8181 Med Center Apartments — Attraction in Houston

Update: They incorrectly charged me another $75 and a full rent amount, not prorated. The manager promised to fix it but has not, it’s been 3 weeks.

Updating my review from a year ago. I’ve been living here since 2019. I loved this community, then everything changed last year.

Safety Issues (severe) We experience gun-point robberies, car thefts, roach infestations, and maintenance issues here. I recently saw a car with all of its four tires stolen in the parking lot. This particular type of theft issue has been happening for almost a year since the current management company took over. It remains unresolved. Despite such security concerns, the front gate breaks often and is left open.

Logistic Issues Package deliveries will be delayed at this apartment because they have to be first delivered to a third-party delivery company called Fetch. You are required to use Fetch as a resident here and pay monthly fees. Packages cannot be delivered to your doorstep directly. If you list your apartment address as the mailing address, your packages will be returned to their senders (amazon is an exception).

Management issues (extremely severe)

1. My ex-roommate who moved out three years ago received a notice from the management that she has a remaining balance of about twelve dollars and that she would be reported for delinquency and debt collection. Her balance was absolute zero when she moved out three years ago. The management team refused to investigate and resolve the issue.

2. The assistant manager charged me and withdrew from my bank the early lease termination fee twice. I went to the office to correct it, but the manager and the assistant manager refused to give me my money back. They dogmatically claimed that the first charge (incorrectly charged one) was what I owed for last month's rent which was fully paid and posted on my bank long ago (was on their ledger as well, and it was NOT even the same amount as the termination fee). They left me alone in the office, I had to wait for them and sit there for hours to argue for it back, which was outrageous. While I sat in the office, three more residents came to the office, mentioning some fee issues involving what management charged them. Only after I highlighted the lease termination fees in the ledger, which they should have identified themselves, did they refund me the money. They did not apologize and were very rude; very arrogant and unapologetic.

3. Tenants were recently emailed that they will start paying for the utility fees of the common areas (their office building) in addition to the amenity fees based on the square footage of their floor plan. The utility fees of the office building should be included in their operating expenses, not rolled over to residents to pay.

4. The manager is never in her office and hates assisting residents. She is rude and unprofessional. The assistant manager lacks knowledge of accounting and ledgers. She constantly makes mistakes and adds false charges but immediately argues that she is correct without carefully assessing the proposed issue.

5. Steep rent increase; for me, almost a 32% increase in base rent alone.

6. When my payment bounced due to issues stemming from their system's delay, they asked me to pay $75 for the bounce fee, which I immediately did (I should not have). Then a few days later, they asked me to also pay hundreds of dollars for the late fee. When I asked why both the bounce fee and late fee would be charged though the lease contract does not specify a case when both fees would be charged to residents, they refused to talk.

7. They charge you random fees/penalty fee amounts not matching what is indicated in the lease agreement. For example, the assistant manager charged me a late fee that was higher than what was in my lease agreement.

I am anxious about my move-out process as my neighbor shared that he was charged a suspiciously large bill for cleaning though his apartment was left very clean when he moved out. I will update this review after my move-out. Hopefully, my move-out...

Update Oct 3, 2023: 8181 Med Center Apartments are owned by "BPP Alphabet MF Medical Center LP". BPP stands for Blackstone Property Partners and MF stands for Middle Fund. I understand that the leasing office staff is held to high standards by the management of BPP, as BPP's primary goal is to care for residents, and NOT to make money at the peril of new and current residents. (LOL). I am sure that the upper management at Blackstone will take action based on this review to improve the quality of service that the leasing office staff provides to new and current residents. (LOL).

OP Sept 15, 2023: The inflated reviews that you see on Google are incentivized/fake reviews by accounts that have just 1 or 2 reviews. My "new resident applicant" experience with 8181 Med Center has been nothing short of infuriating and utterly disappointing. The level of incompetence and disregard for residents is staggering.

From the get-go, transparency was nonexistent. The management displayed a shocking lack of interest in assisting new residents, evident in their "self-guided" tour approach. This self-guided tour was a pathetic excuse for an introduction to the complex, and we were left to search for the model apartments on our own. Not a single word about the amenities, except for casually mentioning the amenity charges. Even the model apartment they showed us was a bait-and-switch tactic, with refurbished units that differed from the outdated appliances we'd be living with.

