ULake Apartments Reviews (%countItem)
ULake Apartments Rating
Address: 14200 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, Florida, United States, 33613-3912
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This property has us locked into a lease unfairly. They are asking us for money and to find a sub lease to break a lease for somewhere we do not live.
I recently inquired about moving to this apartment complex with my boyfriend. To initiate you are required to sign the lease for this apartment before your even approved. This is practically like a form of entrapment. How does a place make you sign a lease before your background check and proof of income are confirmed? Next, they then forwarded an email stating you have 72 hours to break this lease. The front office sent this message to me, and my boyfriend on a Friday keep in mind the office is closed on Sundays. We decided this place was not the best fit for us Saturday night. We then proceeded to write a letter stating we were no longer interested in living at the establishment. After finding out the complex was closed on Sunday unfortunately, there was no way of entering the leasing office or getting in contact with the front office staff. So immediately Monday morning we took the lease disagreement letter down to the front office and they proceeded to tell us sorry but hour 72-hour window has passed. I subsequently asked to speak with a manager named Alexandra who was very unhelpful made excuses to how the letter could have been shoved under the door the night before or emailed which was never stated in the email we received. The email we received stated the document must remain in written form within 72 hours but provided no information in elaborating onto the numerous ways they would accept this information. I then get in contact with the regional manager about the issue Jordan R., and he directly tells me his has been in contact with the property manager and just restates the cancellation policy. He addresses none of my questions and concerns. After asking him for corporate contact information, I had to email him three times before he actually provided me with that information, he simply kept responding with the cancellation policy. I have presently been calling corporate for over a month now with no return call. This terms to break this lease are to give them one months rent and find a sub leaser but we haven't even moved into this apartment yet. none of this information is even in the actual law binding lease. This entire experience has been a nightmare!
I am looking to be released from this current lease.
The complainant and her co-occupant began their application on March 23rd. Our community's application process is completely online for the convenience of the applicant. This allows the applicant to review the application and lease documents in detail, at their own pace prior to signing the legally binding lease. They were presented with all necessary information prior to beginning the signing of the electronic lease agreement. One of the policies which must be viewed and individually signed prior to paying the application fee or submitting the application is the Lease Commitment and Cancellation Policy. This policy clearly states "Applicant is hereby advised that once an application is submitted, Applicant will be prompted to sign a Lease Agreement. Applicant acknowledges that their signing of the Lease Agreement does not make it binding for the Owner. In order to be binding, the Lease Agreement must be executed by the Owner". This policy, further outlines the no-penalty cancellation clause. If the applicants did not agree with these policies, they had the ability to cancel the application with no penalty at the time. The applicants, however, both signed this policy on March 23rd, agreeing to having read, understood, and accepted the conditions. The applicants were not forced or trapped into any agreement they did not sign off on.
The application was completed and lease was signed on March 28th, 2019 by both applicants. The lease was unable to be fully executed at that time as the proof of income was missing. Our leasing team contacted the complainant on March 28th via text message requesting the proof of income in order for the lease to be approved. Our leasing team sent reminders for the missing proof of income on March 29th, April 12th, and April 19th. All of these reminders went unanswered by the applicants despite previous communication via text and phone calls. During this time, the lease remained opened but not fully executed. If the applicants did not agree with the lease agreement or if they had lost interest in our community during this period, they had the ability to cancel the lease with no penalty as the lease was not fully executed. On April 23rd, our leasing team sent an email to both applicants requesting the proof of income in order to fully approve the lease, the agent further explained that if they were no longer interested they could notify us to cancel the application. No response was received.
On April 25th, one month after the application was completed, the complainant and her co-occupant submitted their W2s as proof of income in an email. As this was the only information missing in order to fully execute the lease, the lease was finally executed on this date. April 25th for clarification purposes fell on a Thursday and not on a Friday. The lease was approved the same day the proof of income was submitted, this means that if the applicants had responded to our multiple requests, their lease would have been approved earlier.
