My 'Kenley' experience began around September 1999 when I began leasing an apartment at the complex. The staff was excellent and the place was beautiful even though I thought the rent, a 'special' at $700 a month, was a bit high; roughly double what I paid at my current place. The fees were also high. The security deposit was $225 and there was a $125 'redecorating' fee. I asked about that 'redecorating' fee and was told that part of it was to get the apartment cleaned for before I moved in. Remember this was in 1999 so $225 + $125 = $350 in 1999 money; not too cheap. Also, remember that 'redecorating' fee as I'll speak to it later. I paid it because the place I was in at the time was a dump and I wanted a secure and quiet place to live when I was not traveling. At the time a 'Gated Community' with a Lake seemed ideal; indeed for about 4 to 5 years it was very nice. I travelled in my job and so didn’t need or want a house to worry about. When it was time to renew the lease after one year it jumped from $700 to $840, then 9 months later from $840 to $890 , then 11 months later from $890 to $900, then to $960, Does anyone see a pattern here? The rent when I left in November of 2007 was $1012 a month. Now, that does not sound so bad for a Lake view apartment in a 'Gated Community' – I think 'security' when I hear 'gated community' and for $1012 a month I personally expect quite a bit from my apartment complex. For the first 5 years I was not disappointed.
THEN
The complex changed ownership and management changed as well. More importantly, the attitude of the management changed. The phrase "Welcome to Kenley, Birmingham's Finest" became a marketing ploy and NOT a way of treating the Tenants. The first thing to go was the security guards at the gate. This was followed by the gate itself. It's still there but it does not work, and has not worked for about 5 years. When asked the reply was 'parts are on order' or some such excuse. 5 YEARS – how long does it take to get a part? I could build one atom-by-atom in 5 years!
THEN
Alabama is in the south, and the south is hot in the summer. The Kenley 'high-tech' central Air and Heat units are not sized to meet the AC needs of an Alabama summer. In short, during late June, July and August or any time the temp is above 90 or so the units cannot cool an 810 square foot unit (yes it was a small apartment). During those times the AC could never get the apartment below 80-85. I called; the maintenance people came over and 'fixed' it by installing a cut-off valve of some type that was supposed to allow the AC to work better. It never really worked and it left me, paying $1012 a month for an apartment in which I had to walk outside and manually flip a valve to get the AC to 'half-way' work! When the valve is in one position you got underpowered AC but no heat. In the other you get heat but an AC that will not even cool the apart ment on a moderately hot day. So, on those spring and fall days when the temp varies quite a bit you are just SOL. You can't just flip the switch INSIDE and change from heat to AC; you must go outside to do this. I guess that is a Kenley version of a modern out-house! I was told by the maintenance staff that 60% of the units in the complex are setup this way! So you have a 6 in 10 chance of getting a unit with an underpowered and basically non-functional AC unit. In Alabama that should be a crime! They don’t mention this in those pretty advertisements. In addition, as noted in other post about this complex, the AC condensers will often ice up and maintenance comes over WITH A BLOWTORCH to fix the problem by melting the ice off. It's an uncomfortable feeling to watch someone take a blowtorch to parts of your living space!
THEN
I started to notice an insect problem. Nothing large at first but it got worse and worse. I'd literally see small roaches FALL INTO my apartment from the AC Vents. I inquired and was informed by 'Birmingham's Finest' management staff that they no longer performed monthly or even quarterly pest control! It was now on a 'request only' basis! It seems it was just too much trouble to figure out the keys, and who had pets etc…..What that means to you as a tenant is that even if you keep your place spotless and request the pest control every month BUT your neighbor does not then YOU will have a pest problem! In other words you WILL have a pest problem !!
THEN
There was the crack between the front of the tub and the wall. Maintenance came over and worked on this one 3 or 4 times but never got it fixed. It was still there when I left. The maintenance crew said, as they had on other occasions, that the apartments were cheaply constructed; in this case the tub had never been braced properly. As a result when you take a shower it flexes and pulls away from the wall. This leads to cracks and given the insect problem noted above you get into the tub one morning only to find insects entering your unit via the crack between the tub and the wall – yes, that actually happened – they were small ants.
