La Valencia at Starwood

I was not going to write this review, but after the crap they are trying to pull, people need to be made aware. We moved into the apartment in Nov. 2017, the apartment was extremely dirty and disgusting. It, apparently, had been vacant awhile, so they gave us a special deal to not pay rent until Jan. 2018. I should have paid more attention during the initial walk-through, because it wasn't until after I moved into the apartment that I discovered how nasty it was all the way down to the refrigerator. I had to clean the apartment from top to bottom just to feel comfortable staying there for me and my family. I did make the office aware of the apt's condition, and they responded well by scheduling a cleaning lady to come and clean, but, there was no way I could wait until the cleaning lady came. I have to have my surroundings clean around me before I can take a shower or use the bathroom. I'm talking dirty with dead bugs everywhere. The cleaning lady came, so I had her clean the stove, since I had cleaned everything else. I had to show her how to lift the stove top up to clean it. She didn't do a very good job, so I ended up cleaning the stove again after she left. We also found mold in the apartment in all of the window seals and the ceiling leading to the garage. The treated the windows with bleach, which they left the empty bleach container in our apartment when they were done. They did cut out the mold part of the ceiling to fix it. Then we discovered that the lease we signed was invalid. The lease showed the start date as Nov 2018 and the end date in 2019...the year was wrong. We were able to get out of our lease only after having our attorney send them a letter. They were not happy with us, so now they are trying make-up charges for damages we did not do. We had a cleaning service clean our apartment, and we made sure the apartment was in tip-top shape when we moved out, unlike how it was when we moved in. They are saying the control panel on the microwave was hanging and broken. This is absolutely untrue, and we have our cleaning service to vouch for us as they cleaned everything including the microwave. I have asked them to do a virtual walk-through with us so we can see proof that the damaged microwave is in our apartment (since we have moved out of state), but they refuse. All we want is proof that the microwave is in our apartment, but all they can provide is an invoice. These people are incredible and cannot be trusted. They are not honest. Be aware before moving here...take pictures of your move in and after...keep all records and documentation. The property manager has a very nasty attitude! The 2 people who were pleasant and professional are now no longer there.

The apartment was nice, but mold in the bathroom, traffic noise from the tollway were nothing compared to the fraudulent practices from the management. The lease practices.....don't believe anything they say to you. They tried to raise my rent over $800 for my last several months. I'm still fighting "late fees" for charges made long after my move out. They have still not listed my unit for re-lease despite the fact that I turned it before Christmas.

Update: now they have fined me for not cleaning my unit despite telling me I had to pay an express cleaning fee of $150 and telling me I don't have to clean. My fines for late payment were refunded, but between $145 of late fees and my $100 deposit, they are trying to pay me $58 of the $245 that they owe me. They also claimed not to have my forwarding info which I provided 3x and confirmed was in their computer. They also have my phone # since it hasn't changed in 13 yrs.

AWFUL. THINK BEFORE LEASING!

I moved in on July 10 after signing a 3 month lease.  This was recommended by the management there based on our discussion of my situation and the pricing.  The representative assured me that they would work with me after the first three months since I wasn't sure how long it would take to build my new house.  By the time I move in, the apartment representative that gave me the tour and helped me when I visited no longer worked at the apartment.  So, leading up to my move in, I had to provide documentation of my electrical and renters insurance a second (and third time), so they really need to work on the record keeping process.  The move in went well and my apartment is nice.  I had a very loud disposal and I submitted a service request which was fixed the next day.  My disposal continues to be loud, but otherwise is working, so I guess I can't complain too much.  The management is not very responsive when you are having issues.  My valet trash service was not being picked up and it took several days (and me solving the problem myself) before I even got a response.  Now, just 20 days in to my lease, I received my lease renewal information.  I had quite the sticker shock.  The price I'm currently paying for the first three months is only available if I renew for 6 months now.  If I renew for 2 more months, it is the same price as the month to month rate...which is $845/month more than what I'm currently paying! (I'm already paying over $1400/month for a 1 br apartment due to my short lease, now they want $2280/month for 1-2 months more.)  I asked the management if there was any room for negotiation, particularly in light of the promises made to me by their previous employee.  The management was not willing to make any considerations and recommended that I sign a 3 month lease since that would save me money since the rent was only $400 a month more than what I'm currently paying.  I believe the management needs to review their math...$1845 x 3 = $5535 and $2280 x 2 = $4560.  I pointed out that there was an upscale apartment complex nearby that had an available apartment available for $1000/month less and asked if they would be willing to work with me to prevent me from moving.  They did not respond other than to send me the ?Notice of Vacate? form and advise me that it needed to be in my August 10 in order to fulfill the terms of my lease.  I am currently weighing my options to decide if I will go through the hassle of moving, but the $2000 savings is quite appealing.  More than the money side of this experience, I?m shocked that their customer service is this poor.  I know that contractually they do not have to honor their word, but I wouldn?t recommend this complex anyone after this experience.  My company recently relocated to Legacy and the Tollway and I have many friends looking for places to live in the area.  If my experience had been even slightly better, I would recommend the complex because the apartment and grounds are beautiful.  But?beware!  In a very short time frame, they have become very proud ($$$) of their apartments.