Arizona woman gets approved for her dream apartment. Then she reads the complex’s reviews online: ‘Raw sewage’

An Arizona woman got approved for an apartment. Then she realized she made an incredibly big mistake.

Kelly (@kellybrooke.m), an Arizona-based TikTok creator searching for her first solo apartment, says a leasing consultant confirmed specific features: a bathtub, an island kitchen, modern upgrades. But then the actual unit bore no resemblance to what she'd been promised over the phone.

“I have made a really, really… dumb mistake,” she said in a TikTok with over 43,000 views. “This situation could have been completely avoided if I had just done my research.”

The Story

Kelly explained that she'd spent days looking at complexes and scouring listings until a deal surfaced in her preferred area. It needed to be within budget, with a nice interior for the price. The catch was that she had to drive 45-minutes for a tour. She didn't want to make the first trip, so she called multiple times as an alternative to visiting the complex.

She asked the leasing consultant specifically about a bathtub, her one non-negotiable, and he confirmed it would have one. They discussed the layout: an L-shaped kitchen with an island, a wide living room, and a patio. She applied sight unseen. The approval came quickly, but she hadn't signed a lease quite yet.

Something Stinks

She decided to go ahead and check reviews of the complex. Renters described raw sewage leaking from ceilings and rising through sinks. A photo showed a car crashed into the mailroom during an apparent smash-and-grab.

Kelly drove out. Staff appeared bothered by her unannounced arrival. A representative drove her by golf cart to a unit described as exact to hers. It had the same upgrades and layout, but it was in a different section.

“She opens the door. And I'm like, what apartment is this?” Kelly recalled. “This is not the same apartment I applied for, whatsoever.”

The apartment was severely outdated and smaller, with no island ormodern cabinetry. It had no resemblance to what she was told.

“At the end of the day, it's my fault,” she said. But with a European trip a month out and a move-out deadline looming, the stakes extend beyond a lesson learned. “Now we're back to the drawing board.”

The Peanut Gallery

“It's not petty to be upset someone LIED to you,” said one commenter, about Kelly's passiveness on a situation where she was clearly given a false bill of goods.

“As someone who just moved TODAY and currently has a plumber over at 9 p.m., I feel this,” said another person.

One woman described what turned out to be a horror of an experience with another apartment.

“Gurl, you're better than me. I didn't check [my complex's] reviews until almost halfway through my lease when I had an issue that they ‘fixed' repeatedly that was never fixed (sewage smell for the entire 12-month lease),” she said. “I checked their ratings 2.1…The only reason they had a 2-rating was because one person changed their rating to a five when they finally fixed her issue after she posted the review. All the others were 1 star. People [were] saying, ‘if I could rate 0, I would.' That was a miserable year having to live in literal sewage.”

Back to the Drawing Board

Kelly's experience isn't at all uncommon. In December, the FTC settled a $24 million case against Greystar, the nation's largest apartment manager, for advertising low rents and then burying various fees in the paperwork. Renters didn't discover the actual prices of their units until after paying nonrefundable deposits.

Indiana's attorney general filed a lawsuit against Lake Castleton Apartments, noting more than 132 ignored health code citations, including sewage backups and mold.

For first-time renters finally in a position to be choosy, like Kelly, the lesson is clear: Just because the apartment that looks perfect online doesn't mean that's what you're getting.

Always take a tour of the complex and unit before you apply.

Buzz News reached out to Kelly (@kellybrooke.m) via TikTok message and comment. We'll update the article if she responds.

@kellybrooke.m diva down #apartment #costofliving #rental #mistake #housing ♬ Lacrimosa Mozart (Live) – CacauShow sylvain

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