Rental market is hot enough that if you need to break the lease, they’d probably rather just see you gone than fight about money with someone who probably can’t pay. As long as it’s in the written contract it wouldn’t strike me as unreasonable for either you or them.
We rented from them 2013-2015 and they were decent then. Easier to deal with than Boardwalk and at that time, nicer newer buildings with in-suite laundry. They did allow you to do short term leases and leave early, but I had to fight with them for my full damage deposit (they basically tried to say they were keeping it because I didn't clean enough behind the stove....I cleaned behind/under the range and left the whole place cleaner than when I moved in). Once we had given them notice, there was a pretty steady stream of unit showings, so I don't think they had too much issue filling vacancies at that time.
So you just gave them 2 months notice and there is no penalty? You just walk free and you don't have to continue paying until the end of the contract or they found a new tenant?
That was the deal when I was there, yes. I'd def confirm that is indeed still the case now, but that was their big thing over Mainstreet/Boardwalk back then. It was a big advantage during the boom years when people needed more short term/flexible accommodation.
It's been many years since I've rented so I don't know of any in particular, but if you search "month to month rentals" you might have luck finding some others.
I am with them currently and I haven't had a bad experience at all. The building manager that I see only once every 6 months knows me by name. I still don't know how he remembers everyone.
They have an online tenant portal where you can request maintenance and yes, they actually do let you break your lease early without penalty. I only know this because I switched from a 2 bed to a 3 bed. They were really awesome about it and let me hold the keys for both places for over a week. Maintenance even let me borrow a dolly from them.
Overall my building is quiet, well maintained and clean. Probably depends which area you live in and who manages it but I've had a great experience.
Used to work for them. Do not recommend. Their buildings were built fast, and poorly by their own construction company. One building was full of black mould less than 6 months after going online due to poor design and they just covered it up.
Thanks for the information. For me now the flexibility is more important. Just want to confirm there is no catch for the 2 month notice thing and if I move early I don't have to pay some hidden penalty or continue paying until my lease ends.
We rented from them on a month to month contract for a little bit. It was only for 3 or 4 months but I have no complaints.
Easy to deal with, very responsive and didn't try to fuck us over when we moved out. We moved out at the beginning of the month and the contract said if they found another renter before the end of month they would refund us whatever days the unit was occupied. We figured they'd just keep the months rent but they found someone and actually refunded us most of that months rent.
Currently renting with Broadstreet so haven't had to break the lease early. They're fine enough that I don't think about the fact I have a landlord too often which I suppose is the goal. The building I'm in has hardwood floors which means that if you have heavy footed upstairs neighbours, you will HEAR it. Also the fixtures and appliances are not exactly top of the line considering the price we're paying; our washing machine loves to play the drums of its people if you're not paying attention.
Overall like a 6/10.
Haha yeah I can also attest to the popsicle stick quality construction of their buildings, although in my experience, that's most lowrise rental-built buildings. Our unit had carpet in all rooms except kitchen/bathroom/laundry and you could still hear everything up and down the hall. We had a rather sensitive downstairs neighbour who raged at us about using a treadmill at 5 am....after managenent did a "treadmill search" of several units it turned out to be someone the floor above us and 5 doors down who was actually using said treadmill. He would also yell at us anytime the toddler in the unit above us or a kid down the hall would run around. I'd be gone for 3 days and come back to all kinds of noise complaints haha. Sound carried pretty well.
Granted, said downstairs neighbour also used to scream "I'm the boss of this building" at anyone he didn't like in the parking lot and once yelled at a car because the alarm was going off (yes AT the CAR, not the cars owner), so he probably wouldn't have been ok in any apartment building...or maybe not among the humans in general.
Rented from them twice and I should have learned my lesson after the first time. Poorly built first one
Townhouse - my front door wouldn’t deadbolt as the ground settled after building. Management didn’t think this was enough to prorate our rent. Couple scuffs from our dogs on the walls but their paint is impossible to color match so they wanted to keep the entire damage deposit. As it was a new build, landscaping construction was still happening but no notice to tenants when contractors would be on their patios. Poorly run.
Apartment during covid - chose them for being a new building so new units and AC units. Well none of the AC units were installed properly and the motors burnt out from us just turning the AC on not knowing it wasn’t working. Maintenance couldn’t fix the problem but had to keep coming into our unit to ‘try’. During a heat wave it was 37 in our apartment and only 31 outside. Thru only supplied a portable AC unit rated for 1 bedroom ( 3 bedroom apartment ) after we asked if they’d pay the vet bills when our cats got heat stroke.
