When looking for an apartment look beyond the cute leasing agent, the well manicured lawns and freshly cleaned apartment. Renting an apartment is a very emotional experience, much like buying a home or purchasing a new car. Even though your rent may be $1,000, this sum quickly turns to $12,000 per annum, making this a major purchase. Treat it as such.
I recently rented a so - called luxury apartment called the "Trianon" in Uptown Dallas, TX. This property is currently owned and managed by Windsor Communities, a subsidiary The General Investment and Development Companies, a.k.a GID Investment Advisers, LLC. At first glance the property looked great, but upon closer inspection you will notice major flaws. Flaws that if you look out for, you can avoid when making your final rental decision.
After settling into my new unit I noticed a puddle in the rear of my glass enclosed vertical spa. I also noticed a hairline crack from end to end in my guest bathroom. When walking across thresh holds, I would get pricked by nails protruding ever so slightly. These are things that if I had heeded the warning signs, I could have avoided this property altogether.
Before you sign on the dotted line, do a final walk through of your unit with the leasing agent. Be very assertive and aggressive in looking for issues. Look the apartment up and down keeping an eye out for things that are broken or things that are worn. Carry a pen and pad and make notes. Once you are done with your walk through, ask that the apartment complex to put in writing that they will cure the issues you found and by when. Ideally have them fix these issues prior to moving in.
Finally, talk to the people in the leasing office. Observe their demeanor with residents. Are they friendly? Are they coarse? Do they smile? If at all possible, speak with a few long term residents. Be sure to look at apartment review and rating sites. This will give you a clue.
I rushed into the Trianon because the property looked great and I loved the Brazilian cherry wood floors. Had I done my homework I would not have moved there. The property managers are rude and unresponsive and so are the executive management at corporate. The current Property Manager Kimberly Knight, is accused of assaulting a resident. Windsor Communities subsequently sought to evict this resident on the grounds that he committed a criminal act by filing a false assault report. This despite the fact that the only criminal act of record was committed by their property manager, Kimberly Knight.
If I do ever decide to rent again. I will heavily scrutinize the unit, speak with current residents and heed the advice of apartment review sites. No matter how much I love the unit or the neighborhood I will be taking great precautions from here on out.
