Tall Oaks Apartments

I am terminating my lease early due to a deployment. I originally planned to move out 7 September, but the management company said they could not pro-rate move-outs because of the way their computer system is set up; so I would have to pay all of September's rent to stay till the 7th. I said I did not mind paying for the whole month up front, but management said they would not reimburse me for the 8th to 30th after I move out. I use to be a property manager in Augusta, GA before I joined the Air Force and I am certain this is not the case. To me, the management company just does not want to be inconvenienced by a mid-month move out. Now I am the one inconvenienced by having to pay close to $500 for a seven night stay at a decent hotel. This is only the most recent complaint I have of this community.



I moved into 192 Charlotte Drive back in November 2010. I requested a third floor apartment, because I'm a shift worker and I didn't want to worry about noise when I am working night shifts and need to sleep during the day. Since I moved in, I have called Arundel County Policy Department at least ten times to file complaints for noise and smoking in the building. I do have to say, that I haven't had much to complain about in the last month or two. I think I have gotten some good new neighbors. Also, if you are sensitive to noise, I would not recommend living here, because without the background noise of the a/c running, I was able to hear my downstairs neighbor snoring at night (there are no ceiling fans in the bedrooms).



My other two complaints have to do with the management staff and maintenance staff. The management staff seem very friendly and act cooperatively, but lack business etiquette. They would not return my calls in a timely manner and I would have to call several times in one day and the next day to get something taken care of. Of course, when I had the time to go there in person, I usually didn't wait too long to be seen. Also, the maintenance staff does not speak very good English and I had a hard time expressing the problem that I wanted fixed. I had a problem with the weather stripping on my front door. I wanted it taken care of because every time someone smoked in the stairway, the smell would come into my apartment. I put in a work order at least three times to get it fixed and every time I could still see daylight coming in around the door. I'm sure that no one even came for some of those maintenance requests. Eventually, I went to Wal-Mart and got something to fix it myself.



A specific example of one of my problems, was my downstairs neighbor smoking in his bedroom. The smoke seeped through the ceiling and would stink up my bedroom. The management said there was nothing they could do, so I had to confront my neighbor and ask him to stop smoking.



Another time, it was a holiday weekend and my electronic key to the gym would not work. The on call maintenance staff would not fix it, so that I could use the gym. I was very disgruntled, because I had to pay $25 to get the key in order to use the gym, so that I could go workout when the gyms on Fort Meade are closed.



For the price and the location, this is an okay community. I just want others to be aware of the problems I had and consider other options before moving into Tall Oaks.