If I could give this place zero stars trust me I would. Elevator goes down too many times and even it's working, it's really slow. They don't fix anything properly. I wouldn't recommend renting anything from Vanguard, not even to my worst enemy read more

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I've had nothing but a good experience with vanguard..if you need maintenance there there very quick..my building is very nice and kept in great shape read more

Do not rent from this property management company . Windows haven't opened for over three years and they refuse to open them. Balcony is rotted out with large mushrooms growing all over it and a safety hazard. Walls on interior of unit are crumbling and collapsing. There is barely any heat in the unit and their solution, per their notice to residents, is to close windows. Instead of providing heat ; that's how they solve the problem; they recommend closing windows.(see notice in photos below,) Railing on balcony is rusting and not secure. Bathtub has big chunks of it falling off. The list goes on. You can hear rodents crawling in walls .ill fitting doors and windows in unit allow for pests:insects to get into unit. Document everything with these unprofessional con artists. Report them to the city if they don't fix things. Put your rent in escrow if you have to until they fix things. I wish I knew about putting rent into escrow years ago. Incredibly aggressive and angry property manager by the name of David. Avoid vanguard at all costs. Screens are falling out door windows. Grainy sediment is constantly on window sills they store items under the steps and it just sits there and mice breed there and contribute to the rodent problem in the buildings. Building has yellow foam spray (that's deteriorating) all over points of entry for rodents, however not only does this make the property look disgusting, it doesn't deter rodents from getting in units. Bricks are literally falling from the apartment building . (King James apartments on Clifton and West 110) I don't know how the properties they manage pass inspection. read more

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we moved in To have a place close to St Edward High School for our son. This is really convenient. The leasing agent (Lisa) Is very friendly and courteous. The maintenance has been quick to res to our small move in concerns. Pleasant experience so far. read more

I rented in Parkside. Woke up to bedroom ceiling leaking rain through on to my bed. Literally woke up for work at 5am with my foot in a puddle under the sheets. They were prompt in coming to see it but they only patched the outside of the roof and said "You know it's a 100 year old building". The parking garage door constantly broke and was left open, unable to shut, which gives total access to the inside of the building should anyone walk through it. Leasing office extremely hard to reach, and generally short with you when you do reach them. My door malfunctioned and locked me out (the key stopped working or got jammed) as I was leaving for work one morning and the door shut as I realized I left my phone inside so I went back to get it and spent 20 min trying to get myself into my own house before having to get the emergency maintenance number from a neighbor at 6am because it wasn't provided to me at move in. I was late for work after someone came in 45 min to unjam my door. I rented here for the cheap price in Lakewood...but all of this, on top of no central AC, no dishwasher, and coin laundry in a sketchy ass basement that doesn't even WORK adds up to me learning to spend my money at a nicer facility. read more

Awful, awful, awful. Never delivered on any of their promises. Had packages stolen from my door by other residents, cheap floors that fell apart, crappy drywall and lots of security issues. They were the worst place I've ever rented from. The woman, Kat, who showed me the apartment really put on a good show. Buuuttt she's a lying b*tch. Don't be drawn in to their prices and "deals". I'd rather pay more money to be safe and happier. Total crap. read more

Very terrible experience... We were attracted to this building because of its location next to Edgewater Park. Almost immediately after moving in however, there were problems. The building is not well maintained. People will stand outside the fire escape doors & smoke, leaving cigarette butts all over the grounds. People there leave trash all around, and the trash bins are overflowing often. The front door is broken often, leaving it open for anyone to enter. The garage door has been left open several times, again leaving the place wide open for anyone to enter. They charge you for garage parking, but it's not secure, and often times, people without permits are parked in the garage. The parking lot outside is a mess, with cars that haven't moved in MONTHS. (2 cars we noticed did not move for over 6 months, taking up space). Management sent us a notice that we owed $5. So we called to ask why, and they said "Oh, nevermind". Then, they tried charging us for a month of garage parking, after they specifically agreed not to for the first month, sending us another notice that we owed money. Their own paperwork even stated that the billing wouldn't start until the following month! Whenever we speak with management regarding several of the other issues, they are condescending and they just don't seem to give a sh*t. We've reported issues to them before, and nothing gets done. Just recently they covered the floor in the apartment beneath us with polyurethane, and didn't properly ventilate. We had to suffer through that for over 24 hours as the fumes came up into our apartment! Calling the Emergency Maintenance line will only get you an answering service that doesn't care, and if someone does show up, it's over an hour after the call. Just this morning, a car that shouldn't be able to park in the garage was, and it was leaking gasoline into the garage. It could be smelt all the way on the top floor of the apartment. The Fire Department had to be called. Vanguard is completely negligent in their duty, and I can assure you, we will never live in a property managed by Vanguard again. There are too many bad things going on in our building, and we are paying way too high of rent for that to happen. Just an awful experience all the way around. I can not recommend anyone live in a Vanguard Property building. Save yourself the hassle, go elsewhere. read more

