The rental duplex was nice and newly renovated, but that's about the only good that came from this experience. Rent wasn't cheap considering there were three tenants on each side of the duplex- $485 per month per person, which included escrow for garbage, water, and sewer. In the initial meeting at their offices, they told us snow removal was also included. They later renigged on that, which meant that during winter break when the kids went home, we were responsible for finding someone to remove the snow. After arguing with them, they agreed to take care of it because they knew that's what they told us when we signed the lease. Fast forward to roommate agreements and moving out toward the end of the lease. Well, COVID-19 hit and things were a little odd. Prior to that though, one roommate had her boyfriend living with her. It was reported to the company, yet they did next to nothing other than send an email reminder to not do it. It continued and was reported to them again, yet they did nothing the second time around. It seems to me the lease clearly states who can live there. The boyfriend was staying multiple nights a week on a consistent basis for months at a time.
When it was time to leave, they reminded us of how thorough you must clean things in order to get your deposit back in full. Well, that was a joke as we cleaned the heck out of the place and took pictures when we left. We even had a walkthrough with them. But this is where it went south because of the different times where each roommate was scheduled to vacate the apartment. We left and one remained living there for a week yet while the third one had left already but just hadn't removed all of her items. As was the case, we knew the roommate living there was going to possibly leave things dirty or damage things, which they did when they moved out. They put a hole in the wall and likely didn't clean the fridge before they left. So how can all of this, with video proof that the damage wasn't done prior to my daughter leaving the apartment, come back on us? Well, it's relative to them treating all tenants the same regardless of proof that one has moved out, turned her keys into the company, and knowing the damage was done by a particular tenant.
In the end, all three tenants were charged for the one's damage and lack of cleaning, which is ridiculous when the company was fully aware of things. When asked about that, the company simply replied, "we don't get involved in roommate issues." Really? It's a pretty simple thing in that they could have easily charged the last tenant - the only one living there - for the damage they made. But no, they charged all three evenly and each lost about $130. They stated they needed to patch the wall and clean some things that apparently took two people several hours to do. The whole thing is a travesty because we know what it looked like when we vacated it. The last tenant couldn't have made the mess they stated simply because, while her bedroom still contained her things and she had some groceries still there, she wasn't living there.
In my opinion, this is a rental company that likes to simply charge its tenants for cleaning that they should do as standard maintenance after a tenant leaves. Most places we've rented from over our lives have never charged for paint touch-ups or even adding a fresh coat of paint from year to year. This company should only be rented from if you don't care about receiving your deposit back in full. If you don't value money, this is the right company for you. read more