Avana Minnetonka — Local services in Minnetonka

I beg each and every potential resident that is interested in renting here to save your time, money and mental health. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT apply to live here. You will learn very quickly that everyone in the leasing office is full of excuses and will always give you a run around. There seems to be no manager present to dissolve issues and ensure that prospect clients are well taken care of(that or they're doing a great job at not bothering them).

For context, there's two David's in the office and a guy by the name of Pat.

My partner and I applied and signed our lease back in June 2023. We made it very clear that we were new to the area and had a lease that was ending soon. August 1st, 2023 was our move in day and when my partner went to pick up our apartment keys, she was told that "your apartment won't be ready for another 2 weeks at best, due to renovations going on… did David not email you guys?". Reminder that this is THE DAY OF MOVE IN!

Every time we called, we were routed to their call center (Sarah) and each time they promised to send a message over for someone to reach out. That never happened. Not once did we ever get a call back, nor text back, nor a response to ANY emails, no voicemails left, and these issues all started AFTER we applied and paid a little over $500 for application fees and lease fees.

They did offer us a "guest suite" but they offered the same thing to another tenant who was in line before me (who accepted it) and he made a complaint that the AC units in the guest suite were not working, nor was it cleaned and all Dave could do was apologize and refer the tenant to utilize renter’s insurance, but that seems to be all the resolution available for upset customers. During our time there, we watched the phones ring ring ring and no one picked up. To my dismay, they lowered the volume on the phone to not have anyone hear it and we heard the pings go off from the emails coming in and you guessed it, the volume was shut off also. I also found it quite odd that on Move-In day, there's only ONE associate working and God bless his soul because he was so stressed and had no help dealing with a line of almost 10 people. There were folks there who came for a tour and had to wait almost an hour.

Even though we lost over $250 in "nonrefundable fees", we're so glad to not have to live and be around that muck for a year. I wish I could make this up but sadly this is the reality for many at Avana. The price will lure you in, but the lack of management, concern and morale will surely turn the situation sour, REAL QUICK. Please do your due diligence and look at Google reviews before taking action. At first I didn't think it was gonna be as bad as those who left reviews but I surely lied to myself. I also recommend asking current tenants, if you see any around the premises, about their experience. Once we did this, we were told that maintenance is usually never available because they only have 1 or 2 guys to handle 6 buildings and the cleaning situation is awful also due to only a handful of cleaners that are made responsible for cleaning 6 big buildings. Crime spikes were also mentioned because everyone knows that the cameras don't work and when you make a complaint, the office is very chill about it. We went to the extent of calling the Minnetonka police department and they also shared their dislike for having to work with the leasing office on matters that should be pressing. If you didn't know, Avana Minnetonka got bought out by GrayStar. Please don't respond with your generic responses about how shocked & sorry you are. You guys don't care at all and if you notice on the response left by them on Google reviews, it usually doesn't even seem genuine. It's all copy and paste. I saw one that had "[insert number here]" still in the response! That's how I know they don't GAF! -10/5 - worst renting experience ever!!

P.S. – I waited for my security deposit back before...

If I could give this apartment complex 0 out of 5 stars, I would. My roommate and I lived here for two years, and during that time, we encountered numerous issues that should never have occurred or could have been easily corrected but weren’t.

Security is virtually non-existent. Doors were frequently propped open, allowing anyone to enter the building.

The security cameras rarely functioned, and when crimes occurred, the office staff showed little interest in reviewing the footage.

I had multiple packages stolen or discovered opened and rummaged through, and the office staff were dismissive of my concerns.

My roommate’s car was broken into inside a “secure” garage. The office staff were unhelpful, and when the police received the footage, the cameras that should have captured the area around the car had failed. Additionally, glass from the break-in remained on the ground for two months.

We occasionally encountered squatters in our lobby and storage rooms in the garage, and this happened in more than one building.

Police presence was frequent. We had to call the police on our neighbors due to ongoing domestic violence that we could hear through our walls. One morning, I went to take my puppy out, only to find all of Minnetonka’s police and SWAT team in the lobby because a resident had committed armed robbery.

The apartment directly below us decided to have a bonfire on their balcony, violating fire codes and our lease agreements. The flames and smoke were so intense that the fire department had to be called, and our living room smelled like smoke for the entire next day.

In our back staircase, someone wrote a racial slur on the wall, and despite a staff member living in our building, it remained there unaddressed.

