Tenant Reviews for 535 GAYLEY AVE

I moved here in September of 2010 and moved out August 2011. I lived in a horrible "jr. 1bdrm suite." It was a studio with a bar in the middle. The kitchen was tiny tiny tiny, such that my roommate and I could not both be in it at the same time. The electric stove and oven they provided was a piece of ----, with tiny burners and no real cooking ability. Also, the fridge was tiny. There was no dishwasher and no microwave either. I swear that our AC unit had mold in it. Whenever i'd turn it on, it would smell like a really filthy homeless man. The paint job was shoddy as well. When we moved in, they swore the paint was new, but it was one coat of flaky brown with probably no primer. The walls are paper thin as well. You can hear everyone in every apartment around you, even with all the windows closed. There's a scam that they do to rip you off on your deposit as well. They use really terrible glaze to refinish their crappy counters. Everything sticks to it such that you cannot put anything on the counter. I mean, ANYTHING. It will lift the paint off of it!!!! Then when you leave they will charge you hundreds of dollars out of your deposit. They're basically using everyone's deposit to prepare the apartment for the next resident, even when you leave it spotless. The parking garage is a joke. You have to use an actual key to get in, which makes you a target for carjacking. Also, 2 of the garages have one in and out, so if you are coming out and someone is coming in, you have gotta back up. Laundry room is crowded and a joke. Overpriced tiny washers and dryers that are never available. Too bad whoever owns the building is a cheapskate looking to rip off college students. Otherwise this place may have been sub par instead off a hellhole. The only plus was the fact that

HEALTH: I live in this apartment complex currently and it has been nothing but a disaster. Twice now my ceiling has had the rain water come pouring through into my kitchen. Earlier in the year I had mold growing out of the ceiling from cracks where water had previously leaked. I got sick from this. They stalled and stalled to do the repairs. I went 2 and a half months without a complete ceiling. They only reimbursed me for one quarter of one months rent and when the work was finally done the repairmen left a huge mess that I took me hours to clean. SAFETY: I had the tailgate of my truck stolen from the gated parking garage. I had my motorcycle vandalized also in the parking garage. I had my mail (including a credit card) stolen from my mailbox. The code to the front door is know by a multitude of people who dont live in the building. In fact, the pizza delivery guy gave me the code and not the manager. I also had someone break into my apartment. HASSLE: The management sucks. The lady who works in the office will help you in no way unless you're a potential tenant. If anything happens to you or your stuff the first thing she always says is "we're not responsible for that". Aside from that, if there is something wrong it is very hard to argue with her because shes not the sharpest tool in the shed and usually cant follow a logical argument for more than a few sputtered retorts. For your sake DO NOT LIVE HERE!!

The apartment seems decent on the tour, but there are a few problems that come up as a tenant living in the apartment. There is an insect problem for one. There isn't a day that I wasn't bugged by fruit flies in the apartment. Found roaches on several occasions, also large spiders and other insects I don't know the name of. Most of the doors do not fit the door frame, so there are huge gaps on around the door, particularly at the bottom. This poses both a noise (loud students walking to halls) and insect problem (they can easily crawl in, attracted by the light). Maintenance is slow, and there have been several problems with plumbing. Water is often orange when I turn on my shower.

1. Rent is much higher than any other apartments 2. Pool never gets cleaned, Jacuzzi doesn't heat up, GYM equipments are always broken, GYM is closed after 6pm ?!! 3. When you are renting the Management and Manager is very nice, but after you sign the papers they turn into devils. They want to screw you over any way possible. 4. Things int the apt break very easily such as bathtub soap holder, toilet paper holder, sink aerator, gas stoves, balcony door, electricity plugs and so on. All those have broken in our apt within the last 7 months and some things even twice. 5. Walls are very thin, when people talk you will hear everything to your sides and top and bottom floor. I have also heard from past tenants that they never return the deposits. They always find small things to keep it. SAVE the hassle and please find another place. Don't get distracted by the balloons outside.

The good management has unfortunately been replaced. The new "on-site manager" is hardly there when you need her, and she's incredibly unclear in her explanations of apartment policies should you have a problem. Aside from the terrible management staff, the property management group (Decron) has some of the most ridiculous policies in the biz. They'll charge you for painting costs if you haven't lived here for more than 18 consecutive months even though they're obligated to repaint all their units before new tenants move in. You have to jump through so many hoops to even get this place (they asked my guarantor for a bank statement proving he had more than a year's worth of rent in his account, which is a precondition that no other apartment has ever asked me to meet). The maintenance staff is unresponsive; my window blinds have been broken for the last 4 months despite my frequent calls to the manager and to the corporate office. The walls and ceilings are ridiculously thin, making stalking your neighbors criminally easy. Use the pool and jacuzzi at your own risk! They're both small, frequently out of commission, and not cleaned or maintained by anyone! The fitness center is an absolute joke. Parking is worse. There aren't enough spots for everyone, so everyone just parks wherever they can find a spot. If you do decide to live here, document any and all damage to your unit before you do anything else or you'll get charged for it. Also, keep your lease agreement handy. I'm positive you'll run into trouble sooner or later.

Ariel Court's best feature is the location. No long walks to class and not having to worry about your car is a big plus! Aside from that, management is very friendly but does not allow irresponsible behavior. Let's just leave it at that. The landscaping is always nice and the staff is very friendly. There were a few maintenance issues over the winter with the hot water but it was due to upgrading and only lasted a short while. Only one apartment that we've ever noticed causing problems, management does their best to handle them. Other than that no noise complaints. Price comparisons were right in the middle, for everything that comes with this place.... it's a great value!