I rented from Vanguard about five years ago at their Elbur Avenue apartments. The apartments were not terrible, but when I moved in, they had apparently just treated the floor with some highly volatile chemical. The place reeked like someone had soaked the floor in gasoline. My father who is a contractor was convinced that is actually what they had done. So anyway, my first two days in January I had to sleep with all the windows open and breathe in all these fumes. What was I going to do, move again? Where? Anyway, I was a very responsible renter and when I moved out the apartment was in great shape, except maybe some minor holes in the walls from hanging pictures. Vanguard tried to charge me for not returning my key, which I did, and for hanging curtains, which I did not. I refused to pay them and explained why -- the charges were basically bogus. Now almost five years later, the sent me a letter from a lawyer threatening legal action to recover $140. I tried calling them about it, they will not return my calls. I will be damned if I give this company another cent. Unbelievable. read more

Do not, I repeat, do not rent any apartment unit from this management company, they manage over 24 of them (see their website) with 6 total maintenance men for all of them. The absolute worse around, and I'm giving one star too many..not by choice. Things are not fixed in a timely fashion, or done right the first time. Parking lot where I'm moving from (Windsor Apartments in Fairview Park, Ohio) is unsecured, no cameras, I had a $2,000 key job done to my car, and 2 other neighbors vehicles was also damaged with no concern from this management company. Also, at The Windsor, they are now charging new people $700/mo for a 425 square foot one bedroom apartment, with no amenities, because the building sits in Fairview Park..oh, you aren't allowed to grill either. I found a 844 sq foot, two bedroom out here (Randall House) for $750, with a pool, carwash, grills, fitness room, party room, community room, extra storage space, elevators, cameras, secure entrance with "buzz in" feature using your home or cell phone, garage spot..etc. Please people do yourselves a huge favor, and read the other one star reviews on here, they all sing the same song..money. We don't know each other on here, so we all can't be lying. Look elsewhere people, because here, you are looked upon as a rent check..they care more about your money than you, or your personal property that sits on their private property! read more

Worst landlords in Lakewood. We had never ending issues here. Ants, constantly, our door lock broke and took weeks to be fixed. Toilet broke and took two weeks to fix. Bath tub clogged - 4 days before anyone could possibly come snake the drain. Worst of all they bumped our rent from $800 to $815 with no notice. They accepted 5 months worth of rent payments at 800 - despite our lease CLEARLY stating they will not accept partial rent payments. Finally after 5 months they sent us an invoice for $100 coupled with loads of late fees. Their staff is overall rude and the owners don't seem to care one bit. Do not rent from these people. read more

In all honesty you're better off spending your money elsewhere. In our time renting here there were tons of issues, management is never available and you can't ever get a hold of anyone to fix the issues. Issues aren't fixed until they're detrimental to the units, they look to charge you over any little thing and it's just not worth it guys, anyone with a pleasant experience here probably works here and rents free so anyone considering moving here to live in Lakewood or whatever other reason, rent elsewhere read more

This company has provided the best rental experience I've had in twenty years. We can't get over how clear, thorough and responsive communication has been. The Parkside building is beautiful and has been well maintained over the years, including new electricity and windows, and even though they knew they had secured our commitment to the unit, they went out of their way to redo the floors and add tiles and paint, and we were moved by how clean and lovely the place is. The maintenance worker was thoughtful and found things we hadn't noticed that were a little off and fixed them, such as the bathtub plug and kitchen faucet screen. Everything feels safe and secure, beautiful, friendly and pet friendly. We hope to be here a long time! I will update if things change, but I doubt they will - seems like a solid operation. We are very grateful. read more

