Cottonwoods Apartments - Boise (Review) (lease, lofts, month to)

[schneirthis]

The Cottonwoods sits in probably the best location of the valley. There is no denying the beauty of nature that surrounds the community. However, in order to enjoy those natural benefits you have to make sacrifices. Mine have been as followed:

* The windows casements are aluminum so heat and cold transfer through them very easily. Because of this, your heater and air conditioner are going to be running all day long to maintain a comfortable temperature. They are noisy units - sounding like an airplane engine in your apartment. If you live in one of the lofts or with a vaulted ceiling, you can expect that the temperature will remain unpleasant. I have been told by maintenance that it is illegal to build with these windows today. They are able to continue existing here due to a grandfather clause. I would guess that they are the original windows installed from over 20 years ago. I find this place to be very economical unfriendly. During winter and summer peaks my Idaho Power bill has been $250 plus on an advertised 900 square foot area. This is concerning because I am frugal with the thermostat settings.

* Noise is an issue... the apartments were built in the late 80s so if you live on a ground or second floor, you will hear your upstairs neighbor every time they get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. Now most of the noise is manageable, but if the person above you decides to have company or turns the stereo up above the lowest setting, well it can become quite uncomfortable. You will also notice every time someone uses the stairs next to your unit. No matter how softly they walk it is pretty loud. I advise people to walk gently on the stairs going up past my unit because they look as if the cement slab stairs are cracked and look as if they are about to give way. I once fell through when running up the stairs as the slab crumbled in half. Thankfully I only scrapped my shin because it was the second stair up. Had it been a little higher I would have broken my leg and possibly more.

* Management... Here is the real challenge of the place. The gal that runs it has been there for 16 years and she seems as checked out as a Property Manager can be. She is very abrasive and detached from when responding to issues and service requests. Her social skills are questionable as she rarely approaches her role in customer service from a thoughtful place. I find her unmindful and most often hateful. Due to this, I have had to contact the owner of the property directly on more than one occasion. When doing so, it becomes obvious where she received her training. His responses have been an even more pompous reflection of her attitude.

The maintenance, housekeeping and grounds-keeping staffs are second to none, but I am looking forward to moving out at the end of the month. I advise all other potential residents to pay close attention to the reviews of this place. Many of my neighbors are unhappy with management, the noise and lack of energy efficiency.

Best of luck in your apartment hunt!

[cottonwoodsboise]

We believe that all negative reviews are coming from a former, disgruntled employee terminated for cause. We invite you to visit the Cottonwoods and decide for yourself.


Thank you,
Cottonwoods Staff
208-342-2074
The Cottonwoods)

[cottonwoodsboise]

The Cottonwoods have been in business for 24 years with current management. For the past 24 years, we have averaged 95% occupancy with an unblemished management record until this rash of postings prompted by a disgruntled, former employee terminated for cause. Please visit the Cottonwoods and judge for yourself.

Cottonwoods Staff,
208-342-2074

[zedd]

As someone that lived there several years ago I can confirm that the noise from neighboring apartments is a little bit of an issue. Otherwise I was very happy with everything about the complex and the location on the Greenbelt is awesome!

[hibb007]

I lived in the cottonwoods apartments for 17 months. When we moved in, the manager was great, he gave us a great deal on a 1 bedroom/1 bath overlooking the river. ( The location here is SWEET). This is the only thing they have going for this place...really, the only thing. Here's my issues about this place:

1. The property managers. The first manager was a guy who was good, he talked to the people who lived here, and did his best, and then they fired him. The lady that took over was his boss and was just Unbelievable rude. And now she's gone, and the new group of people make her look like a saint.

2. The maintenance isn't good, they take forever. We have had many problems with our A/C, which they never fixed, not saying they didn't try, they just tried the easy things first...it worked for a week and then break down, I had to put a work order in, they try again, and the same thing would happen.Our power bill was crazy high for a 1 bedroom, like over $200.. and then it's the winter time...and guess what, our heat doesn't work, and now dealing with the same thing. We heat our place with the oven..haha...crazy.

3. BUGS...BIG BUGS..I kill so many SPIDERS..I kill around 2-5 a day...big sucks..living room, kitchen and even bedroom...I had one sucker right above my head when I was sleeping. I have a habit now to walk around with my head up when I go to bed and wake up.

4. It's a pet friendly place, which I like, because I have a small dog. You have to have a leash on your dogs and pick up their poop, but this place has a lot people who don't care about that. I've step in poop so many times, and have their dogs off the leash.

So here's a big issue I had: We signed a 12 month lease, we ended up staying 17 months. We pay $695 a month, we send our payment from our bank...After all of the manager getting fired, the new manager calls me up and told me my lease is up and we needed to talk. I wasn't aware that my lease was done in September and it's February. She tells me that from Sept to Feb my rent was $775 and a $50 month to month fee...So here's the math. $80 x 5 = $400 plus $250...oh, and that for 17 months my bank was sending my rent in late, so there was crazy late fees..and I wasn't EVER told by any manager that this was happening, her reply was "that's why their not here anymore"...

Anyways, long story short....DO NOT RENT HERE!! There are better places on the greenbelt and downtown.

[Ex-Expat]

Originally Posted by hibb007

<snip> So here's a big issue I had: We signed a 12 month lease, we ended up staying 17 months. We pay $695 a month, we send our payment from our bank...After all of the manager getting fired, the new manager calls me up and told me my lease is up and we needed to talk. I wasn't aware that my lease was done in September and it's February. She tells me that from Sept to Feb my rent was $775 and a $50 month to month fee...So here's the math. $80 x 5 = $400 plus $250...oh, and that for 17 months my bank was sending my rent in late, so there was crazy late fees..and I wasn't EVER told by any manager that this was happening, her reply was "that's why their not here anymore"...

Anyways, long story short....DO NOT RENT HERE!! There are better places on the greenbelt and downtown.

I would fight them on the so called late fees and rent increase. I do not believe they can or should charge you a retroactive rent increase and then late fees on top of that. Especially if it is not explicitly spelled out in the lease. Why would they continue to accept a rent that was less then required for so long before suddenly deciding to make you pay for THEIR mistake.

Did the lease have anything about what would happen after the lease expired....like an option to renew at the same rate or ?????

I am sure one of the Realtors here can give you some good advice on how best to handle this.

cottonwoodsboise now is the perfect opportunity to show us you are a good guy/gal! What do you say????? Give the guy a break.