2/10
Do not rent this place!
The neighborhood is decent. The apartment is okay for the price—because it was spacious and a good price for the location, I was willing to live with the run down building, boarded up windows, construction debris all around, mold in the shower, non-working outlets, garbage on the porch, missing kitchen cabinet doors, and an exposed breaker box/electrical panel. All of which I have pictures of but don’t know how to post.
The idea that this apartment was a good deal, however, was quickly destroyed by the owner who, in a word, scammed me out of my security deposit which was a significant amount. It’s such an obvious scam, I still can’t even believe it. Here’s what happened. I flew from Oregon USA to London to go to Wimbledon with my elderly father. As soon as I arrived at the apartment, I noticed some weird grey paint splatter over the fireplace mantel (I have a picture of it too). I immediately called the apartment manager, Airsorted UK—exactly 24 minutes after our arrival—to make sure that the owner was aware of it. The manager said they would contact the owner. The next day, Airsorted told me that the owner was saying that his cleaners told him there was no paint on the wall when they were there. Concerned, I called VRBO, explained the situation, and sent them a copy of my Uber receipt and my email to the owner, which showed that I had called the manager within 24 minutes of arriving at the apartment. During my conversation with VRBO, I learned that the owner had improperly taken a security deposit from me via a website (Airsorted) other than VRBO, which is against VRBO policy, and which severely limited VRBO’s ability to assist me with the dispute. I decided not to let the situation ruin my vacation with my dad and assumed that the owner would see reason and that it would all work out. NOPE! Upon returning to the US, I was informed by the owner that he was taking my deposit. He cannot honestly believe that I flew over 5,000 miles to London, whipped a can of grey paint out of my suitcase, splashed it over his mantle as soon as I walked in the door, and then called him to let him know. It is so obviously not true that I can only conclude that this is the owner’s scam to take people’s security deposits. The apartment should be delisted as far as I’m concerned.
David A.
Stayed 6 nights in Jun 2018