On April 25th, after the lease was approved, both applicants received an email which reiterated the lease cancellation policy they had originally signed on March 23rd. This policy indicates that the lease could be cancelled without penalty within 72 hours if notice was provided in writing. This email did not specify that the notice needed to be hand delivered or written in a letter. An email or text message would have sufficed as this was the communication method preferred by the applicant during the application process. Our community also proudly provides 24/7 assistance via the resident portal (live chat) and the call leasing center. If the applicants had contacted our office via phone call or even the live chat to express their interest in cancelling their lease, a member of our offsite team would have instructed them to email us or they would have passed the message along to a manager. The complainant's activity log indicates that no contact was attempted by either applicant until April 29th, after the 72-hour cancellation period expired. On the 29th, our office provided the complainant with the proper lease termination forms as their lease was now in full effect. Although the complainant claims this information is not in the lease, the lease does have a "No Show Addendum" which explains that the applicants are fully responsible for their lease, even if they don't move in, once the lease is fully executed. It further outlines that in order to be released from the lease, a replacement resident must be found and all termination fees must be paid. The termination fee can be found on paragraph #39 of the lease agreement. This addendum and paragraph were all signed by both applicants.
Although we understand that the complainant would like to be exempt from this policy, our community abides by Fair Housing regulations and we are prohibited from making exceptions for any one person to ensure that everyone receives equal and fair treatment. The complainant's application was open for a month, our leasing team continuously followed up, there was plenty of time to cancel the lease without penalty. At this time, we are completely full on the complainant's floorplan, therefore we can assist in finding a replacement resident (this is outlined in the termination paperwork). We will gladly release the complainant from the lease, as long as the termination agreement is submitted and the termination fee is paid.
ULake Apartments has essentially ghosted me after sending me an outrageous bill and is refusing to respond to my claims and return my security deposit
After residing in the same apartment for 3.5 years, I moved out on July 14, 2018. Upon moving out, I was told that I could not do a walk-through with the managers of the apartment because the managers would not be available, even though I was leaving the country on the day that walk-throughs were scheduled to begin. I informed them of this.
On August 14,2018, I received a move-out statement of charges totally $990 of my $1278 security deposit. With that much money, you would think I had trashed the place. And this is NOT the case. The charges included cleaning charges for the full unit along with trash takeout (despite the fact that my roommate who moved out after me cleaned the apartment before leaving), painting and carpet replacement (which I have seen the complex replace regardless whenever a resident moves out, and replacement for the couch and chair which had been in the apartment before I moved in back in December of 2014.
I remain in touch with my past roommate and she informed me that the photos taken during the "walk through" were take prior to her actual move out date. I have video evidence proving my room was clean on the day I left the property. She told me that ULake had amended her move-out statement when she complained. Since I no longer live in the area let alone the country, I was unable to walk in to the office or make a phone call to have them address my concerns.
There were a few spots on the walls that needed to be touched up and the carpet was worn and lived on since it had also been there prior to my moving in, but I should not be charged $480 for thing I know that they always replace. The poorly upholstered couch/chair were peeling from continuous use over the years. I paid an additional $40 a month to have the apartment come with furniture. I would have thought that would contribute to any repairs the furniture needed. The amounts charged to me upon moving out are outrageous.
The moment I received the move-out statement on August 14, I responded to the email raising my concerns. I emailed them again on September 19. I then messaged ULake on their Facebook page on October 4 stating that I had been trying to get in touch with someone since August. I finally got a response and was told to email Kelly Gracie, which I did one the same day. She responded saying she quote "received my email and will look further into next week. I did not want you to think I was ignoring you." Those were her exact words before I was ignored again. I followed up with Kelly on November 1 and received radio silence again. A week later (November 8), I wrote the most recent email addressing Kelly and the general property email demanding my security deposit. Which brings me to today, November 14, furious at ULake's refusal to address my concerns.
Over the last 3.5 years, I was nothing but a good resident, having never a late rent payment or any other dispute with ULake. I had nothing but good to say of them and now my opinion is the complete opposite. I want my money back. It has been far too long now.
I would like my full security deposit returned with confirmation that the check has been mailed to me.
After reviewing the case, I was informed that our office has reached out to *** to pick up her security deposit refund. Is it still required for us to reply given that we are contacting the former resident?
Thank you for your assistance
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Ulake has not contacted me. This response is the first I have heard from them. I have been religiously checking all of my communication channels for months to no avail. Every day I check the phone, my email inbox, my junk email inbox and my mailbox in hopes of a response. I just checked all of them again upon seeing Ulake's response to this very complaint.
They did not address my concerns regarding the outrageous charges.
