tl;dr - Astonishingly unprofessional, incompetent, and erratic employees. For the sake of your time…read moreand sanity, do not deal with this company.
I am sure there are good people at Werentcentralmass that are professional and competent, however, I did not encounter them. Admittedly, I should have read the countless poor reviews of this business and of Joe Ward before I dealt with them, so shame on me. Either way, this is my complete and honest review:
I was shown an apartment by Joe Ward that had been gutted with the promise it would be ready for August 1st. It seemed like a great deal for $1295, so the next day I went into the office to put down a $700 deposit that would "take it off the market". Before I signed the application, though, I had a few questions about the strong legal language in the fine print at the bottom of the application. The language stated that if you were approved for the apartment, and decided you did not want it, they kept your deposit. It also stated that if the landlord decided he wanted to keep your deposit, werentcentralmass is entitled to AN ENTIRE'S MONTH RENT ON TOP OF THAT. This is pretty excessive. I have dealt with shady landlords before, so I just wanted to discuss this with someone before I signed, especially because I was putting a deposit down on an apartment that technically did not exist.
The questions and concerns I had were reasonable, but the person, Rochelle, with whom I dealt was astonishingly unprofessional. She acted as if I was personally insulting her by questioning the legal language. She was dismissive, impatient, and rude. Before the door even closed behind her, I could hear her complaining. I also encountered her on the way out of the building and by the looks she gave her friend, you would have thought she was in high school, and not an adult representing a business. Again, ASTONISHINGLY unprofessional. This should have been all the red flags I needed for this company.
However, Joe Ward breezed in after her and assured me everything was above board. I was uneasy, especially after the receptionist and he argued through the wall about the actual price of rent for the apartment. None of them wanted to "put anything in writing". Red flag number 2. I really liked the apartment though, so I put down the deposit.
After this I was strung along with requests with more documentation, all of which I provided, and then, radio silence. I called, texted, and emailed Joe Ward day after day and heard nothing. I called werentcentralmass several times over a series of days and always got their voicemail AT A BUSINESS DURING BUSINESS HOURS. I was becoming very uneasy as the move in date loomed closer. THREE WEEKS after I put down the deposit, I then saw the apartment listed again for $100 more with the caption "This won't last!" Unreal. I finally cornered Joe on his office phone and he claimed "I didn't get your messages", "I have two Alannas in my phone" "Insert generic excuse" etc.
Supposedly it had taken two days for them to decide I was not approved and three weeks for me to find out. If I had not hounded them, I probably would never have been told. Ironically, the keeping of the deposit is to ensure that YOU don't waste THEIR time and leave them scrambling to find a tenant. Excuse me now, while I scramble to find an apartment. Unbelievable way to run a business. 10/10 do not recommend.
