Palazzo Townhomes — Local services in Phoenix

UPDATE: 5/3/18 6:41 p.m - from 1 to 3 stars...

I received a call from the regional manager of Alliance and we spoke for about 20 minutes about everything that's been going on. She personally promised me that everything will be taken care of. About an hour later I received a text message saying I HAVE HOT WATER!!! I really appreciate the concern she had and how fast she fixed this problem. I will update again after my next DirecTV appointment.

I REALLY wanted to like this place but I just can't....I am counting down the days until I can move out and I haven't even been here a week....

So I signed my lease and "moved in" on April 27, 2018. I have had nothing but trouble getting everything set up. Here are the issues I have had so far:

Parking: On the day that I moved in I pulled up to my driveway with my moving truck and car packed pull ready to move in only to find an SUV that wasn't mine parked in my driveway. After knocking on all the doors and ringing all the doorbells no one came out. I walked to the leasing office - they were closed. Literally had to wait for who ever that car belonged to to move their car. I spoke with the leasing office the next day, asked what I do the next time that happens - they said it shouldn't be happening and to let them know so they can put a notice on the car. Yeah that's great but it happens when the office is closed so.....strike one.

Cable - You are forced to use this Century Link store to set up your internet and cable. (Century Link at Arcadia Crossing) The people at the store are terrible and are a nightmare to work with. They first set up my install date incorrectly (8 days before I was supposed to even move in) then tried to charge me for the guy coming out. Okay, I know this isn't a Palazzo issue but bear with me, I'm getting there. So after numerous calls back and forth with the manager at the CenturyLink store we get an install date for Monday, April 30. Perfect. Guy comes out (super sketchy van and no identification because I guess he is a third party vendor) and says he can't install because of a tree. THE. ENTIRE.BUILDING.USES.THE.SAME.DISH. I don't understand. He tells me I need to get the tree trimmed and they can come back out. Okay fine. Go back to the leasing office. A few hours later, I get a call - tree can't be trimmed until next Monday. Great. Looks like I am taking another day off. If you are forcing me to use this service - please keep the property up to where it can actually be used. Strike two.

Gas: So you have to use South West Gas. Fine. I call get an install date. I am told by the front office that they will give them a key to enter to turn everything on. Great! Set it up for April 27th so I can have hot water and a dryer to use after I move in because that's what people do. I get there Friday night to a note that says they couldn't enter the premises to I need to reschedule. No call, no nothing. Fine. I call - they can't come back until Tuesday. Great! I set it up. Tell them I'll leave a key - we should be good, right? Wrong. I go to the apartment yesterday to a Notice of Hazardous Conditions on Customer's Premises. They can't turn on my hot water heater because of "TPR drain line terminating improperly. Needs to terminate downwards." Awesome. My blood is boiling (unlike my water). I head to the leasing office again. Was told they never heard of that issue. Asked me to call Southwest to find out what that means but she will put in a maintenance request for me tomorrow morning. I offered to leave the notice and the note with her so she can tell maintenance what needs to be done and she declines. So here we are tomorrow morning. I call to confirm that a request was put in - spoke with the manager. She asked me to send her a copy of what they gave me because she has never heard of that. There has been no maintenance request put in yet. Not sure when I am going to actually get hot water but at this point, I am counting down the days until I can move. Strike...

I lived here for a little over three years beginning in early 2020. We saw four different property management companies in that time. Some were better than others. The current management (Asset Living) took over in March 2023 and has impressed me.

My roommate and I were in a two-bedroom (B1 layout) and loved the townhome. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Pros Attached garage. This is a huge perk that is rare in rental complexes. Two-bedrooms hold two cars, though you have to park them in front of each other. You will sometimes see residents playing musical cars because of that. There is also a little room for storage, or a lot if you only have one car. Quiet. The complex is generally very quiet. You don't have neighbors above you. Even though Sky Harbor is down the street, I never heard any airplane noise. I was fortunate to have good neighbors who kept to themselves. You will occasionally hear people roll through the complex with their music playing louder than it needs to be. There have also been a few more young kids wandering around lately who think the gate and driveway areas are a playground. Otherwise, it was exceptionally quiet. If your unit faces the 202, you will hear muffled freeway noise just in the bedroom that's on that side. My roommate was able to sleep and work in there just fine, though. Safety. I always felt safe in this complex, even when the gate was broken. It's true that a few blocks south on 44th is not the best area, but the complex is tucked away off the street. I saw Phoenix PD in the complex a handful of times but nothing that really concerned me. Layout. Personally, I really liked the design of our B1 unit. The main level is a large open floor plan with a very large kitchen area. Plenty of storage. Freeway access. The 202 is right there. Making a left onto 44th is very doable, you may just have to wait sometimes. There's also a back way around the complex to the west where you can loop onto the 202 westbound. Getting downtown is a breeze on the freeway, and if you need to avoid rush hour you can take Van Buren or Washington straight there.

