This is now my fourth review for the same property:…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/biz/halstead-burlington-burlington-2?hrid=KWtTIEVo0rPiEzlGeXgHMg
Long and short of it? A nickle-and-dime attitude towards services, the sale of tenant data to brokers, and declining standards mean you should search elsewhere first. Critiques and complaints from other reviews still apply, so I'm only covering new ground in this one for brevity.
THIRD-PARTY SERVICES: Rather than actually address the building's needs holistically or listen to the tenants, the building owner (or their agents) continue to sell out tenants to third-parties left, right, and center. A functional (if old) security system was replaced with a Butterfly System that lacks braille on keypads, has built-in cameras everywhere, and requires you to hand over personal data for the service to function. No smartphone? Best remember your PIN, because otherwise you're locked out as a new tenant. When the Butterfly device screen broke at the package room, it took nearly a year for them to finally replace it, blaming Butterfly for taking so long.
Speaking of third-party services, they also use PolicyVerify.io for verifying renter's insurance. Except because PolicyVerify uses my data for advertising purposes (outlined in their Privacy Policy), I opted to submit my proof of insurance in person to the landlord with physical paperwork. This has resulted in PolicyVerify silently debiting me for renter's insurance I had, and both the landlord and PolicyVerify pointing fingers at each other to avoid refunding me. Bear in mind I'd submitted my proof of insurance no less than four times this year thus far, and I just got another notice from the landlord to upload it again. I'm out ~$60 because of this mess, and nobody wants to take accountability for a mistake that wasn't my own.
Finally, the landlord is introducing two new third-parties to eke out more revenue: their prior rental payment provider (which charged you fees for paying your rent) is being swapped for Bilt (a rewards point scheme that can ding your credit) and Renew AI for lease renewals. You can read up on Bilt elsewhere, but my read of Renew AI is another way to avoid letting tenants negotiate on rent when renewal arrives, and therefore extract more revenue despite sky-high rents. It's worth noting that prior management companies here allegedly used RealPage to effectively do the same thing.
RENT: I pay ~$3500 inclusive of a $125/mo parking charge, which is almost half a grand higher than recent market rates despite being on a twelve month lease and the two months free rent they're offering to new tenants (but not renewals). They're not hurting for revenue, just greedy.
REPAIRS: The HVAC is still seasonal, and takes days to toggle over; be prepared for sweltering autumns and springs when the AC is off because they won't invest in a proper replacement that can work year-round with the heat. The elevators also break more frequently, with Building 9 seemingly going without both elevators for several days a month of late. There is good news here, in that the current manager sent by Bozzuto does seem to be able to get more improvements pushed through more often: windows are finally being addressed after years of neglect by prior staff, and the garage has seen some minor improvements to security (chainlink fence "windows" and a rolling garage door).
VISITORS: Management has made it abundantly clear that if you expect visitors, you should pony up for another parking space. The guest spots are all but gone, and the few that remain are always filled with expensive SUVs. It's so bad that vehicles regularly park overnight in fire lanes, a huge safety hazard. All this despite the garage being less than 50% full on any given night, reflecting ample capacity if the landlord wasn't so obsessed with monetizing every interaction possible.
INCIDENTALS: There's now a Flock camera surveilling the neighborhood's sole entrance and exit 24x7 that neither Halstead Burlington nor Kimball Court seems keen to have removed. Don't expect privacy here (see Deflock dot me for info). Additionally, recent lease changes have all but prohibited the use or storage of eBikes and eScooters on the premises unless they have fully removable batteries. Pet rent remains a thing in lieu of an additional security deposit to cover damages, regardless of time in unit (we've been in ours almost a decade, which would equate to thousands of dollars in pet rent if we had one).
Overall, you can do better elsewhere. The only reason I renew is because I've been trying to buy a home for years, but between being overcharged on rent compared to the market, charged for parking, and the labyrinth of data brokers they insist on selling or giving my data to in lieu of doing the minimal work required of a landlord, I'm getting quite sick of it.