If I could give this place less than one star I would, I don't even know where to start... The bathroom floors look absolutely destroyed, the electrical outlets don't work (no surprise there as everything else is broken), my shower was broken for over a month and I probably called 6 different times before they finally came. The locks on the front door suck and are always getting stuck, there are always ants all over the ground, the walls were patched wrong, the parking lot is always full of people who don't even live there, apparently we're not allowed to have grills, the washer and dryer never work (again no surprise), the appliances are absolute garbage, they never ice the parking lot in the winter, all of the neighbors are total as*****s, be prepared to get fu**** over because trust me it will happen. Don't move here unless you want to deal with headache, shi*** employees, terrible rent costs, and overall a horrible experienc. Save yourself and look anywhere else but here. read more

I agree with all the other reviews. Rude. Condescending. One hand doesn't know what the other is doing. Empty promises. Terrible maintenance. They hold rent checks. Sometimes they give vacancy notices because they can't get it together and see which checks they have cashed. What a joke. Never, ever, will I recommend a property managed by this joke of a company. read more

I made the mistake of signing an automatically renewable lease, with sixty days notice required if you aren't going to renew. Don't ever do that. Prior to my lease officially renewing, my job transferred me across the state. I explained the circumstances to management. I couldn't give sixty days notice but they didn't care. It was my fault for signing a crappy lease so I want to give others fair warning to read the contract and not do the same. On the day I moved in to my apartment I had no fridge and a dirty floor. And then when he did show up with an old fridge, the maintenance man wanted the movers that I was paying by the hour to help him move it in. I had multiple issues with my radiator not working. I lost count of the times maintenance was out to fix it. Each guy who came out swore it was a different issue then the previous guy and then promised he fixed it. The neighbors were not that bad. The next door neighbor would occasionally have loud fights with her boyfriend. My biggest issue was the smoking outside my apartment. read more

I don't even know where to begin. I have lived here for 3.5 years. It started off okay but has progressively gotten worse. First issue, the laundry room. There are 150-ish apartments in this building and only 8 washers and 8 dryers. Aside from there not being nearly enough appliances to go around, in 3.5 years all the washers have never been working at the same time. There are constantly 2-3 washers out of order (because the parts take 6 months to get, as if) so when you decide to do laundry you basically have to fight people over them. My husband, who has lived here 2-3 years more than me believes most of these issues started when Vanguard bought the machines and started managing them themselves. You have people who will force the doors open to steal a free wash (at your expense), coin changer that is down quite often (because guess what, they manage that too), washers that don't spin the water out of your clothes forcing you to pay another $1.75 just to get the water out (no other option because wet clothes weigh a lot and are not easy to move). Not to mention i have personally witnessed an employee removing the out of order signs before showing a prospective tenant around (talk about misrepresentation!!). Second issue, is in the winter, i hope you can ice skate. The parking lot is rather large due to the amount of tenants, and you don't always get a close parking space. They will plow the lot (potentially blocking you in), but more importantly, and most dangerous, they DO NOT SALT. It amazes me that they have not been sued yet. I don't know how many times on how many days I have almost hit the ground from ice. Third issue, maintenance. Our apartment doesn't usually require much, but when it did it was like pulling teeth. We had a leak from the bathroom ceiling so we called. They sent someone out to look at it, and they said they fixed it (only temporarily), after a few days it was leaking again. We called and told them we want it actually fixed. They came and actually fixed it but left a 12"x12" hole in our ceiling that didn't get filled for a few weeks after. Maintenance issue two, the most recent winter started and we noticed that it was on average 62 degrees in our apartment. Knowing they set the heat at 72 we called to have them look at it. They came twice and said everything was fine, yet it was still extremely cold. They even came with an infrared thermometer and saw for themselves the heater wasn't running hot. So we called again, they came while we were at work, come home to a warm apt. Wondering how it was possible we learned that the knob was turned off for years, it just took this extremely cold winter of 2018-2019 to make a noticeable difference. Fourth issue, they have remodeled the lobby area, new brick walls, wood floors, nice new furniture (had to be thousands in cost). They plan to add grills outside for tenants to use (since having our own is against the lease) as well as other community amenities for our building. All this would be fine and dandy if not for issue one. How are you gonna spend thousands of dollars to remodel the lobby when you can't maintain the most crucial part of the building. You could have used that money to fix current appliances and purchase more so that we aren't fighting over them. Fifth issue, (this one is minor and petty but a problem none the less) when we got married and names changes we asked them to update the listing on the call box used to enter the building (dial a number corresponding to who you are visiting and said person can open the door for you) because this is how you let friends or deliveries in to the building. So they replaced the list, with a much smaller one containing approx 50 of the 150 tenants (which we were not lucky enough to make the list) So we have to meet delivery drivers outside and packages get left in an unsecure location due to the fact they can't call you for entrance. Sixth issue, and this one is the one that sets me off most, the renewal contract. Our lease end at the end of March, and the lease states we must give 60 days notice of intent to leave before the lease ends, which means we have to give notice by the end of January. I have no issues with this, I think it is fair. What I think is unfair is that they don't give you your renewal lease and new rent price until after that 60 day mark has passed. We received our rent increase for the new lease near the end of February, leaving us with the option to let our lease change to a month-to-month lease (increased monthly rent more than the normal increase, for convenience lol), renew at the new rent price for a whole year more only to get screwed at the end again, or to break the lease which would cost an enormous amount of money. How do you expect someone to make a financial decision this big without letting us know what we are getting into. TERRIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICE!! Needless to say as soon as we can afford to move, if ever given the rent increases and economy, we will. read more

