I rented a duplex on Springer Street in Carbondale from August 2013 to August 2014 with my three roommates from a previous house. We were led to believe that this lease would be with a more professional and reasonable landlord than our last, but we were obviously mistaken. When we moved in, the carpet in my room had noticeable stains and strong pet odor. It often took a few days for maintenance to fix the small problems that sprung up during the course of our lease as well. They agreed to accept late rent payments from me when I was short on cash and switching jobs, but then ended up charging me very high fines anyway, which ended up making me late on the next month's rent resulting in even more steep fines. To top it all off my roommate and I were unfairly charged with absurd cleaning expenses at the end of our lease, which cost us our deposit money along with further fines resulting in us having to pay them extra. We shampooed the dirty carpets we inherited, touched up previously dirty/marked walls with paint, and thoroughly cleaned everything on their final deposit checklist. The cleaning company they contracted out to inspect our apartment charged us for cleaning the carpets, general cleaning, and "damages" which were outrageous to say the least. When asked for help settling these issues or even just an explanation on the matter they decided to stop communication. That is until they sent us a notice to pay a "final" fee for $3. I suggest all future tenants seriously reconsider their choice of renting with Alpha, or simply avoiding it altogether to begin with since there are steep penalties for backing out of their contracts. Although their workers seem nice and their apartments might appear to be clean or well-maintained, renting with them unnecessarily cost me close to $600-800 and the smelly room I lived in for 12 months permanently stained most of my clothes with animal dander. To reiterate, the smelly carpets were there when we moved in, we did not have any pets during our stay. Good luck if you already signed a lease with them. I hope you took/take pictures just in case, do not miss a rent payment, and fight to reclaim your initial deposit that they will surely try to keep. read more

I wish that I could give this company no stars because they prey on young naive college students. The apartment it self was fine, no major issues however myself and my roommate kept a spotless apartment, they took 600 of 785 from our deposit. They had a list of all this unrealistic charges and come to find out all of our neighbors had the same experience.... they are crooks beware please!! I should have taken them to court but we were so ready to leave Carbondale behind that it didn't matter. Make sure if you move here to take pictures and record before and after you move in or they will find a way to take your deposit with hidden fees! read more

Alpha Rentals was the best place I lived while attending SIU. They are very considerate and nice and a great place to rent from.

I had good luck with Alpha Rental. I had a flat on East Park that I liked. Alpha Rental has nice e and professional employees and took care of maintenance requests in a timely fashion. The property was maintained well though the snow plowing company could have used more salt at times. Also, a little of my security deposit was withheld for cleaning despite leaving my apartment as clean or cleaner than when I moved in. If I lived in Carbondale, I definitely would consider Alpha Rental properties as a landlord. read more

0 stars deserved. Was suppose to move into an extended loft... And I found termites. They just wanted to ignore the problem. Not let me out of the lease or reimburse me.. Even though they were eating through the trim and cabinets. Not cleaned when I went to move in, and that didn't care. Alls they want is their money. They aren't worried about anyone or anything else. DONT RECOMMEND read more

Do not rent from this place. Like others have mentioned, they will try and keep as much of your security deposit as much. My place was clean and they still charged me for the number of paper towels and ounces of cleaning product used in addition to the actual cleaning. Any problems or damages they listed were there when I moved in and recorded on the sheet they provide you with at the beginning of your lease. They know it will cost you too much to fight it. Plus the landlord is the owner's daughter, so what do they care? Office hours are terrible as well. read more

