Post Stratford

I’ve lived at the Post Stratford a little over a year. It is, hands down, the noisiest, loudest, most chaotic place I’ve ever lived, and I’ve lived in Boston, New York City, and a handful of other places. The building sits on a cul-​de-​sac in Buckhead, and there’s a highrise being built on the same cul-​de-​sac. As reviewer Mike Q. said, construction begins before the sun comes up, with the crews dropping dumpsters and all other kinds of building materials onto the concrete, and you can literally feel the ground shake – never even mind the noise it makes. Their construction vehicles plug up the cul-​de-​sac, making exiting the apartment an infuriating task. Add to the highrise construction the noise made by the apartment’s own grounds crew, and it’ll drive a person insane. I work from home (as a freelance writer, in a cruel twist) and had to complain to the leasing office about the incessant noise from leaf blowers that their grounds staff were running about 4 days a week. The leasing office staff were very responsive and even managed to trim the leaf-​blowing to one day a week, which I appreciated. As I sit here at my desk trying to work, the highrise is being worked on, and now they’ve drained the Post Stratford pool and there’s a guy standing in it with a jackhammer, removing the pool’s tiles and surface. The apartment’s staff always send out a memo when work is about to begin, but I swear to god, it’s like living on the set of Mad Max Fury Road. That anyone in this building is paying full price for rent (ourselves included) absolutely boggles my mind. If you’re considering moving here, don’t. Unless you can’t stand the sound of your own thoughts, that is. In which case, you’ll love it.

For the rent you pay at this place, what you get is maybe the good location … only.
The complex is at a cul-​de-​sac and low elevation and to protect the building from noise coming from roads around the erected a huge wall. Thus most of the apartments have no sunlight at all during the to very little, except if you are on the side of the entrance, and even then tall buildings and trees around act as light block.
The complex is clean and quiet. Residents are not noisy. Parking is spacious and clean. The gym is well-​equipped and clean.
The first apartment they gave me had a roach problem. I took another one. Was clean. During summer, starting from sunset, a huge numbers of water bugs roam across the ground floor.
The leasing office staff is nice, when you visit and sign you lease. After that, it is up to their mood.
Expect a rent hike of 100 – 200 $ when renewing. Yeah Yeah … it is Buckhead … but the quality is inferior to what’s around.
Rush hours are a nightmare at this place when driving in/​out.
The flooring and appliances are pretty old. Tilling squares were coming off while walking on them !!!
You can look around and you may find better worth for you money.

The only reason I still live here is I can’t afford to break the lease. Earth shaking construction starts at 7 am right outside my window six days a week. Rent goes up a few hundred every renewal time. My rent has gone from under $ 900 to over $ 1400. My benefits have not increased that much. They wanted over $ 1600 last renewal. When talking rent amounts, the local staff’s hands are tied by corporate. The term market rate (set by a computer program) comes up all the time. I contacted the corp office and negotiated down the past three years.

I’ve been here three years. And I’m sorry to say that once Post Properties was bought by corporate they essentially leave out the tenant and opt for profits as most of these behemoths do these days. Only the last straw was the ceiling leaking and having to spend the weekend with wet sopping floors and a ceiling that is failing under the weight of the water. Not the staff fault. It’s corporate greed. Mind you they actually sent us a letter detailing the new and larger amount of rent they want. I would not recommend this place unless you just have to find a place no matter what. Understand that you will pay for watering the grounds, you will pay huge for water and electric due to old antiquated amenities. That you will pay large for old appliances, kitchen cabinets, and counter tops. You will get more space but you will get nothing else and you will pay large amounts for it. A lot of people are leaving because they are fed up. They only stay because they have no where else to go unless they can come up with ungodly amounts of money for decent digs. Your choice

I am going to have to positively mirror Erica D.‘s supportive statements.
Angela in the office is one of the nicest, most helpful & caring people I have ever met. She is great to work with.
Maintenance staff is stellar! They go above & beyond.
Proximity to restaurants, shopping and MARTA are wonderful.
CONS:
1. Construction of a 22 story condo complex on this short street until FEB of 2015 = noisy, one side walk gone, traffic issues;
2. Construction of a MARTA sky bridge since the day I move in (Oct 2013) scheduled to end in July = noisy, and bright lights right outside my windows;and
3. Construction on 400 out my livingroom & bedroom windows: noisey all night, bright lights (target end date unknown).

