Kensington Apartments

"Beware: current mgmt seems friendly, but it's in that sizing-you-up-to-stab-you-in-the-back kinda way. Lived here 2x: 1 yr, then for past 6.5 yrs. It was decent (not perfect) until current mgmt arrived c. 2yrs ago. Suddenly, a barrage of mgmt intrusions. LD sends emails like you're sittin' around hittin' refresh, giddy at the thought that apt mgmt may want you to hop to. Ex: urgent 10:58am email, "clear your patio by 11am" as if he thinks that no one who lives here works during the day. Countless emails that your water will be off for hrs, sent 5 min before shutoff. Emails sent at or after closing to move your car before morning or be towed. He knew contractors were coming before then. No way you can hire a contractor in late afternoon for a resurfacing project the next morning. In this busy city? Got towed once because their map was wrong. One morning, 5 min notice that water will be off for 1 hr, followed by a full day of no water. I requested they try to make better time estimates, and give more notice. Response from LD was a lie that he sent an email "the night before." No one got that. Even if it had been sent, it would have been superceded by the morning email. An unnecessary and obvious lie. Okay lie: "Sorry, we will try to do better." Not okay lie: "Actually, we told you." Inexcusable. There is no hot water from the sinks. Shower and dishwasher only. I boiled water to shave. Water is turned off very frequently. Often multiple times a week. Minimal notice. Laundry rooms close for months every year. Still never work right. They keep adding fees so they can hide rent hikes. Inquire before you apply. Not typical fees you're used to (but those too). Extra nonsense fees. Valet trash at $25/mo means I paid c.$4 per bag to not walk to the dumpster. Not worth it. It also means you get to look at your neighbors' trash bags all day every day. Atmosphere! New: insurance fee. Not your insurance. Theirs. Hiding their higher business costs behind a fee to keep advertised rents falsely lower. Move out was the worst. To anticipate any response: my departure happened in disarray due to my father dying and a nasty case of covid. I left my apt uncleaned for the 1st time b/c each day I ran out of energy fast and lost time. It is what it is; I expected extra charges, and I got them. I can't dispute the high repainting ($450) or general cleaning ($150) charges. But they piled on charges. Carpet cleaning for a 6.5yrold worn-out carpet that should be replaced. (Give yours a hard look on the tour?) Fines for general wear and tear, such as 2 broken slats on 6.5+yrold blinds. I guess don't raise or lower them? And they know they did me wrong. I went in for the FUBAR billing issue below, and LD premptively started defending the fines. A clear sign of a guilty conscience. It's up to God to forgive him. I won't. I got a final bill. Paid it and moved on with my life. Or tried. They secretly added other charges to my account after I paid and did NOT send a bill. They waited a month and then Corey told me that they referred me to a collection agency for the new bill I never received. Never even heard of getting a bill after the final bill. Compared the new one to what I paid. OOOPSIE!! Half was an "accidental" double-charge. They referred me to collection for charges I ALREADY PAID (b/c 30 day factor; legit charges that anywhere else would have been on the final bill were added later). If not intentional fraud, it was incompetent and careless. Corey didn't want to listen, but he finally acknowledged there were double-charges. The "corrected" version still showed some of the items I paid. Took nearly an a hour to resolve. Meanwhile, gaslighting. Said it was my fault b/c "the bill was on the portal." I asked why I'd visit a portal for an old apt after paying the final bill. No answer. "Myehmyeh Conservice wahwahwah." I didn't sign a lease with Conservice, that's your problem. Pathetic excuse. I've rented 3 apts from Rainier. Never again. If you sign a lease with these incompetents, good luck. "at least they're friendly""

"Honestly, just don't. Save your time and money unless you want to be treated like an idiot by the manager LD. Rudest and most condescending person I've ever met. Should not be in a customer facing position. This place used to be kitchy and cool and now it's just soulless and they will nickel and dime you to death on EVERYTHING. Lots of rent-assisted tenants placed through non profits but if you are an actual paying tenant they treat you like garbage. Even the location isn't worth the horrible staff. Maintenance is the only good part. This place sucks."

"For your own good, do not move here. I’ve been a tenant for 3 years and this year (2023) they have absolutely become terrible. They are nickel and diming us so much that we are now paying $200 on top of base rent for absolutely anything they can put a title on. The washing rooms are always left for the worst because management won’t fix machines. Our building is supposed to have 4 washers & 4 dryers for dozens of tenants, but only one washer is working and three dryers are working. They have raised the prices on the laundry machines, but won’t maintain them at all. The washing machines have been broken for months with standing, dirty water sitting inside. BUYER BE WARNED"

"I came into the office four times in the last 7 days inquiring about living at this property! Mr LD Hill greeted me with a smile each time and helped me every time. I know that I can be very detailed and ask a lot of questions, but he was always patient with me and never seemed annoyed! I appreciate his expertise, knowledge and professionalism! He answered every question. Having great staff is key to choosing an apartment to live! This makes of choosing to apply at this place very easy."

"In short, I lived here for 5 1/2yrs. 2 years ago, I would've recommended living here, but it has gone up in price and down in value quite rapidly. The 2 stars are for the neighborhood, which is super convenient and walkable to lots of great places, and the maintenance team, which you will need. Trust me. And despite many (I suspect false and/or coerced) reviews below stating LD or "Lorenzo" is kind, professional, and welcoming, my experience (as well as several other residents') was quite the opposite. I can count on at least one hand the number of times I was talked down to, practically yelled at, and completely disrespected by LD, the district manager at this property. If you need/want more specifics, read on... Rainier is the property management company, and they will nickel and dime the hell out of you. Didn't realize you needed to provide an updated renter's insurance policy because yours auto-renews and says so on the policy? That'll be a $20 fine and an eviction notice on your door if you don't pay immediately. Want to renew your lease after living here 4+yrs? Well, your rent is going up 33% per month and there's nothing they can do. Oh, except speak to you like you're a complete moron while slapping the desk and loudly asking, "What do you not understand?!!" Yes, these things happened to me. Over the years, at least 5 of my friends/coworkers lived here as well. All of the following happened to me/them/us: Car threatened to be towed (or actually towed) for being a resident parked in "visitor parking." Finding blood splattered on the concrete outside your building and learning it was due to a late night "domestic dispute" between neighbors. A pizza delivery guy robbed in the parking lot. Emails & texts sent mere minutes before the office closes for literally any random reason (staff happy hour, stormy weather, holiday weekend starting early, etc). Finding 2 small snakes in your apartment within a year's time because they refuse to properly seal your front door. Having a colony of ants invade your apartment after repairs are done to the outside of the building, resulting in over a month of mandatory weekly pest treatments. Non-existent hot water in kitchen, except when a neighbor runs their dishwasher. I hope you've gotten the idea... avoid this place at all costs."