Belmont House — Local services in Columbus

Update: They are bribing people with discounts if they write a nice review BEFORE even moving in. RED FLAG. Wouldn’t trust these reviews now. This apartment complex is beautiful so it's a shame that I have to review this low of a rating.

My husband and I signed a year lease and we were one of the first people to move into the complex last year. The apartments inside are beautiful, amenities are great, maintenance is wonderful, but the management is incredibly unprofessional. Another thing to note, electric goes out quite often in the building due to issues on the street with a power box. And there is a train that runs right next to the complex about 3 times a day thats pretty loud. There is also a lot of issues with cars getting broken into in the parking lot and they haven't done much to fix that problem.

Over the summer, a friend was assaulted at the complex. When police arrived out front, we were providing our statements, including my friend who was traumatized. One of the girls who works for the complex came out on her porch on the first floor and stood close to overhear what was going on. I politely asked for some privacy as we had to provide statements and she cussed at me and said she worked for the complex. I said I knew she worked for the complex, but asked if we could have some privacy at this time. She cussed again (dropped an F bomb) and said it was her porch and she could F-ing stand there if she wanted to. We had to leave the area and go into a private space to provide our statements because she wouldn't leave.

That was my first experience with management.

We pay our bills on time, rent, water, electric etc. We are both working adults and twice we have received notices on our door stating we were being evicted in 3 days due to rent being 1 day late. To be honest, we have never paid rent late anywhere we've lived, but our auto-pay was not working like we thought it was in our account. We assumed it was just pulling out the 1st of every month. Most recently, we had given our notice that we will not be resigning our lease, went down to the front desk and signed our papers to end our contract in May 2021. Today, we received a notice on our door that rent was not paid and we would be getting evicted. Our auto-pay was cancelled (although set up to pull out the first of the month until May) because we gave notice.

While I understand the information was most likely in the documents we signed, we have never received any emails stating our rent is late, or due soon, or there was issues with auto-pay in our online portal. They just immediately jump to putting a notice on our door to leave the premises in 3 days if we don't pay.

During a global pandemic, I don't find it AT ALL appropriate to cause more panic to tenants this way. Reminders or notices by email would be much more efficient if someone is having payment issues. I've attached a picture of what this notice on our door looks like.

So that has been my second experience with management.

On top of those things, the emails that are sent out to the complex are unprofessionally written and sometimes unnecessary. Some such as "We've been getting complaints about a specific tenant and just so you know, they'll be out by this weekend." I'm not sure why that's appropriate to send to everyone in the building and sounds like it should be handled on a case by case (email) basis. Other emails like "This is a one-and-done complex, if you have one noise complaint you will be evicted." During a pandemic? Do you understand how hard it would be for someone to get another apartment to rent because they've been evicted without warning?

We are pretty quiet, so that doesn't apply to us, but the way this complex handles situations is just unprofessional. To be quite honest, I was waiting to write a review until we moved out because I didn't want the management to retaliate with our deposit upon move out.

I hope management decides to make...

After moving into Belmont this past summer, I honestly can not recommend living here at all. I'll start with the good points-- the staff is mostly friendly, and attentive to resident needs. The property is also very elegant and appealing to live in, and the amenities noted in other reviews (pool, clubhouse, lobby area, and gym) are all very nice. It is also worth noting that staff has run promotions that reward tenants for posting 5 star reviews, in exchange for gift card raffle entries. Unfortunately, the negatives far outweigh the positives.

Upon move in, we were left to discover that a large poolside cabana was built right in front of our windows, leaving no way for sunlight or any sort of view to reach our apartment. This was not noted on any blueprints, mock-up images, or communicated to us in any way prior to move in, and our rent is not reduced in any way. Our unit was also full of cobwebs, bugs, and sawdust from construction. Note, we were the first people to live in this unit. After moving in, I discovered that our unit did not have the wiring in place to connect internet, along with several other units. After inquiring with management, I was told that there is nothing they can do for me, and I had to call their vendor (AT&T) and explain the issue. I then had to wait 1 month for internet to be wired in my unit, while working from home, with absolutely no compensation or communication from management. I tried contacting Preferred Living (the property management group) and the phone line continuously rolled over to an accountant, and they list no email inbox.

From there, we have had 8 light bulbs go out (which they make you pay to replace after 30 days), a microwave break and need replacement, and a light fixture fall out of the ceiling twice. Additionally, we have our power go out at least once per night in our home office and living room, which also knocks out our internet.

As for construction quality, it is utterly terrible, especially for a "luxury" apartment. All of our doors swing closed on their own, the gap under our balcony door is large enough for crickets to crawl in (which has happened multiple times), many walls are noticeably crooked, and there is even a section where the floor leaves a gap below the wall. The walls and floors and laughably thin. I can understand the conversations of my upstairs and next door neighbors while they work from home, when they are speaking at a normal volume. I can also hear whenever they urinate, take a shower, close a door, burp, or use their washer/dryer. You can also hear straight through peoples front doors. The lack of privacy is astounding, and its no wonder people think this place is noisy.

As other reviews have noted, car break ins and theft are very common here. We have let management know of several issues that I've witnessed firsthand. When asking about camera/security installation, they completely avoid the subject.

It is obvious that this list is extensive, and some complaints may be argued as the fault if apartment living. However, the fact that I have to listen to my upstairs neighbor urinate over my head, in an apartment that is marketed and priced as a luxury apartment, is...

EDIT: Response from management shows their denial of the issue and continued lack of responsibility. I am indeed a resident of Belmont House and received an email from the prior to the review regarding the situation. They are being dishonest to put on a front for the online reputation.

I am writing this review to express my utter dissatisfaction and frustration with the management at Belmont House. It is with great regret that I moved into this place, as it has been nothing short of a nightmare. I cannot fathom how a supposedly reputable apartment complex can fail so miserably in the realm of communication, lease agreements, and basic human decency.

To begin with, the leasing office did a horrendous job at explaining the various common lease agreements and vacancy notice. The staff showed little to no concern for ensuring that tenants had a comprehensive understanding of their contractual obligations. It was only after signing the lease that I discovered numerous clauses and hidden charges that were never mentioned during our initial conversations.

As if that wasn't enough, the complex is now attempting to charge an extra month's worth of rent on top of their already outrageous prices. This is nothing short of highway robbery and speaks volumes about the lack of integrity that permeates the very foundation of this establishment.

I must specifically mention the assistant manager, Christopher Love, who has been the epitome of unhelpfulness and vagueness. When approached for clarification on the lease agreements and additional charges, Mr. Love demonstrated an astounding lack of knowledge and made it abundantly clear that he had no interest in addressing my concerns. His dismissive attitude and inability to provide any useful information is symbolic of the disgusting nature of the property and...