I have never had such a terrible interaction with a company. Vanguard literally does not care about their tenants. I will never recommend them to anyone nor will I rent to them again. read more

My review is based on compassion and empathy. They have done a beautiful job making the building new again. Of course ur rents will be sky high. For me I got sick very sick and for 2 yrs I struggled in the end I lost my job bc I had used all my sick time. I used my savings my pension my 401 to keep a roof over my head. I was on good terms with vanguard and Dan Shepherd but when I was not able to work and out of money I had to give notice. My option? I could have stayed let them evict me! Plenty would. I cleaned scrubbed did the carpets etc. 3 mths after I moved I got a bill from vanguard for 4 mths rent saying my lease states if I break it I owe 4 mths plus they had swallowed my deposit for things that did not exist. I wrote a letter back heard nothing and 6 mths later I get a letter from an attorney. I am now on social security and paying vanguard 1200. Half of what he tried for as they found out he had rented the apartment in May (it is illegal to collect rent twice) but it's a fortune to me. They r a business. Remember that. They will kick u when u r down. So my advice is to really think before we sign a lease. Ur life can change in the snap of a finger! When u can't have a speck of empathy for someone do u really want to put ur money in their pocket? They r not the good money deal anymore and there are hundreds of better choices there. read more

Horrible. Some people aren't meant to work in customer service and that describes every single person that works there. I wish I listened to the reviews before I move in. Our oven was leaking gas and the maintenance man came twice and said nothing was wrong with it, just to give one example. Every single person that works here is beyond rude and doesn't sympathize with the average human being. I've had bad apartment experiences in the past and this was by far the worst place I've ever had to deal with. If you're considering moving in, seriously reconsider. You'll save yourself the headache and anger. read more

Vanguard is a good company. I lived in Lakewood Cliffs for four years. Basically, if you're a good neighbor and you pay rent, then you and Vanguard will get along just fine. Oh, and read that lease agreement! I mean, come on, people! I'll do the security deposit spiel up-front: It was $179, and they gave me $139 back, enclosed with a letter that read "enclosed is a check for $144." Yes, you read that correctly. They're properties managers, not mathematicians! Anyway, I tried to read the reason why they withheld the deposit money but it was scribbled so illegibly that it was impossible. I didn't feel like bothering, although I could have. Not to mention I'd asked to do the final walkthrough with their staff, they said that was perfectly fine, and then it never happened... At worst, I think this organization is, well, disorganized. But really, they're not that bad. I had a fine rental experience. Lakewood Cliffs is a perfect location, in between shopping, nature, and freeways. I had a very loud and obnoxious neighbor who eventually got evicted. There are other interesting stories I've got about Lakewood Cliffs, but I don't think Yelp readers are interested in anecdotes. Noise isn't usually a problem, but I did have a few issues throughout my time there. Water will usually get hot enough... that is, except in the winter (which kinda sucks). They take their sweet time turning on the heat, instead telling residents to "conserve energy" by keeping windows closed and whatnot. The elevator was always working but acted funny now and then. I'd often take the steps anyway (I was on the 4th floor), and pray that on the 1st floor there were no roaches hanging out in the stairwell. Speaking of bugs, I had ant problems now and then during my time there. Oh, and that fire alarm... It will happen. Believe you me. Vanguard are strict about rent. They can and will increase it every year. They don't mess around when it comes to money. That said, if you hold up your end of the bargain, they will do their best to help you--meaning, they will fix maintenance issues for you very quickly. For me, it was usually in under three days. They will also try to work with you if you have something come up. I had just graduated and asked them not to increase my rent while I searched for a job, and they agreed. For the most part, they did a good job. My little apartment was really nice, and the big parking lot was something I took for granted. They need more visitors spots in that lot, I'd say. The residents' spots were never filled when I lived there, so they could do it. There were mostly good employees and only a couple bad employees from my experience with their staff. I will never forget what the salesperson said when she was first telling me about the place: "we have lots of properties, but this one is our baby." After four years there, I can confirm that she really meant that. They clean the building almost every day, for starters. And, before I moved out, they had just built two amazing new awnings above the entrances, gotten some new bike racks, and even added some plants and grass to the front of the building. Obviously I can't speak for the other buildings, but I can speak about Vanguard and about Lakewood Cliffs. At the end of the day, if you work with Vanguard, then Vanguard will work with you. Regarding the building, it is always being maintained and improved, and it is in an amazing location. read more

