If I could give this apartment complex zero stars, I would. I posted the following review on…read moreapartmentratings.com and felt so strongly about sharing this information that I'm putting it on Yelp too:
I was a resident at Locust Grove for years. When I first saw it online, I fell in love with the place and I knew it could be home! It was kid and dog friendly, had great parking, spacious apartments, and a nice clubhouse and pool. In Nov 2014, the management changed from Quaker Group to Merion Group and let me tell you, the change was basically a death sentence for service and happy living in the community. Without any warning, all but one or two staff members who maintained the grounds were laid off before Thanksgiving with no replacements ready to maintain things like, trash pickup, apartment maintenance issues, you name it. The leasing office was totally overworked and, while the manager Patti tried to do her best to respond to constant resident requests, there just weren't enough staff members left on site to fix some major issues. And when I say major issues, I mean like frozen pipes breaking in the community, lights going out and leaving walkways pitch dark, dog poop all over the grounds since the pet bags weren't being refilled, trash accumulating all over the back of the buildings where it looked like there was a dump in your backyard. The list goes on and on - and they added a new staff member, Lori, who has no customer service skills and was actually more combative when receiving feedback/service requests than helpful. On more than one occasion (however hard I tried not to deal with her, sometimes she would be the only one there), she would blame things on everyone and everything under the sun (aka no accountability) and what I thought was really distasteful was that she blamed a bunch of issues on a former employee who "was no longer with the company because of it." How inappropriate is that? I wanted to tell Lori and Merion that their mismanagement and personnel issues are not the residents' problem - that is their own issue that they need to work out internally! TIP: Try to deal with Erika for everything.
There isn't enough space or time to go through all of the dysfunction at what was once a nice place to live. There are subjective rent increases, water/sewer increases, and a lease agreement that is so overkill with legalese that I can't even believe it's the same place that I was living in since 2011. Here's the summary: If something happens and you signed the lease agreement, it's your fault. Even if it's not your fault, Merion takes ZERO responsibility for anything. So make sure you read all of the fine print. TIP: Ask to see a copy of the lease up front if you visit.
Here's another fact: Different residents are being charged DIFFERENT INCREASES not on any scale or rhyme or reason. I was friendly with a lot of different families and each would tell me different amounts that they were charged (some nothing, some huge increases). Ask about it if you visit, seriously. I guarantee you'll get a song and a dance about how they calculate it by comparing against other rates, etc. Whose rates?? TIP: Ask to see something in writing that spells out exactly where they're getting these comparative rates, etc. before you sign a lease.
Management. What a joke - John M., the one who so politely responded to someone else's criticisms on this review site used to sit in the back office of the clubhouse WITH HIS FEET UP ON THE DESK. I thought he was one of the leasing office's sons because he was so unprofessional and would be texting on his phone all the time. When someone told me he was a manager of the property, I didn't believe them! I had to look it up online before I believed it because he never engaged with the residents, even when he overheard issues being discussed in the next room with the leasing representatives! TIP: Don't expect John to resolve issues - not once did he send out anything to the residents when all of the staffing changes happened, when the grounds started looking terrible, when the residents were being displaced because of frozen pipes bursting - we didn't get ANYTHING from him. A resident told me that there was going to be a group meeting with John to discuss concerns about the community - and then it was cancelled and not rescheduled!
Luckily, I was one of the few to get out before having to sign another lease. It was the best decision of 2015 and the more I hear about what is still happening, the better I feel about my decision to leave.
Merion doesn't care about customer service. They care about bottom lines, cutting corners, and lying to residents' faces (for example, renter's insurance that residents were paying for and yet could not obtain a copy of the policy upon request).
Here's my final tip to anyone that cares: Look for someplace else to live. You're welcome.
