Chestnut Hall Apartments — Local services in Philadelphia

Update since moving: Could not be happier to not live here anymore. Move out process was a nightmare (they double booked the same time slot, extending time for two people with movers thus costing us more money AND the freight elevator broke. Thank god nobody got hurt). I received my "move out statement" and big surprise, they've taken the whole deposit and are charging me on top (charges for damages that already exist in these terribly up-kept apartments, shocking...). Again, i could never recommend living in this complex really to anyone until better management and MASSIVE updates occur (which probably never will).

Update: to add to the bad, the bike storage downstairs is unreliable. Had my bike stolen so keep your bike in your apartment I guess. Im now extremely concerned for the holiday season as I'm sure multiple packages are going to be left unattended in the lobby. Additionally it feels like the fire alarms go off weekly and evacuation of the building is way too frequent. Probably because the layout of these apartments puts the kitchens in areas with absolutely little to no air flow. The fire alarms are loud enough to probably cause significant damage to both you and your pets ears, I keep ear plugs in multiple places now for when the alarms go off.

I honestly no longer recommend to live to here, find somewhere else because there’s very little of “good” to make up for the various flaws of this place. Can't really think of any reason I'd look to renew once this lease ends.

———————————————

Overall this is not a terrible place. I’ve had a decent experience so far but this is compared to horrible apartments in the past

The good: Location is great. Lots of food locally and proximity to grocery stores. Close to MFL subway. Reasonably quiet enough area for the most part, although I've been woken up multiple times at night from drag racers on the street. Maintence team here is very nice and responds promptly. The place is pet friendly and with a fairly low monthly pet fee. The bike storage is in the basement, but typically pretty crowded. Move in/out is through the elevators in the back alley and can be reserved, made move in much simpler as long as you reserve a time/day. They have private parking for I think an additional $250 a month.

The bad: laundry is shared and will cost between $5-7 per load and often dryers don’t work sufficiently. The mail storage you pay for often won’t accommodate all the packages this building receives and results in boxes being left out in the lobby possible for theft. This place advertises cheap rent, but my single unit apartment with a window unit for AC costs $200-300 monthly for power as the entire building is pooled together and divided amongst the tenants. Also, apart from the heating units, window units are all that are available for AC. Most tenants don’t appear to bother throwing trash down the actual shoot, instead they’ll throw it around and just leave it, often making getting to the shoot itself difficult.

My unit has leaked into the unit below multiple times, big hole in the wall now so they could do repairs and was simply covered by a large piece of particle board. Whatever, just covered it with a plant.

As well, the quality of the actual units is quite poor but likely varies greatly. Cracks in the walls and ceilings and very poor quality paint jobs probably will be common among units.

Management is overall reasonable and I’ve had good experiences so far.

Likely a decent first college apartment that’s maybe cheaper than other nearby places. Just make sure you understand that power, laundry, and additional fees will make the “low” rent price much higher than you realize. In addition, if you're paying electronically (not by check) its an additional $40 for payments.

Past reviews mention that any deposit fee will likely be taken for repairs so make sure you can be there for move out inspection I guess. I’m sure it’ll happen...

My heater has been shut off for over a year and yet I am continuously being charged insane amounts for gas-- something I cannot possibly use. I was told I would pay at most 80 bucks for utilities and have been paying over 150, again for something I cannot even use (gas makes up most of the bill).

The worst part is the mouse problem. I have lost track of how many mice I have seen and pests. I keep my apartment clean but nothing helps except the brief period of time where winter kills them off.

There was a good period of time (especially during November 2017-January 2018, and occasionally throughout my stay here) where the fire alarm was going off constantly. The best part is that it would go off at 2am and I more than once had to stumble outside half asleep in pajamas to 30 degree weather. I had to uber to another place because I couldn't get rest or study.

Other reasons not to live here include the loud noises from the fraternity houses and bars located near by. There are a whole slew of issues one could only fully grasp by living here. From reading other reviews it looks like I can also expect another unpleasant experience when I move out. Which I am doing once my lease expires. Unfortunately, it also looks like they lied to several others about the utilities.

I pay on time, I am a respectful neighbor, all I ask is for fairness or at minimum basic decency.

