Deville Apartments & Builders Inc

Let me start by saying that, once you’ve read my review, you may or may not agree with my 3 star rating. I’ve lived in some really nice places with some really crappy landlords, so perhaps that’s swaying my review somewhat, but here we go regardless…
I’ve lived in a Deville home for nearly 4 years now. It’s a good area, fairly quiet, and suits our needs and budget quite well. I like my home. I really do. There are, however, occasional problems. Typically if I notify the office about it, they’re usually fairly decent about fixing the issues in a timely manner. Fixing them properly though, is another matter entirely.
Example 1: Noticed a small drip/​stain/​bubble in ceiling upstairs. After speaking with adjoined neighbors, I found out everybody had the same problem, since we share a roof (townhouses). I call the office, they tell me the roof is leaking and that roofers will be out to fix it in a few days (it had been raining for like a week straight). Bottom line: No roofers show up. Maintenance man does though, who spraypaints my ceiling and leaves. A year later, still no more dripping, but I’m sure the roof problem was never actually fixed so it’s only a matter of time before something else starts dripping.
Example 2: My kitchen backsplash separated from the wall. I assume maintenance will just put new caulking on and press it back into place. Instead, they screw 4 large, ugly screws through the backsplash into the wall behind it, and then re-​caulk. True, it did solve the problem, but it looks pretty crappy, and seeing as it’s right behind my kitchen sink, I have to stare at it every day.
Example 3: Water tank in basement started leaking water onto my floor. After several calls to the office, a maintenance man shows up for 5 minutes to tell me I need a new tank, then leaves. The following morning, I wake up to loud noises, as 2 guys are dragging a new tank into my basement. They seem just as startled to see me as I am to see them. They claim they rang the doorbell… I don’t think so. Regardless, they install the new tank, dragged the new one out and left. There is a small pond of water in my basement and a trail of water up my stairs and through my kitchen. Well, I had to mop anyway, so no big deal I guess. I turn on the water in the kitchen… no water. Sputtering. I call the office, and find out that they were SUPPOSED to bleed the lines before the left, and never did. So, I had to deal with that. Lovely.
Other issues:
* We’ve had a problem with our back screen door since we moved in. It doesn’t slide well and sometimes gets stuck. Maintenance has come out about a dozen times to fix it. The last guy actually took the time to educate me about why it’s happening… apparently since we’re the end unit, and there’s a small embankment just past our building, the foundation is slowly sinking, which is warping our corner, which is warping the entire door frame — so even a new door won’t fix the problem. Bottom line: deal with it.
* At one point they came out to replace my kitchen faucet. Maintenance man turned off my water, said he’d «be right back with a new faucet» and didn’t return for nearly 3 hours. I understand things happen, but being without water in your house for 3 hours, early in the morning, having consumed 2 lattes, is not a good thing.
* The landscaping company absolutely sucks. They’re called Enviroscapes, and they’re terrible. Per our rental agreement, we’re allowed to plant a garden in our front bed… however the landscapers seem to think it’s ok to trample, mow, weedwhack, or otherwise mulch on top of my plants and kill them. The following year, I plant everything in planters, thinking it’ll keep them from killing my plants… but the landscapers just knick the crap out of my planters with their weedwhackers. Forget putting anything decorative out, whether it be Halloween or Christmas decorations, or even simple solar path lights. They will find a way to destroy them. They really suck at snow removal too… If there’s a snowstorm, you aren’t going anywhere, because they won’t show up to plow and shovel until 6pm the following day. I go out myself to shovel a path for my small dog, and they’ll show up and shovel in a manner that fills that path in with more snow. Oh, and they like to show up at 7am to mow the grass in the summer.
After reading all of this you’re probably planning on avoiding Deville like the plague, but don’t. The office people are very nice, although sometimes confused. The building is nice, the area is great, the rent is reasonable, ($ 300 pet deposit and $ 20 extra per month)… but the maintenance and landscaping is severely lacking. Deville owns a LOT of properties, so I guess it’s hard to keep up with it all. Overall though, despite my complaints, it’s a pretty decent place to live when you consider the alternatives in the area.

This group is a complete scam. I have been a tenant for 2 years and have had nothing but problems. They very slow on repairs, do not care to correct usage of drugs on property, and will charge unnecessary fees on top of monthly rent. I would strongly urge you to seek housing elsewhere.