I assume you're in the market for an apartment, let me explain why you should NOT rent at The Meridian at Murray Hill in Beaverton Oregon.
We are in the process of moving from a one bedroom, to a two bedroom in the complex. A few weeks prior to moving, we received a few papers at our door. A move out sheet, and a cleaning list. On the move out sheet it states "Please address the following items when preparing to return possession of your apartment to Meridian Management".
Great, here I have a cleaning list so I can make sure to get my full security deposit back! NOPE! Upon reading one of their move out documents, there is one paragraph that states
"All residents will be assessed a standard cleaning charge determined by the size of the unit as listed above. This covers sanitization and wipe down of counters, drawers, appliances, vinyl floors, tubs, toilets and sinks... For example a one bedroom apartment would require $170 in cleaning charges)."
Funny... because the paragraph above states the opposite:
"If landlord determines that it is reasonably necessary to clean all or part of the premises at the end of the Tenant’s tenancy in order to retune it to the same level of cleanliness in which it was delivered, Tenant shall be charged the cost of such cleaning"
Notice the word "IF". So one would assume from this paragraph that if the landlord determines that it is NOT reasonably necessary to clean all or part of the apartment (as in following their cleaning checklist and do an excellent job), you aren’t charged a fee… right?
Also funny considering the LEASE states
"Tenant agrees that upon termination of the tenancy the premises will be left in a clean and orderly condition, in accordance with Landlord's standards for new occupancy. In the event that upon such termination the premises are not in the same condition of cleanliness and order as upon commencement of the tenancy; reasonable wear resulting solely from time excepted, Tenant expressly agrees that Landlord shall perform all cleaning services which may be required in Landlords discretion to restore the premises to such condition at the Tenants expense"
The other moving document also states:
"If landlord determines that it is reasonably necessary to clean al or part of the premises at the end of the Tenant’s tenancy in order to return it to the same level of cleanliness in which it was delivered, Tenant shall be charged the cost of such cleaning"
So here I have 3 documents basically saying "If the place is NOT as clean as you left it, you will be assessed a cleaning fee" and one sentence that says the fee is mandatory. So naturally, I go to the office to have an explanation to this discrepancy.
Despite multiple documents stating otherwise, they tell me that the cleaning fee is MANDATORY. They tell me no matter how clean the apartment is when you leave it; you will still be charged a minimum mandatory fee of $170-200 depending on the size of the apartment. Even if I spend 50 hours cleaning my apartment, and clean the entire place with bleach and a toothbrush, I will still be charged $170. Period. I was told by the lady in the office that I had agreed to this in my lease. I went back to check my lease, and found no such section.
I asked Andy (the main manager?) to point out where I agreed to a mandatory cleaning fee in my lease as the other manager mentioned, he flat out says its not in the lease. I also asked Andy to explain why it says "If landlord determines that it is reasonably necessary to clean" when it's a mandatory fee, and his response was that they always determine that it is reasonably necessary to clean. That in my opinion is scummy and sleazy of a company.
The issue is not about the $170. The issue is about the mismatch of information in their documentation, and that I am being forced into a mandatory fee that I DID NOT AGREE TO/NOR IS STATED IN MY LEASE. An attorney has told me that if there is a mandatory cleaning fee, it needs to be stated in the lease, which it is not.
Prior to leaving, Andy very condescendingly agreed that "since the $170 is clearly very important to you" we would have a walk-through, and he "might be able to knock a few dollars off". This is almost what I wanted... I just wanted it to be like every other apartment I've rented where they do a walk out, and assesses cleaning fees at that time... not just charge everyone a hefty fee across the board regardless of the condition they leave their apartment.
I was hoping that when I brought this to their attention (mis-match of information and conflicting statements), they would just accommodate my request to not have a mandatory fee, and simply have it be based on the condition of my apartment since that's what my lease says. Rather, I had to argue my case and eventually felt belittled as if I was the petty one for arguing over $170. After all, I'm paying nearly $1000 for a one bedroom and moving into a two bedroom, so I thought I would be treated with a little bit more respect and not nickel and dimed as they say.
Despite that issue, here are some other points about the property
-Maintence staff is great. They are very friendly, and usually pretty speedy
-The grounds look spectacular. They keep the landscaping looking top notch
-Plenty of parking
-CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP materials used for the apartments. The carpet started tearing/coming up when vacuumed a year in
-Faucets, cabinets, floors, everything is the cheapest building material, so expect many things to break in your apartment. In the two years we've been here our blinds broke, sink busted, toilet leaked, BR fan broke, heater broke, carpet ripped/tore, cabinet door fell off.. A lot more that you would expect to break in such a short amount of time.
-Floors are very squeaky and paper thin. You will think a pack of elephants lives upstairs, regardless of who it is. I can also hear my upstairs neighbors urinate, its that bad. We even have holes in our floor where you can tell boards are missing, as you sink down when stepped on.
We paid a $250 deposit, of which $170 is a MANDATORY fee. Doesn't sound like a deposit to me... So all in all if you choose to rent here, when you go to pay your deposit, just know, thats not a "Deposit", thats your "Mandatory Cleaning Fee".
