AVOID - PAID $600 THEN GOT IGNORED!
In June I was looking to relocate and came across this property online. I reached out on June 27th inquiring about a specific unit that was still occupied but would be available before July 20th.
I exchanged a few e-mails with Samantha and decided to turn in the applications (for my son and I). Shortly after that, she responded with an approval e-mail asking for copies of proof of income and IDs which I immediately turNed in. I waited the whole entire day/evening (after a lot of back and forth between us - see attachment) for her to let me know whether everything was OK because I wanted to put down the holding deposit - she just stopped responding. The next day still nothing at all ..I reached out to ask what happened, she apologized and said everything was OK and that I was OK to put the holding deposit if I still wanted the particular unit I was interested in. So I paid $500 for the holding deposit (+application fee almost $100 for 2 people initially) and she told me she was going to send my way the lease so I can sign it by the end of the week which I agreed to.
The next day, however, I decided that I actually wanted to see the unit and the neighborhood before signing the lease I was downsizing from a large one bedroom to a studio, and I wanted to make sure that I did not bring stuff that wouldn't fit unnecessarily (moving is already expensive and crazy enough without making it even more complicated) so I reached out to her and asked if I could see a unit floor plan similar if not the same to the one that I was going to move into just so I could have an idea of the space I was working with since I never lived in a studio apartment before. She agreed and we set a date for July 5th. Mind you she did not offer me to see it until I asked myself first which I found strange. I also asked her whether it would be OK to let my current housing office know that I would be moving out and she said yes.
So July 5th came around and I reached out to her on my way there letting her know I was running around 15 minutes late. I was taking public transportation, and things were running a bit behind on their end. I am disabled, and so my son was helping me get there.
When we arrived, we were let in and Samantha was sitting in her office. She acknowledged my arrival and said Hi. (She didn't actually come out to do the walk-through with me) I was in the hallway talking to the front desk lady and she ended up walking me through the property. I saw a different apartment that I believe was the exact floor plan of the unit that I was interested in. I was shown the property, and I was happy with it. Once we got back to the front desk, Samantha was no longer in her office. It was empty. I told the front desk lady that walked me through the property that I thought everything was perfectly fine and I was happy with it and that Samantha was supposed to send me the lease to sign and that I would be waiting for it and she said OK and she would let her know. After the I haven't heard from anyone whatsoever until the July 20 - the day I was to move in.
15 days had passed, my lease was nowhere to be found, and zero communication from Samantha. On my end, I gave my current landlord move out notice and got very busy packing and cleaning the apartment I was about to move out of. At some point, I was beginning to be very worried that I was going to end up homeless with no place to go and that I would end up putting all my stuff in a storage room because nobody was reaching out to me to tell me what the hell was going on. On my behalf I always went out of my way to be consistent in my follow through and communication and felt it wasn't my job to enforce professionalism and consistency as a potential/future tenant. I did what was mine to do.
On July 20th Ben (their manager) called me and left me a voicemail telling me they were ready for me to pick up the keys. I was shocked. First of all, I never spoke to him at all prior to this voicemail and secondly, I haven't even signed the lease that I requested to sign ahead of time. Samantha knew I wanted to move in on the 20th, about my disability and also knew she was supposed to send me the lease to sign after I left that day or shortly after. I was already busy packing. I needed to hire movers due to my disability ahead of time and make sure the move went smoothly. I was super excited to move into this property, but ended up utterly disappointed. I did finally receive my lease on the 20th after my conversation with Ben :). I did not respond.
I did not cancel my move. nor changed my mind like the manager stated in his e-mail to me. They simply ignored me, then called last min - left me no choice but to move somewhere else then made it my fault due to time limit they were fully aware of in order to keep the $. I have no respect for the work ethic like that. Even if it wasn't about the money, it would be about the principle. read more