Stonepointe University Place — Local services in University Place

I have lived here for 9 months. I was so excited to move into my 3 bedroom apartment here. Even for the high price, at the time it seemed like a value. Although, in retrospect when they didn’t allow me to see my unit before moving in I should have realized what a red flag it was. I was handed my keys in a very brief exchange, and had to do an initial walk-through on my own. Second red flag. My unit did not have the same “updates” as the one I had toured. They claimed floors were hardwood, that’s a lie. It’s cheap vinyl flooring. Toilets are oddly small and bathroom/kitchen cabinets are falling apart. I made sure to take detailed photos, and I recommend anyone else moving in here does the same.

The nightmare continued as trash collected behind my first floor unit. Surrounding my patio, being thrown over the balcony of the top unit above me. Rotting fruits and vegetables, toys, trash (including dirty diapers and tampon applicators). At first, I took it upon myself to clean it so I didn’t have to look at it so often. Then I got sick of it and couldn’t understand why the complex maintenance or landscaping teams hadn’t noticed. I sent multiple emails with photos (like the ones I’ve included here). I went in person to the office. The trash is still there to this day, 9 months later.

Additionally, I can hear every single noise my upstairs neighbors make. It is impossible to sleep and I feel that it’s not necessarily their fault. These buildings are cheap and poorly constructed. Be prepared for the noise level if you choose to move in. Even sleeping with ear plugs has not helped me.

Then there was the flooding. Twice now my apartment has flooded from the bedrooms/bathrooms all the way into my living room. Both times at the fault of the third floor unit (once a toilet overflowing, and the other a bath tub overflowing). Both times the only thing done by the maintenance team was to add 5-6 huge industrial sized fans and some dehumidifiers. I had to live with the extreme loud noise and suffocating heat for days both times. Had to find somewhere for my animals to stay because it stressed them out so much. No repairs were made to the obviously water-damaged floors and walls (photos below). Both times. Again, I wrote emails and showed up at the office. Nothing has been done. It smells like mold and I am now moving out early for fear of getting sick.

I am leaving a lease early for the first time ever. I’ve never lived in a place this disgusting and been treated as if I was completely invisible like it feels I am here. I’ve tried being pleasant with the office management, as I don’t believe it is directly their fault that this is happening. I’m sure they are underpaid and being held at ridiculous demands by a corporate office which has no grasp on the daily operations of this complex. I absolutely blame poor oversight from them. I’ve asked for the property management contact information and have yet to receive it.

To add insult to injury, they forced a valet trash service on us (for an additional $45 a month) which I never signed an agreement for. Recently, on the day before Thanksgiving, we received notices that we would be penalized ($25) for leaving the cans they provided us outside our front door. Pick ups for trash happens Thursday-Sunday 6-8pm. Supposedly. I’ve never seen my trash get picked up earlier than 8-10 pm. So, they want me to wait until 10pm to make sure I take my can inside to avoid being penalized? On top of it, I have a dog who can easily outsmart this can and I don’t want it inside my place. I’ve had valet services for trash at other apartments and never been asked to do this. It doesn’t make sense and it’s just added to a poor experience here.

For the high price of these units, I cannot possibly recommend them to anyone I know. Even someone who felt desperate. The customer service is nonexistent, quality of the units is terrible, and the corporate office in charge doesn’t seem to care at all. Don’t move here! You will...

Charles the maintenance man has a wonderful heart, is great with dogs & responds to requests with urgency… even while being the only one on staff one weekend despite freezing temperatures and multiple emergency requests. While we are lucky our heater didn’t go out, our apartment key was not working. We spotted Charles on the grounds and he said he would get it done same day as long as we tell the leasing office to put in an emergency request.

Compliment & complaint - Customer service is hit or miss depending on how you get a hold of them. The ladies in the leasing offices have been very sweet in person but I have found it’s difficult to get a hold of them via phone. There was a problem with multiple of the Security properties phone lines transferring to sister companies..if someone answers instead of going to voicemail. That being said, I’m totally understanding of being short staffed and not being able to answer while on a tour.

Complaint: Our mailbox key isn’t working & we’ve mentioned it to the leasing office 3x. The first time we were told they would put in an emergency maintenance request for us since this specific issue wasn’t an option on the app. Then we were told spares would be ready the next day. Never received a call the next day. The third time we finally received a call right before they closed.