Meridian at Murrayhill Apartments Reviews
I assume you're in the market for an apartment, let me explain why you should NOT rent at The Meridian at Murray Hill in Beaverton Oregon.
We are in the process of moving from a one bedroom, to a two bedroom in the complex. A few weeks prior to moving, we received a few papers at our door. A move out sheet, and a cleaning list. On the move out sheet it states "Please address the following items when preparing to return possession of your apartment to Meridian Management".
Great, here I have a cleaning list so I can make sure to get my full security deposit back! NOPE! Upon reading one of their move out documents, there is one paragraph that states
"All residents will be assessed a standard cleaning charge determined by the size of the unit as listed above. This covers sanitization and wipe down of counters, drawers, appliances, vinyl floors, tubs, toilets and sinks... For example a one bedroom apartment would require $170 in cleaning charges)."
Funny... because the paragraph above states the opposite:
"If landlord determines that it is reasonably necessary to clean all or part of the premises at the end of the Tenant’s tenancy in order to retune it to the same level of cleanliness in which it was delivered, Tenant shall be charged the cost of such cleaning"
Notice the word "IF". So one would assume from this paragraph that if the landlord determines that it is NOT reasonably necessary to clean all or part of the apartment (as in following their cleaning checklist and do an excellent job), you aren’t charged a fee… right?
Also funny considering the LEASE states
"Tenant agrees that upon termination of the tenancy the premises will be left in a clean and orderly condition, in accordance with Landlord's standards for new occupancy. In the event that upon such termination the premises are not in the same condition of cleanliness and order as upon commencement of the tenancy; reasonable wear resulting solely from time excepted, Tenant expressly agrees that Landlord shall perform all cleaning services which may be required in Landlords discretion to restore the premises to such condition at the Tenants expense"
The other moving document also states:
"If landlord determines that it is reasonably necessary to clean al or part of the premises at the end of the Tenant’s tenancy in order to return it to the same level of cleanliness in which it was delivered, Tenant shall be charged the cost of such cleaning"
So here I have 3 documents basically saying "If the place is NOT as clean as you left it, you will be assessed a cleaning fee" and one sentence that says the fee is mandatory. So naturally, I go to the office to have an explanation to this discrepancy.
Despite multiple documents stating otherwise, they tell me that the cleaning fee is MANDATORY. They tell me no matter how clean the apartment is when you leave it; you will still be charged a minimum mandatory fee of $170-200 depending on the size of the apartment. Even if I spend 50 hours cleaning my apartment, and clean the entire place with bleach and a toothbrush, I will still be charged $170. Period. I was told by the lady in the office that I had agreed to this in my lease. I went back to check my lease, and found no such section.
I asked Andy (the main manager?) to point out where I agreed to a mandatory cleaning fee in my lease as the other manager mentioned, he flat out says its not in the lease. I also asked Andy to explain why it says "If landlord determines that it is reasonably necessary to clean" when it's a mandatory fee, and his response was that they always determine that it is reasonably necessary to clean. That in my opinion is scummy and sleazy of a company.
The issue is not about the $170. The issue is about the mismatch of information in their documentation, and that I am being forced into a mandatory fee that I DID NOT AGREE TO/NOR IS STATED IN MY LEASE. An attorney has told me that if there is a mandatory cleaning fee, it needs to be stated in the lease, which it is not.
Prior to leaving, Andy very condescendingly agreed that "since the $170 is clearly very important to you" we would have a walk-through, and he "might be able to knock a few dollars off". This is almost what I wanted... I just wanted it to be like every other apartment I've rented where they do a walk out, and assesses cleaning fees at that time... not just charge everyone a hefty fee across the board regardless of the condition they leave their apartment.
I was hoping that when I brought this to their attention (mis-match of information and conflicting statements), they would just accommodate my request to not have a mandatory fee, and simply have it be based on the condition of my apartment since that's what my lease says. Rather, I had to argue my case and eventually felt belittled as if I was the petty one for arguing over $170. After all, I'm paying nearly $1000 for a one bedroom and moving into a two bedroom, so I thought I would be treated with a little bit more respect and not nickel and dimed as they say.
Despite that issue, here are some other points about the property
-Maintence staff is great. They are very friendly, and usually pretty speedy
-The grounds look spectacular. They keep the landscaping looking top notch
-Plenty of parking
-CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP materials used for the apartments. The carpet started tearing/coming up when vacuumed a year in
-Faucets, cabinets, floors, everything is the cheapest building material, so expect many things to break in your apartment. In the two years we've been here our blinds broke, sink busted, toilet leaked, BR fan broke, heater broke, carpet ripped/tore, cabinet door fell off.. A lot more that you would expect to break in such a short amount of time.
-Floors are very squeaky and paper thin. You will think a pack of elephants lives upstairs, regardless of who it is. I can also hear my upstairs neighbors urinate, its that bad. We even have holes in our floor where you can tell boards are missing, as you sink down when stepped on.
We paid a $250 deposit, of which $170 is a MANDATORY fee. Doesn't sound like a deposit to me... So all in all if you choose to rent here, when you go to pay your deposit, just know, thats not a "Deposit", thats your "Mandatory Cleaning Fee".