Cortland Uptown Altamonte — Local services in Altamonte Springs

A Rough Start

My fiancé and I moved into the Cortland at the end of October to take advantage of the month free deal. While our initial tour of the Cortland was fairly great and the reviews and location were amazing, the moving in process was disappointing. Move in Day: We were told that on moving day, we would be able to use the moving dock and would have a 4-hour window with exclusive access to the elevator. The week leading up to move in day, the Cortland kept on assuring us that the elevator we would be using would be up and running after being knocked out by Hurricane Milton. As of writing (11/13), it is still out of order. On moving day, our movers and I had the arduous task of going across the parking lot to the opposite elevator and then going up and back across while trying to avoid cars the entire time. While I understand that this was out of the Cortland’s control, the fact that the elevator has been down does not instill confidence that Cortland can maintain its facilities. When we moved in, we ended up having several issues with our apartment in terms of things not working, such as our dryer, screen door, fire extinguisher, and many other small things. Maintenance was quick to fix or attempt to fix things, but it felt lazy that nobody checked this ahead of time. Appliances: I have lived in 6 apartments. This is the first time that I have had this problem. The semi-renovated model came with all new appliances, including a Samsung fridge in the wall. When we went to open the door, it hit the wall and would not open fully. Either nobody bothered to measure this, or more likely, someone did open the fridge and decided that this was not an issue. When contacting Cortland, their solution was to move the fridge more out of the crevice it was in, blocking off a bit of the already narrow opening in the kitchen…great. I mentioned that the dryer was not working to which maintenance had to give us a new one on our 2nd day of living. Dumb Fees: Every apartment has them. Cortland is no different. I will say that Cortland does not have as many as some I have seen, but there are a few that annoy me. The biggest offender is Fetch: a mandatory $20/month charge for someone to receive your packages for you and bring them to your door later. Cortland decided not to install retrieval lockers like everyone else and instead went with this stupid middleman service. Yes, you can deliver packages directly to your door via Amazon. No, Fetch does not come any sooner than Amazon. Other additional fees include a $20/month amenity fee for amenities that have not been stellar, and on top of that you are charged a common area electricity fee separately. Amenities: Amenities are okay. Nothing super, nothing terrible. The gym is alright but a little cramped and does not have a water fountain. The business center has not had a working printer the entire time I have been here. The coffee machine is stellar but rarely has cups and sometimes runs out of coffee, and the pool is nice but closes a little early at 7PM. Overall, can’t complain but would prefer some consistency in the stocking of this. Management: I feel that management is very friendly and good intentioned with quick responses, but my experience has definitely been made harder due to some things that should have been taken care of. The elevator moving situation was not great, especially when I kept getting different answers about the elevator status depending on who I was talking to. Nobody put in my free month which had me go to management to reverse the charge and late fee. Also, nobody set up the mailbox, which had the old tenant’s name, and because of this, my mailer believed it to be vacant and I missed several packages through USPS. None of this was particularly bad, but it did cause a stressful move to be made more so and it left me with a need to doublecheck everything.

TLDR: Great potential but needs to work things out before justifiably...

I strongly advise potential tenants to consider these aspects before choosing this apartment complex. Regrettably, my experience with the new management (Cortland) has been severely disappointing. My initial encounter with Denise, an employee at the front office, set the tone for the deteriorating experiences that followed.

Under previous management 1/2 bedroom units were allowed the first car free in the garage then additional cars would be $25. We had two cars but I sold my car so I went down to management to inform them so the additional $25 fee could be removed. I spoke to Denise and informed her of the sold car, and asked if she needed anything from me.

In a very rude condescending tone she said “well I can’t just take your word for it. I need proof that your car isn’t here still.” In my head I'm like I never said to just "take my word" that's why I'm here asking you what you need. I reply saying yes, that’s why I’m asking if you need anything from me. She said I needed to provide her with the bill of sale. That same day I emailed her the BOS. A week went by and I hadn’t heard back from Denise.

