Camden Legacy Apartments — Attraction in Scottsdale

STAY AWAY… GO ANYWHERE ELSE

My husband and I used to rent at Camden Foothills. We had an awesome experience but due to a rent increase, we transferred to Legacy. Worst. Mistake. Ever.

Long story short, our transfer was screwed up and we were rushed to find another unit at Legacy that would be ready for us with all of the renovations going on. I had to take days off work to go into the office to get a new lease for a new unit worked out. Stressful, and a complete waste of my time.

The Staff is So. Incredibly. Unresponsive. It’s actually kind of miraculous that people can be THAT unresponsive. We emailed a manager and an office assistant persistently asking questions about our move in and telling them the date on our lease was wrong, requesting that they correct it. They would almost never return our emails, and when they did, they usually didn’t answer the questions I asked. I actually had to start constantly calling and going into the office to get any kind of response

When we moved in to our “newly renovated beautiful apartment” it was destroyed. We’re talking cabinets off the walls, drawers not put together, filthy, maintenance tools strewn about. They actually had the nerve to ask us if there was somewhere else we could stay for a few days and then told us that they could maybe get a cleaning crew out sometime next week to clean it for us… needless to say, we ended up having to clean it ourselves when we moved in.

Parking is an actual nightmare. While I understand paying for a covered parking spot, here they try to squeeze even more money out of you by asking you to pay for uncovered parking as well. If you want to park at the place you live without paying a monthly fee, you have to find a visitor spot (which are extremely limited and constantly changing). Good luck ever having anyone visit you, going to the gym after work, or running out to dinner. You won’t find parking when you get home.

They’ve made our move out the most difficult situation I’ve ever experienced. After the lease issues I had when we first moved in, one of the managers told me we could send the signed incorrectly dated lease in and that they would change the date later. Well that manager left. Finally after calling a million times, one of the office staff told me that they could change my lease over the phone and that there was nothing for me to do. January rolled around and we realized we needed to move to Florida once our"12 month" lease was up. I went into my lease to research transfer requirements to find that the date hadn’t been changed. I called the office and let them know the situation. I had to follow up after a week when I had received no response. I was told the community manager would call me. She emailed me and told me that due to COVID-19 everyone wanted to break their lease and that they couldn’t help me if I didn’t have any proof. I told her that was not the situation I was in and this was a mistake that should have been corrected a year ago. I obviously had no email proof because the staff was so unresponsive and I had to have all of my conversations via phone or in person. The manager Tarah is one of the rudest people I have ever encountered and this was the worst customer service I’d ever received. Shockingly, she didn’t get back to me either. After my interaction with Tarah, we felt so uncomfortable continuing to live at Legacy that we chose to end our lease. She led me to believe the date I chose to move out would be no issue, before sending me a document including a full months rent, rent for over 2 weeks that I wouldn’t be living there, and a cleaning fee for move out (which is ironic considering the place was trashed when we moved in). I reached out to the District manager who offered an apology and told me there was nothing she could do for me. If you value your money, time, and sanity, go live somewhere else. They don’t care about their “community” or you as a person, they care about your money. This isn't "luxury living" or even "mediocre living”. Counting down the days until we can...

There's plenty to like here at Camden Legacy, but over the past few years, their priorities shifted and the community spirit that they had died almost overnight at the start of the pandemic.

TL;DR list: Pros Great location Fairly nice apartments and amenities Great maint. team

Cons Management staff seems to change by the month and care far, far less than they did pre-pandemic Can be noisy (airport, 101 traffic, WestWorld) Rent prices jumped up by almost 50% in two years and no improvements have been made to the community to reflect that First floor apartments lightless dungeons that offer little privacy from the walkways and landscaping will give your patio a regular dust and leaf bath

LOCATION Location is great, if a little noisy. Being within walking distance to Target and other smaller shops has been awesome. But planes go over regularly, you can hear traffic on the 101, drivers frequently use the surrounding roads as drag strips, and every time WestWorld holds a car or bike show, you can hear it.

APARTMENT The apartment itself was updated before I moved in and has held up pretty well, but living on the first floor pretty much puts your privacy at the mercy of onlookers and neighbors. Depending on which way your apartment faces, it might also be dark and dungeonlike, especially during winter. My AC did have issues occasionally, but the maintenance team is AWESOME. They're quick, responsive, and super chill. You can tell some corners were cut in renovations, but it's mostly minor things. If it really becomes an issue, you can bet maintenance will take care of it no problem. There were a couple bug problems too, but the management team responds quickly to those. Unfortunately, even a regularly-cleaned apartment can't save you from bugs if your neighbors aren't as tidy.

The grounds are well-kept, but if you live on the first floor you can expect the landscapers to blow leaves, dust, and other natural detritus onto your patio, covering all your patio furniture with dust and making it your job to sweep out—only for it to be blown back in on their next visit. It made the patio more of a chore than a charm point.

