Things seemed great at move in, but I guess management changed a lot over the year we lived here. The property could be maintained better, especially behind the buildings and in the back. Lots of trash. The inside of our apartment was always incredibly dusty despite constant cleaning; the HVAC closet was coated with a thick layer of dust and we were told by the office that it was our problem to deal with, and by maintenance that if they attempted to handle it, it would just stir up more dust. The provided air filters kept falling out of the AC unit as well. At one point, maintenance staff had to replace the unit's broken AC coil and we were stuck with a window unit for about a week. We had problems with the water heater from move in; it would go cold very early on in a shower and it took several repairs to get things improved. Also, we had a leak in our ceiling where rainwater came into our bathroom through the fan vent. We called the office emergency hotline, but since it was late at night, we didn't hear back til the next day. Honestly, the maintenance men are great people and hard workers, but are probably stretched very thin. The problems with the buildings and company are not their fault.
Our apartment also didn't have the same amenities as others. I knew a handful of residents whose units had multiple different light fixtures installed, i.e. spiral and track lights in the kitchen area, which ours lacked, and when I asked the office if they could give us one, since I confirmed we pay the same rate and have the same style of unit, they said no and told me they were phasing out LED fixtures as folks move out. I know this isn't the case partly because I had friends move in after us and they had the lights still in their ceiling. Not to mention that when I left one of the closet lights on in our place for maybe an hour, since I was going in and out, the globe exploded glass all over my clothes and the carpet.
The dumpster and gate also broke several times, and in many of these instances residents didn't even get a courtesy update. Trash piled up outside in the heat for days, and anyone could drive onto the property with the gate wide open, and we rarely got an email about it.
We repeatedly reported excessively noisy, partying neighbors during quiet hours and it didn't accomplish anything, despite calling both the office and the after hours agent multiple times across weeks. Staff declined to send the neighbors a heads up email during the pandemic to prevent future issues. They basically told us that if we don't call exactly when it's actively happening, and then if they couldn't hear it outside when they got around to the building, then there's nothing they can do.
Upon move out, we and some other tenants we know were charged a fee to professionally clean the carpets. The property manager said that it was written in an agreement that either we must show proof we paid out of our own pocket, or we pay that rate, but none of us could find that clause in any contracts or notices we had. The Fountains sent our last bill to collections within days, and even though our receipts indicate we paid them a month ago, we're still sorting all of that out. It's a shame because the place has a ton of potential, but the management and owner company certainly...
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