Upon moving out, Ulake required me to fill out a form stating where I would like my deposit mailed. I informed them multiple times that I was moving from the United States back to my home country. The office assistant informed me that that was fine and my deposit would be mailed to me. That was the only way they would be distributing the deposits. Coming into the office to collect a check would involve me paying for two very expensive flights. If I had the option to do go to the office, I certainly would.
If they had contacted me like they claimed they did, I would not be going through all of this trouble to correct this issue. This matter has caused me immense stress and I just want my full deposit back so that I can move on.
Thank you.
The security deposit refund check was initially mailed to the provided international address and was returned to our corporate office in California. After the initial return, the corporate office mailed the refund directly to our leasing office where we contacted the former resident via the phone number on file. The refund is available at the leasing office for pick up or for mailing to an updated mailing address. The charges listed on the final move-out statement did not deviate from the itemized list of charges for damages that was provided in the move-out packet prior to the resident's move-out. The itemized list covered the cost of replacement or repair for any damages left by the resident, included cleaning and moving out procedures and provided information on the check-out process. Two check out processes were possible at move-out, express or standard. An express move-out consisted of the resident submitting the required form where they would provide the forwarding address and waive their right to appeal any damages in addition to dropping off the keys. The standard check out consisted of a scheduled move out inspection with a member of management, where charges could be disputed during the inspection. The former resident had initially opted for a standard check out and scheduled a move-out inspection with a member of management but then cancelled her inspection and opted for the express check out by submitting the express check out form. Attached is a copy of the complete move-out packet provided to all residents, pictures of the move-out inspection which support the charges on the final move-out statement and a blank copy of the Express Check Out form with the statement in which the vacating resident waives their right to dispute. The office has the express check out form signed by the complainant and can provide it on a non-public platform for the complainant's convenience.
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I'm only accepting this response from the company because I am in no position to fight it. I no longer live in the US and cannot defend myself. This has been ***. Had I known that Ulake would screw me over like this, I would have adjusted my travel plans back in August. I just want this to end.
I tried to sign up for the standard check out but was told I could not do it because the office said they could not do the date I was available because it was two days before the walk-throughs would start (the day I was leaving town). The office assistant told me to do the express checkout instead. I am unable to view the attached photos but my former roommate has seen them and confirmed that they were taken prior to her exit, so the trash and cleanup fees were added untruthfully. But I signed that form and should have known they would take full advantage of me. That's on me.
I see no recognition of all the emails I sent to the company trying to figure out this matter. There were no voicemails on my telephone. They say to give them an updated address but how should I do that if they haven't acknowledged any of the emails I've sent to them?
I lived in ulake from Aug,2017-july, 2018. when I moved out they didnt refund my deposit and they were asking me to pay money for thing that were bad.
I lived in ulake from Aug,2017-july, 2018. when I moved out they didnt refund my deposit and they were asking me to pay money for thing that were broken and dirty since the day I moved in. I have took picture or the broken stuff and sent to the office when I moved in. and they did not fix it for my whole stay. I lived in *** tampa 33613. and later on they sent the claim to collection company and I even sent these info to the collection company and they keep calling me and threaten me with a bad launguage
i would like them to return my deposit and close the claim from those collection company because they really bother.
