Kensington West Apartments

Not sure what this guys issue it...no apartment complexes I have every lived at allowed trailers or commercial vehicles. I have lived at Kensington for about 3 years now and I plan on staying. I love that they are strict about rules, it keeps the crazies away! The parking is strict, 2 cars, no commercial vehicles or TRAILERS. If there were trailers parked everywhere where would your neighbors be able to park their car? DUH. It would look trashy too. Anyway I think Kensington is great. The office staff is wonderful, the maintenance guys are friendly and come the same day you call. And yes rules are strict here, they keep a clean tight looking property. I would definitely recommend my friends here. I have already and they gave me a bonus!

From the beginning there has been nothing but problems. They tend to lie and swap documentation. The initial lease I reviewed had a statement that early termination of the lease resulted in paying of "20% of the remainder of the lease". The final version, which I did not re-review as I had already reviewed the lease, changed that statement to "20% of the entire lease". This is called bait-and-switch. Also, discussion prior to applying about my trailer had me understanding that it would be ok to park it on site (small bike trailer). However, the lease then states certain "vehicles" such as trailers are not allowed. There was no inspection sheet provided at time of move in to go through the apartment and make comment of the problems of which there were many (garbage disposal has not worked, batteries were not changed in thermostat or smoke detectors, AC unit leaks drastically from condensation due to improper drainage and insulation of refrigerant lines, toilet was not cleaned (and still has junk in it), shower head was not installed properly, toilet was not installed properly (WAY off at an angle), and the list goes on.

Also, when they replace the carpeting (not often) they do not check, repair or replace the subfloor and end up with thin, uneven, noisy floors that sound like no insulation is installed from unit to unit (including the walls).

Bottom line, this is not a place I would recommend to anyone and honestly, even the price is not that great for the quality and space provided.

I lived there for two years. Here are some positives:

- Fairly quiet community

- Monthly social activities that usually involve adult beverages

- sizeable apartments

- If you have an maintenance issue, your problems are usually addressed within a matter of a couple of days.

- U-verse is available to just about the entire complex, which was a huge plus for me.



Here are some of the opportunities for improvement:

- Any sort of flexibility whatsoever, if you need to extend your stay just a couple of months, sorry, it's either 12-month leases or nothing.

- Powerwashing your deck. It gets slippery and slimey from the algea growing on it since its in the shade all the time. I had the maintenance people tell me they were always going to clean them in the spring and they were 0 for 2.

- I also had an ongoing problem with my air conditioner, which leaked condensation every summer, regardless of the number of maintenance trips.

- After your first year, expect your rent to go up over 10%.