I do not recommend The Bend at Broad by Cortland--or perhaps any Cortland property. The last 13…read moremonths, on top of regular life stressors, have been a nightmare.
From day one, our apartment smelled like marijuana, despite the property's no-smoking policy. After nine months of complaints, emails, and meetings with management, the original tenant left, but the next tenant also smoked inside constantly, forcing us to deal with the constant odor until the end of our lease.
My car was vandalized by an angry girlfriend of another tenant. I filed a police report, but the leasing office was unaware of the situation. The tenant whose partner damaged our cars chose eviction over providing her information, leaving me to file a claim through my insurance and pay out of pocket for the damages. Separately, a large amount of marijuana was delivered to our mailbox; another police report was filed, but the leasing office did not treat this as a serious issue.
We were charged mandatory, non-optional trash fees ($31/month for valet trash and $8/month for the compactor), but the service was terrible. The valet trash came maybe 2-3 times a week, not M-F as promised, and the trash compactor was broken for over six months, resulting in huge amounts of trash in overflowing dumpsters. We were also charged an unannounced $10-$15/month for building and parking lot lighting.
Our heat went out in November, and it took over 48 hours for a "fix." Their solution was to put us on emergency heat until spring, which doubled our electricity bill every month afterward. Our oven also took over a week to fix.
Although every vehicle is supposed to be registered and have a parking pass, the lots were filled with inoperable vehicles and those without passes. When we got over a foot of snow, a plow made one strip down the middle of the roads and parking lots only once the day after the snowfall.
Lastly, I failed to notice sooner that we were being charged for the contracted rental insurance even after submitting our own personal policy. The leasing agent claimed every resident had to be listed by name, which is not stated in the lease or Liability Addendum. Secondly, this was not told to us when we provided proof of coverage to our leasing agent at time of lease signing. Furthermore, after providing them with the exact documentation they were asking for they just circled back around to it had to be at time of lease signing. They refused a refund, essentially stealing $195.
Beyond these major issues, we dealt with typical apartment problems: loud neighbors, ill-behaved pets, pet waste and trash all over the property, and long response times from the leasing staff, often to be told the person who could help was gone for the day or not on site.
I'm not looking for sympathy or judgment; I am bringing light to a terribly run property and company. If I pay for a service, I expect that service or my money back. I expect prompt responses from management and maintenance. I expect all policy and fees to be listed on my lease or brought to my attention before I am charged. If you know anyone looking for a place to live, stay away from Cortland, especially The Bend at Broad.