Emerald Palms — Local services in Palmetto Bay

I lived here for one year. I had moved from New Jersey and it was the easiest transition. I was only required to put down a $200 deposit to move in. Initially the office and apartments look beautiful. The apartment I had moved into however was an older unit so it wasn’t updated. That was fine with me because the rent was cheaper. The view however was terrible. The people that did landscaping for them blew the leaves (dead leaves) in front of our balcony and all of the other balconies. The only areas that have green grass are any outward facing areas so that new tenants don’t actually see the areas where the grass in untreated and there is animal feces. Regardless I enjoyed my apartment. There was just too many instances where I had to call the maintenance. The first week that we moved in the lightbulb in the refrigerator was hanging low. This was because the area it was in was broken. They came to “fix” it but it still hung even after. The shower head leaked. They also came to “fix” that but it continued to leak after. Or washer/dryer were so convenient since they were in our apartment but the washer ruined our clothing. It was leaving black stains on a ton of clothing (see attached photos). I complained but nothing was done to resolve this. The stove (and this might be me picking) was uneven so when I would cook the olive oil would rush to one side of the pan. They came to “fix” that also but once again it was not fixed. During the hurricane they sent out an e-mail stating that only the buildings with shutters would have the shutters placed over the windows so if you didn’t have shutters it was up to you to cover your windows. This isn’t a home that I owned and I wasn’t going to spend money on wood for their buildings. Being from New Jersey I had never experienced a hurricane so I was not only upset about these circumstances but I was afraid. The parking in this complex is ridiculous. It’s “unlimited“ or so they say but at night you can never find parking anywhere in the complex. People would park in the grass because of the lack of parking spots and then their cars would be towed. There is a parking spot to the right of the office that a car would park in every night. I came home early enough to park there and when I woke up the next morning I had a sticker on my car stating it would be towed the next time. When I called the office they claimed it was not a parking spot but to this day you will notice that people continue to park in this parking spot without an issue. Closer to my end at this complex I was going to be late on my rent. I was short about $200 but I was very honest and communicated this to the office. I had always been on time paying my rent and this was one month out of twelve that I was going to be late (three days late at that). Instead of calling me or sending me an e-mail they posted an embarrassing letter on my door (everyone could see it) stating they demanded I pay the rent or vacate the premises. I had already offered to pay the office $1,000 and give them the other $200 in three days but they said that wasn’t necessary. I have never been so disrespected in my life. Upon moving out they charged me a “late fee” because they claim I was there an extra day. I was already moved into my new apartment and had left they keys in their mailbox. They continue to ignore my phone calls (see attached screenshots). They are very unprofessional and rude. Paul is the only one at the office if you want to speak to someone who has manners and respect. The manager is completely rude. I would not recommend them. The amenities seem great but people use the pool at night and it is not even clean when they close it for cleaning. The gym is convenient when they have the proper tools to clean it because otherwise it smells awful. Also emergency maintenance isn’t really a thing. Our garbage disposal wasn’t working and the sink wouldn’t drain. We couldn’t do dishes and they made us wait until whenever the next busy day was. It was just super inconvenient and the person who answered the phone...

On June 25th, we visited Emerald Palms because we were interested in renting and living in one of the apartments. Edwin was the person that helped us out. He showed us different options and showed us the demo apartment that was available which was a 2/2. Then, he gave us a price for a 1/1 that was available starting August 12th (F-208 and his other associate also confirmed the price), which was renovated for $1873 a month. Later on that day, we revisited because we wanted to see the layout of the 1/1 before committing. Edwin showed us the 1/1 and we decided we wanted to go with Emerald Palms, we let him know and he explained to fill the application out within 24 hours in order to get the promised price. The quote email was sent at 1:47pm on June 25th, we tried to fill out the application at night on June 25th but it wouldn’t allow my partner to add me to the application. The next day, June 26th, we visited again at 1pm (before the 24 hours) to do the application in person with Edwin since we were having issues doing it ourselves. When we got to Emerald Palms at 1pm on June 26th, Edwin had explained that the price had gone up by $40-$50 and we explained that we were within the 24 hours and he agreed. Edwin could not figure out why it wouldn’t allow my partner to add me to the application, so he called Catherine to try to figure out. Catherine explained that she would do it the next morning at 9am when she got to work. At that point, Edwin asked her about the price and she PROMISED that she would honor the original price for us and fix it the next day at 9am. Now, we let multiple 24 hour holds go because Catherine and Edwin both assured us not to worry about the price because the original $1873 would be granted the next morning. My partner, Juniette, missed an hour of work on June 27th to arrive at Emerald Palms at 9am to finish the application which now Catherine and Edwin have told her that the price is no longer available. She explained that they had promised us the original price the day before which apparently was a complete lie. Both Catherine and Edwin told us that they would reach out to the manager, Julissa, and get back to us WITHIN 24 - 48 HOURS to see if you can make the change in the price. That was June 27th, I have called multiple times and left 2 voicemails and no one has gotten back to me or my partner at all, not even for an update. We were ready to put our deposit down and make all the necessary payments, had all the documents with us when we went to do the application but we were let down by the employees.

