After living in the Ohio State off-campus area for 4 years all at different location I decided to move to a quieter and nicer location. Well I can honestly say I made the worst living choice by moving to the Olentangy Commons out of all of the 5 places in the last 5 years.
Pros:
Large Bedrooms
Parking - only had to park on street 5 times this year
Pool Parties - just have a friend and you can still go
Free W/D - probably because they screwed us over on our unit
Cons:
BREAK-INS:
Many have heard about the serial rapist that terrorized Columbus. The OC was the location of one of his assaults. He was able to easily break into the apartment by ripping out the mail slot located on the front door and then unlocking the door. (This information was passed along by an OC employee)
Car - broken into, had CDs and stereo stolen.
Apartment Condition on Move-In:
Bathroom - Was not cleaned, the tube was not just stained but also had soap scum and mildew(tried to cover up with caulk). Shower leaks. Also Floor dirty
Kitchen - Stove lacked a drip pan, and only moderately clean. Refrigerator light was broken and uncleaned on outside. Rain water leaks into cabinet. Overall only moderately cleaned.
Front Door - The door frame its self was rotting away, horrible seals around door, didn't shut properly.
Linen Closet - smelled like cat piss(almost vomited so strong).
Electric Bill - Unit was vacant for about a year and OC never paid the electric bill, so on move it we got stuck with the Bill(In roommates name and they was to lazy to follow up, so they just covered it).
Changed Apartment - We signed a lease for a specific unit and on move it day they told us an employee wanted to live by his friends, so they changed our location (tough luck for us), was suppose to be a remodeled unit.
Vents - All of the vents were dusty and returned vent was clogged.
Maintenance:
All of the issues from move in were never fixed. I personally have filled 12 maintenance request since the beginning of the lease. They have only showed up three times. Two of the times were to fix the furnace, which was never fixed properly(thermostat temps never correct). Also on one trip maintenance was rude and complained the whole time how we shouldn't have called on a Sunday night(I'm sorry but I don't get to pick when the furnace breaks). The other time they came by and didn't fix anything just looked around. This is worse than the slum lords I had on campus.
Walls - they are paper thin and can hear everything through them.
Open spaces - Dog Sh*t everywhere outside
Management:
They have a shady clause in the lease which always them to create public charges and increase rent even if under a lease agreement.
General Lease Terms: Section 1. Premises Leased.
"Landlord, where not required by law, may discontinue any facilities, amenities, gratuities or such services rendered by Landlord and furnished to several residents on a common basis, not expressly covenanted for herein; it being understood that they constitute no part of the consideration for this Lease."
Over charged - Confused roommate into paying an extra $200 dollar security deposit
Clueless - lost 3 separate rent checks causing hassles with my bank and correcting the issues with management. Never returned my calls force me to do all of the leg work for their mistakes. Also the main office no one knows whats going on but a select two people.
Soliciting - They claim to to a No-soliciting apartment complex, but we have had countless Door to Door salesmen and numerous advertisements placed on all the vehicles which ends of littering the parking lots.
The list goes on but I think you get the picture. Please do not make the same mistake I did. Ohio State reviews local complexes "OSU Off-Campus Living" website and only one Landlord have a higher rate of failure to issues. Slum Lords to a better job than the OC.
