'm not one to post reviews, but I felt like I needed to share this one. I rented an apartment from Karen Lacks last year. At first, all seemed well! I had a beautiful apartment in a quaint area. The apartment next to mine was vacant for the first month and some younger girls, around my age, moved in mid-June I'd say. They were loud, but not crazy. I was used to college though, so I wasn't too shaken up by the loud noise! However, a few weeks into them living there, I received noise complaints. Karen's assistant, Diane, called me to tell me that I was too loud. I called her back to say I wasn't home as I was on a trip and it was most likely the next tenants over. I never heard from Diane after that to apologize for the mistake.
Then, a few weeks later, my apartment had a leak. I wasn't aware of it until Karen's husband came to my door and looked in my bathroom without telling me what was wrong. Karen followed him inside my apartment. This was the first time I had met her. She did not say hello, acknowledge me, anything.
I had to be out for a month due to the leak and they decided to put me in a Motel 6. No kitchen. No refrigerator. It was the cheapest option they could find. Luckily, I told them as a young 20 something woman I wasn't comfortable living in a Motel 6 for a month and I needed a kitchen so I could have food for the 30-something days I was there. They told me that I could move to the Extended Stay, which I did, but they didn't have a room for me one of the weekends. I wasn't given a discount on rent and was homeless for 3 days as they couldn't find another room for me. (I had friends in the area, so I was okay!)
Many of the tenants were nice, though there were some older couples who weren't too friendly. I went to get my laundry at 8:15pm one evening and one of the tenants walked into the laundry room and scolded me for getting laundry too late (it closes at 8:30) and for running on the pavement (I wasn't, just wearing big shoes!).
Then, a few months later, I had a large box of trash. I couldn't personally carry it myself so I went to pick up some friends who could help me. By the time I got back, the same tenant brought ALL the trash back to my door and told me she emailed Karen that I didn't 'properly throw it away' even though I had every intention to.
At the end of my lease, amid COVID-19, I emailed Karen Lacks my 30 days notice. It was rejected because I "couldn't email it". The notice had to be mailed or delivered in person. I responded that amid a pandemic, I did not want to make unessential trips and tried to follow stay at home orders.
Overall, I felt mistreated by the tenants and company. I felt because I was a younger woman living alone, many people thought I wasn't capable or that I could be tossed around. The apartments are lovely, but staff could be friendlier and less 'cheap' to its tenants. read more