We contact the manager, Julissa, on July 5th for an update and she has been no help whatsoever. I explained the situation and although the associates PROMISED us that they would give us the original price, nothing has been done. This issue was NOT our fault, it was the employees faults. We went in 24 hours after with all our information and money. I emailed Julissa for 4 days and followed up with her today July 19th because she still had not replied to my email from July 8th which was 11 days ago. As future residents we expected better treatment and we hoped that the price that was given to us would be true but it was a complete scam! DO NOT TRUST THIS PLACE, clearly they love to make promises that they cannot follow through with.

REPLY TO BOTTOM MESSAGE FROM EMERALD PALMS: This is completely false, I actually sent an email last night and Julissa has still not replied to me and my message from July 8th was responded to yesterday because I followed up... so no, not all my messages have been answered. I have not lied about ONE single thing on here, if you check your cameras and the email you guys sent me originally you will see everything is accurate. I would appreciate if you guys were truthful about your service instead of making accusations on this review. Also, you suggested re-quoting me with the current HIGHER price and after all this unsatisfactory service, no one would want to move in...

I’ve been living here 2 months and so far, it’s disappointing to say the least. The gates are always unlocked, one of the two pools seems to be permanently closed, the gym is now closed, too. Also, if you have noisy neighbors don’t bother trying to have someone from the leasing office help you resolve the issue. As long as it’s not midnight it’s okay for neighbors to blast music as loud and as long as they want.

The A/Cs are old, and can’t be put below 74 degrees in this burning summer heat without dripping and leaking. The parking is a nightmare, the apartments are overpriced and outdated (carpet in a lot of them) but honestly, that’s most of Miami.

One of its redeeming qualities is it’s located conveniently, but all the other problems for the price you’re paying make it insufferable. The leasing office never answers the phone.

Some of the neighbors are decent people but the noisiest ones are inconsiderate and make a joke out of everyone’s peace.

Don’t move here if you’re a college student looking for some peace and quiet after getting out of work and trying to study, cause I made the mistake and unfortunately I’m paying for it for the next year.

Update: I finally got to move out of this apartment complex. Towards the second half of our lease, the worse only got worst. It seems as if the maintenance had dwindled dramatically considering for the last 6 months living in our apartment, we started to experience A ROACH infestation. It started slowly, but soon enough while we were cooking, on the couch, etc, we'd spot multiple roaches throughout the day. If you don't believe me, read the other reviews about this.

Of course, there was an attempt to address the issue with the leasing office via email but PER USUAL, there was no response and no efforts to solve the issue.

Pile ups of dead beetles collected throughout all the tenant's front doors on our floor, and while they used to maintain these areas with pressure washes, sweeping, they seemed to have cut costs on that end.

It took us almost 2 months to receive our security deposit. The leasing office decided to mail our security deposit to our previously occupied apartment with them for some reason. I had called the leasing office about 2 weeks after we moved out in order to rectify the situation, a little confused as to why they would've done this when I had updated my address with USPS and request all mail be forwarded to my current address.

When I called (multiple times over the span of 2-3 days because again, you have to drive them insane in order for them to actually pick up the phone), the girl seemed lost but agreed to take down my address, confirmed it with me and said she would have the check mailed out ASAP.

Cut to a month later, and multiple emails to confirm whether the check was mailed out, Edwin said it would be sent out later that day/week. This confirms the lady to answer on the phone did nothing (surprise!), and instead of apologizing for the INCONVENIENCE they try to brush it off and just say it'll be mailed out.

Upon receiving the check, the majority had to be used towards carpet damages. Ok, understood. BUT, when asking for a copy of the itemized bill from Julissa, she claimed it had already been emailed. I asked her to forward the email since I seemed to have missed it. She once again says it was already emailed beforehand. IF IT WAS ALREADY EMAILED WHAT IS THE ISSUE IN RESENDING IT.

ANOTHER HASSLE JUST TO RESOLVE A SIMPLE ISSUE.

This apartment complex isn't horrible if you put aside the cockroaches, but the MANAGEMENT is a NIGHTMARE.

I hate leaving negative reviews but when employees are this incompetent, it is extremely frustrating. Please don't trust the positive reviews, if you must take something from this post.

It seems as if they're paid, considering after a couple of bad reviews there's a sudden influx of overly positive...