Review for Bishop's View Apartments

Rent here at your own risk

I rented an apartment from Bishops View apartments from June 2008 to September 2009. My experience was mediocre at best and at times very bad.

Good points: Proximity to Cooper River Lake, landscaping, pool and fitness center

Bad points: Horrible management, ridiculous move out charges, road noise on Rt 70 side, paper thin walls, not a luxury apartment

Overall, the “luxury” apartment claim only applies to the clubhouse. The apartments are okay, but the appliances are 5-8 years old and the flooring/counter surfaces are low quality. The one bright spot is the landscaping and the new gas grills they just installed.

I originally leased a 3bed/3bath apartment site-unseen on the Rt 70 side of the complex for $2000/month. Bad mistake. The road noise was constant from 4pm-12am and 4am-9am. So basically there's only about 4 hours a night where you don't hear motorcycles, tuner cars, delivery trucks or semis through the rattling windows and thin walls. It took several emails, countless meetings and hours on the phone with multiple layers of management to get moved to an apartment on the “quiet side” of the complex.

Exit noise problems, enter parking problems. I don't know if there are too many cars or not enough spaces, but I know that if you don't get home before 6pm you can forget about finding a space. There are countless cars parked in front of fire hydrants and in fire lanes, so I really hope nothing bad happens because this is a major safety issue.

The biggest issue with this apartment are the ridiculous move out charges. In September 2009 I purchased a home and after fulfilling the requirements of my lease, I moved out. I left the aparment in cleaner condition that which I received it, except for a few small dirt spots on the carpet in the living and dining rooms due to my 2 year old son. I figured I'd get charged a $150 cleaning fee and get the rest of my $500 deposit back. And then I got hit with a major surprise.

Two weeks after the moved out I called the office to check on the deposit and the Resident Manager responded that I had been charged $1295 for replacing the carpet in the entire apartment. They didn't even try to clean them first and they even charged me for carpet in undamaged rooms. I immediately asked for an explaination, during which the resident manager was so loud, rude and condescending that I asked to talk to the property manager. The property manager restated their claims and told me that “since the carpet was brand new when I moved in, it needed to be brand new for the next resident”. Also, she added that “ the bedrooms had no damage but she wanted to replace it so all the carpet would be the same age”.

I'm a reasonable man with a very busy job so to stop the drama, I offered to pay for the carpet in the two rooms she claimed were damaged. She refused and held her ground on the replacement charges for the entire apartment. I honestly believe, that they charged me $1300 for new carpets then cleaned the existing carpets and pocketed the difference. For all unsuspecting renters out there: this practice is not only unfair, it is ILLEGAL. The complex can only charge you for repairs above and beyond normal wear and tear. Also, they can only charge you for what you damaged. For example if you broke the stove they cannot make you pay for a new matching refridgerator.

To rectify the situation, I paid all fees to the manager within a week of receiving the invoice and filed a complaint with the local courts to get my money back. Also, I promised that I would tell my story, good and bad, to all the top apartment review sites so they could take advantage of anymore potential residents. Please, see the email address for this review and I'd be happy to answer and question you may have.

In summary, rent at your own risk. This may seem like a cheap deal on the front end, but if you end up getting charged $1300 or more upon move out was it really that good?