I don’t understand the negative reviews for this place, seems like all of the complaints could be solved by reading your lease and checking the prices and floorplans online before visiting. I have lived here for a year and a half and my rent increased a grand total of $ 60 when it was time to renew, so don’t let that scare you. I have also worked with Angela in the leasing office when signing my lease and ever since she has been helpful and polite in answering my questions. Here is my opinion of Post Stratford:
Pros:
–Great location! You can walk to MARTA in 5 minutes and are in walking distance to Phipps, Lenox, grocery stores, and restaurants. There’s also a park across the street that is great if you have a dog.
–Great floor plans. I live in a loft-​style unit but they also offer more traditional apartments.
–Maintenance. I provided a list of issues the day I moved in and they were fixed the next day. Whenever I have had an issue, which has been extremely rare, it is fixed the next day and the staff person leaves a note with their photograph saying what they fixed! This is a great security measure.
–Constant improvements. I have never seen a complex maintain and upgrade their complex as frequently as Post Stratford. Since living here they are redone the pool, redone the fire security system, painted, replaced windows, and are currently working on the parking garage.
–Communication. The office staff is great about letting us know what’s going on and how it affects us. They leave notices on doors and respond quickly to e-​mails. Post also does a survey of residents and a complaint that I put on there was actually rectified!
–Cleanliness and Landscaping. The landscaping at Post Stratford is ridiculously nice and well maintained, especially in the main courtyard. Staff regularly cleans the hallways and common areas as well.
–Security. I have never seen a gate broken at Post Stratford. The only security issue is residents propping open gates. There were car break-​ins in the visitor parking area (unsecured) back when all of Buckhead was experiencing break-​ins, but if you park in the secured area this isn’t an issue. I regularly walk my dog at night and have never felt unsafe.
–Urban Vegetable Garden. This is a great feature that Post offers at some of its communities. Not only do you get your own plot of land to garden in, but they also provide FREE plants at the beginning of each growing season.
Cons:
–Stratford Road. They finally put up signs so that people couldn’t park on Stratford, but this doesn’t stop idiots at Post and Paramount from parking out front all the time with their flashers on. This can be dangerous when people speed down the road but the cops seem to be cracking down on it.
–Price. The rental market is booming right now since very few people can afford to buy a home so really, Post can charge whatever they want. The prices are comparable to other complexes in the area but it’s still expensive overall. When my lease was up they only increased the rent $ 60 but I went month-​to-​month for a higher price. I do think you get what you pay but understand that this is BUCKHEAD.

I understand the appeal of these apartments may be the location, but there needs to be more. The location is superb, walking distance to Lenox mall, Fork and screen movie theatre, etc… I viewed these apartments because of this and due to the fact that I am trying to simplify my life and actually fully use my space. I currently reside in a 4 bedroom home and only 1 room gets much use which I feel is wasteful. So I decided a 1 bedroom loft would be more practical. I also wanted to move out of the burbs (cabin fever) and into the city. The prices of these apartments per square footage is a bit ridiculous. I told the agent that I wanted a loft style 1 bedroom apartment. She asked me what my price range was and I told her (It’s pretty decent but not astronomical). I asked the agent which floor plan was the one featured on the website and she didn’t know what it was, go figure. I explained the plan to her and she still didn’t know and stated that they have over 70 floor plans. I digress… She told me she had a loft style apartment available for my time frame and there was one available to view. When she opened up the door of the apartment I almost buckled over with laughter. The apartment was obviously dated and if you turned around good you would have toured the entire apartment. There was no separation between the living room and bedroom and the «combined space» was smaller than a typical living room. I couldn’t imagine trying to fit my 4 poster bed and living room furniture in that space. I felt for that amount of money the apartment was no bueno, Buckhead be darned. I expressed my disdain and dissatisfaction of the apartment, especially for that price. When we were heading back to the office, the agent asked if I wanted to sign a lease. Um, what the? I was shocked that she asked me that after I was very frank regarding my disinterest and also refusal to pay the significantly increased price for a little more square footage. Not to mention I’ve seen the reviews regarding massive rent increases after the 12 month lease is up. I called and asked about this and the agent basically confirmed that by saying they charge whatever the market rent is at the time. If you move in and the rent is $ 1200, then the next year the market rent is $ 1600 then your rent will be $ 1600 if you would like to renew. I haven’t rented an apartment for 5 years since I purchased a home in 2006 but when I did rent, the increases were no more than $ 100 from my experience. So, that didn’t really leave me feeling well because hefty increases like that may require constant moving or eating beans and rice or ramen noodles daily because one can’t afford anything else. Needless to say I passed on the apartment and unless they miraculously offer the floor plan that I was interested in for my price point with no significant increase, they can forget it. That’s if they can figure out which floor plan it is…
ETA: The agent who showed me the apartment has called me everyday since my viewing informing me of newly available units that are still too small and not in the price range I told her. What the heck? They are definitely aggressive, diligent, and oblivious lol!!!

The lady Angela Parks @ the front desk is very rude and unprofessional. I have never been so unimpressed with a conversation.
I would never treat a possible tenant the way she did. She is the most unprofessional woman I know.
You should think before you open your mouth!!!

I’ve been living here for just about 2 years and can’t wait to get out. The office staff, especially Jennifer Krezel is highly incompetent and cannot deal with renters appropriately. It is extremely loud outside, especially with not one, but two construction sites right outside the complex. They both work on Saturdays, so you will be awakened every weekday morning at 6am and weekend morning at 7am… sometimes, they even work overnight pouring concrete/​cement. There are a lot of pet owners here that leave pet feces outside the apartment. There are cracks in the foundation, so there are a lot of ants and I have even had 2 large cockroaches in my 3^rd floor apartment in the past week. It is an unsafe complex — there have been multiple breakins in our parking lot recently. The gates outside are also left open frequently so anyone can come in — lately, since it has been cold in the morning, some of the gates do not even close behind you unless you press them shut. Also, the walls are incredibly thin — I can hear my neighbours telephone conversations through the wall. The ONLY good thing about this apartment is the convenient location to my office — however, now that my lease is about up, I am moving as fast as I can. I recently got my renewal papers — the rent has increased approximately 15%!!
So, unless you want to deal with incompetent management staff (I have sent multiple emails that have not been answered in over 2 weeks), dirty exterior, high noise levels and on top of that extraordinarily increasing rent prices, DO NOT LIVE HERE!