Cons Neighborhood. Okay, so it's not the greatest area in my opinion. That's no one's fault but just something to be aware of. You have the airport and light rail to the south, and there are a fair number of unhoused people who hang out nearby on Washington. There is also generally not a lot happening in the area -- it is mostly airport hotels and some office buildings. To the north you have Arcadia, however, and Costco is right up the street (great option for both shopping and getting gas). If you like to walk, you can walk around the office/hotel complex to the south. I would just stick to daylight hours. Rent. In three years, rent went up a little over $300/month. That's probably true of most places in Phoenix during that time, however. I don't ding them for this because (1) new management just took over (2) it's the way the market has been, and (3) they offered a very small rent increase if I had stayed another year. Is it worth the money? Only you can answer that. Minor gripes. In my unit, the master bath shower was a walk in but very small. I used it daily for three years but if you're bigger or hoping to have a party in there, it's probably not happening. Occasionally you will get odors, like if your neighbor is cooking spicy food. From time to time I would smell marijuana (walking outside in the complex) and more rarely inside from my neighbors. They made the leases smoke-free a couple years back, but I'm not sure if that's still the case or if the new management will be increasing enforcement.

Overall, I was very happy at Palazzo Townhomes. It's the longest I've ever stuck with a complex and I've lived in many. It was just time for a change of scenery. Move out went smoothly and there were no charges -- we cleaned thoroughly but didn't feel like anyone was trying to nickel and dime...

Read Emi’s review - it is spot on.

Here is a high level overview: We pay $2250 for a renovated 3Bed 3Bath. Upon move in, the unit was FILTHY. Holes / screws were left in the wall, or poorly patched. There are two leaks in the ceiling that to this day they are refusing to fix, and there is paint overspray everywhere. The epitome of landlord special. They use these cheap sticker floors that release glue and cause impossible-to-clean stains everywhere. The main-level toilet has a condensation issue and mysterious stains that reappear no matter how many times you clean it. Due to this it has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. They also refuse to fix this. Our main shower was profusely leaking, leading to having to shut the entire unit's water off for 3 weeks. After suggesting legal action, the unit finally attempted a repair, to which they blamed us for the leak. However they STILL did not fix it, and we had an independent plumber replace the cartridge. The plumber stated it was very obvious the team prior did not know what they were doing and made the leak worse. This is all documented in writing as well. Amenities are awful - The pool is always dirty, the grills barely function, the "movie theater" has been closed for basically all of the 7 months I have lived here, the gym equipment is either broken or keeps getting stolen, and the community restrooms are either broken or locked. Many residents do not follow the rules here, such as leaving pet waste everywhere or leaving trash outside of their units - creating a foul odor. Once again the property denied all of this until I submitted photos. On more than one occasion there has been a resident walking around with a pistol in broad daylight. The gates did not work for the first 6 months I lived here, and now they leave the sidewalk gate open at all times - which defeats the purpose of a gated community. Management has performed 2 "random" inspections on my property, however they do not speak with us, do not announce their entry (I almost called the police last time), and do not fix any problems with the unit. I will state they do at least provide written notice in advance. However at 9:03AM if you hear voices in your living room, you are understandably nervous. Management DOES NOT respond to any emails, phone calls, or maintenance requests and that is whats most disappointing. If they simply provided communication things would be much better but it truly seems they do not care about the experience here.

They also jacked up the price by more than $700 for new residents which is INSANE. It’s not worth living here for that price.

If things don’t improve soon I will be seeking representation due to management neglect and failure to uphold their end of the lease.

To any potential renters, I warn you not to live here.

EDIT: They’ll respond to my review, but not my calls, emails, or several maintenance...