If I could give 0 stars, I would. I've lived under Vanguard Property Management for two years. In the first winter, we experienced a pretty violent cold snap, causing a grotesque amount of mildew to show up on the wall that was shared with the exterior of the building, which was, coincidentally, my bedroom and clothes closet. After being assured by maintenance that this issue would be addressed permanently I continued to go about business as usual. The following winter, mildew struck again, but this time, it began to drip down my walls, through my baseboards, and through the frame around my window, instead of keeping to itself in my closet. When I called maintenance, I asked why this hadn't been addressed from the prior year. Their response? A rude "[we] would never guarantee anything so stupid... Do you want us to come clean it or something?" I opted to have them do so, only to learn that EVERY BUILDING IN THE COMPLEX had been struggling with this issue and that nothing was scheduled to be done about it. Each time this mildew rears it's ugly head, I've called to have it dealt with, but most recently, I called at 6:15pm and discovered I was in the hands of "24-hour maintenance." The rude and angry dispatcher told me that my issue "wasn't important" when I stressed the volume of mildew and my concern that the radiator had stopped working. She remarked something about it being an emergency line and that they'd deal with it later. Easy to say when you're in a heated office when it's 28 degrees outside AND inside my bedroom. Every single time I try to deal with any issue with this leasing agency, their office is rude and unprofessional. I am shocked and appalled that not only have I spent 24 months of hard-earned money on rent in this disgusting facility, but that they have had the audacity each year to raise the price! If I could see where our money was going, I'd gladly pay it, but since it seems to be going to the paychecks of their awful staff, I'll take my money elsewhere. Do yourself a favor and move back in with your parents or live in a van down by the river. Vanguard doesn't deserve your money! read more

This was the worst rental property that I have ever rented from. I lived in the Clifford which is supposedly one of their better buildings and have had nothing but problems the last year.1.) the building had huge centipedes during fall and spring(and I'm on the third floor-so imagine the first). They never sent a exterminator out like they claimed they would. 2.) the laundry machines are "brand new" but I had had nothing but issues with them. Imagine how frustrating it would be to walk four flights of stairs and into the basement and realizing that all of the machines coin slots are jammed! Ive wasted well over $25 on jammed quarters and the problem gets resolved temporarily and comes back a few weeks later. Lastly, when I gave my notice to leave(because why the hell would I want to stay) they tried showing my apartment to potential renters when the move in date was 2.5 months away! Talk about invasion of privacy..strangers walking into my lived in apartment when I'm not even home. When I called to say that I was uncomfortable with that idea, I was told I was being "uncooperative" until the person realized my move out date was months away and not days away. Pretty apartment but definitely not worth the hassle in my opinion and the customer service was not good(especially for the price). read more

DO NOT RENT FROM THESE SLUMLORDS! They don't take care for their properties and they don't give a crap about the residents. I've had so many bad experiences already and I've only been in my apartment for about 8 months. Go read my review on Google, it goes more in depth of what I mean. I will never rent from another vangaurd property ever again! read more

