another paragraph). Oh, and that so-called high speed internet? Once people begin moving in you'll see it get cut it down to less than dial-up. And now, the management staff. Much like the royalty of Europe, the apartment manager, Kevin Campbell, believes in keeping it in the family. And, much like the royalty of Europe, this has annoying and disastrous consequences. His maintenance staff seems to have been culled from his children and immediate relatives. They are woefully unqualified for the job. After fixing the aforementioned broken garbage disposal, the underneath of the sink reeked for a solid week inexplicably. Perhaps the odor of white trash that pervades the apartment manager and his family simply stuck around. The bath tub was recaulked by one his spawn. I'm assuming they didn't bother to check what the caulk could adhere to as the force of the showerhead peeled it up and removed it inside of 2 days. But, you'll only find all that out if you can actually get the repairs done. Upon moving in, the apartment manager promised my roommate and I a new stove. He said it would be there within a week. A week passes. We pop in to the office and ask what the deal is. It'll be there next week. A week passes. We go to the office. This vicious cycle continues for a solid month until we threaten him with a call to the Better Business Bureau. Like magic, the stove was in the next day. You'll notice on the office door that it says M-F 11-5. That's if you're lucky. The time they actually open the office seems to be much more up to debate than you'd think. Frequently I get there at 11 or 11:30 to pay my rent only to find that the apartment manager's wife (who doubles as his secretary) has simply not shown up and opened the office. I tend to find counter-productive to a business to make it inconvenient for clients to pay what they owe. But, perhaps that's just me. I never hand them payment without getting a receipt. Everything about the place seems old and decrepit. The exterior shingling appears as though it is rotting. The old stove my unit came with was from the 60s. They don't upkeep anything unless they have to. Not at my complex but another one managed and operated by my apartment manager, the boiler failed in the middle of winter. The renters of that complex were without heat or hot water for a full week as it was fixed. The boiler was so old only 3 people in Michigan are licensed to work on it. If the construction is as shoddy as the upkeep, eventually these complexes are going to sink into the ground through their own horrendous foundations.

    Review 16 out of 27

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    California West Apartments

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