Equity Management

I’ve had a horrible experience with Equity Management from day one. It’s one thing after another!
1. To begin, the application took almost a month to get processed, and they kept blaming others, but an apartment application should not take nearly a month. They kept telling me that they expect it to be processed in 2 – 3 days, and whenever I’d call, they’d delay it. I had to go from hotel to hotel every 2 – 3 days, waiting to get into the apartment.
2. They even make paying rent a huge pain. When I was first moving in, they told me that I could pay my rent by credit card online once I set up an account. However, because they didn’t have me in the system, I couldn’t set one up. I had to reach out to them multiple times, with a LOT of back and forth emailing to finally get an account set up online. Then, when I FINALLY got it set up and I tried to pay rent online, I got a notice saying that there will be a fee if I paid online with a credit card or a debit card. I suggested that they put a rent drop box at the property site, which they denied.
3. They’ve entered my unit 5+ times within the last 7 months that I’ve lived here. They’ve done everything from major construction changes (widening a closet opening, replacing a cabinet with drywall) to inspections to minor plumbing fixes. The unit was vacant for a few months before I moved in, so they really should have checked everything before they let someone move in. As a single girl living alone, I do not like having strange men come into my unit, especially when I am not around. I understand it is necessary, but I would like to know that my landlord is making an effort to minimize these visits.
Not only have I had way too many visits, but the visits are not scheduled properly, and they don’t tell you what the visits are going to be for. They told me the other day that they would enter on Monday to do some repairs, but for one reason or another, it kept getting postponed, and I had to call every day to find out what happened and if they were coming at all.
4. When I spoke to corporate, Vicky James, the Area Manager, I believe, about the multiple entrances, she was extremely rude. She kept interrupting me, wouldn’t stop talking over me, and was extremely condescending. She said that only in a «perfect world» would they go around with a checklist to make sure everything was done. This is a juvenile statement. Checklists are so elementary and is a basic method of making sure that you get everything done. She was very unhelpful and frankly was just trying to shut me up.
5. There was a storm today, and while it rained heavily, it wasn’t for very long (maybe an hour?), and the drain outside my door got clogged with debris from the plants and new landscaping they just did. This caused the water to back up and flood into my apartment. Almost my entire apartment is now covered with water. I have tried calling any and every phone number I could find related to the management, including an emergency 24 hour 877 phone number that was on the Lease. Every phone number I’ve called has led to an answering machine and the 877 phone number is «no longer in service.»
Overall, I would highly recommend staying away from Equity Management in any way. I’ve only been here for a little over 7 months now, and who knows what’s going to happen next.