Bay Parc Apartments — Local services in Miami

I can't overemphasize enough how close the new building that's being built is to Bay Parc. My apartment is a dungeon, no sunlight permeates, the construction workers throw their trash onto my balcony, and they are pulling a lift (?) not sure what else to call it between BP and the new building, it's so close I could jump on. Just a solid brick wall next to me. I really don't know how they'll rent these apartments once leases are up, I can't even imagine how this is legal (the buildings being so close together that is).

On top of that:

Pre-move-in: We were given a rental rate for an apartment that I viewed in person and wanted. We were out of town so when we contacted management the NEXT day to start the lease, they said we could do everything online and through the computer. Long story short, it was a huge disaster. No, we couldn't do it online, it wasn't working, and so we had to electronically fill out a lease while traveling to Asia. We did this so that we could lock-in the rental rate given to us at the tour. At NO POINT during an almost 2 week process did anyone tell us that rate would no longer be available for us. Not until we had paid everything were we told now the rent was $100 more. Granted - $100 more isn't a lot in the grand scheme - but it's the principle. So, we decided to get a 2 bedroom that was a few hundred more but "had no view" -- Okay, fine -- little did I know what "no view" meant.

In regards to this - they did give us a discount on our first month's rent for the miscommunication, but I genuinely don't understand why they couldn't just give us the previous rental rate, as the discount ended up being more than rent increase (?)

Issues with our parking; we were assigned a parking spot upon moving in, a month later my husband had a yellow note on his car saying he would be towed, when we addressed it with management they said we weren't assigned that spot and gave us a new one (?! what were we paying for then, if we weren't assigned the spot).

Issues with paying rent - I set up an automatic recurring payment and it said it would be deducted starting on the first of the month, for the following month. OK, fine. So I clicked to pay for that month's rent. I have a confirmation saying it will be deducted on the first of the month so I assume everything is fine. On the 5th (the date you get charged $150), I get an email that our rent is late. I try to ask leasing about it -- bringing my confirmation page (save every confirmation of everything with this complex), leasing can't do anything. I call the apartment manager -- no response, and let me say that I have called or emailed Alexis DiManche at least 5 times for various issues and she has never, not once, answered the phone or returned a call or email. So, I called corporate. They refused to help me, saying it was my fault, saying "[they] know what the confirmation says" until I kept pressing and asked if it was their policy to not honor confirmations sent by their own website. Finally, they asked me to send the confirmation, and after looking at it took the late fee off.

The elevators. Omg, the elevators. This is a recurring theme in the bad reviews, and there are 39 floors, so at a certain point you have to expect to wait, and they are "renovating" them. However, one day I was riding the elevator with 4-5 other people in the morning, there was a loud BANG!, the elevator stopped, and then eventually moved down to the first floor. It was terrifying. [again emailed Alexis Dimanche, no response -- not that she could do anything, but a simple, "sorry that happened, we appreciate your concern" would be nice].

I'm still rating it 2 stars bc I really do love the neighborhood and love that there's a doggie day care inside the building. Just hope you never need management's help and live on a lower floor so you can walk if the elevators aren't coming.

EDITED TO ADD: 2 weeks ago someone commented on this and said they'd reach out. Still nothing. Except a leak in the apartment above mine, into ours, and a week...

I don't usually write reviews, but I believe it's important for potential tenants to have a comprehensive understanding before deciding where to invest their money. After all, we're not just seeking a living space but also, peace of mind and tranquility.

At Bay Parc, my rent was approximately $2,640, escalating to around $3,000 with parking and trash fees. Now, living elsewhere for the same amount, I realize the discrepancies in value and quality.

Here are the primary issues I encountered at Bay Parc:

Pest Infestations: Despite being an older building, I was unprepared for the severity of the cockroach problem. Even after professional treatments, the issue persisted. Imagine this — it's midnight, you're half asleep, craving a glass of water. You stumble into the kitchen, flick on the light, and it's like the cockroach apocalypse in there. Disgusting!

Security Concerns: The lack of effective security became painfully apparent through personal experiences. Firstly, my two bicycles were stolen right under the security camera, using a power tool. I reported the incident to the police, but unfortunately, Dave, the concierge at that time, showed a lack of interest in providing the security footage. Secondly, I witnessed my neighbor's car being stolen right before my eyes. To give you an idea of how scared I was, picture this: You're coming home from work around 1:30 AM, waiting for an SUV to move so you can drive up the ramp and park in your spot. You flash your lights to signal them, but they don't move, so you wait. Suddenly, two very big guys with ski masks jump out of the car, one yelling "GO, GO, GO" at the other, who was attempting to start my neighbor's car. Both storm off, leaving behind a plastic leg with some type of metal bars at the spot where the car was parked (see pictures below). At that time, there was at least a night concierge to report emergency incidents; now, there is none. Oh, and I almost forgot, someone got shot by the pool in August, it even made it on miamilifestyle...

