Regency West

"I lived at Regency West from June 2018 - 2019. When I moved in, the management company was CPM, and they were fantastic. The premises were always kept immaculate, the prior property manager (Suzanne - I believe she is now at a different Regency property down the street) was likable, competent, and highly responsive. Suzanne is fantastic. The rent isn't cheap, but when one considers all that is provided with it, it's actually pretty great. The property includes free laundry, extra storage, free basic cable, a heated garage, free heat/hot water. This is a 55+ building, and if you are on the younger side of that, it's going to feel like a retirement home, as most of the residents are on the older side. However, they are all very friendly, trustworthy and communal. It's a nice environment. In January 2019, the management company was changed to Dolben, and it all went downhill. Geoff, the new property manager, is either incompetent, or apathetic about the condition of the property. Whereas Suzanne made herself available to all residents, Geoff tends to hide inside his office. I don't much care, but have heard many other residents complain about it. I do care that emails go unanswered, however. Which, never happened while Suzanne was the property manager. The premises has become much less tidy, and actually filthy-looking in some areas. The tv in both the common room and the workout room hasn't worked for a long time, and many of the lights around the building don't work, leaving the premises very dark at night. The workout room has about 4 pieces of equipment (2 bikes, an elliptical, and a treadmill) and 2 of them have not worked for a very long time. The front security door lock doesn't work, and the door can often be opened without needing a key. With the exception of my last month, I paid my rent in advance every month I resided here. I've had to request a correction from the accounting department for incorrect charges twice. I was given less than 3 hours notice (which is against NH law) one afternoon that Dolben wanted to come into my premises for an annual fire inspection. I've sent 2 emails that were never responded to. The one email that *was* responded to, was done in a glib, sarcastic, and non-helpful manner. The renewal lease offered by Dolben stipulates that they are able to enter the unit after "reasonable notice". In light of the fact that I had recently been given insufficient notice for an inspection, and was inconvenienced because of such, I questioned what they considered to be "reasonable notice", as the NH Statute essentially says that they can't enter at all without permission, with certain exceptions. Dolben essentially cut/pasted the Google legal definition of "reasonable notice" (which, does NOT give a time-frame) and sent it back. (The prior management company clearly stated a time-frame in hours of what was considered sufficient/minimal notice). And, this was the reason I chose not to renew my lease. Not because I didn't like the building or residents, but because, the new property manager and management company, are ineffectual, and in my opinion, shifty. I was not privy to the rest of the lease (it was an electronic copy, and I was only able to see 1 page at a time, unless I signed it, which I refused to do), so I don't know if there are other components in there that strip away tenant rights, but I'd be willing to bet that there are. If you choose to reside here, I highly recommend that you read the lease very carefully! Oh- and, right after I gave notice that I would not be renewing the lease, the weather got warm, and my 3rd floor unit became absolutely infested with carpenter ants. I notified the property management company and received no response other than a "closed ticket" notification. The apartment, residents, and amenities are great. The (current) property manager and/or management company, are NOT."