Before you read my review, read all the responses from SAM management. Just excuse after excuse. They never take responsibility. Is that what you want from the place you live?
Let's start with the absolute violation of privacy that happened when a maintenance worker entered my daughter's bedroom while we were gone. The air conditioning unit broke (again, no surprise--theirs are outdated), and when we came back, I found out that the maintenance guy had been in my daughter's room for no reason. What if she was home alone? When I went to the office to ask about it, they gaslit me into thinking it never happened. They literally tried to convince me I was crazy. I'll never get over that.
They'll nickel and dime you for everything: Leave your trash can out after 9 AM? $35. Put out more than two trash bags? $35. Break a tab on your blinds (through normal wear and tear)? They'll charge you at least $50--but sometimes up to $300.
The $500 fine for not picking up after your dog. But I missed ONE small piece, and they hit me with that outrageous fine. Oh, and the fun part is that they'll make you pay to DNA test your dog to prove it's theirs. Guess what? There are plenty of dogs that don't get DNA tested. If you're lucky enough to hide your dog's poop from them, more power to you. But if they find one tiny piece? Brace yourself for that $500 fine, no warning.
When my daughter and I moved in, they didn't have all these crazy dog rules. We didn't have a dog then, but I was told it would be fine to have one visit, and that fostering a dog was totally okay, just let them know if it became long-term. I got excited because fostering has always been a dream of mine. I ended up fostering a three-legged dog, and when I told them, they immediately slapped me with a $300 deposit or threatened to take the dog away.
Then, after that experience, I ended up adopting a dog, but the poor girl got terribly sick from the pound. She was literally near death, so I didn't make the payment right away. And guess what? I got another warning, threatening to take the dog unless I paid the deposit. My daughter was devastated thinking they'd take her dog away.
AC broke again (see a pattern?), maintenance fixed it, and then the next day, I got a notice on my door saying my apartment was "filthy". I called the office and they couldn't give me a clear explanation. I was given two weeks to clean up something that I still don't know was ever a real problem. For two weeks, I didn't really clean anything, because I wanted to see what they would say. When they came to check, they said I had "cleaned it up." When I told them I hadn't even cleaned anything, they said they'd talk to the maintenance guy and never followed up. The story changed again when I asked Olivia about it--first it was about filth, then it was about a smell that no one could detect. No one could prove it was dirty, no one could show me any evidence. It was all just a convenient excuse to threaten me with fines.
Honestly, I can't even explain how much stress and anger this place caused me. The residents were great--every single person was kind and respectful, but the office? They are horrible. They only care about squeezing every last penny out of you. Once you've signed the lease, they'll treat you like garbage. Their only priority is money, money, money. If there's ever a choice to be made, they make the choice that a jerk would make.
TL;DR: Don't even think about moving here. This place is a nightmare. If you value your privacy, your sanity, and your wallet, just go somewhere else. Do yourself a favor and avoid Somerset of Madison at all costs. read more