As a management team, we understand moving can be stressful, therefore we make sure to prepare our resident's well for their move-out upon the lease end date. The former resident was provided with move-out procedures well in advance of the lease end date which also included information regarding the time of the lease expiration and the fee for exceeding the lease end date as outlined in the lease contract signed by the former resident. The majority of the charges on the final move-out statement were damages to the furniture which exceeded normal wear and tear and was very damaged compared to the photo provided by the resident during the move-in inspection. The move-out procedures outlined the fee for furniture damages as well as the cost of trashing out the unit if the resident did not remove all personal belongings and trash from the unit upon vacating. The former resident was aware of what these charges could be but did not abide by the proper vacating procedures. The other charge on the final move out statement came from the former resident still having possession of the apartment after the lease expired and failing to turn in keys at the designated time. Because the damages significantly exceeded the initial security deposit of $193, the resident was e-mailed the final move out statement on August 13th which included an itemized list of the move-out charges, pictures from the final move-out inspection, and information for how to submit a payment and who to contact for disputes. We provided the former resident with a 15 day period to pay the property directly and then a thirty day period to settle with our in house collections company prior to being sent to a collection agency on September 25th. The in house collections agency received all information regarding the former resident's move-out and may reach a settlement with the former resident. This is dependent on the former resident's evidence indicating that the apartment was not left in the condition in which management found it upon having received keys from the former resident's friend. Once a settlement has been reached with the collection agency, the former resident may work on a solution with them to clear her history of the outstanding housing debt.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Hello,
I am writing you this email to disagree with what have the resident (ulake) replied. First of all, my lease ends on the 31st of July, and I have given them the keys of my apartment on the 31st and I also have signed when I returned the keys. My signature stated that I have returned the keys on the same day on my lease ending. Second, they are complaining about a Trash that I have left in the unit, which is not true at all. I have taken every pieces before I left the apartment and I have no idea about the picture that they sent me for the trash. All the trash bags I used for the moving were black trash bags and in the picture I'm seeing a white trash bag that I have never used while moving. Third, about the coach, when I moved in the furnishers we already in a bad condition so eventually it will get more worst by using, so if they want it to be at the same condition at least they should have provided me with a better quality furnisher. And the wall was dirty when I moved in and I have told them about it when I moved in and they never responded to me as they have only said verbally we will fix it which never happened. Fourthly, as they mentioned that they have sent me an email on Aug the 13th about this issue and what I have to pay, it is not true this is a complete lie, because I have not got any email from them about it, and the way I knew about it that we I went to the office to ask about my deposit refund they told me about it. So even though they are trying to make me pay for things that I shouldn't be paying, they are not telling the truth. At the end, I would like them to fix this issue as soon as possible because I'm a Doctor at Moffitt Cancer Center and I don't have much more time to discuss some issues that it's not my mistake.
Attached some pictures of damaged unit when I moved in
Thank you so much for your help
Best Regards
The former resident is attempting to dispute her move-out charges on this public forum where we are unable to provide proof due to preserving the resident's personal information. Disputes for move-out charges must be provided in writing to P.O Box *** WA 98041. They will be able to further discuss the move-out charges, provide the move-out ledger, pictures, signed documents by the neighbor who actually turned in her keys at 4:30pm on the 31st of July when the lease expired at midnight of the 31st. Thank you.
I encountered a mold issue when I moved into ulake apartments and I want the problem fixed and I want to be reimburst for my demanged belongings
let me start by saying that I am a disabled veteran and I moved in ulake apartments on august 17th I moved into the apartment and approximately 2 weeks after I moved in I started suspecting mold because I had my second sports wheelchair in the bathroom next to the wall and saw mold spots all over it, so I moved it into the living room. I also saw what was looked like to be dirt stains at first on the ceiling in the bathroom up over the shower, I thought maintenance may have put them there from working on the tub in my bathroom, turns out it was also mold which I had them come and clean. the next incident was when I saw mold growing all across the top of my kingsize leather head board, even my pillow case, my shoes that were up under the bed for only 3 weeks and everything in my closet has mold on it. I have about 30 pairs of shoes, tennis shoes, casual shoes and dress shoes in the closet that have mold on it. I have at least 20 pairs of designer jeans, and slacks that has mold on them. I have my trumpet also in the closet that probably is molded on it or in it. I have a pair of spinergy wheelchair rims that valued of $200 a piece that have mold on then have approximately 30 shirts button down or casual shirts that have mold on them. not only are most if not all of my items that I own are ruined because of ulakes air-conditioning was not working properly. and now they do not want to reimburst me for my items that come to a minimum value of $3000.00. not only am I still waiting on them to clean mu apartment almost 2 months later, and thats after I called the code inspector and the mold company. the company has already did a visual check of at least 10 square feet of mold. pam s. from ims indoor mold specialist (#XXX-XXX-XXXX) did the mold test and determined that the whole apartment be cleaned from top to bottom because mold was in the entire apartment including the appliances inside and out because mold was even found in the dishwasher. ulake is now taking there time to clean my apartment because they said they wanted to get a 3rd assessment and quote on pricing. in the meantime, my health is at risk, my doctor had to right me a perscription for my eyes that continue to water, burn, get red, and iching and give me antibiotics because of this matter. I have spoken to the office manager kelly and the regional manager jordan r. and neither of them are willing to reimburst me for my items and I would like some type of compensation. I have been inconvienced, stressed, bothered, not feeling well, this has been a total rip-off and I need to be at peace.
i would like that all the proper repairs be done to the entire apartment as recommended by the mold test company (ims) indoor mold specialist and that ulake reimburst me for all of my destroyed items that contain mold and mold spores which comes to a minimum value of about 2500.00
Timeline of events:
Mr. moved in 8/17/18.
