Rev Oxford — Local services in Oxford

I don’t usually leave reviews - and I don’t think I’ve ever left a negative review – but it is necessary here. 0/5 stars.

My experience with Lafayette Place requires a three-point review addressing 1) the negative overall process of renting there generally, 2) the abysmal customer service, and 3) the complex's apparent disregard for their duties and legal obligations to tenants.

My boyfriend signed a lease for a one-bedroom apartment with his move-in date scheduled for mid-August. He stayed with me for a few weeks awaiting his move-in day. When we arrived at Lafayette Place with our cars packed, ready to move him in to his apartment, the leasing office told us his unit hadn’t been cleaned yet and he would need to come back in a few days to move in. We were both very understanding because this surely is a busy time for them and, thankfully, he had a place to stay with me. However, it’s important to keep in mind not everyone would have this on which to fall back. Regardless, we returned days later to move him into his new place, only to be told his unit had still not been prepared. They instead placed him in a different unit. This apartment was fine – pretty much what we expected when he signed his lease – with a few minor issues: the dryer did not work, the garbage disposal cap was missing so the blades were dangerously exposed, there was no shower curtain or rod, etc. But these were, again, issue we thankfully were able to work around.

Less than a month after moving into his new apartment, my boyfriend was laid off from his job due to COVID-related hardships at his work. We immediately decided we should move in together and sublease his apartment. I found a law student at Ole Miss urgently looking for a sublease and sorted everything out with her. However, when my boyfriend and I went to the leasing office to begin the paperwork they told us his lease agreement prohibited him from subleasing. I mentioned that the lease agreement contained provisions expressly related to subleasing and that he only chose to live at Lafayette Place and sign this lease BECAUSE it had a subleasing option. The staff responded rudely and condescendingly, implying we did not read, or perhaps were unable to understand, the basic contract. We eventually spoke to the property manager about the issue, and she informed us they had a strict policy against subleasing and there was no way my boyfriend would be permitted to do so. We reviewed the lease agreement together with her over the phone and by the end of the conversation it was apparent that the property manager at Lafayette Place (who signs each tenant’s lease agreement) either lacks comprehension of the very contracts she signs or does not care about the legal provisions contained within said contracts.

Again, fortunately for us, we were able to have a real estate attorney advocate on our behalf and Lafayette Place eventually acquiesced and allowed my boyfriend to sign a subleasing agreement with someone. It was infuriating, to say the least, to receive an email from the property manager informing us they had “decided to allow [my boyfriend] to sublease” when, rather, it was their contractual obligation to do so, and they had wasted our time and money in delaying. By the time we worked through these issues with the leasing office, the sub-leaser we originally lined up had already found another place to live. My boyfriend and I subsequently had to dedicate hours of our time to advertising the apartment, talking with potential sub-leaser, and giving tours of the apartment. In this process, we had one potential sub-leaser walk away after speaking with staff in the leasing office who she said were unfriendly and rude to her.

I strongly discourage anyone from renting an apartment at Lafayette Place. The staff are unhelpful,...

Moving into this unit has not been easy (move in date 9/1/22) as it appears little to no cleaning or maintenance was done in this unit prior to moving in. Even communication with the office was difficult as I received varying responses with the staff throughout the week of move in, after being told the unit would be move in ready at 12pm 9/1 however upon arrival was told the unit would not be ready until 4pm and I was not allowed in the unit till then, against better judgement I agreed, when the movers arrived at 4pm the unit was unclean and furnished even though the unit was supposed to be unfurnished (Office admitted failure on this.). After being put on extended hold, I had to leave work early to go to the office before closing inorder to handle the situation. As I entered the office I was immediately intercepted and told that the maintenance crew would be removing the furniture and the cleaning crew would be finalizing ASAP. After talking with the maintenance supervisor on my way to the unit, I agreed to comeback in roughly an hour or two to give them time to remove furniture and clean. However once we returned (8pm) to the unit, they had removed the beds and barstools; leaving the couch, dressers, coffee table, and TV stand that we had to remove prior to beginning the moving of my items.(Fun Fact: it was low quality dirty furniture that the office staff tried to talk me into keeping. The items we removed that evening ended up being thrown off the third floor balcony like the trash it was by the staff.) Unit was filthy with dirt, grime, and potential mold throughout the unit. Kitchen still had food throughout the drawers and cupboards, the fridge had rust spots and handprints clearly visible (the scene on most surfaces in unit). Curtains have obvious fire damage in living room from previous tenants. The washers rinse knob is unattached (literally a button placed loose in the hole). Air vents all had thick layer of dirt and dust. Multiple lights burned out, several lights have dead bugs visible, patio was also filthy as it had plant matter and a whole pot worth of soil on the ground. The floor throughout the unit is also filthy as walking around will turn the soles of your feet black with dirt. Over 10 years and 5 states and this has been easily one of the worst experiences I've had moving into a new place. For the rates of these units it is drastically overpriced for the quality. If you are looking for a residence worth the price,...

This apartment complex is so disorganized and careless. The staff in the office signed for a package of mine ( A IPHONE X ) and even though I currently don’t live in the complex, my friend does and it was addressed to her apartment but with my name on it and they supposedly sent it back but UPS has no track of the package being returned, solely delivered, AND SIGNED FOR! Leading up to this event I addressed a package of mine to my friends address under my name and they didn’t deliver it to her address but they did hold it from the time They received it on Friday (Thank God because it was my new phone) until I picked it up that Monday. They have my full contact in their system as a previous tenant but I didn’t receive any call nor did they try to contact my friend who is a current tenant on either occasions, and the same lady that I spoke to every single time I went into the office said the same thing, she did not know where my phone could be because they did not sign for it nor receive it, but if they just so happened to they would have sent it back though UPS says that someone at the office signed for it, and they gave me a name and address. You would think that a complex would keep some kind of track of packages they sign for, especially if it’s something that is obviously of value. Now today, I go to the office to pay a fee for my friend who is out of town and when the SAME girl looks up my friends total she said that the fee was higher than the amount being paid so she couldn’t take it. Okay. So now she asks can they split payments to a coworker and her coworker says no. Turns around and leaves. So I’m like dang....this is kind of weird my friend sent me up here for this. Then I go home and call my friend and she sends me an email she received saying to bring her payment which was reduced from the original payment, today. Now.... YOU WOULD THINK if the bookkeeper emailed someone specifically for this SPECIFIC amount of payment they would possibly pay more attention to what is going on instead of brushing off what just looked like me paying the rent late, in a split payment. Now I have to drive all the way back to the complex upon which the employee apologized for not realizing that I was paying for a tenant who had previously confirmed this exact payment. Highly disappointed is this office. She didnt even have...