UPDATE: My heater was never fixed. I recently moved out and I was charged a total of $410 for damages. The community asked for my address to return my security deposit but in reality it was to make sure they could charge me an extra amount after my security deposit was consumed by my final utility bill (It was $165 even though I was out of town for most of the month so I don't know how it came out so high) and the $410 move out charge. This is the break down of my move out charge: $250 for painting, $75 for kitchen damages, and $85 for cleaning charges. I spoke to the management of chestnut hall to no avail. Super combative. I told them that I understand the apartment needs to be cleaned but the charges were egregious. The damages they were charging me for were normal wear and tear. I was told when first leasing the apartment that the community understands people live in the units and that they would cover normal lived in conditions/normal wear and tear. The person I spoke to immediately shot back "that's just hearsay, I wasn't working here at the time so I don't know what you were told". Very defensive and never denied that their salesmen tell people that to coax them into leasing. There is so much turnover in the leasing office that management is able to deny with ease that they ever made any guarantees. There is only one way to describe this type of conduct: sleazy and lacking integrity.

In addition: During my last 3 months at chestnut hall I had problems receiving mail. I have type 1 diabetes and was receiving care packages from family and the type one community. I wasn't able to reliably receive medication and informative materials about my condition (as I was recently hospitalized and diagnosed with my condition) during this time. I was charged $80 for not picking up my mail even though it was never sent to me. I had to contact the third party (Luxerone) and track each individual package/carrier to find my missing mail. I was refunded the charge since they had opened a new account without my permission using one of my old emails. It was very frustrating that Chestnut Hall decided to start using this third party that was very inefficient and required you to submit your credit card so they could charge you if you did not pick up mail within 3 days (and sometimes charge you for opening an account without your permission). I received mail a month late as a result of this and spent soooo much time on this that I did not have with doctors appointments and studying for a very...

TL;DR- Don't walk...RUN from this place! I've experienced terrible communication from management and a collapsed ceiling (three times!!!). I've only been in my apartment for two months. One of the worst decisions of my life to move here at Chestnut Hall. Renters beware!!

Note: I was later asked to remove my review by management (Kyle) over the phone on August 1 since my ceiling was "fixed". SPOILER ALERT! My ceiling collapsed again soon after on August 23 soaking my bed and belongings. My review will stay.

Please continue reading so you can save yourself the stress and the anxiety. Thank you.

I agree with the previous reviews (Emily, Chi, etc.) regarding the management and the apartment conditions being terrible, to be honest. I've experienced the SAME EXACT things as them in less than two months. I can't imagine how the remaining 10 months of my lease will go. I would give this place negative infinity stars if I could. The amount of stress that I've experienced in this new city due to the mismanagement of this complex is NOT worth it.

My apartment ceiling was cracked and part of it was on the floor upon move-in. I was told by Kyle on July 9 that this was a "cosmetic issue" and "not structural". Clearly this was a leak with water damage and not "just cosmetic". I complained and it was "fixed" with just plaster and paint. However, the source of the leak was NOT addressed. The next day after it was "fixed" with plaster and paint, the rest of the ceiling began to crack and peel.

I called and messaged for my ceiling to be fixed again. I put in a service requests. After upper management got involved, extensive repairs were made. However, my ceiling collapsed again in the same location one month later directly above my bed.

The management DOES NOT respond to emails, texts, or calls; countless messages went unanswered after the lease was signed. Don't let them pressure you into signing the lease! After moving in, the leasing company and maintenance's constant excuse for ignoring you is the multiple move-ins/move-outs every week.

Please please take your time and explore other options. I am genuinely begging you to reconsider living here.

It's pretty upsetting and disheartening when you move into a "new" apartment, see your apartment in this condition, and then get basically zero help when you are paying hundreds...over $1200 for rent. It adds to the stress of moving to a new city. Find another place.

UPDATE #1: My ceiling collapsed in my studio apartment after repeated requests for the leak to be addressed were ignored over a period of 7 days. The issue with my ceiling was not addressed until higher-ups got involved.

Considering other renters have similar experiences to me (ie. poor communication from management, leaking ceilings, etc.), this is concerning.

UPDATE #2: (August 22) It's been about 30 days since my ceiling was "repaired". My ceiling is leaking AGAIN and is on the verge of collapsing AGAIN. This time my bed and belongings were damaged from the leak. My bed and all of my clothes that I own were soaked with dirty disgusting rain water. This has been a terrible experience.

UPDATE #3: (August 23)My ceiling collapsed AGAIN. I would not be surprised if more comes down. I could not sleep because of the constant dripping from the ceiling. I called the emergency maintenance hotline at 2:01 AM on August 23 and as I update this at 7:17 AM NO ONE has contacted me. Why even have a 24/7 emergency hotline (which is offsite by the way) if no one is available to help 24/7?

UPDATE #4: (August 24)Maintenance placed plaster and paint on the ceiling. One day later, the paint is bubbling with emerging water stains surround the repair. I can't wait for the rainfall. I hear exposed concrete is all the rage. I'll update this once my ceiling...