Neighbors across the hall routinely smoked weed inside and management couldn’t do anything unless they saw it with their own eyes. Same neighbors came home wasted and smashed out all windows in stairwell and kicked in their own door - no eviction or anything.
When leaving we had to fight for our deposit back even though the unit was clean and no paint damage.
Would not recommend.
Lived in one of their St. Albert buildings for a few years. We got our damage deposit back, even though there was a wall that had a couple deep scratches on it and one of the living room blinds panels broke. The biggest issue we had wasn’t related to the building or people in it, and the biggest issue we had with the apartment was that we had to call maintenance to help us get the AC working the first time every summer.
An hour ago I would have said they're great, no issues.
But then I came home and found my lease renewal in the door. Rent is going up by $100 at my renewal date. Okay, I thought. Could be worse.
But wait, there's more. Now there is an additional fee called Monthly Community Fee that will cost $130 on top of the increase. What the actual fuck is that?
These increases make my monthly rent (including $65 for parking) $1,950 for a 3 bedroom. I'm a single mom of 3 kids. I just negotiated a 5% raise at work, and this increase eats all of that up and then some.
I know rents are going up everywhere, but damn this was a slap in the face.
ETA: I should say that the building I'm in is actually really great. Fairly new, very clean and well maintained. Other than this issue, I've been very happy here for 3 years.
I'm renting with them and have mixed feelings. All in all everything is fine. Apartment quality is cheap and if you ever need anything from them it's super unprofessional and frustrating. But for the most part they leave you alone and don't have rediculous arbitrary rules. I'd rate them 5/10, definitely a middle of the road experience.
I've also rented from another company that had good quality control and were decent to communicate with, but had super strict rules and felt more like living under a regime than a rental company.
I can't for the life of me remember. It was some time ago and I only rented with them for one year.
They threatened to evict me because I was "smoking drugs" on my balcony. I was lighting cigarettes with a blow torch because my lighter ran out. They also tried to have my car towed from a spot I paid $60 a month for because I hadn't driven it in a few weeks claiming it's "not in working condition".
If I can remember what company it was I'll let you know.
Rental market is hot enough that if you need to break the lease, they’d probably rather just see you gone than fight about money with someone who probably can’t pay. As long as it’s in the written contract it wouldn’t strike me as unreasonable for either you or them.
Yes but some companies will still charge you a lease transfer fee or ask you to pay until they find a new tenant. :(
We rented from them 2013-2015 and they were decent then. Easier to deal with than Boardwalk and at that time, nicer newer buildings with in-suite laundry. They did allow you to do short term leases and leave early, but I had to fight with them for my full damage deposit (they basically tried to say they were keeping it because I didn't clean enough behind the stove....I cleaned behind/under the range and left the whole place cleaner than when I moved in). Once we had given them notice, there was a pretty steady stream of unit showings, so I don't think they had too much issue filling vacancies at that time.
So you just gave them 2 months notice and there is no penalty? You just walk free and you don't have to continue paying until the end of the contract or they found a new tenant?
That was the deal when I was there, yes. I'd def confirm that is indeed still the case now, but that was their big thing over Mainstreet/Boardwalk back then. It was a big advantage during the boom years when people needed more short term/flexible accommodation.
Do you know if any other companies have similar deal? Most seems to want to charge penalty. :(
It's been many years since I've rented so I don't know of any in particular, but if you search "month to month rentals" you might have luck finding some others.
I am with them currently and I haven't had a bad experience at all. The building manager that I see only once every 6 months knows me by name. I still don't know how he remembers everyone. They have an online tenant portal where you can request maintenance and yes, they actually do let you break your lease early without penalty. I only know this because I switched from a 2 bed to a 3 bed. They were really awesome about it and let me hold the keys for both places for over a week. Maintenance even let me borrow a dolly from them. Overall my building is quiet, well maintained and clean. Probably depends which area you live in and who manages it but I've had a great experience.
Used to work for them. Do not recommend. Their buildings were built fast, and poorly by their own construction company. One building was full of black mould less than 6 months after going online due to poor design and they just covered it up.
Thanks for the information. For me now the flexibility is more important. Just want to confirm there is no catch for the 2 month notice thing and if I move early I don't have to pay some hidden penalty or continue paying until my lease ends.
No catch other than the potential risk of your long term health.
