Reviews

2/5.0

07/26/2010

For an apartment complex that claims to be trying to alter its current reputation, Kensington Place is decidedly missing the mark. This is due in no small part to current management. I wish I could name names, but the terms of use for ApartmentRatings.com dictates that I can not name first or last names, so none will appear here. She will simply be referenced by her initials L.G. hereinafter. Further, it states that I am to be very detailed, highly descriptive, and unabashedly honest, so here goes.To be clear, I am not now, nor ever have been, an employee of this apartment complex or any of its agents. This is also no complaint by an upset tenant who pays rent late, either. I have a perfect rental history, have never paid late here or anywhere, have no evictions, no lease violations, nothing but a scrupulously clean rental record. This is my personal experience at Kensington Place during my tenure there. Allow me to start with the pluses of this community: *Maintenance crew--(wish I could name the head of maintenance as he is a hard-working, gracious, respectful man, but I can not for the aforementioned reason)This team is the hardest working & keep the longest hours of any I have ever known, and they are never short of service requests. They are conscientious and seek to do their best work even at the oddest hours of the day/night. Their only problem is that their task is too daunting for their small number. *The laundry room cleaning lady--I have no idea who she is, but I have seen her many times and have been in the laundry room when she came in to clean it before. She is diligent, on-task, and does her job like clockwork. Oh, and she is as amicable as she is capable. *Two office assistants--I have only a resident-to-office-personnel relationship with them, but they have ever acted professionally and cordially at all times. *Parking is plentiful Now I will address a few of the myriad issues currently plaguing this property and its current choice of manager. Service/repair requests-- Please note that on MC Companies website (mcresidential.com), they clearly state in their "Good Life Promise" that if a non-emergency service request is not answered within 24 hours during regular business hours, "we'll pay you". I'm certain L.G. doesn't want that information widely understood or she'd go broke in no time as no one gets their maintenance requests responded to regularly within anything remotely resembling that timeframe. Not at Kensington Place. Repair requests submitted in writing take days to sometimes weeks to respond to. No company should make a promise they can not keep or include in it a property that can not/will not meet the stated expectation. A clear case of misrepresentation of the facts to residents. A quick glance at the BBB website will show you that this slow service response is nothing new for this complex. In fact, the office at Kensington Place displays a plaque stating that they are a proud member of the Better Business Bureau, though this is indeed false advertising as the BBB states that they possess an "F" rating with them and can not be members due to the high volume of unresolved complaints against the property, some since the "new" management team L.G. heads up has taken over. Please check this out for yourself. During my personal visit to the Tyler area BBB the other day, they were appalled to learn of this management's possession of one of their plaques, so I gave them the address of the apt. complex because they expressed the desire to collect it. I am sure it has been removed by now, but if it hasn't, please know that it is merely another flagrant misrepresentation of the facts to all would-be residents. Who knows how long L.G. displayed that plaque before I reported it to the BBB and they sent them the letter telling them to stop misleading the public by displaying a sign that doesn't even belong to them. Unfortunately for me, I neglected to check the BBB's website before considering moving into this place--an action I have come to regret immensely. Do not make the same mistake. The apt. grounds towards the rear go virtually untouched as the weeds shin-high attest (no room for that picture as I've already met my allowable quota here). The horrific sight of old home furnishings, mattresses, toilets (yes, I said toilets), and the like sit next to dumpsters in mountains 7 or 8 feet high, and remaining for months at a time. The one by building 10, affectionately dubbed "Mt. Kensington" by the residents, harbors rats, snakes, and vermin nests not 20 feet from the residents' homes. Can you say health and safety code violations' Since occupancy is so very low (and rightly so), many units are vacant. These units are left unlocked as a matter of course, and some doors are even left to stand ajar for days on end as none of the workers bother to close them--squirrels, stray cats & dogs, and small children dash in and out of them continually as management clearly has zero regard for the owner's property. Shame on L.G. There is an overgrown drainage ditch running the full length of