Parking & costs: Garages are NOT for storage which important to know and kind of a bummer they can’t be used as such. The price, like rent has hiked up a significant amount recently (since Nov ‘23) $50 more per month for a garage, and $200 more per month for rent (1 month difference from first viewing to actually leasing). It doesn’t seem like it’s necessary to buy a reserved covered parking spot as there are plenty of spaces open and it feels safe but the slots are very small and people with big trucks or even SUV’s park on or over the line.

Cleanliness: We had to put in a maintenance request for a bathroom cabinet falling off, our bedroom vent being so dirty it was replaced. I have severe asthma and this is a safety hazard/ major health concern. The leaves were blown in front of our door/onto our mat which is a bit annoying and easy to track in but the parking lots and stairs were salted in inclimate weather (bigger priority).

Inside our apartment: I LOVE how huge the closet is in our 1 bedroom apartment. It may not be a walk in but it takes up a full wall which for a woman with a lot of stuff, definitely helps to store things. Speaking of storage, super nice to have a closet outside but bummer that there is no linen closet or pantry. We would not have the space if it weren’t for a couple of shelving racks to hold pantry items. The apartment is modern and beautiful! I wish the washer and dryer were bigger. They’re stackable to save space and can fit maybe 4 outfits so I’m doing laundry constantly for my boyfriend and I. The bathroom cabinets have lots of space but I wish there were drawers. The TP holder is a little far away from the toilet but nbd, I’m just short with little arms and my friend’s apartment has the same issue.

Do I have complaints? Yes, but nothing and nobody is perfect and I just want to state it all, the good and the bad. Most of these are minor issues that may not be worth mentioning but might be important details to somebody. With all that being said, I do love our apartment...

I have been here for 3 months. Management and maintenance are top notch. PRO: Parking is free and is plentiful just not always available in front of my building which is fine. Visitors have parking as well. Complex is gated albeit the gate worked for a few days only so far. Apartments are large and decently priced. Complex is, in general, very quiet and there is no riff raff. Not once have I heard police or ambulance entering the complex. Neighbors are great. CONS: the apartment doors do not have slow close, so they slam every time. Everyones doors. Its super annoying. Also The walls are paper thin. I mean PAPER THIN. What I hear goes beyond normal apartment noises. I am basically living my neighbors life. I know when he is up, when he goes to the bathroom, when he talks on the phone at 5 am, or comes home after night out. I hear details of his phone conversations and I know when his gf is in town if you know what I mean. Its gross and I shouldn’t be hearing all of that. And i do not think he is being particularly noisy nor that I am being particularly sensitive. He is just living his life so I can’t complain about him. This is 100% landlords issue and I am not sure how can they solve it. I didn’t complain because the neighbor did not do anything wrong. Maybe it is just my luck, but I am slowly losing my mind because I am forced to listen to someone else's life and I will not sign the lease again.

Edit: i moved out at the end of the August because I couldn’t deal with how thin the walls were. If you have neighbors you will hear everything. Office was closed on the day i moved out and had i not run into one of the workers, I am not sure what they plan would be for me to give up the keys. They would probably charge me for that. I received a statement in which they now want more money over the supposed “deposit”, which I firmly believe nobody ever received back. They charged me for kitchen faucet that was in exact, broken, condition they gave it to me. Apartment was not painted when i moved in, but they charged me for paint ( i lived alone with no kids, no damage from me). When i moved in they wanted to replace the carpets in the bedroom as they were replacing them throughout the building, i asked them not to due to the noise. They charged me for cleaning the carpets they will replace. I also got charged for cleaning, even though i left the place spotless ( minus the stove which I used to the last day) because i hired a cleaner. They didn’t charge me for the stove cleaning but the whole place. Do not get fooled by the pool and the hot tub; they were closed for 10/12 months i was there and only opened during the working hours which means after first few days when they reopened and kids were on the break not to many ppl were able to use the pool since everyone is working. Management changed halfway and it should have been a red flag. While they don’t charge for the parking they fees are around $200 for one bedroom likely more for bigger places. When calling around to find a new place, even with charge for parking, fees were less than those in Stonepointe so count on extra $200 from them at least, on top of your rent. This was a huge disappointment, especially move...