Water Leaks: These occur quite often, leaving you to contend with the nuisance of loud drying equipment. One day, I came home to find myself stepping into a puddle of water, the result of my neighbor's pipes bursting. The walls in the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway were all soaked, and it took three days of drying with some VERY loud equipment to resolve the issue (see pictures below). Every once in a while, you'll notice these machines in the hallways.

Move-Out Costs: Despite having my apartment professionally cleaned at my expense, I was charged a $129 cleaning fee and $326 for wall painting. I understand that this is becoming the new norm in Miami, but still...

My advice to potential renters is to carefully evaluate both your future home and its management company to ensure your investment truly offers the peace of mind and quality of life you deserve. As for me, I've learned the true value of my hard-earned money and will NEVER consider another Aimco property in the future.

EDIT: After I read the response from the company, I feel it necessary to clarify certain points to ensure a fair and accurate representation of the events during my tenancy.

It is very unfortunate that my maintenance requests cannot be found, but the presence of the drying machines inside of my apartment indicates that a request was made. Otherwise, how would it end up there? :)

While I understand that staff members are not trained to handle security issues, the problem is that for the last 6 months of being there there was no security at all. This is contradicting to marketing luxury apartments, when the most important luxury - safety, cannot be provided. Being both a victim and a witness to a burglary, I don't take this very lightly, and no-one ever should.

Fortunately, I have documented everything prior to vacating the apartment. I will share the photographs and allow for everyone's unbiased assessment of whether your cleaning fee, typically associated with a two-bedroom apartment, was justifiably...

Today at around 6pm. My pregnant wife and I are not able to leave our apartment in the 38th floor because the fire rescue shutted down all the elevators for safety reason. Management response to every resident complaint, was they cannot do anything until the following day in the morning after the city inspect the malfuntions of the elevators.

Management told everyone to use the staircase no matter age or disabilities. Myself and many people walked their way to their apartments with groceries, children, suitcases, etc. Others couldn't get to their homes at all.

Elevators are a big concern to everyone here since they do not work properly, they rarely are working at the same time, and people get stuck very often.

After living in this building for several years, it is time to move on. Due to very unprofessional and poor management, today i have decided to not renew our lease. Aimco seems not to care about their residents anymore and I'm not putting my pregnant wife through safety risks.

I understand there is a new management in the house now which started a month ago, but that is not guarantee that things are going to get better. I have met 4 diferent managements in 7 years. One worst than the other.

Today was the drop that overflew the glass. Under last management my storage was emptied out by mistake by the maintanance employees. The previous GM lied to us and said it was theft. Off course nothing we could do neither the police. We were offered a compensation through the building insurance but we never got a dime. The manager at that moment was Alexis Dimanchi.

Entrances are not secure. Garage Gates are left open every time there is a little bit of wind without any guard on post. At least once a week you find security sleeping somewhere in the property including front desk personnel.

Pest is another big issue here. Very very unhealthy and unsanituary since they started building the Arias on the Bay condo right next door. I understand the why, i dont understand the methods to solve the problem. Very very poor response.

I could go on and i have a big list. I believe I could keep writing 10000 thousand words because we feel very frustrated and hopeless.

All I wish right now is to live in a place where my wife and i can carrie our pregnancy without stress and troubles.

UPDATE: 05/25/2017 NO ONE CONTACTED US AS REPLIED TO THIS REVIEW BY WHO KNOWS FROM AIMCO.

Today a cleaning crew of unknown people to us was sent to my apartment to clean the balcony. By unknown people I mean they are not Bay Parc Plaza regular employees.

We received a 1 day notification paper in our unit front door mentioning that a cleaning crew was going to enter our unit on 05/25/2017 from 9.30am to 5.30pm and ask to secure our pet if we had one.

Today at 12pm I called management to ask them please and let us know at what time approx. so we could be present due to security reasons (since this is a new management I explained the same reasons mentioned above on this review).

Please read the email I have sent to the GM 15 minutes ago.

Hi Joe,

I'm writing you in reference of the balcony cleaning that was performed today at my apartment.

But before, I would like to ask you for my wife's security and mine, that next time you sent a crew of people that we don't know and/or are not employees of Bay Parc Plaza, these are in companion of a security guard.

We spoke on the phone 2hrs before they knocked on our door and I have told you that for security reasons and bad experiences we had here in this same apartment, they were not allowed to enter my house if we were not present. And now I have confirmed that they're entering the units without security guards and my concerns are not being taking in consideration by Bay Parc Plaza management.

FROM NOW ON, AND FOR OUR OWN SAFETY, NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO ENTER MY APARTMENT WITHOUT US BEING IN THERE UNLESS IT'S AN EMERGENCY. NO PEST EXTERMINATOR, NO MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, NO GUARDS, ETC. I have an IP cam installed so I will know.

Email continues... about the mess they left...