If I could give 0 stars I would. This company is the worst place I have ever rented from, including the slum landlord I rented from in college. They left my leaking ceiling unrepaired for a month among many other issues. Not helpful, unaccomodating, and the common space is disgusting. They vaccuum the common area approximately twice a year and the buildling frequently smells like garbage. Avoid renting from them at all costs. read more

Vanguard seems to have too many properties and not enough staff, as they frequently make errors, don't follow through, and are hard to reach. From the beginning I had problems bc my viewing appt was no-showed TWICE, I had to call them to see if I had even gotten the apartment, and then my appt. to sign the lease was double-booked. Then when I got my keys finally, I walked in to an apartment with construction and previous tenant mess, urine in the toilet, and no appliances. I had to clean the apartment myself! Throughout my stay I frequently made maintenance requests that were not carried out because they "didn't have keys to my apt". Other times I would be promised a return visit to finish repairs, only for them never return. Emails and calls to the leasing mgr for the building were never returned. Finally, after leaving them a spotless apt, unlike when I moved in, I was billed for nail holes and old blinds that fell down bc they were installed incorrectly (and I had asked maintenance to replace them- never did). read more

the problem i have with places like this are that, quite simply, they don't follow thru on their promises. i set up a time to view an apartment. when that time arrives, the leasing agent is unavailable and then im told, the apartment isn't ready to be viewed. so why schedule something in advance if you know it's not ready? if i plan to move in under a specific scenario, check with all parties to make sure the scenario is ok, and sign paperwork to hold a unit and then the leasing agent tells me that scenario is not ok after i've paid money and signed documentation, then i expect a refund of some capacity because the term of the agreement changed. but vanguard properties is either unwilling or unable to adhere to that. unacceptable. items were stolen out of my girlfriend's car at her residence and they proved to be completely unhelpful. that, along with an inconsistency of adhering to rules, holding on to rent checks, and being generally unavailable while displaying a bit of an attitude is a big put-off, and from someone who has worked in customer service and sales, just not a good way of doing business. read more

One star is too much for these assholes. We live at Elbur Avenue Apartments and had our storage unit broken into and stuff stolen from someone prying off our latch (probably the latch from when this place was built!) So they replaced the latch with one that can be easily removed with a screwdriver! Like seriously?! Can't wait to move out of this shithole. I wish I had read the other Yelp reviews before we signed a lease here. Don't move here! You could find a bigger, nicer place in Lakewood for less money. read more

My experience at Fulton place apartments has been a horrible first time renting experience. The state of the apartment walking into it was deplorable and I had to clean before I even moved in. Neighbors are loud and random people coming in and out of the building at all hours of the day and night. As far as management they are never in the office to talk or answer questions. I received an eviction notice after paying my rent saying they did not receive it and after a three day game of phone tag (not an easy game for those of us who are 23 and put in 70 hours at a full service restaurant) I was notified that they did receive the rent after all I had just forgot to put my apartment number on the money order. If you want to rent apartments off these people your better off saving your money and getting a 400 dollar east side apartment on Saint Clair cause that's pretty much what vanguard is giving you for 600 just because it's on the west side. read more

This place seriously gets worse and worse and I will NEVER be returning again. Next time you are looking for a apartment, look well. Not just because it's cheap. My mailbox never got fixed. Wait, I take that back. It did but they didn't fix the problem of it actually being stuck so I have to keep going to the post office to get my mail. The neighbors are HORRIBLE. I get woken up almost everyday from the people below me, drunk & yelling. Had 4 people over one night around 10pm and had the drunk guy downstairs come all the way upstairs to call the cops bc we were being to loud? Yet we weren't at all. Had to just leave bc he was scary and crazy. The officer said they have came plenty times before bc of the same guy. I have night shifts most nights and then have to wake up in the morning. Let me tell you I've never heard so much noise in my life. Probably the biggest reason I can't wait to leave. I come home around 12-1am and have to be back around 10:30am. I get woken up every morning, at 6am, from the garbage just beeping for a least 10 minutes. Then, we have the snow blower at 8am right below my window that sounds horrid. Then we have people just being loud. The businesses next door also have garbage people come and it's the same thing. My bedroom is freezing bc I don't have heat in it. I told them twice to come fix it and they never do. Everything else in the other review still is happening, FYI. I will never live here again. It's nothing but noise, piece of shit made, bugs and that's really much it. read more