Contacted us 9/24 of signs of mold and mildew and a maintenance request was created
09/24 Maintenance went to apartment to *** and Mr. refused them entry to apartment.
10/01 Code enforcement came out-complaint was not hot enough water, weather strip around front door and not enough water pressure.
o Code enforcement officer and my maintenance staff noticed that the HVAC was on the "On Position" and on Fan which will cause moisture and told Mr. to put HVAC on the "Auto position and cool"
10/04 Mold Test was preformed
10/15 Mr. and roommate were notified that the mold remediation was scheduled to begin on Thursday 10/18 and that all personal items were to be removed.
10/17 Booked a hotel for Mr. to stay 10/18-10/25 (the duration of mold remediation and posttest to be performed on 10/25)
10/18 Mold remediation company came to start process and was unable to start since nothing had been removed.
o Contacted Mr. and told him that he must get his belongings out so that the mold remediation could be completed.
10/19 Mold remediation company came again to start process and again nothing had been removed.
Spoke with *** again and he is refusing to remove his belongings. I have now been contacted by the Revdex.com and Code enforcement.
The mold and mildew is from improper use of the HVAC system and leaving doors and windows open as well. We require that all residents carry renters insurance. Any belongings that may be ruined must be reported to renters insurance provider.
Tenants located in my building smoke marijuana on a consistent basis and the smell travels to my apartment via vents.
I have made the Ulake staff aware of the marijuana issue that has been present for quite some time. As per their policy, tenants are not allowed to smoke in their apartments. I am 22 weeks pregnant and my pregnancy has been classified as high risk. There is empirical evidence that articulates the risk factors associated with the mother inhaling marijuana during her pregnancy. As I've told Ulake, I do not want the effects of me inhaling marijuana to negatively impact the development of my fetus. There should be a way of Ulake identifying the tenants that share the same ventilation as me and address the issue accordingly. I've contacted the property manager via email and I've made calls to the front office and no one has taken the appropriate action to rectify the issue.
I would want them to allow me to break my lease with no financial penalty because of failure to resolve my complaints.
The resident's initial complaint was submitted on Saturday, September 22nd via e-mail in addition to a noise complaint. The office staff responded via e-mail to the resident regarding the complaint and offered the courtesy officer's number to respond to any noise complaints that occurred after hours. Management responded the next business day, Monday, September 24th,(our office is closed on Sundays) to the complaint by issuing a warning email to the next door neighbor regarding smoking in the apartment. The next door neighbor responded to the warning email and indicated that they would monitor their noise level and not pay loud music, but assured us that they were definitely not smoking in the unit.
On Saturday, September 29th, our office received another email regarding a smoke smell coming into the apartment from a neighboring unit but the specific unit was not named. On the following business day, Monday, October 1st, management issued a warning email to all residents in the building since it was, and still is, uncertain exactly which apartment the smoke smell is coming from.
A lease violation is a serious action which cannot be issued without proper research and evidence of violation. Unfortunately, with the renovations and changes that have occurred to our community since the initial construction 30 years ago, it is difficult to map out exactly which return vents are interconnected. As outlined in the rental agreement under article #10 of the No-Smoking Addendum, "Although we prohibit smoking in all interior parts of the apartment community, there is no warranty or guaranty of any kind that your dwelling or the apartment community is smoke free. Enforcement of our no-smoking policy is a joint responsibility which requires your cooperation in reporting incidents or suspected violations of smoking."
At this time, management has not failed in addressing the matter as action was taken on both occasions that a complaint was received. At no time was there a deadline established for resolution of this matter. We are confident that a resolution can be reached with the further cooperation of the complainant. Both parties would benefit if she is able to provide us with a timeline of when the violation is occurring and from what exact unit the smoke smell is coming from. With this information we can better investigate the violation and address the issue accordingly. We understand the resident's concern and will continue to work to resolve this matter promptly. If she wishes to move forward with the termination of the lease, she must follow the termination procedures that are standard for all of our residents.