Communication with this management is an exercise in futility. After our application was approved, they failed to inform us about the next steps, leaving us in the dark until we had to beg for information via email. Calls and emails, even to their so-called new-resident number, went unanswered.

Adding to the frustration, they continuously pressured us to make hasty decisions. Once they email, they demand responses to deposit options and lease agreements within 24 hours, showing complete disregard for others' schedules. Even when the link for signing the lease agreement was open for a week, they insisted on a rushed signing within 24 hours.

Their advertising tactics were downright nasty and misleading. Promises made, such as one month of free rent, were never confirmed in writing, and they also conveniently left in the first lease agreement despite clear emails requesting it. I've now received a third version of the lease agreement which still has discrepancies from the promised rent and fees.

The start date of the lease agreement is a farce, as it coincides with their apartment cleaning. They clean the apartment only on the first date of your lease. This not only exposes us to potential damage and renters insurance risk but also meant they can freely consume electricity, water, and sewer while charging us for it. As if all this isn't bad enough, they have the audacity to require us to list them as a third party on our renters' insurance. This blatant attempt to shift responsibility for potential damages and increase our insurance premiums is infuriating.

Throughout our interactions, the management consistently provided inconsistent information, and even after numerous conversations and negotiations, our concerns remained unaddressed. It's evident that they intend to push the costs of cleaning and additional risks onto the residents. To top it all off, they increased the base rent and prorated rent when we asked to change our move-in date, effectively forcing us to pay for their inefficiencies and inadequate planning.

My experience with 8181 Med Center's management has been a nightmare. Their lack of transparency, disregard for communication, and overall unprofessionalism have left me beyond frustrated. It's clear that they prioritize their own interests over their residents. I am really, really unsure if I will sign the lease agreement after going through this agony of a process. Losing a few hundred dollars of application fees might be better than a year of frustration with the...

If you're planning to move here, keep in mind that all the negative reviews are true. They are long because all tenants are extremely frustrated. Take these reviews as a warning before you sign a lease. I’ve listed my main concerns below, pest control and security.

Pest control: Roach infestation since I moved in, reported this issue many times but unable to get management to address it. Personally reached out to the regional manager of the pest control company but still unable to get it addressed because requests need to come from management, not the tenant. Property manager walked my unit, acknowledged there’s no housekeeping issues, and said it would be resolved in 2-3 weeks. It's been months and no action has been taken, other than me requesting routine pest control but even then, they forget to put me on the list sometimes. I've requested a clean out on two occasions, I packed everything in my unit as instructed but management failed to make sure I was on the list even though I signed forms. I had to wait multiple days (with all my belongings packed away), had to call the company myself and coordinate with them, then ask the management to follow up on what I had coordinated with the company as I'm not allowed to request treatment directly from the company. I was offered to move to another unit with no roaches (obviously empty units will have no roaches prior to move in) but I've already heard from other tenants that they moved and had roaches in new units + why not address the roach infestation issues instead of trying to find workarounds? Why would I pay more rent, a security deposit, and other fees to move to another unit? The issue should be resolved in the unit I pay for already. They don't check other units to identify the source of the infestation and require a clean-out/pest control treatment at the source unit. I have been raising major concern over this as I have a dog and the roaches crawl on my dog while she sleeps or get into her food bowls (see image). I've been vacuuming the roaches and flushing them (see video) as advised by the pest control company that it's the best thing I can do until management arranges cleanout in other units which are the source of infestation.

Security: My car was broken into even though I told the security guard about the people who tried to steal my car as I saw them enter from a broken fence on the property. The security guard never followed them even though I gave him the exact location and description of the culprits. The apartment above me was broken into + several other apartments have been broken into over the past months on a frequent basis. Tires are regularly stolen from cars (see video). Random people enter the complex at night because the gates are left open (see image). Several tenants have reported suspicious individuals around the complex to the security guard and when he does question them, all it takes is for them to say they live here, and he'll leave them alone. Management has not made a single comment regarding the increased break-ins and car thefts, they previously lied about a shooting within the complex claiming it was a drive-by outside the complex. If they can lie about tenants' apartments and cars getting shot up because apparently that's what corporate asked them to do, then clearly tenant safety and trust is not a priority for them. I've spent $300 on security cameras and lights to make sure my car and apartment don't get broken into, meanwhile the security guard gets paid to park his golf cart under a tree and enjoys his cigarettes and YouTube videos all night.

It’s been over half a year since new management has taken over, but we’ve seen no improvements, things have only...