The Creek at Forest Hills — Local services in Wilmington

A few weeks after signing my lease and getting ready to move in I get a phone call from the “new management” stating that the apartment I had signed and PAID for was not vacant and would not be on my move in date. I was FURIOUS. I signed a LEGAL document for a place that was not vacant and they decided that the current residents had seniority over me. I should’ve got a lawyer right then. Managment emailed me telling me that she was going to give me an “upgraded” apartment rather than the apartment I had signed the lease for… upgraded only meant I have tile on the wall in my bathroom btw. She also later wrote in the email “It doesn’t happen often but it can happen.” WHAT?!?!? So they have people signed a lease for an apartment yet they cannot move into even though on the LEGAL DOCUMENT the move in date and room is clearly stated, not to mention this happened the week I was supposed to move in! I had no other choice but to move in due to the timing but I would classify this as poor management at its finest. I still think about getting the law involved over this. Paying rent is a pain in the, if you want to pay online you only have a 3-4 day window to do so or they will charge you a 3.1% “convince fee.” Their website is always shitty and you will have to use an actual computer to log onto your account due to their site not supporting safari which is what is usually on your mobile device. I was away on vacation one month and did not get the chance to pay online, went up to the office on Saturday to pay rent before I had to go to an important event waited over 30 minutes (along with 5 people) for the “leasing agent” to arrive. Go figure this is a NEW employee, the last “agent” got fired, turn over rated is ridiculous. The new leasing agent did not once say sorry or act like she was in a rush to help the residents after being 30 minutes late. 3 months later… I got a bill stating that my water was over $100 for my very small 1b/1b, keep in mind it is just me living here. I bought it up to management and she stated she would get right on it. A week later I come home and there is a paper sitting on my bar signed by the maintenace crew. Apparently, they thought it was okay to come into my apartment without asking to take pictures of my water meter, I was beyond upset. I never said anything because I knew they’d brush it over like they did with my LEGL DOCUMENTATION OF THE LEASE. A week after that, I contacted management asking what has been resolved with my water bill, she emailed back asking if it was okay if maintenance came in and looked at things…. they already did!!! Poor lack of management yet again!! I told her I did not appreciate them coming in without asking and she goes on to say that I should mentioned and in the work order that THEY CREATED ON MY ACCOUNT. I don’t even know how to put in a work order!! There is cockroaches everywhere, the A.C. is obviously older than me (never get below 78 in my apartment yet constantly runs,) the A.C. leaks onto the carpet, 2 of the neighbors I’ve met hate it here, my boyfriend had to park in a non visitor spot due to the apartment complex having a truck and trailer parked sideways in the visitor parking area so he had no where to park. They towed him next morning. Went to speak to them about the situation thinking that not other was there no where to park but after everything they’d done they would fix it. Nope. Had to call corporate and they were no help either. I asked corporate about terminating my lease but they require $690 to break the lease as well as 60 days of notice before moving. This apartment complex and the company that runs it is a complete scam and care nothing but the money! Pray for me the next 6 months I have on my lease. BEWARE OF THE CREEK!!!! I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND THIS APARTMENT COMPLEX TO ANYONE AND HAVE TURNED MANY PEOPLE AWAY FROM THIS WRECK. BE SMART AND...

The maintenance staff and office assistants are very pleasant and maintenance is pretty quick when requested. However, watch out for the managers there. They will try to lie and scam you when you move out. They did this to 3 of my neighbors and myself.

Advice: Take photos of EVERYTHING before you move in, make sure you take the condition check-in sheet that marks the condition of the apartment and document EVERYTHING. If you can, even bring a staff member with you when you do so. Document ALL repairs that were done during your stay and have maintenance sign it (usually they'll give you a repair sheet before they leave though). When you leave, PHOTOS and DOCUMENT everything again, even bring a staff member with you to sign it when you're done.

The reason I suggest this is because of the following: I left my apartment in almost the exact same condition I got it in. I cleaned the carpets at my own expense. The only thing wrong was one window blind that needed to be replaced and I forgot to install it. I bought the replacement and left it in the apartment for them do the work though. 3 weeks after I left the manager emailed me and told me that the repair cost of the apartment would be over $300 and listed the repairs as replacing all window blinds, cleaning the stove and oven, replacing drips pans and shampooing the carpet. I replied back for him to show me proof of these needed repairs. He replied back that they already did the work. I informed him that without proof of the need repairs after leaving the premises I am not liable, however if he required proof of the state of the apartment after I left I would be happy to show him the photos I took before and after move in and move out. He replied, not even acknowledging my reply that I was also being charged another $150 for trash disposal of a couch. He stated that a neighbor gave him a statement witness that they saw us putting a couch by the community dumpster and leaving it there. I told him to describe the couch, he said it was floral, which was NOT my couch because I took ALL my furniture with me to my new apartment and sent him a photo of my denim blue couch set. I then informed him I would be happy to setup a meeting at his convenience within 30 days to show evidence against his claims and we could compare notes. He replied with a date and time of 1 week later. I arrived, only an office assistant was there and told me he hadn't come in today and was not scheduled to. I sent a message to him about this and never received a response. After 30 days I told him that he is required, by law, to return my deposit and that his claims were now void due to his no show at the appointment and I would be happy to take him to small claims court if he wished to continue to dispute the charges. Once again, no reply. I never received my deposit back because I couldn't get a hold of anyone in management. I determined that the cost of going to small claims court over the deposit would cost more than the deposit and did not pursue it.

BE CAREFUL AND FOLLOW MY ADVICE IF YOU WANT...

Moved into a 3br apt with MANY issues, closet doors not hung, drains not draining, missing drawer in the kitchen, outlets without power, non working dishwasher etc, 8 months ago...8 months. Multiple work orders filed, refiled, calls made, emails sent and STILL repairs left undone. Repairs that should have been made before they rented this dilapidated apartment to anyone. Multiple conversations with management and maintenance only to be given the run around, made promises of "tomorrow" or "plumber will be coming today", days spent waiting for no one to show or excuses to be made. Quite fed up. Wish I knew what slum lord owns this place because I'd love to explain what goes in here. We've paid our rent in full every month on time and this is how they treat us? So maddening...not to mention rent based on community amenities that have been closed due to needed repairs, the pool was finally repaired once summer was over and the laundry facilities are hit or miss whether they work, good luck with getting refunded for that too! If you're looking for a broken apartment you pay full price for and never get repairs made, this is the place! Easy to see why they can't keep staff, every call it's someone new who is unaware of the issues and "will look into it" apparently they get bonus points for half-hearted apologies and how many excuses they can make for not taking care of the property. Can't wait to see what other issues arise from our master bath we haven't had use of due to clogged drains and most recently (post repairs to drain) flooding into the carpet of master and linoleum that is bubbled up inches. Fun times....