THEN
I had moved there for peace and quiet and suddenly one Friday night I started to hear music….LOUD music. I thought it was a neighbor and went to my deck to see if I could find the source. I found it; one of the clubs on 280 is pretty close and on many (not all) Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights you will now be graced with FREE music, sometimes loud enough so that you can sing along, until about 1 a.m. Now, this is mostly for the folks on the lake side of the complex. The folks on the other side of the complex next to the new condos might not be able to hear it. So, if you're on a Lake Side unit you often get FREE music till 1am – ain't that great!
THEN
I got new downstairs neighbors who had a BULL MASTIFF. Now, I think the limit for a dog in the complex is 100lbs in the lease agreement. That is what management told me when I asked. This dog weighed more than I do (ok, I am a little bigger at 200 lbs but I don't have teeth like a Great White Shark), the dog hated everyone and tried to eat me personally 3 times. I heard from my neighbors that they were also afraid of the dog and had complained. The woman walked the dog and simply was not strong enough to control it – the first time it tried to attack me it physically dragged her about 5 feet when it came at me. It only stopped when I turned and ran. I reported the problem and they said – "we'll deal with it". They dealt with it by telling the folks to get rid of the dog BUT THEY NEVER FOLLOWED UP and ignored the continuing reports of problems (members of the maintenance staff actually complained to me about the dog and said that management knew it was still there) The couple moved out 6-8 months or so later and still had the dog when they left. Moral of the story – your problems with neighbors and situations; even dangerous ones, will not be handled by Kenley management staff.
FINALLY
Why did I stay there so long? Well. I travelled a lot, and worked a lot and I'm pretty tolerant of most things but I'd finally decided that enough was enough and started looking for a house (rent was basically a house payment by then so why not) Then I got word that my mother had cancer so I needed to move home…FAST…..
I told the office staff about the situation and asked what I needed to do. They said – 'We need 30 days written notice" – I said – "This is an emergency I can’t give you thirty days" I need to move out on November 5th (which was about 2 1/2 weeks notice). The girl said – "Let me talk to the Apartment Manager and I'll get back to you" --- 5 days later I CALLED HER and said – "What's the status?" – She said – "You need to pay us for the entire month" -- The short notice WAS my problem so, I paid $1012 for 5 days. They gave me no list of things to check, or things they expected me to do nor were they in any way helpful – They just wanted that $1012. There is a pattern here to be noted – a complete lack of care about the tenant and a lack of call back or follow-up from the office staff. Read on as it continues.
I paid the rent, moved out on Nov 5th and as I was leaving I stopped by the office, dropped off the keys and said – "Ok I'm leaving, can one of you walk thru the apartment with me so we can make sure there are no problems?" The girl who took the keys said "We don’t need to walk thru the unit at this time we'll do that later" I was obviously naive because I said "Ok, I just wanted to make sure there are no issues because I'm leaving the state" and I left without forcing them to perform the walkthrough --- NEVER, NEVER do this or you will pay a price with Kenley!!!!!
So on January 7, 2008, a full 3 MONTHS later I get a bill; remember that I'd paid the following fees when I moved in -- $125 Redecorating Fee – In part to get the unit cleaned.
So I get this bill, and a warning that if I don't pay in 30 they will ruin my credit.
I will admit that the apartment was a bit dirty when I left but I'd cleaned it the week before (except for the tub – that was dirty) so it was not a total wreck. Dirty yes, a wreck....no.. at least not $300 worth AND Remeber that I asked them to walk thr it with me and THEY declined.
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The Bill
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CLEAN OVEN – $25
CLEAN BROILER PAN – $10
CLEAN REFRIGERATOR – $25
CLEAN FREEZER – $15
This one is particularly funny as I had my own microwave so I never used the one in the unit – I had it in the very small closet -- (did I mention that storage in these units is non-existent) and it was as clean as the day I moved in.
CLEAN MICROWAVE – $10
CLEAN DISPOSAL – $10
CLEAN STOVE TOP – $15
CLEAN DRIP PANS – $10
CLEAN KITCHEN CABINET DRAWER – $20
CLEAN BATH COUNTERS – $10
CLEAN SINKS AND SHOWERS – $50!
CLEAN MIRRORS – $5
This one is funny, the apartment is 810 sq ft and the area to sweep and mop takes about 15 minutes.
