Apparently, the smartest way to rent at The Standard at Four Corners is to wait until the absolute…read morelast second, risk not getting housing, and hope prices drop. Because signing early, being responsible, and securing housing ahead of time can apparently leave you paying more than people who wait. Totally logical.
My roommates and I signed early because we were trying to be organized and make sure we had a place to live. We agreed to pay about $1,485 per month, only to later see larger three-bedroom apartments advertised for around $1,326 per month. Some were reportedly about 300 square feet larger than the apartment we originally received.
When we questioned why we were paying more for a smaller apartment, the answer was basically that we had already signed and were locked into our original rate. So signing early does not necessarily get you a better price. It may do the exact opposite. But waiting also means gambling with whether housing will still be available. Amazing system.
We also specifically wanted a real balcony and were assigned a first-floor unit, where the "balcony" basically functions like a patio. After raising our concerns, we were offered larger floor plans while still paying our original higher rate, even though those apartments were being advertised for less.
After we signed, The Standard also began advertising much better incentives for new applicants, including hundreds or even thousands of dollars, free-rent promotions, an entire semester advertised as free, and electronics like a new MacBook. Meanwhile, the people who committed early were expected to keep paying more with a much smaller incentive.
Then there was the entire gift-card and concession fiasco. When we signed, we were told we would receive a promotional gift card. Over the next several months, different employees gave us conflicting information about whether it was a $200 gift card, a $250 gift card, or some type of rent concession, when it would be issued, and what we needed to do to receive it. We called repeatedly and still could not get one consistent answer.
In March, I received repeated calls about an "urgent" document that I was told was important for my lease and needed to be signed. It was made to sound required. After reviewing everything later, it appeared to relate to changing or clarifying the incentive terms and when the promotional payment would be provided. That was not clearly explained before I was pressured to sign it.
Because staff members kept giving us different answers, I said they needed to be properly briefed so residents would stop receiving misinformation. A manager named Chad responded:
"I don't need you giving me a rundown on how to brief my staff, thank you very much."
Actually, when multiple employees are giving residents conflicting information for months about money they were promised, someone clearly does need to brief the staff.
He was rude, condescending, and dismissive. Instead of acknowledging the communication failure, he spoke down to me and acted like I was the problem for pointing it out.
We signed early, asked questions, followed up repeatedly, and signed documents we were told were urgent. Then we discovered lower prices, larger apartments, bigger incentives, free-rent promotions, MacBook giveaways, and conflicting explanations about the incentive we were originally promised.
Future residents should screenshot every price and promotion, save every email and voicemail, get every promise in writing, and read every "urgent" document carefully.
I understand that apartment prices can fluctuate. What I do not accept is months of conflicting information, pressure to sign documents without a clear explanation, much better promotions for people who waited, and a manager speaking to me like I was unintelligent for asking reasonable questions.
At The Standard, being an early bird does not get the worm. It gets the higher rent, the smaller promotion, months of inconsistent answers, and attitude from management for expecting their staff to know what they are talking about. Find somewhere else!!!
