Mill at Still River changed ownership in late 2009, while I was a tenant there. My original move-in sheet, created during a walk-through with the old owner's super, stated all damage done to the apt. by prior tenants, and supposedly was never given to the new owners of MASR. There were 2 distinct areas of my living room carpet that were damaged by a prior tenant and were clearly marked on my move-in sheet, amongst other minor damages.
I moved out of MASR in mid-2010 leaving the apt. in far better shape then I received it, and followed the move-out instructions to a ""T"". I phoned the super to let him know the apt. was vacant, he said he saw the apt. and everything was fine. I was leery about not having performed a final walk-through with him and obtaining a signed satisfactory move-out sheet, but I (stupidly) trusted him and the manager/owner.
After moving to my new (out of state) location, I received my deposit back, less $600.00 for a brand new carpet in the living room. Housing Consultants (owners of MASR) informed me that my cats had damaged the carpet beyond repair and they had to replace it. This was news to me. Several times before I moved, I mentioned to the super there was carpet damage, not caused by my cats. At no time did the fact that Housing Consultants did not have in their possession my original move-in sheet, come up. I have been a renter at 5 places over the course of 20 yrs., with pets, and I have ALWAYS received my full deposit back as well as received glowing references from every prior landlord. I leave places immaculate. In this case, I even left an $80.00 fan, some nice house plants, and a brand new vacuum cleaner. I also left some very nice, brand new towel racks to replace the cheap one that broke just after I moved in.
The staff at MASR should have discussed with me the fact that they did not have my original move-in sheet in their possession, before they took $600 from me to replace a carpet that needed replacing long before I was a tenant there. It was old, smelled and was in terrible shape. They also should have taken responsibility in the fact that they do not have ANY of the tenant's move-in sheets and therefore cannot give a fair and honest evaluation of who or what caused damage to the apartments as well as when the damage occurred.
The building is a very large, very old former factory in need of a lot of repair. The apartments are nice, with gorgeous views of the Still River, but they all need major renovations. Kitchens and bathrooms are very dated and the appliances are falling apart. Sheet rock between apts. is very thin lending itself to hearing snoring, phone calls, answering machine messages, arguments, guitar practice, singing, parties, tv and stereos. Ceilings are uninsulated wood beams (that creak) with only carpeting to muffle sound (it doesn't). Common areas are cleaned infrequently, at best, and there are only 1 set of washer/dryers per floor that 17 apartments share. These cost $2.00 each load, when they work. Parking is limited to 1 space per apt. When there are parties, prepare to have a car in your assigned spot. Calls to mgmt. to have the car removed are useless. The place is loaded with young residents due to it's close location to NWCCC. And forget about bringing any pets to MASR, except cats. There are far better, honest managed places to live, I should have moved to the old schoolhouse in Torrington, much nicer mgmt. If you must live here, get EVERYTHING (including a copy of your signed move-in sheet) in writing, lock it in a safe place, and photograph the entire apt. upon move-in. Protect yourself and leave nothing to chance. I'm sure I'm not the only one with grievances as there was a forced max-exodus upon the new owner's take-over, including the super.
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