We've lived in Ariel Ct for a year, and like it. It's a good location, so you don't need to take a bus or walk really far to class. That's mostly what you pay for. If you live farther west of Gayley, it's really run down, noisy, and chaotic parking. People on Levering, Strathmore, and Midvale park all over the place and we know people who have had their cars smashed by drunk kids. If you live South of Wilshire, it's cheaper, but you have to take the bus. Driving to campus doesn't work because parking permits are difficult to get. And the manager Tania is good. She's really nice, but at the same time, doesn't tolerate the immature behavior. The maintenance people are good too. I forgot their names, but they're nice.<br>

I'm responding to the ad I just read, "very unsatisfied" and I have to say that this person is just "very high maintenance." I've lived here for over five years and the new manager (about one year on board) is very quick to respond to noise complaints, parking issues and work orders. Yes, the building was supposed to be painted, we were all very excited but the upper management made the decision to put it off. Big whoop! It's not like we stand outside looking at the building in despair over an old paint job, my program is too time consuming for me to worry about such trivial matters. The exterior of the building is no indicator as to what the interior units look like. My unit was upgraded at renewal and it's fabulous! The hot water problems over the winter were a pain, but they were upgrading the piping to allow for more hot water. A minor two week inconvenience. Also I never hear any noise and it's impossible to evict someone for noise complaints anyway. They can receive lease violations but if they choose to be jerks and continue, their lease is non-renewed. I know this b/c I had trouble with my old neighbors and that's what happened to them.<br>At any rate, don't let this over toxic person make a decision for you. What kind of person slides notes under the door of someones home after hours anyway? Hello?? It's called an emergency pager for a reason. Besides, there are rarely any random people parked in the garage and the walk would probably do this guy some good. Come by and check it out, you'll be happy.

I read the other reviews and think they're unfair given the previous circumstances. The new manager (Tania)is really nice and has done an unbelievable job at whipping this place into shape. I've been a tenant for a couple of years and considered moving prior to her hiring. I've actually watched her at 10 pm walk the halls to check for noisy apartments and she tows unauthorized vehicles so your car is NEVER blocked in! All the troublemakers were forced (legally of course) to move out, she made it very apparent that they were not welcome.<br>We don't have hot water problems anymore, that didn't last all winter either. It was around two weeks while the boiler was being repaired. Sounds like the other reviewer is a drama major. The building itself no longer has grafitti, holes in the walls or drug dealers and the frat next door is not noisy anymore. Probably because at ten pm on Friday and Sat night "someone" calls the police to enforce the Westwood noise ordinance. On top of this, my parents met her and the maintenance man (Carl? or Carlos) and they LOVE that I live here, my mom is a little overprotective and they're renting for my sister in the Fall. I guess that Tania is a mom and she's also ex-military or something? My dad has a tattoo and she recognized it, he's retired Army and they instantly bonded. That really fits because she's supertight on security, and she doesn't put up with any misbehaving. Anyway my dad wouldn't even look at other apartments after coming here. He made the decision for my sister on the spot and they're on the waitlist.<br>As for the building, our lobby has been painted and updated, the apartments are in the process of getting upgraded and I just received a notice that we are getting an exterior paint job.<br>I agree that the pricing is steep but it's no higher than any other community in this location. The car alarms at times can be irritating, I'm on the front of the building too. That's not within the control of Ariel Court, if you're noise sensitive request an apartment on the back side of the building.<br>Overall this property has done a 180 and I have no hesitation recommending it. I'm staying for Grad school and renewing for another year in June.<br>Great management and building upkeep makes all the difference in the world and I think you'll agree when you see the place.

Okay, everything in the review before this is false. Heres what I think: 1: when I first signed the lease last summer, management said they pay for water and gas, (it said so on the flyer they gave me too), but on my move-in date, they said they only pay for gas. 2: There was a period of time during the winter where there was no hot water- for whatever reason I dont care- imagine waking up in the morning during winter and having to take a freezing shower. 3: Mangement said they have a strict rule on noise level where if someone receives 3 noise complaints, theyd be evicted out--but our neighbor has received 3 noise complaints yet they have not been evicted. 4: It is management's responsibility to regulate and tow cars that park in spots that aren't theirs- yet one time when a stranger parked in my spot, I went and rang management's doorbell, knocked on their door, and even slipped a note underneath with my phone number explaining the situation--I never got a call back, even though I saw from outside the apartment building that they were home, meaning they were just ignoring my note and didn't answer on purpose. 5: The lease is 10 months long, and no, you cannot back out of it, so if you only need the apartment for the 9-month school year, you'd be stuck with the apartment for the last month, and would have to pay for that rent amount 6: And true, management did tell everyone they were repainting the apartment building back in what March-- havent done it yet, and I can care less if they did or not, I just wish they'd back up everything they say when they slip letters between our door cracks. 7: Management keeps asking for special fees throughout the year, fees that we half the time don't know what its for, and they threaten to kick anyone out who doesnt pay these fees 8: If you ever need a question answered, expect an answer about a month after you ask it cuz management tend to lag on that sort of thing 9: management wont tell you what the rent prices are for next year, they just expect you to tell them if youre staying or not without knowing if the price went up. SO there you go. Honestly, Im not trying to make this place seem bad, I can care less if this place improves on its weaknesses, and nothing in this rating was exaggerated. I just want to give those who are considering this place the unbias truth, that way they can expect the unexpected.