Pros: - Fairly nice units situated all over town at reasonable rates. - Their maintenance man, Joe, is great. Most repairs are completed within 48 hours. - Nice, thick wall-to-wall carpeting. - Loads of closet and storage space in the newer units. - New units have the washer and dryer on the upper floor; a great idea as that is where most of the laundry comes from and goes to. - The owners can, at times, be helpful and accommodating. Cons: - Never expect to see your deposit back. Alpha will nickel-and-dime, nit-pick, and harass you for every penny they can get. - If you move into your unit in August, expect Alpha to begin to pressure you to renew your lease in October of the same year. That's right, they want you to commit 9 months in advance. They claim that this is necessary "in the Carbondale market." - If you do not renew your lease by the end of January (6 months still on your lease), they will begin to show your unit to prospective renters. Again this is "the business." - By early March if you haven't renewed, they will rent the unit to others. - The office is sorely understaffed. We were unable to get anyone to do a final walk-through because they were "too busy." Several things that were deducted from our deposit could have been done in 5 minutes had we known. - Buildings are poorly insulated and siding frequently comes off the buildings. One large strip once came off a neighboring unit adjacent to our unit and landed on our car. - Windows are poorly caulked, and moisture collects along the seams and joints. Mold grows. Bleach removes but cannot kill it. Mold comes back. - A small peeve, but the shower/tub is small. It is a one-piece unit, and it's small. - On some of the units, the heating ducts are run on the outside skeleton of the units; combine this with the poor insulation, and there is a problem of the lower floor being much warmer than the upper floor. We learned this after calling Alpha to request a fix. Alpha sent a heating/AC repairman, and his suggestion was to buy a space heater. - Lawn maintenance and landscaping is virtually nonexistent. In 4 years, there was only one time that an Alpha-employed worker raked leaves around our unit. My wife, sons, and I raked well over 50 bags of leaves over the same time period. - At our complex, Alpha planted a plum tree, which has lovely blossoms in the spring. The plums are inedible for people, but skunks and raccoons love them! - The website is often inaccurate, contains numerous dead links, and poor design. Final Thoughts: My family and I lived in an Alpha unit for 4 years. There were many nice aspects to living there, but the negative aspects, particularly the poor treatment from the owners and staff, have tainted my opinion of Alpha. Over the 4 years, I often referred many students to Alpha, but I cannot in good conscience tell people that Alpha Rentals is the best option for someone looking for a rental unit. Look for a house to rent instead. read more

I am writing this post to warn people who are currently or are interested in renting with Alpha Rentals. Just like the other reviewers mentioned, this company will deduct your deposit even if you clean the apartment and return it in a better shape than when you moved in. I lived in one of their apartments for one year. When I moved in, I filled out a form to record all of the wear and tear such as stains in the range or scratches on walls. When I moved out I spent days cleaning the house to ensure that it was spotless. Over the past few years, I have rented in many different states and locations. This is the first time that I did not get my full deposit back. They deducted about half of my deposit and the reasons they gave were not valid at all. The defects they mentioned were originally there when I moved in and recorded in the form they kept. I think Alpha Rental has been doing bad business in this way for years because in Illinois it costs renters too much money and trouble to go to the small claims court to fight for their deposit. Despite that we have good evidence such as photos taken when we moved in and out, we decided not to take this to court due to the cost. However, I hope such bad practices can be stopped and that the renters, who are mostly from SIU, will be treated fairly. Here are my suggestions for anyone considering renting from Alpha: 1. Do the final walk through and have them sign a written note to be clear about how much deposit they will return to you BEFORE you move out. If you don't do this, you will only receive a ridiculous statement listing unreasonable deductions in one month. 2. Make sure to keep your own copy of the list of defects when you move in and record all defects you can see. Take photos and at least a few magnifying photos to catch dirt on the window slot or corners of wall. When I asked why they claimed I did not clean the apartment well enough, they sent me magnifying photos of stains that I could not tell if they were from my unit or another. When you move out, take photos of every location that you can. I feel in the end renters should consider if you want to clean the apartment, because the maximum amount they can keep is one month of your rent and most likely, even if you keep everything perfect, they will still deduct a large portion no matter what. You might as well not clean at all. read more

These MFs rented my apart' to someone else and still calling me asking for rent WTF. If u gonna rent two bedrooms, it's worth 550 no more. Don't get fooled like me. read more

Do not rent from this company! I rented a one bedroom apartment on Southern Illinois Avenue from July 2014 to July 2015. They will find any way they can not to reimburse your security deposit. I was very angered to find that they had taken nearly two-thirds of my security deposit for "cleaning fees and damages"after I had cleaned the apartment to the same standard it was upon moving in. After moving out of their apartment, they said that all complaints or questions had to be in writing. They refused to talk to me over the phone or in person. read more