The Montclaire

Good things are :
1. Close proximity to supermarket, petrol pump and food adjacent to the property
2. Good staff for maintenance because you will need them.
The disadvantages of the property are :
1. Bad plumbing infrastructure. In the 2 years I lived here I have had 4 cases of kitchen sink flooding and 3 cases of bathroom clogging. (We keep cameras at kitchen and bathrooms when we travel for long to avoid major crisis). Lower floors are more dominantly effected as water from all floors above... it come to the lower floor when there is an issue.
2. No sound proofing at all. I used to live in the ground floor and I can hear every single person who walks, talks, use the pool, jacuzzi with so much clarity that my soundproof headphones have good use.
3. The electrical system in the apartments is just blaahhh. Most of the sockets don't work. And some of the sockets have a mind of its own they work only if it feels like working that day.
4. Lack of sunlight inside most of the apartments. Now this is personal choice but even after trying my best to light up the place I still felt my house was not bright enough.
5. I have had issues with crockroahes in the apartment kitchen and at some crawling insects in the bathrooms and small spiders. Read More

Been here for 2 years, the unit itself looks and feels nice, plenty of space and AC in each room. Management provided a form regarding the state of appliances and such which doesn't seem like they review. I had filled it out saying the faucets should be replaced (faucet head were completely stuck or leaking from the base) but no one came to do or say anything. Called for repair of the bathroom ventilation and was told they were behaving normally... Motion detection vents running at 100% power,... 24/7. Cleaned them myself and they now only run fully upon detecting motion and slowing down when there isn't.

Now about the part that I'm considering sueing the property for. At the end of my 12 month lease, I had signed the renewal lease, followed up about the submission, got an addendum to modify it, gotten everyone's signature, and was given no further action to complete. I had thought I fully renewed for a year, but turns out that they voided my 12 month lease and put me on a monthly. I was told that if I didn't renew my lease that would happen, but considering I did everything I was asked of and for but wasn't told of anything else seems very scummy. I hadn't noticed until 11 months in but upon bringing it up, the management didn't want to provide any assistance, even though they found out they never sent a new renewal lease. They persistently blamed me for the he fact that I didn't notice until this late and that there was no contract so they weren't obligated to help. $2,200 is what I overpaid because of this screen up. To top it off, supposedly they tell me they don't do monthly contracts anymore but only decided to tell me after I brought up my issue and they noticed I was on a monthly contract. So I assume that if I never checked with them, they would've forced me on a new contract without notice? When they wrote up a new lease for me, they claimed they were doing me a favor by offering a price $100 less than market value, while they had another similar unit on premise that was slightly cheaper. Not to mention at this time, there are other apartments that are $300-500 cheaper around the county... So great offer guys.

I plan on posting this review about the management onto every Essex review posting available. Read More

This property management sends us emails everyday about new rules and potential fines. They will find ways to charge residents for normal maintenance.

For example: they claim that garbage disposal was for getting ride of hot water fast and not for shredding food. That's just shameless. Garbage disposal is for shredding small food items! The management would charge $65 for maintenance related to disposal.

The list can go on and on. Basically, anything in this 50-year old apartment died, the... resident will be charged a large fee. Read More

I stayed in montclaire for 2 years. Everything was ok till the time I left. No matter how clean you leave the apartment, they will anyway charge $250 you for cleaning. I was the only person living in apartment, no pets, no kids, nothing.

What concerns me most,
1. Despite written and in-person requests, I was not invited to pre-inspection. Even on the day I was leaving, I specifically asked them to call me at the time of inspection. Still I was not invited. This lead to 2nd problem.
2.... Inspection report had false comments saying there was cooking grease in kitchen. This was not possible, because I cleaned the kitchen with disinfectant wipes before leaving. If I had been given a chance to be present at the time of inspection, this false comment would not have been there.

I mean, if you want to charge, go ahead and do it, but at least don't write false comments in inspection report.

Now my whole deposit is gone and I owe them three dollars. Yes, they sent me a bill of three dollars and eight cents! And if I don't pay it, it'll go to collections!!

Stay away from this apartment, if you want to keep your hard earned money.
If you're already living there, don't bother cleaning the apartment before you leave, they'll charge you anyway.

Rent increase discrepancy:
I was paying around 2100 and was given a renewal offer of around 2300. Interestingly, at the same time, they were marketing apartments of same size for $2085.
Anyway, I tried getting this new unit with 2085 rent, but lost it, because they wanted to charge me for both old and new units for 15 days. Read More

This apartment complex has a great atmosphere, vibe, and is close to many shops and restaurants!