N P.
Yelp
A most unfortunate, shocking, and overall crushing disappointment living here. I moved sight unseen, from New York to Texas, and trusted I would be in a transparent, "luxury" space - little did I know what I was in for. This is not how we do business in New York City - and someone trying to get away with this in NYC would not have a business. I will leave out other disappointing aspects and stick to the main factor: unthinkable construction and deception. To start, the owner AND real estate agent of the condo unit I signed a lease for was moving out and looking to rent to a new tenant - right after this major leak happened: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/the-independent-water-side-building-video-afd-water-supply-break/269-e1d8d4bc-1577-4892-8964-bc36646ab11e . In short, the leak damaged dozens of units, which, unbeknownst to me, required top to bottom gut renovation. I was told that there was only light carpeting work before signing my lease and a little construction that should be over soon. Little did I know, that just a few days into my lease I would wake up to absolutely CRUSHING construction. At the time, I was the only person (to my knowledge) living on my floor. I was told by the UrbanSpace Real Estate Agent Elizabeth "Archer Adams" to not be "freaked out" by the appearance of the hallway when I first moved in, that it was all almost done. This should have been a clear red flag, but I trusted her. She claims to have known nothing about any construction that would continue near me after October 2020 -- yet she is the actual listing agent for units that have been gut renovated while I rent her unit and suffer the noise, debris, and aggravation. Since August 2020, I have been gaslit about construction, I was initially left off of their notices, and no one would / will tell me when it will end - because we are talking MONTHS of more gut renovations, top to bottom. The worst part is that I kept believing the construction was almost over. We are talking power drilling at my headboard in the morning, above, below and to the side of my unit as countless units are uninhabitable. They say they are at occupancy, but that doesn't count the dozens of units actually not occupied. In addition, the RE agent I rented from could not have cared any less about me - she actually fraudulently put my name on her utilities bill (she later blamed this on the building) and tried to get me to pay for it (to boot, without even sending me the bill at first), left me a faulty garage opener while she and her child used my parking spaces without telling me I could rent them, and much more. Construction has happened IN my unit. It's been done in other units with the doors fully opened and debris flying around. Some of this was shut down on the spot when I called the front desk. The RE agent also has several close or ex "personal" relationships with people tied to the building - which has put my safety and security at risk considering she refused me a new lock for the door since I didn't want a google spy cam as a lock. The lock was shoddily installed as well, and who knows how many people have access to the unit. Communicating with the agent or the building management to get any answers about construction was a nightmare. Note also that since many owners are bound by arbitration clauses, you may not become aware of the fact that a huge portion of the building is under ACTIVE construction. In addition to the leak, the management company Worth Ross, has a class action at their other property on Rainey Street: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2020/08/19/lawsuit-alleges-lsquoshoddy-constructionrsquo-at-austin-high-rise/42533647/ . Maskless workers in the hallway (not my policy -- I don't care about masks, but it's their policy which they only enforce for certain people) cutting objects outside of residences occurred, and the daily sound is atrocious if you are living particularly in the 20th-ish floor range. They are trying to sell units to people who will either live or rent to tenants who are likely going to experience unlivable construction and possibly more. To date, the unit I rented still has "emergency construction" that needs to be done, and the first part of it was invasive. If you have animals, the sounds may terrify them. This isn't a weekly event - it is several times or all week. The agent/landlord violated my NDA she signed. I had to address this with legal at last year's end when I realized how difficult she was - which should not have been a surprise given her poor deceptive communication skills. It's no wonder she embedded herself with people on the building side; it's easier to make a tenant look like a problem this way. The agent also disparaged multiple building tenants to me, staff, and outed the address of a public figure here.
