Review for Amli At Lowry Estates Apartments

We have been living in the Amli and Lowry Estates complex for about seven months. We have been less than pleased. The following is a list of just some of our gripes:

- The carpet, fixtures, cabinets, blinds, and appliances - pretty much everything - are of the cheapest and shoddiest quality. Obviously, an apartment complex isn't going to go with top grade. But for the money they're charging, you shouldn't see the veneer of the cabinets peeling off; you should be able to run the dishwasher and hear the television at the same time; your entire wall shouldn't shake when you heat something up in the microwave; your lights shouldn't dim when you turn more than one piece of electronic equipment on. You get the picture.

- The common areas are not well kept (e.g. trash and dog feces in the grassy areas, run down equipment in the fitness center, huge stains and odd smells in the entryways to the apartments, etc.).

- The management acts "put out" if you ask them to do anything. For example, we had a complaint about another neighbor overtly throwing litter into the common area. We called twice about the same issue. In both instances, the leasing office personnel took a tone of obvious irritation that we were contacting them, and nothing came of the complaint. The trash was never picked-up.

- They find every excuse to charge you fees and fines. For example, a bank error caused one of our rent checks to be returned. Even though the error was proven to be on the bank's end, Amli refused to re-submit the check for a second time, charged us $100 in late fees and other fines, and required a cashier's check or money order for rent payment going forward. This is how they treat tenants who have always faithfully paid their bloated rent on time.

- Beware of a "bait and switch" when you take a tour. I was told that the show apartment was "basically the same" as the apartment I leased, although they didn't have an example of the layout I eventually chose available for me to tour. On move-in day I walked into the leased apartment to find it was nothing like the show apartment. The layout wasn't even close! I wound-up having to lease another style to the tune of an extra $200 per month, as I had no other choice with all of my belongings packed into a moving truck out front.

- During the Winter they allow snow and ice to build-up on the North facing areas, including parking spaces and thoroughfares. You find yourself doing a funny dance as you slip and slide your way to your car. Nice and safe.

And on and on. The only nice thing I can say about this place is the maintenance crew. They have always been pleasant and prompt.

Bottom line: you can get SO much more for your money. We didn't have the luxury of shopping the area before we moved, and chose Amli based on the surface appearance. But, look at other properties before signing on the dotted line. These apartments are overpriced from the start, but it was only after we moved-in and lived there for a while that we realized how much money we're throwing away on this place.