What to expect:
1. The management company will lie to you. No matter what happens, the management company (whoever they are) will tell you all the things you want to hear but then nothing will happen. During my 18 month residency, they lied about the pool, they lied about the broken air conditioner (at 95 degrees -- the building is an oven), and they lied about the conditions of repairs. When residents complained about the health and safety problems caused by the heat (issues with heart
...conditions, arthritis, young and elderly residents), the representative from the management company only cared enough to insult the residents for bringing the complaints.
2. They lie because the property owner only cares about your money, but not *your* property, safety, health or comfort. The owner of the property stopped paying for waste management to clear out the garbage, so for *MORE THAN A MONTH* we had garbage piling up in the garage and into the trash shoot. The fact this happened during the beginning of the summer, during a heat wave and the building did not have air conditioning left the building with an awful odor.
3. While the Atlantic might be your front yard, Revere is still your city. Ask me how awesome it is seeing the news cover one of the biggest street fights of the year and being able to see your apartment in the window of said coverage. Enjoy your "short" walk back from the train, of course, you'll have to make sure to watch out for discarded heroin needles (it's Revere, after all).
4. Management has, in the past, invented charges and lied to tenants about the cost of their rent, potentially stealing thousands of dollars from unsuspecting residents. If not for a basic education in contract law, the management company was willing to steal almost $300 from my family. This came after a "review" of my file, so either they were competent enough to review my file and ignore the mistake (theft) or -- they are so inept that even after reading the file in an effort to take more money from us, they missed their overcharging us (remember this when they send a letter detailing an amount of money you suddenly, "owe").
My recommendation: If you have no other option than to rent one of these apartments, never speak to any member of the management staff without recording the conversation yourself. However, if you have *literally* any other option, take that. This place is awful and, unless the OWNERSHIP changes, no management company will make a difference.
