Merrill House Apartments

The building is swarming with roaches (you can't hardly go in any hallway or stairwell without seeing a few), water issues are abundant (emergency water shut offs are constant), lots of water damage in the walls and main areas including walls covered in mold and constant drippage from a mysterious something in main entryways which is really pleasant to get dripped on by a mysterious substance while you're just trying to enter your building. There are mice in lower floors. The AC and heat go out... pretty much all the time and do a half assed job. Do you like hot showers? Because rest assured you will spend the vast majority of your winters without them - I've been here for a few winters now and every single time there are *weeks* where it gets barely above lukewarm and they say they are 'working on it'. They keep doing 'pest control'- or at least I see the truck here but truly they aren't treating the whole building from top to bottom so there are always going to be some until they shell out the money to actually do it properly.

To top it off management will send out mass emails about things usually long after they've already happened like it's brand new. But for the most part when management 'notifies' people of problems (like hot water or things that are broken in common spaces) everyone has been aware of it for quite awhile. They are not timely in dealing with things in the slightest. It's like getting snail mail about breaking news.

If you have a sensitive respiratory system don't move in here because it's just water damage all the way down with this building it's very old and needs a lot of repairs and maintenance. Having moved out a couple months ago my cough that's been bothering me for several years since moving in finally got better which is kind of horrifying.

You will have a new property manager often and they are all as unhelpful and unkind as the last. They barely answer emails, never answer the phone, and good luck finding them in the office because they aren't there and if they are they are certain to make sure you know how annoying they find you for asking them to do their job.They are also extremely disorganized and lose things a lot which is not great because then it's your fault as well even if it's very clearly theirs because you never received the item they are saying you should have. Take it with a grain of salt and also a lawyer - you'll need it. Lee mas

Mildew and black mold are endemic at Merrill House. Their 19th century HVAC system (the same register blows hot and cold) leaves you sweltering in the spring and freezing in the fall until they "turn it over." Don't open the register or you will see mold that even the inventor of penicillin never discovered. We also won't discuss roaches or the mice you'll find should you venture to open the door to the basement trash room.

Don't be fooled - there is NO GYM and there is NO POOL.

Management promises that they are "coming soon" but the gym has been "coming soon" for a year. We have never seen a gym at Merrill House. Plenty of signage, but no actual gym. NO GYM. Never a gym.

Also - NO POOL. As of July 2024, the pool remains a construction zone. Management assured us that it would be open by Memorial Day...
and then when that didn't happen, by mid-June...
and then when THAT didn't happen, they said they'd complete... the concrete pour by late June....

and then when THAT didn't happen, well, we're all pretty unhappy about it. So, I repeat: THE POOL REMAINS A CONSTRUCTION ZONE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER.

Also of note:

At Merrill House, you will be combat roaches, mold, and leaks that do not quit. THEY DO NOT QUIT. You will smell human urine at the only wheelchair-accessible entrance (which is located in the back of the building) and sometimes, you will find it in the shared laundry rooms or elevator.

The front door code has not been changed in years. Despite recent concern by many residents here about security, the code remains what it has been for years. Seems like everyone in the area knows the code for the Merrill House front doors.

On weekends, there is no staff to empty the trash chute, so it is left to rot. On holiday weekends it's even worse.

I anticipate an especially pungent July 4th weekend. You know what will make it even better? No pool.

TL;DR: the management company (Eagle Rock) advertises (on this page!) amenities that do not exist and that is just the beginning of my long list of gripes.

Also - I would give Merrill House 2 stars as apartments are spacious and relatively cheap compared to others in the area, but it seems like someone has gone through and given a bunch of artificial 5-star reviews (with no comments) and I can only imagine they were largely done by some poor Eagle Rock peon. Lee mas

I don’t know about others, but I am sharing my experience. I applied for the apartment on December 11, 2022. I had to follow up with them constantly. They promised to get back to me, but trust me, they failed every time. They told me to email them, but I barely got any response back. I even needed to call them to review my application. Then they send me the documents that need to be completed and sent back. I did, but after the holding fee of $200 was taken out from my account, they just ghosted... me. I called them and they are saying they are reviewing it and will get back to me tomorrow. But guess what, that “tomorrow” never came! As my current lease was ending on December 31st, I had to apply for another apartment, just so that I wouldn't need to live on the street. Luckily, I got a response from them very quickly and secured that apartment. Still, there was no response from Merrill House and they were closed for several days so I couldn’t reach them either.

Finally, I received an email from them on January 3rd, 2023! Like, seriously? And they were still telling me that they are reviewing the application and they would like to push back the move-in date to January 7th, 2023. Who are you to decide that? Where do I live until January 7th and where do I keep my furniture?

So, when I heard back from them, I requested to withdraw my application because it was already too late as I already moved into the apartment that responded very quickly. I requested a refund for the $200 holding fee. I didn’t get a response back from them about the refund until I called them. Guess what, they are saying they won’t refund me because I didn’t withdraw my application within 48 hours of application. So they are literally meaning that their failure to review my application and get back to me in a timely fashion is my responsibility? FANTASTIC!

I wanted to lease an apartment from them in the future, but with this experience, I won’t. Be aware! Lee mas

I don’t know about others, but I am sharing my experience. I applied for the apartment on December 11, 2022. I had to follow up with them constantly. They promised to get back to me, but trust me, they failed every time. They told me to email them, but I barely got any response back. I even needed to call them to review my application. Then they send me the documents that need to be completed and sent back. I did, but after the holding fee of $200 was taken out from my account, they just ghosted... me. I called them and they are saying they are reviewing it and will get back to me tomorrow. But guess what, that “tomorrow” never came! As my current lease was ending on December 31st, I had to apply for another apartment, just so that I wouldn't need to live on the street. Luckily, I got a response from them very quickly and secured that apartment. Still, there was no response from Merrill House and they were closed for several days so I couldn’t reach them either.

Finally, I received an email from them on January 3rd, 2023! Like, seriously? And they were still telling me that they are reviewing the application and they would like to push back the move-in date to January 7th, 2023. Who are you to decide that? Where do I live until January 7th and where do I keep my furniture?

So, when I heard back from them, I requested to withdraw my application because it was already too late as I already moved into the apartment that responded very quickly. I requested a refund for the $200 holding fee. I didn’t get a response back from them about the refund until I called them. Guess what, they are saying they won’t refund me because I didn’t withdraw my application within 48 hours of application. So they are literally meaning that their failure to review my application and get back to me in a timely fashion is my responsibility? FANTASTIC!

I wanted to lease an apartment from them in the future, but with this experience, I won’t. Be aware! Lee mas