I lived at the Lakewood Cliffs apartments managed by vanguard properties about 5 years ago. Unlike most reviews on here, my own personal experiences with vanguard have been good! Of course there were a few very minor issues during my time renting at Lakewood Cliffs, but nothing that wasn't quickly resolved by management. However, I've lived and rented off of a bunch of different rental properties, and there has never been one place that there wasn't some kind of small issue here or there. I think it's just one of the hardships of renting and sharing a building with other tenants. There's always something no matter who you rent off of, or where you go. It's just to be expected when you rent and live in an apartment. Overall my experiences with vanguard were pleasant, and I would consider renting from them in the future. read more

My relationship with Vanguard has been tumultuous since the beginning. I have lived in the Edgecliff Apartments for the past two years. The only time I have gotten proper answers or resolutions to any of my concerns was when the owner himself, Dan, visited me to address a massive flea infestation affecting many tenants at Edgecliff. I made several pleas with Vanguard to take the appropriate action. After an entire month of calls I could wait no longer and sought the help of the health department directly. For 2 months I was living with fleas in an apartment with no carpeting, and no pets. I did my own investigating to find the source of the fleas all the while being told that they "live in the grass" and half-ass suggestions. I made them aware the tenant on the top floor of my building was hoarding feral cats. Before contacting the health department, the only help I received from Vanguard was outdoor pesticides being sprayed on my floors. As compensation for the grief and agony of being bitten dozens of times a day I was given a $100 Amazon gift card. I had spent $100 or more out of my own pocket trying to rid myself of the fleas. My leasing agent Kelly signed paperwork with me March 2, 2015. I was given keys to my apartment by her on March 3, 2015. Whether this is known to Vanguard or they simply disregard it is uncertain. It seems Vanguard are at best, uncertain. The times I have deposited my rent into their office drop box on the 3rd I have been considered late and charged a $25.00 fee. I was "forgiven" once. And they are swift to deliver a letter with their wishes to evict a tenant over such matter. I have never missed a month. Written communications I have from Vanguard state that rent must be received no later than the 3rd, but they do not make it clear if their office is closed on the 3rd they must have it before, during their business hours or you'll be charged a late fee. Vanguard are not accommodating to those who aren't able to contact them during their business hours. I've been informed by one of their maintenance personnel Josh that they are keywords the **third-party answering service** will listen for during an after-hours emergency call. If one of the keywords is not spoken, there will be no help given. Most recently my oven (a decades old gas burning unit) stopped working and parts could not be found to repair. I had to shut the gas off when not using the stove top because the pilot light in the oven was not igniting the gas. Obviously the entire apartment smelled of gas because of this. As I expected, it took an entire month for a replacement to arrive. When it did, it arrived with a broken burner knob and backsplash without any paint, in true Vanguard fashion. The company contracted to plow the Edgecliff parking lot this winter scuffed the front bumper of my car, and then proceeded to back into another car before leaving the scene. I spoke with a different driver 2 days later who said the owner was driving and he was drunk. I called Vanguard and left a message but since I received no follow up call I can only assume they will make no change. There are aspects that make living here charming and pleasant at times. It's a shame that those moments are overshadowed by the lack of professionalism Vanguard has shown me. Several other tenants left last year (this is a small campus) and it is easy to see why. I feel sympathy for the maintenance crew as I usually see the same person, Josh, working very long hours and overburdened. I plead with anyone reading this and considering leasing to read these and the 20 something negative Google reviews before making a decision. read more

I lived at a Vanguard Property for nearly one year now. With two months left on my lease, I sent Vanguard Properties notice to vacate my apartment. A month later, they sent me a letter saying they auto-renewed my lease because they never received my notice to vacate. They claimed that it never arrived and that if I want to move out I will owe them three months rent. Avoid renting from them, they are a horrible organization! read more