SWEEP AND MOP 3 AREAS -- $45
This one is also funny; the carpet was already 1 year old in 1999 when I moved in and they NEVER replaced it though they did clean in once when I begged. So they either charged me to vacuum a carpet they plan to replace or the next tenant is going to get 9 year old carpet in their $1000 a month apartment!
VACUM APARTMENT – $20
REMOVE KITCHEN SHELF LINING – $20 (ok, I forgot to remove these -- my bad)
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Folks, add that up and you get $290. Now I paid a $125 'redecorating' fee when I moved in and I'd been told was in part to clean the apartment so why am I now paying $290 to have it cleaned when I leave? Is the next tenant NOT going to be charged the $125 'redecorating fee' or some similar fee??
Needless to day I had a few questions so I called the apartment manager on Jan 7, 2008. She listened and promised to "check with the owners – Arruth and Associates Inc" I waited patiently and after 4 days (remember I only have 30 days to clear this up before they ruin my credit) and on January 11, 2008 I called her back on only to have her dodge my calls. The not so helpful Kenley staff asked me to call the supervisor at "Arruth and Associates Inc" and discuss the problem with her. The documentation gives a number at "Arruth and Associates Inc" but also tells you not to call them; it states that you should talk to the apartment manager – how funny is that? I called anyway but found that the number given for "Arruth and Associates Inc" does not work; you need an extension number which the documents don't give. It says you should talk to the apartment management – this is difficult when they dodge your calls and/or will not call you back! After having the apartment manager dodge my calls 3 times I called a 4th time and was given yet another number to call which turned out to be a collection agency. I was furious and called Kenley back. Again the manager dodged my call but one of the underlings gave me an extension number for the supervisor at "Arruth and Associates Inc". So, I called her hoping to get a more professional response to my concerns. I'd like to say that she helped but after calling her 3 times I've never been called back. So, she fits the pattern for Kenley staff. I guess it must be part of the training to be staff at "Kenley – Birmingham's Finest". Not wanting my credit ruined, and trying to be a good tenant, even on disputed charges, I went ahead and sent a check to them on January 11, 2008 for the remaining $65 of the $290 disputed claim.
The supervisor NEVER called me but I get a call from the Kenley Apartment Manager on Monday January 14, 2008 and a discussion ensues. She says the apartment was dirty and they have pictures and offers to send them to me. I give my email address and say go ahead but that is not the real issue. I ask when they walked thru the apartment and was informed they did that on Nov 30th – THREE WEEKS AFTER I MOVED OUT!
I state that I left both a forwarding address and a phone number and question why no one ever called me to talk about the issues or ask me to remediate them. I get no answer except a runaround conversation. I ask AGAIN why they would not walk thru the apartment with me and once again state that had they done so we could have resolved the situation then and there. Again I get no answer. The conversation ends with the apartment manager stating that the pictures will be sent; she will then contact the "Arruth and Associates Inc" supervisor and get back to me.
Following the usual pattern I heard nothing from the staff at "Kenley, Birmingham's Finest" so 4 days later on January 18, 2008 I once again called them. I was informed that the apartment manager is on vacation. It seems she 'tried' to send me the pictures but got an 'error' and could not do so. I asked why no one called me to let me know this and again I get the runaround and a promise to 'follow-up' on it. Given the past record of 'follow-up' by Kenley staff I decided to call the supervisor directly. I called the Supervisor at "Arruth and Associates Inc" and left a message requesting a callback.
Finally, on January 21, 2008 I get sent 2 e-mails with pictures and 1 follow-up call. Well, damn it's about time they called me for a change and actually followed up on something! Interestingly it came from an underling. The manager actually followed up exactly ONCE but the supervisor at "Arruth and Associates Inc" has NEVER called me back. In short it looks like I'm out $300 due to a situation that could have been easily avoided had I demanded a walk-thru -- My naïveté got me here – I expected to be treated with honor and professionalism by a place with a reputation like this. It could also have been avoided if the staff and management at the complex HAD DONE THEIR JOB!
Moral of the story – I think you can see a pattern here. If you want to over pay for an undersized apartment with inadequate management, lackluster staff and poor construction and still get the level of service that you could get in any other decent apartment for a quarter of the price (without the 280 traffic) then I wish you the best of luck – just remember to force them to walk thru the apartment when you move in and again when you leave and tape it with a camcorder so that when the bill comes you'll have something that will stand up in court. Don't make my naive mistake!
Best of luck