The Earl

I lived at the Earl for two years, and while I generally enjoyed the apartment itself, the management left a lot to be desired. There are two key incidents that really stand out and highlight how poor their practices are, especially when it comes to transparency and treating tenants fairly.

The first major issue came up when I had to relocate for work. My lease was set to end on September 7th, and I had originally planned to renew, but I found out in mid-July that I’d be moving to another city… for work. I let management know immediately, only to be hit with their ridiculous 60-day notice policy. Seriously, how is anyone supposed to know two months in advance if they’re going to be transferred for work? Because of this policy, I was told I'd be charged a much higher month-to-month rate if I didn’t give enough notice. But here’s where it gets worse: there was zero communication about whether I’d still be charged the higher rate if I moved out before my lease was up. To avoid this random extra charge, I ended up moving out a week early, which cost me more money for rushed moving services. And despite moving out early, they STILL hit me with the higher month-to-month rent. The whole thing felt like a money grab, plain and simple. No communication, no transparency—just an excuse to charge tenants more.

The second issue, which happened earlier during my stay, was even more infuriating. In the two years I lived there, I never missed a rent payment. In one random month I got a confirmation email on the 2nd saying my payment went through A week later, I realized the money hadn’t actually been deducted from my account, so I reached out to management right away to be proactive. What did they do? Instead of helping me resolve the issue, they slapped me with a $300 late fee for being honest. Even after I showed them the confirmation email (from their own system, mind you), they had the audacity to tell me the email meant nothing. They insisted I contact my bank to figure it out. When I did, the bank confirmed it was an issue with the apartment’s payment portal, not my account. But when I took this information back to management, they demanded a written statement from my bank to waive the late fee. And here’s the kicker: my home branch is in Indiana, and they seriously expected me to fly across the country to get a written letter to waive a late fee that was entirely their fault. It was beyond absurd. Read More