Throughout our time here, every time it rained, the lobby and staircase windows leaked water.

Residents smoked cigarettes on their balconies, despite the complex being designated smoke-free according to our leases. As a result, we couldn’t keep our windows open without the smell permeating our apartment.

Some residents smoked weed in their apartments, causing the hallways to smell, which often wafted into our unit through the vents.

Children ran and screamed through the hallways, vandalizing the building. They slammed fire doors, tore down and smashed exit signs, threw balls at our cars in the garage, and pressed the elevator emergency buttons. The office sent emails to residents, but this did not resolve the issue.

They refused to fix our patio door, even though the windows were holding moisture and the bottom tread was completely rotted.

The complex charged residents for common space fees, amenities, electricity, etc., yet for most of the summer, these amenities were unusable. The community room was under construction, with furniture crammed into the indoor pool area, which also remained closed. The fitness room was likewise unusable due to ongoing construction. Finally, the outdoor pool was frequently closed due to lack of oversight, vandalism, and residents’ careless behavior.

Lastly, when we moved out, the apartment didn’t provide a move-out checklist. We confirmed with the office staff that we would receive our full security deposit back, but we were later notified that we would only get $6.36. They deducted from our security deposit for utility fees and amenity fees for spaces we couldn’t even use. I’ve tried calling to voice my frustrations but have not received a call back. I’ve contacted the Community Manager, Zoe, multiple times—six calls and two messages—but she remains quick to respond to reviews rather than address my concerns.

As I mentioned before, if I could rate this complex 0 out of 5 stars, I would due to the sheer negligence of the staff, the lack of oversight, and the absence of any real security or safety measures.

I cannot stress this enough: do...

I wouldn’t move here again if it was the last place to move to. I have lived here since February and it’s been a nightmare since. The only reason this place gets two stars is due to our actual apartment layout and square footage. If I could pick up our apartment and put it in another community run by someone other than Greystar, I would.

First, the package room. It is terrible. There is one package room for all of the buildings in this community. A few months ago, they changed the code for the package room; however, they did not change the code on the entrance to the actual building where the package room sits. Many vendors leave your packages by the door of the building rather than the package room. You’re told you need to spend $20 to create an account for their Parcel Pending locker system, which we did. I can count on one hand how many times our packages have actually been delivered in a secure locker. Many of the vendors don’t know the code to the package room, nor do many of them cares. In the last week, I’ve had two packages delivered, by two different companies, and neither of them was to be found when I went down to get them. Other people going through your packages and/or taking them is not unheard of. You can see the pictures for proof.

We are supposed to have a call box that our guests can use when they visit. It’s supposed to call our cell phone and we can buzz them in. It has never worked for us and when guests have tried calling it, some random guy answers the phone. We assume a former resident?

The “secure” doors are constantly held open with any object that people can find. Residents and vendors often take the landscaping rocks to hold open the door. Why do we pay for a “secure” building when it is always open?

The alarm on the elevator in the main building (where the office is located and where we live) has been going off for over a month. Nobody has taken care of it or done anything about it.

Getting a hold of someone in the office is not going to happen. You can try calling Avana’s main number and it’ll bring you to people at a call center or representatives working from home but you won’t actually talk to anyone in the office. Try emailing incessantly and walking down to the office and MAYBE someone will get back to you in a timely fashion.

There was black mold underneath and behind our toilet. I put in a request and maintenance came and sprayed the mold, while over spraying and bleaching my rugs in the process. Avana did credit our account for the rugs, after I emailed pictures and complained.

Your rent is one thing. You’ll pay your rent plus you will pay for common area electric, gas, trash, water, sewer, pest and the billing system they use. Since we have moved in, this is anywhere from $150 to $200 more per month. You’ll also pay your own electric bill on top of that.

The amenities are fine. Indoor pool/sauna/hot tub, small gym and outdoor pool. We get emails all of the time with something being broken and them having to close something.

To try and mask the inconsistencies and mismanagement, they’ll make the community rooms look pretty and put on ice cream socials. I would much rather forego the ice cream socials and not pay the $5 per month for their billing company to create my bill.

Most of our neighbors have moved out, with the same, if not worse, complaints that we have. We have emailed the property manager (we are on the third property manager since we have moved in in February) multiple times, have called and have contacted corporate.

Save yourself and go elsewhere. It seems too good to be true to get a property for the price they advertise, it is! You’re not getting what you pay for and you’re going to be severely...