I lived at a J&J for over a year. When I first moved in it seemed ok, minus the fact they don't paint over the patchwork in the apartment. I pay my rent up front for 4-7 months at a time. So the first few months were great. The neighbors loved me and my son, and it was a nice community feel on our block. However, when doing some Spring cleaning I had a bunch of bags of clothes, old toys, and stuff like that in the backyard. It took me a few weeks to find a company I wanted to donate to and another few weeks for them to come pick them up (another review that needs to be done). Maridee came to my house unannounced, knocked on my door tried to peek into my home, and then went around the back and took pictures of my yard. She was extremely rude. I was threatened with an eviction even though they still had 4 months rent in advance at the time. I hassled the company to come pick up the bags. Shook it off and went on with life.
Slowly the apartment showed how horrible they are at maintenance. All my cabinets in the kitchen started to peel because they did not use primer. The metal drawers began to rust, this is in part because they windows they have installed in this place are like fan windows so there is ZERO insulation. I have called in for numerous problems, such as the stove top never turning off (to the point the stove actually cracked), the bathroom window had one of the fan pieces break so I had no window at the top of my bathroom for months, and the tub leaked and the cocking was moldy. After numerous calls the only thing that was fixed was the tub leak. The guy measured the window and looked at my oven said he needed to get parts. Came back and said they had no parts. They never came back again, even after I called in. PS no one will ever answer the phone for you.
I moved out last week. I couldn't get a hold of anyone in time to do a walk through, but magically one of the owners showed up while I was packing to ask me about the trash I had left in the alley (it was being picked up by recology later that week). He took off so fast I couldn't even talk to him about the problems in the apartment (window and stove), I realized while cleaning that not having ventilation about the stove is a mess because the kitchen wall is covered in oven residue that CANNOT be removed. That not having a bathroom window in Humboldt stains your walls and ceilings with rain water. And that NO matter how much you clean a stove top when it's burnt and cracked it will always look bad. The carpets were so old when I had them cleaned (professionally) they started to bald. Having to leave for my mothers wedding. I called them and explained I left the keys in a bag somewhere, but I was already on the road to just go ahead and charge me for the re-keying. Three days later Maridee calls me ( I am doing wedding stuff) and leaves a voicemail telling me they have had no contact with me, and they keys aren't turned in so they are charging me rent... I still have not been able to speak to a person. So I just left yet another voicemail, but this is horrible service.
I wish I wasn't in such a rush when I moved in, and that I had time to move before. I am a single mom, full time graduate student, who works two jobs. I shouldn't have to repeatedly call to have my apartment taken care of. I have to leave town for work again, I doubt I will hear from them before I go. I doubt they will even attempt to give me back my deposit. Or that Maridee will treat any person with an ounce of respect. They won't ever get rid of her either because she is the owner's daughter.
If you choose to rent from them, be really handy and able to fix everything yourself without minding spending money on someone else's property and you'll do just fine. read more