Apartment Review for The Mark At Parliament - San Antonio, TX

I have lived here a year now and what a year it has been. I always joke that The Mark is THE most expensive ghetto in Castle Hills, and right now, what little amount of tenants that are left are horribly miserable and feel the same way. Unfortunately you don't find out about these problems till after you sign the lease and then you are stuck. The leasing staff management Janet and Trish do nothing but ignore you, blame anyone other than themselves, lie to you or tell you they can't help you cause it's not policy. In speaking with my fellow tenants over the past month and a half this is what I have learned... A tenant in the 9 building was released from his lease a couple weeks ago (during the rivers of sewage leak) cause he caught Janet in a lie on video. Janet has been telling tenants there is no corporate office to report problems to, and there is. He caught her on tape and then Janet struck a deal to keep him quiet and move him out. I have a friend that moved in 7 months ago and has been very disappointed here. When he went into the office to give his notice that he was moving, they offered to greatly reduce his rent in order to keep him here. One of the managers at HEB that had lived here for years, moved out last month because she is sick and tired of how run-down this place has gotten. A family that has lived here 8 years is happily moving out next month. They are tired of the mold, roaches, nothing working, lack of hot water, being treated badly, the fire damage outside their unit with exposed wires hanging out that has still not been repaired, and other stuff. Upon moving in, the family downstairs from me had a flood in half their unit on the very first day. They eventually just left because of the poor conditions here. Another family has been suffering with sewage backing up into their kitchen sinks and dishwasher since they moved in. They can't afford to leave so they feel stuck. Another family with two asthmatic children have been suffering with a half working a/c. They too can't afford to move. My neighbor across the hall has mold in her unit, as do i and others, the office just turns a deaf ear. They also have no hot water. Yes there is warm water... but no hot water. Same with my unit. One poor tenant, she is pregnant, and even though her doctor wrote her a letter saying that it is very unhealthy for her and her unborn baby to be living right in the flow of the sewage leaks and that he wants her to stay off the property until they are fixed and the grounds treated... Janet will not let her out of her lease. Then when Janet saw her taking pics of the sewage leak and the fire... Janet told her she was no longer allowed on property and to get off immediately. I have 2 cats. Janet told me that my cats had to stay in the apartment from now on because cats have AIDS and pass it to humans. All the research I have done indicates otherwise. But if I don't do it, she said she would have my cats trapped and or killed. For 6 months the driveway security gates and the sidewalk gates have ALL been broken. For the past 6 months the on site courtesy officer makes appearances on occasion, but, he works 2 jobs and is never here to make sure anything is safe. In the past 4 months there has been: 2 Shootings 4 kick door robberies We had security guards that were harassing and shaking down Hispanic tenants for money. They were later arrested for impersonating SAPD officers. 2 electrical fires (repairs still not done) 5 cars broken into Tenants fighting with each other, one tenant even splattered red paint over the other tenants door. An empty building on the Patricia end where squatters were living and selling drugs for months. A massive sewage leak has been going on for a month and still not fixed nor have they treated the grounds, sidewalks or parking lot with any type of disinfectant. They haven't even hosed the feces, urine and condoms away... if it wasn't for the rains, it would all still be laying about. One maintenance guy confided to me that the reason the plumbing is so bad and nothing is being done is because The Mark owes the local companies so much money that no plumber will come out anymore. For over 6 months the complex remains 60% or more empty. It's like a ghost town. (That is why there is so much parking available.) There are 8 units in my building... only 4 are occupied. There is a gaping hole on the backside of the main swimming pool located behind the leasing office. This has been there about as long as I have lived here and is plenty large enough for children to get injured and it isn't even roped off. The pool on the Patricia end is almost empty, never has worked since I have lived here and has disgusting green water with maggots and mosquitoes. I believe the main pool has been operational about 4 months out of the year I have been here. It seems the maintenance is without working funds. It took 4 months to get 2 florescent bulbs replaced in my kitchen so I could have light! We all complain and complain to the leasing office... it falls onto deaf ears. And many of us have called the corporate office repeatedly and left many voice mail messages. We never get a return call. Ok... if Summit Housing is using this place as a tax write-off, that's kool. But... this is a company that spends millions per complex they buy to renovate and rent out for profit. They cannot be making any money here cause like i said it's 60% vacant. So what is going on' Why are we living in what used to be a premiere top of the line complex, in Castle Hills, right next to one of the most monied high schools in NEISD, in a seriously prime location... and it has turned into a dump with this management company. You can't even tell people you live here cause they cringe. But... we will keep complaining and talking and tell people what's really going on