Umbrella Building — Local services in Philadelphia

I did not enjoy a single day here of my 13mo lease. They painted a really nice picture of what the building was supposed to be but severely under-delivered. The "polished" and "trendy" touches were all poorly installed and throughout my lease were falling apart. Management is the most unprofessional and short-sighted group of people ever dealt with. That's an unfortunate thing to say while paying $1695 for a one-bedroom excluding all other fees. I never felt comfortable, safe or at home here. To summarize -- the management is terrible, everything is inconvenient, you will lose a lot of money and finally - these people do not care about you. Please look at the pictures I’ve included for reference.

Details: Building: Take a look at the pictures I’ve included for details. Basically, it was falling apart from the moment I walked in – despite this being a “new construction.” I was the first person to live in the unit and yet there were deep scratches on the walls, floors, bathrooms. Everything is poorly built and installed. I've also seen mice.

Property Management: This is the most unprofessional group of people I’ve ever had to deal with. From the unprofessional emails I would receive, to people literally entering my apartment without 24-hour notice for non-emergencies (this is illegal and happened more than once) – I can't believe I paid that much rent every month. I’ve lived in expensive places and cheaper places, and regardless, my reasonable needs were always their top priority. To not even get this from a “luxury” apartment is disappointing. If they continue to function this way, they will need to drop their rates considerably. You do not get what you pay for at the moment.

Security Deposit: They took a huge portion of my security deposit (which is one month’s rent) because I did not “professionally clean” the carpet. Mind you, not only is this the carpet something that you’d find in a warehouse, and not a “luxury” apartment, but it was also splattered with white paint all over it when I moved in. They told me the deduction was because my bed frame left a dent in the carpet?

Move out: Despite my lease stating I could move out anytime between 9:00AM and 6:00PM (it did not specify or exclude any days) they refused to let me move out on the Sunday that I requested. After speaking to the front desk, they could not lock the service elevator for me to use, but said I can use the elevator regularly if needed. With no other options, I decided to do that and rented a U-Haul and started to move out. I was very rudely stopped by a maintenance woman halfway through, telling me I cannot move out on Sundays (again, despite what my lease stated and what the concierge told me) and I had to stop half way through and finish by myself, with no truck, in multiple trips in the next week

Gym: The gym is okay if your workouts are simple - which mine are. The reason I stopped going was due to the free classes that were held during peak gym hours which takes up a majority of the space and equipment. Free workout classes are great, but there's not enough space or equipment to allow for both the class and non-class gym-goers to have a successful workout.

Parking: I unfortunately got spot # 33. This spot is so awkward and small that the person parked to the right of me damaged my car on two separate occasions trying to reverse out. I don't even blame her - this area is so small and should be only used for compact spots at best. There's a lot of street parking available in this area, I would've probably received less damage out there. Along with the other negative reviews, I’ve literally seen a new resident at the front desk submitting a complaint after being promised a parking spot before signing his lease and ultimately not getting one.

Please save your money - this place is not worth the year-long headache.

P.S. right before moving out, they sent out an email to all residents stating there will be indefinite construction throughout vacant areas of the building. It's extremely loud and they start early...

Update: 6/27/2020: still no security deposit. The desk is no longer responding to my emails or telephone calls.

Update: 6/5/2020 : Security deposit never returned and they've charged me a months rent eventhough I no longer live there. The apartment was left undamaged and cleaned and yet they continue to say they've sent me a check. I live two blocks down so I'm not sure why it has taken 35 days... Still, nothing in the mail and they will not allow me to pick the funds up. Also, when trying to call about the recent charges, I get no one on the phone or no one to call me back. By law, PA landlords must return security deposits within 30 days correct?

The staff here are extremely friendly and professional and the building is beautifully well kept. I love living here. I feel safe and there are nice perks to the neighborhood, generally. I only have one complaint which is why I am unable to give a five star rating to the organization.