If you are thinking about living in any property owned by Vanguard Properties, please take the time to read this first because I don't want anyone to have to go through what I have. My fiance and I moved into the Giel Apartments in January of 2017 and we cannot wait to leave. We moved in based off of what the leasing agent told us and it has become farther and farther from the truth. First off, we will start with the actual apartment, it was decently clean when we moved in, but we did a once-over just to feel more comfortable; however, when we did so we found many issues with it. They told us months later after many calls to the maintenance office that the man who lived there before us for a long time did his own maintenance, and let's just say he cut a lot of corners in doing so. Some of the kitchen cabinets are slanted from how they were installed or the shelves are broken and don't hold up, every single one of the windows were installed very incorrectly and even when locked the top part falls down (maintenance has come to 'fix' them I think about 5 times and it still happens, and it takes them about a month of you calling to complain for them to come out), all of the window locks were either broken or backwards, the front door has a space so far from the wall in the bottom section that not only can you smell the cigarette smoke from you neighbors but you can also see into our apartment, the toilet flusher just falls off (again, they've 'fixed' that 3 times and it is still broken), the door handles have a space between the fixture and the door, the tub and sink are coming apart from the wall because they were not installed properly, the poles in the closets to hang clothes were missing, the light fixtures that require 2-4 bulbs only had 1 in them, and to top it all off the smoke detector did not work! And that is just the apartment itself! Can you believe they sold this allowed this unit to be rented out in this condition? Next on the list will be outside of the apartment: first of all, it says no dogs are allowed, they tell you no dogs are allowed, oh but there are probably 6 or more dogs in just my building alone with only 12 units, and they bark all the time. One of the main reasons we chose the Giel Apartments through Vanguard Properties though was because we felt that we would be safe and secure; in the laundry room there is a sign that says "smile you're on camera," and my leasing agent told me there was a camera in there to assure that we would be safe while doing laundry, and that the storage units stayed safe - well, needless to say there is no real camera anywhere and our storage unit, along with a few other tenets' units were broken into and they stole my fiance's new bike. We only put our bikes in the unit 3 weeks before it was stolen because we believed the leasing agent when she told us that there was a camera watching over the storage units; we later found out that there had been 2 break-ins before this last one within this last year and the landlords just kept it a secret and continued to not install any cameras even though it is obviously a reoccurring issue. In addition, they didn't even notify us that his bike was stolen out of our unit that has our names and apartment number clearly posted on it, even though they cleaned up the mess being aware of the occurrence, and we found out over a week later that it had happened, with the bike being long gone from wherever it was sold. The leasing agent also told us back in January that they were going to install a new gate for the back entrance of the apartments for added security since the old one had been broken, although I have called multiple times asking when this has happened, in this almost year span it has not. Another safety issue is that their light timer is set to come on at 10pm, therefore, going up or down the stairs to your unit is pitch black, so hopefully you don't fall down the stairs and that there is no lurking thief who easily knows he or she can break into the storage units by now. I have called and left messages about the timer but never receive a call back, and the management office has conveniently changed their office hour time to 10am-5pm, ensuring that anyone with a normal work or college schedule will not be able to come in. Vanguard Properties owns at least 17 apartment complexes throughout Lakewood and Cleveland area and they only have this same management office that I have had to deal with, so before you choose your apartment please be weary of their empty promises, cutting corners, and overall shady management style. read more

Unprofessional, rude and unorganized is all I can say. I am so disgusted with Vanguard. No one is willing to help you in your time of need when you have issues especially Mark Torkowski. I have complained about the unaurthorized "Maintenance" visits which I was not given prior notice for, garbage that is piling up in the laundry rooms and outside of doors for weeks on end left by other tenants which managment conveinently overlooks. I got a new vehical and not even a week later someone stole my rims off it! later in the year, someone busted my window out and busted my colum trying to steal it! I called mark immediately to look at their security camaras so that I may file a police report and he told me he was too busy!!! I was lied to upon moving in that i could view the security camaras from the comfort of my home!! ALL LIES!! You have to pay double to dry your clothes in their dryer, otherwise thay are a wet mess! No one picks up their dog poop, and the neighbors are loud and obnoxious. More importantly, I haven't had hot water since the middle of Jan.....It is Feb 24th 2015!!! No one even bothered to tell me. As time pursued, I called at least 3 times a week to complain and just kept getting strung along. Then I wake up to NO water. Again, not one informed me, didnt even offer a bottle of water! According to the so called property manager, the company was aware of the problem and they installed an un commercial hot water tank and the "Corner" apartments aren't getting any hot water. I was forced to rent a room because the water was off alllll day. I couldn't meet basic needs such as using the toilet, washing hands etc which is very unsanitary especially for my family with medical needs. The minute rent is late they are quick to place a open faced letter taped to your door for the entire complex to see. No differnet from me leaving my mailbox and its contents open. I am tired and weary and have now taken the approppriate steps to rectify the situation myself which no one from vanguard is willing to do. This company and its workers are a joke and I wouldn't reccomend living in this dump! read more