So I called the office and unfortunately, we got Denise on the line and she was prepared to still continue her nastiness. She answered the phone so I greeted her and reintroduced myself and asked if she received my email, she said she did (but thought it was okay to not respond). She then proceeds to say that they can’t take the fee off because we have another vehicle. I informed her that yes we do have a car but the first car is free. She then loudly laughed and said “you’re wrong” that’s not what your lease says in an extremely condescending manner. I was confused and taken aback at her straight up laughing at me over the phone, being so rude, and very persistently saying that I’m wrong.

Still being polite, I told her I have my lease up now and can show her that we do receive the first vehicle free. It’s fine that she doesn’t know this because I know they’ve only been here a couple weeks but it is free. She then says I'll be back and places us on hold. When she comes back she says “your first vehicle is free. We’ll remove it.” And then abruptly hangs up. Doesn’t apologize and doesn’t say sorry for the confusion or for being rude.

A couple weeks pass and our monthly rent is due and the fee isn’t taken off. I’m not looking forward to calling the office and dealing with Denise again but fortunately, I managed to resolve the issue with the help of another staff member who displayed the professionalism that Denise lacks. They apologized for the delay and confusion and said it will be off that day, which it was. This incident served as a catalyst for a series of regrettable encounters with Denise, further dampening my experience living here.

When it was time to resign our lease with Cortland they changed the complimentary one free vehicle and now all vehicles in the garage inquire for an additional $25 monthly fee. (YES EACH!) Moreover, the apartment complex has been marred by constant maintenance issues, including broken amenities and perpetual construction, making the living conditions less than satisfactory. The presence of pet waste in common areas further added to the deteriorating environment.

Denise's consistently disrespectful behavior and the overall decline in the quality of services have made it clear that the current management lacks the necessary professionalism and competence to maintain a satisfactory living environment for...

This place is overpriced. Find somewhere else. These are my biggest complaints from living here:

During the tour, I was told the gym would be closed for renovations, but residents would be given free access to YouFit during the closure. This did not happen. Instead, they’ve offered residents a "discounted rate" of $27 per month for YouFit. The duration of the gym closure was also misrepresented. On my tour, the representative suggested the closure would be relatively brief, but the gym and lounge have been closed since February are now projected to reopen no earlier than August. They didn’t tell us how long the renovation would last until the gym had already been closed for months.

Extra fees and costs add approximately $200 or more to the monthly rent. Residents get constant notifications about new renovations starting in neighboring units. The hours for these renovations have been expanded to be Monday through SATURDAY from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Common area electricity and electricity in vacant apartments are shared among residents. Many units are being renovated, meaning the contractors are using power tools all day and running the AC, often with all the doors left open. The cost of community trash is also absurdly expensive, which makes me concerned that the renovation debris is being thrown out in the compactor. The monthly cost of trash is based on volume.

Residents are prohibited from storing anything, like bikes on balconies because it is “unsightly.” But the balconies of units being renovated are cluttered with construction waste, appliances, and even toilets for weeks on end. Meanwhile, there is almost no bike storage offered unless you want to pay for a storage unit or keep your bike inside. There is one small rack inside the parking garage (holding only 4 bikes) and another on the uncovered 7th floor.

Elevators are constantly breaking and repairs often take days. All of them display also expired certifications, which I think means inspections are overdue. Both of these together raise clear safety concerns.

Residents have to pay at least $25 per month per vehicle. However, there is almost no guest parking, and overnight guest parking is not allowed.

Renovations are Worse than the Typical “Landlord Special” The faux wood floors were installed with too much glue, so now there are innumerable sticky spots at the seams that attract dirt and hair and are difficult to clean. The glue has also damaged some of my clothes from kneeling or sitting on the floor. The painting of the hallways and outside doors also sloppy.  The outsides of the doors were painted while closed, so the old color sloppily outlines the door when the door is open.

Ultimately, this place is way overpriced and most of the amenities are closed for the foreseeable future without replacement or compensation. The management is unresponsive and dismissive of resident concerns. They’ll probably reply to this with another generic pre-generated response without meaningfully addressing any of the issues raised. Ignore the 5-star reviews from non-residents. My initial impression was also 5 stars before moving in, but it is only...