TL;DR: This place is atrocious, and I suggest moving anywhere else…read more
The long of it: I moved in during the pandemic and am from at-risk categories, so opted not to do a walk through. Someone from the leasing office sent me a video from the apartment I was moving into, but when I arrived on the day, I found out that instead of a natural-sun-filled apartment with a balcony, it was actually a basement apartment (they called it "garden level," but when the only windows are at eye level and 1/2 the height of normal ones, it's a basement apartment) with almost no sun, no balcony, that perpetually smelled like mildew and had a fruit fly problem from the second we moved in. I called the office and the person I talked to apologized profusely, said that the person who sent me the photos and videos no longer worked there, and that they would get me in a new apartment ASAP, and waive the exorbitant $400 transfer fee. ASAP ended up being months later, and by the time it happened, that person also no longer worked there either, and the District Manager, Ali, told me they wouldn't transfer me for free, but could reduce the fee. So, they charged me $200 to transfer into an apartment that looked more like the one the original person sent me, and then took $80 from the security deposit to repaint the walls in the one we moved out of.
So, we moved into the new apartment and in this one, there was a significant leak in two parts of the ceiling, a fruit fly infestation, and the heat didn't work, and it cost a lot more. I continually submitted repair requests for the leaking ceiling and the heat. They ignored me until I sent official Notice to Remedy Breach of Warrant of Habitability language. And then they would respond, but do nothing because it's Denver and if you wait long enough, the temperature just naturally goes up. The way the law is written, if it gets above 70 degrees one time during one day, the next time it dips back down is a different incident. Looking through my emails, I had to send the Notice on 10/17/2023, 1/11/2024, 2/15/2024, 2/21/2024, 2/24/2024, 2/26/2024, 3/16/2024, 3/20/2024, 3/26/2024, 3/29/2024, 3/30/2024 (no hot water), 4/27/2024, 4/29/2024 (2nd notice), 5/4/2024, 7/17/2024 (no water at all), and 1/10/2025. At that point, the maintenance person put in a new thermostat, and it was immediately fixed.
They never fixed the leak. I would get random messages that the problem had been fixed, but they never materially did anything except give me a bucket to catch the water. It got so bad that pieces of the ceiling started falling into the apartment and there was a giant standing water bubble in the hallway wall.
Throughout our stay there, they would randomly add up-charges that made no sense. Including charging us for parking, which was not in the lease. They charged a ridiculous monthly amount for "security," but when my neighbor had his car smashed by another neighbor, there wasn't a security system.
They also have a clause in there that they can enter your apartment for any reason they deem necessary without your permission or giving notice. (I found that out when I challenged them having the city workers traipse through my apartment for a second time in one year for "annual" inspections and asked them to tap another apartment for it.)
When I got divorced, it was my opportunity to move out. So my ex stayed in the complex, but moved to a different, smaller, cheaper apartment, and I got out. We went to the leasing office together to ensure it was taken care of in the way we wanted -- I provided my new address and we both told them that I would receive the remainder of the excess paid rent, and he would take the remainder of the security deposit for the new place. Then began the long task of trying to actually get that money (the lease says 60 days; Colorado law says between 30-60).
Save yourself the trouble. They charge enough that you could get a nice place. I'm in one now, and it's glorious. And cheaper than that hellhole.