The way the buildings are lined up makes it into an echo chamber too, so you can hear loud neighbors from a long ways away.

MANAGEMENT/STAFF When I moved in, the management team was completely different. Very caring, wonderful team that stayed in close contact with me for months before I moved here from out of state. Then they all left one by one and the team that replaced them has been a rotating cast that cares less and less. There used to be a lot of things to do and events they ran, but when the property managers rotated out over and over, their idea of community fun was getting an expensive food truck to visit and that was THE sole monthly highlight. Now they don't even do that anymore. Every email that comes from the new management team is a terse reminder about trash being left out at the wrong hours, noise at the pool, parking, or other etiquette complaints lodged at the community as a whole, underlined with threat of fines.

PRICE Here's where this apartment lost most of its appeal for me. When I moved in at the end of 2019, prices were fantastic for the amenities available. Rent for a 1-bed/1-bath was below $1200. That shifted dramatically during the pandemic. Rent in the whole area is out of control, but I now pay $1800 for a 1-bed apartment and not a single amenity has been added to show for it. Nothing has been renovated since I moved in, and on top of all the other smaller issues, these rent hikes made the place more expensive than it was worth. The $100 "technology package" is also pretty ridiculous if you don't watch cable, and it cannot be altered. I stayed here for three years, and despite having a solid job with decent pay, this place feels like it's trying to price me out. It's like they want residents below a certain household income gone. The whole community is churning out old residents. As for me, they'll get their wish; I won't be renewing...

RAT INFESTATION, FLOODED PARKING, SAFETY HAZARDS, NON-RESPONSIVE STAFF:

Rat infestation in my building occurring for four months after it was reported to management. Neighbor downstairs caught 11 rats in his ceiling. Manager quickly offered lease renewals (at a discount) to at least two tenants in the building.

My parking area flooded following rains for 8-9 months: Was told by management there was nothing that could be done. Was not provided temporary parking as promised by district manager.

Health Hazards in and around Pool Areas: Pool cabana doors left open which showed loose electrical wiring, bottles of chemicals, boxes stacked and tipped over/spilled containing files of residents’ personal information, loose electrical wiring in sitting pool of another pool area. Emailed regional VP, Melinda, and 6 weeks later, some of the same issues were witnessed.

Loose metal roofing left unsecured on neighboring Building for one month after roofing job completed.

Noise Pollution- Neighboring AC unit: For the summer of 2014, I endured the screeching sound of a neighboring AC unit. Several complaints to management were ignored. It later turned out to be a simple fix. Was not able to enjoy time on my patio.

5-day Eviction Notice due to Camden website problem: I was served a 5-day notice after Camden tried to withdraw my rent payment out of an expired bank account, after successful pymt from current bank account every month prior. After Camden tried to take the money out of the defunct account, I received a “payment success” email. Mgr stated that this email didn’t actually mean money was successfully withdrawn from the bank. Really?!

Non-renewal of my lease: I was informed Camden was not renewing my lease. They refused to give a reason. Their attorney claimed it was due to “personality clashes” between myself and levels management (nobody above the site mgr, nor their attorney, ever met me in-person). I believe the real reason I was not renewed was that I continually called the manager out for poor job performance.

Non-responsive Staff: I emailed District Manager, on one occasion to discuss the issues at Camden. She didn’t respond for SIX WEEKS. Assistant manager, refused to update my contact information upon request (if there was an emergency with my apartment, I wouldn’t have been able to be notified). Also, groundskeepers would frequently begin with leaf blowers and chainsaws as early as 7:15 am. My next-door neighbor informed me that, against his wishes, manager allowed carpet cleaners into his apartment unattended. The office recently refused a UPS package for me sent by my doctor, stating that I moved. Camden denied this (in the letter from their attorney) stating that the sender addressed it incorrectly. This doctor shipped 2 of the same packages in the past with no problem. I have the UPS verification of attempted delivery.

Move-out: Manager scheduled the (only possible) walk-through time so that she would not be available to do the walk-through and sent two maintenance men to perform the walk through, who appeared confused as to why they were having to do this. The two men would not sign a simple 1-2 sentence document stating that I left the apartment in working order and that all keys were returned, perhaps they were instructed not to. Signing a form is standard practice during move-outs of tenants and Camden had to be difficult down to every detail.

My letter, along with photos of all of the health hazards and neglect of property were sent to the Camden corporate executives, and AMAZINGLY, THE MANAGER STILL HAS A JOB WORKING HERE? The 3 managers above her defended her actions and Camden’s attorney further attempted to blame me for each issue in a letter, which I responded to pointing out all of his inaccuracies.

Avoid this place...