A rental agent representing Core Realty Rentals offered me a sign-on special at The Umbrella Building in March of this year. The special was for parking and the fee was $80.00 per month. After shopping around, I finally ruled in favor of The Umbrella Building because they offered the lowest monthly parking fee among other comps that I had considered. When I started the application process, the parking was still available for $80/ month and when I signed and submitted all my documents, that was still the verbal agreement between myself and the agent. - Never was I informed that the pricing was subject to change.

At that very moment of handing over final signatures and getting my keys, I was told that I was being placed on a waiting list because there weren't any parking spots available. Never was I informed, nor did I think to ask whether the parking fee would be subject to change during that time. If the rental agent had made mention, I could have legally canceled my purchase all together. Instead, the agent assured me that I'd be informed via email or telephone when a spot was made available at which point, I'd make a first payment for the 80 bucks/month and all would be well.

Fast-forward 6 months later, I never received a call but once I finally reached out about my status, I learned that the price increased to $150.00 a month for parking; not to mention the parking lot where I'd have to park is off-site and unpaved. I've reached out in regard to this issue but when I requested a call from upper management, I was sent a very insensitive email in return.

The Director of Property Management said that the organization has rules and regulations to follow and yet didn't have enough empathy or respect to call and explain them to me. That person went on to "offer street parking" which also seemed a bit insensitive knowing I've been a resident here for six months now. Where else would I be parking my vehicle?

Core Realty Rentals promoted an $80/ month sign-on parking special at The Umbrella Building during which I signed to rent one of their units. I would like that same offer. "Low parking fee" advertising is a huge selling point in Philadelphia, P.A. It's predatory, in my option, to promote one price as an incentive to hook shoppers in, only to wait-list them and nearly double the price after signing. Such practices are not only deceptive towards consumers but are unfair to...

I agree with all the negative reviews. Please do not rent here. Nothing is "luxurious" about these apartments. Our 1 year lease of $1750 for a 1bd 1bth apt with the umbrella building was a never ending nightmare, and unprofessional and unresponsive management was to blame. Please stay far away from this place, and do not trust Alexandra Eisenlohr, Jennifer Shorts, and Kathy Parisi. The company Core Realty doesn't care about the concerns, safety, or well being of their tennants.

Don't believe me? Just check how many vacant apartments they have. Speaks volumes about the quality of their facilities. Do not be fooled by the upscale lobby.

My advice if you do plan on renting from here is to document everything. Take pictures of your apartment before you sign your lease, make sure you do a walk through before you end your lease, and above all make sure you get your security deposit back within 30 days of vacating your apartment. They will try tactics to keep your security deposit. They must provide you an itemized list of damages within 30 days. If they do not return your security deposit in that time, you are entitled by pa law for up to double your security deposit.

Cons: Management won't answer emails or calls. You would have to find them in the hallway to even get a response. They don't honor anything written in their lease, and do not enforce lease rules. They will lie to you and pretend that they are working on your concerns and dodge all follow up. They will never assume responsibility for their incompetence. We were not provided with a key fob for months, and the one we were given was not functional, took forever to be fixed, we would be trapped outside the apartment building waiting for others to open the door Apartment needed major repairs, windows wouldn't open, fixtures were falling off the walls, shotty construction Our apartment was infested with ants, we had to beg management to send an exterminator after spending $$$ on our own to remove the ants Neighbors are very disrespectful about quiet hours, and would throw parties every week, even on weekdays until 4 am Neighbors would smoke marijuana and cigarettes which permeates through the vents to our apartment and the common space hallways Management's response to noise and odor complaints would be to call the police, no actual action taken place on their behalf No one wears masks in public spaces, elevators, or the gym. Even the front desk staff wouldn't be wearing masks The grills on the roof are filthy, and never cleaned They tried towing our car and placing a sticker which was a nuisance to remove even though we were paying $50 a month for parking, and they don't respond to emails as to where to park (3 emails sent) They are still emailing us to this day to pay rent, even though we have moved out

Pros: Front desk staff are very kind, and assist with packages Maintenance would be quick to solve repairs when using the portal View from the rooftop deck is beautiful The shower is very nice?...