Arcadia's Edge — Local services in Columbia

My family recently moved from Arcadia's Edge but didn't think, overall, that it was thaaattt bad.

So, we moved from TX to SC, and Arcadia's Edge seemed like a good fit for that interim period while we looked for/bought a house. Monday the April 25th, move-in day, we realized the dishwasher didn't work because the center bottom spinning piece wasn't even attached. An unpleasant smell was also in the apt the first few days that, thankfully, dissipated after a while.

Even though we had requested a washer/dryer, that didn't arrive until a week later. Why the apt complex wouldn't have had them in unit, knowing we were moving in on Monday, was beyond us. The carpets hadn't been cleaned and we didn't notice the two stains until after we submitted our list of apt defects to the leasing office. Either way, gross.

Multiple areas of the rug where it met the laminate were torn up as though from an animal scratching at it. One such area had the metal under the carpet exposed with tiny sharp pieces pointing up. We "fixed" that by placing a towel over it so no one hurt their feet.

The fans in 2/3 bedrooms were very wobbly and the light in one, along with the light in that closet, would flicker constantly. Similarly, a light in the bathroom would also flicker. So obviously there was an electrical issue.

Once we submitted our "report" on Thursday 28th, letting the leasing office know what issues we found in the apt, a work order was submitted to fix the dishwasher and fans (we didn't know about the electrical issue right then). Either way, nothing got fixed. We never heard back from the leasing office or any maintenance personally about that. At the end of our stay when we did the walkthrough with a maintenance person, he was surprised to hear about the work order, or lack thereof.

Speaking of the walkthrough, apparently it’s the manager who is supposed to do it, which makes no sense to us given they aren’t in charge of maintenance/fixing things. The morning of the walkthrough, we found out—after arriving at the apartment and waiting for the manager—that she had to reschedule because the district manager (I think she was) was in the area and decided it was the perfect time to train her as the new manager. The fact the manager thought we’d believe the district manager had randomly shown up, after driving from NC, without scheduling the training meeting… Sure.

The dog trash cans that are randomly placed around the complex... sometimes they're overflowing with poop bags on the ground... sometimes they're not. A regular dumpster was there the majority of our stay that always ended up with trash/bags on the outside of it because there was so much trash from so many people. How the staff thought a single dumpster would be sufficient for the number of apt people, I don't know. But they ended up leaving notes saying they'd fine people if their trash wasn't in the dumpster. That changed when they brought in this longer dumpster (the kind with no top). That seemed to work better.

As I'm writing this, the front gate broke around the end of May and still broken.

Either way, the apartment was alright for an apt. There was mention of the train tracks behind the complex. Yes, a train would come, I think, about 3 times a day, one being in the middle of the night, but that never bothered us. The maintenance aspect, who knows? We’re guessing the work order had been cancelled for some reason without anyone telling us. The maintenance guy who did the walkthrough with us was really friendly, though. The same can be said for the two main ladies we interacted with in the leasing off, although they seem to no longer work there. Again, looking at other reviews, the workers always seemed to be changing. Thankfully, we found a house and no longer have to deal with...

DO NOT MOVE HERE. So many reasons not to move here. Moving here was terrible. You will get treated like garbage.