the complex that is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, surrounded by poison ivy, and attracts frogs and snakes of every sort. There are odd orange blobs of an unidentified composition that float in the dank, stagnant water, along with debris and other such trash. Sickening & disgusting are the only words that adequately convey that scene. The community's website homepage: mykensingtonplace.com boasts of a "sparking" swimming pool as one of their amenities. "Sparking" is the operative word here because the unsupervised kids who frequent the pool all day and night often pull the lights out so they can swim long after hours without being seen. This is nothing shy of an electrocution hazard, so the term used on the website is an accurate one (and you thought it was only a careless typo, didn't you') Well, I'm sure they'll go in and correct it as soon as they read this review. One can certainly hope. The fence dividing this complex from its neighboring complex is a 6 foot high chain link fence with razor wire topping it. You know, the kind you see topping the fencing around maximum security prisons like Huntsville, for example. Makes one wonder if they're trying to keep the good people out or the criminal element in. There are restrictions on the types of pets allowed here, but it is not enforced. So pitbulls are living in at least 2 of the units that I personally know of (a banned breed for this apt community, according to management), and few residents have actually even registered their pets with the office at all, so most are here in violation of the owner's lease anyway. The onsite laundry facilities are abyssmally substandard. More machines are inoperable than operable. Residents lose money in them on a regular basis. There is a number to call for refunds/service, but I rather doubt many residents do. The machine's ID numbers are faded with age and make it difficult, if not impossible, to read & therefore report to CoinMach. Management maintains that they bear no responsibility for upkeep of those laundry facilities, thus effectively removing liability from themselves in the event of injury befalling someone attempting to use the dilapidated washers & dryers they provide as an "amenity" to their lucky residents. I wish I could have included pictures of some of Kensington Place's laundry facilities provided for residential use and the obvious risk they represent to the public. Exposed wiring, machine panels dislodged, and generally unsafe conditions are the order of the day. MC Companies should be mortified with embarrassment, not to mention ashamed, of their lack of responsibility for maintaining a healthy, safe environment for their residents. The buildings themselves are covered in a creeping, black mildew/mold across the facades, tattered blinds dangle precariously in nearly every window, and residents often park on the grass in front of their apts even though parking is ample throughout. The shrubs obscure 3 feet or more of all bottom floor windows, representing a clear break-in hazard according to police. This could easily be remedied, but is evidently a non-priority to management as it would require regular yard maintenance be done. The children's play area alluded to on their website is not a playground by any stretch of the imagination; The closest thing they have to that is a rag-tag trio of rusty, broken swings onsite. The insides of the apartments themselves are a testament to tenement living. Poorly spackled holes mottle the walls, aged carpeting that is only ever shampooed even when it should be replaced altogether inhabits most units, bathtubs stripped of laminate over the decades are desperately in need of resurfacing (but never see it),and ages old linoleum, burned, scarred, stained, curling up... that has been the floor covering since the complex was built in the 70's. Sounds downright homey, doesn't it' I believe a person's home should rise up to meet them, not accost them from a distance. If you have another housing option to avail yourself of, then do yourself and your family a momentous favor and do so. It is just that bad at Kensington Place. If your idea of the ideal apartment community is one in which the premises are morbidly embarrassing in appearance, management is condescending and argumentative, and service requests are all but ignored, then you've come to the right place. Do not be taken in by L.G.'s smooth talking. She likes to expound her own virtues as manager, over-tell the tale of how she single handedly chased all the criminals out of the complex by hanging out with them each night (yep, you read that right), and bragging about how great this place is to live in now (though she wouldn't dream of living onsite herself). Don't take her word for it and don't take mine, either. Look at the pictures as they speak volumes. Drive in and take your own private tour of the grounds anytime and you will see for yourself where the truth lies. ...

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4400 Paluxy Dr, Tyler, TX 75703

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