Emerson Mill Avenue — Attraction in Tempe

I previously gave a 5 star rating to the previous Hanover Mill Avenue management. Turns out I have to demote it to a 1 star rating, as the Emerson Mill Avenue has very poor customer service. For such a nice place, it’s a shame that their management are not willing or able to communicate well with their tenants. We had several billing issues during our stay here. As others have mentioned, they sometimes don’t know how to work their computer system. We had a huge run-around in something as simple as putting my wife’s name on the lease or to ensure that she received package delivery emails.

One such major issue we’ve faced was about the timing of our intent to vacate. According to all of their language in the lease and the lease renewal offer letter, they need us to turn in "appropriate 60-day written notice”. I sent them an email telling them we might need an extra week. They called me back saying that if we had to stretch the lease, then we would operate on a month-to-month basis and communicate our intent to leave 60 days prior to leaving. That sounded fine to me.

Exactly one week later, I sent them an email saying: "Hi, We’ll be moving out of unit on 6/03/2019. Thanks! Robert“. They reply, saying: "Thank You for letting us know Robert. Attached to this email is our NTV [Notice to Vacate] form. If you could just fill this out and return to us. You can email it back or bring it in. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!” At that point in time, I thought we were done with our intent to vacate.

What I didn’t know, and what they had not communicated is that the receipt of the NTV form is what was considered the beginning of the 60-day period. Their form has sections asking how we felt about the place; things we liked or that they could do better. We took our time to fill it out, thinking it was a survey and formality, since we had already communicated our intent to leave, and they had responded that they understood as such. My wife was traveling, and I was waiting for her to return to talk about it. So we turned it in two weeks after our email exchange. It was not until five days after that that they emailed me saying that they could not accept my notice to vacate because they want to hold me rent responsible through 60 days after when I turned in the form! It had been very clear that they understood the date that we were moving out, multiple times through our communication! In written form! They had to send it to upper management which finally conceded that they understood our intent to vacate, and so we were only rent responsible for 60 days after that email. To make extra sure how much we should pay, I asked them to quote me what I would owe them after I moved out. They made mistakes with this estimate, but after two iterations of my asking them to re-run it, they corrected it. Exhausted but validated, I thought we were done after we moved out.

But we weren’t done! After we moved out, they still sent us a letter asking us to pay for two more weeks of rent and utilities, i.e., hundreds of dollars more than what they had quoted me. As soon as I opened that letter, I quickly emailed them. It took them 5 days to respond saying that they were in the wrong, and that I did not owe them hundreds of dollars. They reported that they owed me over $150. It has now been 28 days since that email and I had not received a check nor any correspondence regarding the refund. I reached out to them and they “apologize for the oversight” and will mail it out tomorrow. Looking forward to that so I can be done with the horrendous stress that this management has incurred.

—

There’s broken light fixtures, trash, and graffiti in the public stairwells that don't get fixed for multiple days (or sometimes weeks). I’ve found dog feces on the floor by the mailroom. People leave chip bags, beer bottles, and other trash in the elevator. Despite all of this, I would have given them a high rating.

Except that their management has treated us so, so poorly, and caused us so much stress. They deserve less...

I'm coming up on my first year lease at Emerson and yes it is pricier than most apartments, BUT here is WHAT YOU'RE PAYING FOR and WHY YOU WANT TO PAY IT:

You're paying for the privelege of living an apartment that DOES NOT have the problems other nearby Tempe, Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale Apartments have! This includes BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO:

No security issues. They have armed security in the halls and walking throughout the building premises at all times. Strangers can't virtually get into the building easily without a key fob No homeless people or other loiters anywhere near the building. Again the security deals with this. No roach or bug problem No problems with the office or maintenance. Anytime I ask the front office questions by email or phone they respond RIGHT AWAY No maintenance issues. The apartment build is so freaking new that I don't often have problems. I had a problem one day with my AC. I put in a maintenance request, and they responded within a few hours. They responded within a few hours for my other request as well

But here are the pros and cons:

PROS amazing AND NOT OVER-CROWDED facilities (gym, pool, theater, common areas) naturally because of the rent price, your neighbors are not just college students. they're a more affluent crowd and you can tell by the porsches, maseratis, G-wagons parked in the garage. there's a valet trash service so you don't need to physically throw out the trash it's quiet as hell unless there's a holiday like 4th of july or thanksgiving where people will throw a party in the pool area. if you get a courtyard room, you WILL NOT hear the hustle and bustle of mill ave rooms are SPACIOUS and beautiful you're on ASU campus so there's BEAUTIFUL women everywhere lol

CONS because of the trash valet service and people leaving trash in the hallway to be picked up, it can stink up the hallways sometimes, but the rooms are set up in a way that the stink DOES NOT make its way into the rooms because of the location of this prime real estate, ASU game days and big holiday events in Tempe cause crazy traffic that can make it hard to get home The walls are pretty thick but i can still sometimes hear neighbors people having sex if they're literally screaming LOL but that's such a rare occurrence that I can't really call it a big con

Overall, the pros BY FAR outweigh the cons. If you want quality living with NO PROBLEMS in a PRIME location in the center of ASU campus and some of the metroplexes best bars and restaurants you are going to pay an ever-growing premium.

Apartments like this aren't built to caters to those who want something CHEAP. They're built for those who are willing to pay for...

I have lived in this apartment complex for a few years, and since the management changed in June/July 2018, this place became a horrible place to live. With the new management, it seems like there are always new issues every few weeks I have to deal with emerging from their inadequacy and inattention.

There are multiple issues but the main concern I have is the inadequate and rude new management personnels. In past 4 months, I have been charged different amounts than what my contact entails every month because either (1) they will add on charges that were not even announced or communicated to residents or (2) take money out of your rent and bill more money without any notifications. When I brought up any issues to the leasing office, leasing office personnels were incredibly rude and just inadequate of even providing basic explanations. They are increidbly slow in communication too. I have written them 4 times about the issue that was unresolved since July 1st, and I still have not recieved any answers more than 2 months later even with multiple written inquiries.

Since the new management took over, the security of the building has been compromised almost daily. Even though it is a locked building, they have the back entrance open almost daily for hours - allowing anyone to be able to come inside of the building.

There are many “luxury” apartments in Tempe/Phoenix, and I would not recommend this place for anyone who cares about good services and honest communication from the management. Location is great but it is not worth all the hassle you have to deal with the management. I can’t wait to be done with the current lease so I can move. No one should be treated like this with the amount they charge as rent.

Response (2018/09/18): As of today, the issue from June/July still has not been resolved properly. I received the acceptable explanations from one person at the leasing office after attempting to speak with others first, and two others could not provide the basic explanations of what the charges were even for. Despite whether or not the adequate explanations were provided, the new management should not have dishonestly charged the residents without any formal prior communication or at least a follow-up written explanation. If the service and communication I received so far from the new management is with the "best of [y]our abilities", the new management should invest in retraining their inadequate employees or hire new employees. I sincerely hope the service and communication will improve for the...