They don't do any repairs or replace anything that is broke prior to moving in. When me and my partner moved in the tackless strip for the carpet was showing if you stepped on it your feet got the worst of it. Going into the living area and into the master closet. Our dishwasher door was broken and about 4 months later the entire dishwasher fell out of the counter. The building manager doesn't care about some tenants. Explain, treated this community like it was a college frat house. Drinking shots, gun shooting beers at the pool. Everyone the manager partied with lived at the complex. If manager didn't like you its was made clear by body language and distinguishing attitude. This building manager likes to hold rent checks from tenants. Meaning if you gave rent check and it didn't go through their scanner for checks in the office she will wait to contact you (or never) until the next month when rent was due. Then will file an eviction go to court. This is also a "gated" community. If they were kept up meaning if they worked. When we moved they did not so my car was stolen out from in from of my apartment. Then about 11 months later prior to us leaving some one had broken into our garage and stole tools, jumper cables. Our neighbor below us had stuff stolen out of her car for her 4 month old baby. We moved out yesterday and the gates are still not working. Also don't know how to keep records of stuff. Meaning we went through two garages because the records, claims we were not paying for them. The second garage they put a note on the garage door unlocked and then that is when our stuff was stolen. This communities pool is a year round pool if it is kept up . In June DHEC had shut the pool down. I wanted to just lay out by the pool. Manager yelled at me and told me you can't be out here. The pool was bright green. The next week it was drained and wasn't filled until the end of July. The pool rules state that pets are not allowed in the pool area. Spending one Saturday at the pool manager told one couple not to bring their dog inside. After 6 more drinks the manager goes and get her 6 month old lab. This manager along with the owners West Shore since all of these things have happened I have contacted them about 7 or 8 times and only received 1 email from them explaining how she operates and how her nasty attitude is toward tentants she don't care for her sake and West Shore I hope they straighten up or someone with a lot of power will own this complex and have the managers job. When at the pool one night she was tell tenants that she had to do 5 evictions for this months and looks over at me and i said am i one of them. She looked at me and turned to the tenants that she was with and said yup. And continued to talk to her "friends". This managers name is Meghan and she works for West Shore. I like everyone i come in contact with by when your a business manager you have to a least not be so two face and not show your attitude.

So DO...

I would NOT recommend anyone even consider moving into Arcadia’s Edge. I lived there two years and sadly, it ended up being an unpleasant experience.

I saw I was frequently charged for “services” that I did not request, and that there were unexplained “service fees” in the rent each month, padding it up at least an extra $20-$40 with no rhyme, reason, or explanation. That is something you will see every month if you choose to rent in this community.

The gate was broken for six months to a year when I lived there, and there was no urgency from property management to fix it. There are two gates, and when one would be fixed, often, the other would not.

My toilet was also broken for the entire time I lived there, and even after I made maintenance aware, nothing was ever done about it.

Within the second year of living there, I noticed someone had broken the light fixture just outside my apartment which caused glass to break and fall all over the steps, making them very unsafe to step on. I reported it to management, and they let me know there was a wait for fixes, but nothing was resolved until at least two to three months later.

I then saw a “service charge” added to my rent, which I assume was for maintenance coming out and finally clearing the glass from the steps. (Which should’ve been cleared in a timely manner, because it is their job to always maintain the grounds.) This was totally unfair, because I was not the one to cause the fixture to break, and it is the property’s job to keep the grounds clean.

There is also trash frequently piled up near the compactor, which on numerous occasions, sits outside the compactor for days, leaving you no room and no choice but to leave your trash bag on the ground, leading to a very smelly, unsightly situation.

When I first moved in, I was so excited to get a pleasant representative to help me relocate. However, that turned into a revolving door of people at the office. Some of who were outright rude to my guests when they visited.

Also, when moving out, they will try to get you to foot the bill for preparing the apartment for the next tenant. And claim it is your responsibility to hire a cleaning company to clean/shampoo the carpet, and paint the walls to make it look like nobody lived there. All the while, holding onto your security deposit. They even tried to charge a “move out utility fee” — has anyone ever heard of that? What is that?

Please, Arcadia’s Edge, do better. It is unfair, and quite frankly illegal to pad up a tenant’s rent with extra charges each month, with no explanation as to what they are. Also, unreasonable to try to make what should be the landlord’s responsibilities to get the apartment ready for the next tenant solely the renter's.

If you’re looking for luxury living, I’d suggest you look elsewhere. At Arcadia’s Edge the only thing “luxury” about the apartment is the high price you pay for rent. You can find better values other places in the Soda City. All Arcadia’s Edge cares about is collecting rent. They do not care about you as a renter - a place I would steer clear of...