We really enjoyed the location and surrounding area of Palmetto Pointe Apartments, but…read moreunfortunately, our experience with the property itself and management was extremely disappointing. After living here and especially after going through the move-out process, I would strongly recommend that prospective residents ask A LOT of questions and get policies in writing before signing a lease.
First, the apartments themselves are outdated. When we moved in, our apartment had a noticeable cigarette smell, and the dishwasher was broken for MONTHS. For the amount residents are expected to pay, we expected the apartment and appliances to be better maintained.
Pest control was another major issue. Our apartment went almost NINE MONTHS without regular pest control because they were apparently afraid to enter due to our two Labrador Retrievers. Our dogs are ALWAYS crated when we are not home. We were told that if pest control heard barking, they would not enter the apartment. This made absolutely no sense to us, especially considering management sends messages specifically telling residents to crate their dogs when pest control is scheduled to enter. Our dogs WERE crated. Simply hearing barking does not mean dogs are loose in the apartment. They could have opened the door and confirmed that the dogs were secured rather than repeatedly skipping our unit for months.
We also had an issue where a dog was apparently urinating on the concrete somewhere on the property. Management repeatedly contacted us for asking if it was our dogs, despite us telling them multiple times that it was not. Eventually, my partner had to call and tell them to stop contacting us about it because we had already answered the question repeatedly. It reached a point where it felt like harassment rather than a reasonable attempt to resolve an issue.
Pet owners should also be VERY aware of the costs and policies here. We paid a $350 pet fee PER PET. They also swab dogs for DNA so that if dog waste is found on the property, it can be tested and the owner can be charged.
The biggest shock came when we moved out. We were charged approximately $1,000 for carpet replacement, which was taken from our security deposit. We were told that management pulls up the carpet after move-out to inspect underneath for staining and that staining--even something such as a spilled drink--can result in the carpet being replaced. This was absolutely not something we felt was clearly communicated to us beforehand. If you have pets, I would strongly recommend getting a detailed explanation IN WRITING about exactly what circumstances will result in carpet replacement before signing your lease.
What makes this even more frustrating is how much effort we put into leaving the apartment in good condition. We PAID to have the apartment professionally cleaned, and we personally went back through the unit, puttied holes, and primed areas that needed attention. Despite all of that, they still kept our ENTIRE security deposit.
On top of the carpet charge, we were charged nearly $300 for blinds, which we found absurdly excessive.
We understand that tenants are responsible for legitimate damages beyond normal wear and tear, and we fully expected to pay for anything we were actually responsible for. What we did not expect was to professionally clean the apartment, make repairs ourselves, and still lose our entire security deposit while being hit with charges that we felt were excessive and policies that were not clearly communicated beforehand.
It is unfortunate because we genuinely enjoyed the area and could have looked back positively on our time living here. Instead, the repeated management issues, lack of pest control, maintenance problems, treatment regarding our dogs, and especially the move-out charges completely overshadowed the positives.
If you are considering Palmetto Pointe, particularly if you own pets, I strongly recommend documenting EVERYTHING, taking detailed move-in and move-out photos/videos, keeping copies of every communication, and getting their carpet, pet, maintenance, and security-deposit policies in writing before signing anything.