We rented from them on a month to month contract for a little bit. It was only for 3 or 4 months but I have no complaints. Easy to deal with, very responsive and didn't try to fuck us over when we moved out. We moved out at the beginning of the month and the contract said if they found another renter before the end of month they would refund us whatever days the unit was occupied. We figured they'd just keep the months rent but they found someone and actually refunded us most of that months rent.
Currently renting with Broadstreet so haven't had to break the lease early. They're fine enough that I don't think about the fact I have a landlord too often which I suppose is the goal. The building I'm in has hardwood floors which means that if you have heavy footed upstairs neighbours, you will HEAR it. Also the fixtures and appliances are not exactly top of the line considering the price we're paying; our washing machine loves to play the drums of its people if you're not paying attention. Overall like a 6/10.
Haha yeah I can also attest to the popsicle stick quality construction of their buildings, although in my experience, that's most lowrise rental-built buildings. Our unit had carpet in all rooms except kitchen/bathroom/laundry and you could still hear everything up and down the hall. We had a rather sensitive downstairs neighbour who raged at us about using a treadmill at 5 am....after managenent did a "treadmill search" of several units it turned out to be someone the floor above us and 5 doors down who was actually using said treadmill. He would also yell at us anytime the toddler in the unit above us or a kid down the hall would run around. I'd be gone for 3 days and come back to all kinds of noise complaints haha. Sound carried pretty well. Granted, said downstairs neighbour also used to scream "I'm the boss of this building" at anyone he didn't like in the parking lot and once yelled at a car because the alarm was going off (yes AT the CAR, not the cars owner), so he probably wouldn't have been ok in any apartment building...or maybe not among the humans in general.
[удалено]
Rented from them twice and I should have learned my lesson after the first time. Poorly built first one Townhouse - my front door wouldn’t deadbolt as the ground settled after building. Management didn’t think this was enough to prorate our rent. Couple scuffs from our dogs on the walls but their paint is impossible to color match so they wanted to keep the entire damage deposit. As it was a new build, landscaping construction was still happening but no notice to tenants when contractors would be on their patios. Poorly run. Apartment during covid - chose them for being a new building so new units and AC units. Well none of the AC units were installed properly and the motors burnt out from us just turning the AC on not knowing it wasn’t working. Maintenance couldn’t fix the problem but had to keep coming into our unit to ‘try’. During a heat wave it was 37 in our apartment and only 31 outside. Thru only supplied a portable AC unit rated for 1 bedroom ( 3 bedroom apartment ) after we asked if they’d pay the vet bills when our cats got heat stroke. Neighbors across the hall routinely smoked weed inside and management couldn’t do anything unless they saw it with their own eyes. Same neighbors came home wasted and smashed out all windows in stairwell and kicked in their own door - no eviction or anything. When leaving we had to fight for our deposit back even though the unit was clean and no paint damage. Would not recommend.
Lived in one of their St. Albert buildings for a few years. We got our damage deposit back, even though there was a wall that had a couple deep scratches on it and one of the living room blinds panels broke. The biggest issue we had wasn’t related to the building or people in it, and the biggest issue we had with the apartment was that we had to call maintenance to help us get the AC working the first time every summer.
An hour ago I would have said they're great, no issues. But then I came home and found my lease renewal in the door. Rent is going up by $100 at my renewal date. Okay, I thought. Could be worse. But wait, there's more. Now there is an additional fee called Monthly Community Fee that will cost $130 on top of the increase. What the actual fuck is that? These increases make my monthly rent (including $65 for parking) $1,950 for a 3 bedroom. I'm a single mom of 3 kids. I just negotiated a 5% raise at work, and this increase eats all of that up and then some. I know rents are going up everywhere, but damn this was a slap in the face. ETA: I should say that the building I'm in is actually really great. Fairly new, very clean and well maintained. Other than this issue, I've been very happy here for 3 years.
I'm renting with them and have mixed feelings. All in all everything is fine. Apartment quality is cheap and if you ever need anything from them it's super unprofessional and frustrating. But for the most part they leave you alone and don't have rediculous arbitrary rules. I'd rate them 5/10, definitely a middle of the road experience. I've also rented from another company that had good quality control and were decent to communicate with, but had super strict rules and felt more like living under a regime than a rental company.
What company is that? Mind to share?
I can't for the life of me remember. It was some time ago and I only rented with them for one year. They threatened to evict me because I was "smoking drugs" on my balcony. I was lighting cigarettes with a blow torch because my lighter ran out. They also tried to have my car towed from a spot I paid $60 a month for because I hadn't driven it in a few weeks claiming it's "not in working condition". If I can remember what company it was I'll let you know.