Settle in gang: My 1 year lease ends at the end of 12/20. Not only was my experience so opposite of the 5 star reviews, I don't believe they are even real. Shayna was the 3rd building manager I had in my year here. She's gone and been replaced twice since July. None of them special, some less than others.
Shayna was adequate at best -- I had a conflict with the upstairs neighbor THROWING PARTIES during the pandemic until 2am and her response was "can't you two work it out between you?" So yeah, she really turned things around.
Anyway it's clockwork -- new manager every 2 months. I have a theory: they get rotated around the different complexes owned by their company so no one can be held accountable for anything. Like what? See below.
This first one is partially my bad but it needs to be explained in order to understand how they earned their one-star later. They offered me a 13th month for free deal (through Jan 2021) at the time I signed. So when my mother had surgery 3000 miles away and her main caretaker was exposed to COVID, I started thinking about moving home to take care of her until the pandemic ends.
I save all emails, and when I went back to check when my lease ended and all I found was the "tell me if you want the free January and I'll print out the lease and send you a copy" email but nothing after that. Checked my paper records: couldn't find the lease. No pdf. Guess she never sent it? Like I said, that one is partially my bad.
BUT, since the last email mentioned a free January, I assumed that's what I did. And I now (back in Sept) wanted to leave early. So I wrote to Hamout, the building manager who replaced Shayna who never seemed to be in the office when I checked. I asked him the likelihood that my unit would be rented quickly if I left BEFORE JANUARY, because that's the only way I'm off the hook for paying until then. He didn't respond. I tried again a week later. No response. I tracked the emails -- they were both opened. So I took his silence as a hesitance to admit that the building was well below capacity, given these trying times, yadda yadda. I let it go.
THEN Harout's two months were up and now there's a new (#5? 6?) manager. She seems nice. I don't know her name. They didn't bother sending the introductory email for this one. Anyway, she was in the office the other weekend, so went to tell her I was leaving at the end of my lease, not renewing. She looks up my unit lease and says it's actually ending the NEXT DAY. This was on 12/6, the lease was until 12/7. No notice, clearly no free January, either. And of course of Hamout had given five seconds of effort to my question at the time I asked it back in September, I would have known that much sooner and be one my way home, where I can live for a fraction of the rent I'm paying to live in "luxury."
I ask her why no free January -- she has no idea. "I wasn't here then." I check that the movers can come sooner, and the next day, 12/7, I put my notice to vacate in through the online portal. The building manager calls on Monday to say that UNFORTUNATELY, 30 days notice must be made by the 1st of the month. SO BECAUSE I GAVE MY NOTICE ON 12/7, I AM OBLIGATED TO PAY UNTIL THE END OF JANUARY AFTER ALL. I was pretty livid, and I don't remember what my questions were, but her side of the conversation was mostly: "Sorry, I'd be upset, too. My hands are tied though. I WASN'T HERE."
But I mentioned luxury earlier: why am I being charged luxury rental rates when none of the luxuries are available? I mean of course it's not their fault but the amenities were what sold the place for me: the on-site gym (can't use that now), the pool (nope), the rec room (closed), the private theater (forget about it)... so a 650 sf apartment and off street parking for $2300. AND they actually RAISED MY RENT DURING THE PANDEMIC -- just a few dollars and paperwork to explain that they were within their rights but Jesus, that's tacky.
So yeah, paying through the end of January is B.S. but the only thing worse would be staying here another month when I should be somewhere else. Never coming back to this or any other EVOLVE building ever again. read more