Grand Street Commons

We worked with an agent named Anastasia who seemed very nice when we met her, but over the next weeks we were lied to, ignored, and ultimately abandoned and presumably blocked, losing well over a thousand dollars for our trouble.

When we toured, we made our desire to move in promptly very clear, and were assured the process would be simple. We submitted our application on the 9th, with a desired move-in date of the 10th, but a full week later we were still living out of hotels, waiting for a… process always supposedly just 1 small step away from completion.

First, an abstract online system requiring multiple identity checks, income certifications, and drawn out convoluted steps. Everyone's hands were tied; the automation could not be bypassed, even when steps required days of pointless waiting.

Next, we were ignored and delayed by personnel. Anastasia would message us about imminent resolution, then disappear for the rest of the day. When we tried to reach anyone else, we were continuously promised call-backs that never came, told managers were not in or not picking up, and even that there was no way for anyone to contact them directly.

Throughout, the picture changed dramatically. We'd be fine after extra steps. We were denied. We were approved but absolutely needed a guarantor. The guarantor wouldn't need a hard credit pull. They would. We didn't need a guarantor, but had to agree to pay $1000 extra. Back and forth, told clearly in voice and text about manager discussions, big meetings, and official memos, then the truth would flip in a moment.

Finally, we told Anastasia with unmistakable clarity to help us pull out properly and get our security deposit refunded (she had clearly identified it as fully refundable). But after we told her we were moving on (signed a 12-month lease elsewhere), our application mysteriously changed status multiple times in a day, landed at completely approved, and a lease was generated. Alas, she (and later a supposed manager by nothing but a ledger with the excuse woven into captions) said that since we were finally approved, we were not eligible for a refund.

If you are a completely by-the-book tenant who foresees no issues, maybe it will be smooth sailing, and the property is very attractive and has a lot to offer. But I'm leaving this to warn others who might not fit perfectly into the automation machine this seems to be. And really, this is not the kind of organization I personally look to be connected to in any way. Read More