“Great experience, like all apartments there are the occasional issue, but the management team, especially Jay was quick to respond and help us out. He was fair minded and really went out of his way to help us even when we needed a little extra help on things. They have lots of options around town, so when we were ready to move up to a larger 2 bedroom he accommodated us.”
“There are so many things wrong with the house, to the point that the City of Lexington left a long list of required repairs. When I asked the building manager (Jey) about a repair schedule, he didn't seem to care about being cited by the city. Instead, he said something about "new windows". Meanwhile, my ceiling is caving and the hallways, porch, and yard are full of junk. I moved here because of the location, but soon found it wasn't worth it. 9 months into the lease Jey tried to add an additional $50 for parking that had always been free. I was told it was the "other management company that mishandled things'" and that I was still on the hook. Also, my upstairs neighbor has ordered large cases of prepped meals that have sat unopened in the hallways until they rotted so badly that the other tenants were vomiting in their apartments. I've avoided making maintenance requests because Jey gives me the creeps, doesn't respect anyone else's time, and ignores COVID safety precautions. Another tenant had to help me move an air conditioner (that we found just sitting in the hallway) into my window so that my apartment would stay below 90 degrees last summer. This was after a service request with no response for days. I have a dog, and every day was dangerous for both of us. Since moving here in 2021, he has never worn a mask upon entering my apartment, nor cared when I was once quarantined and tried to enter with a random contractor. After knocking on my door continuously to wake me up, he then harassed me to be allowed entry (with no prior notice or emergency situation) in order to let the cable guy "look around". I then watched through the peephole as he knocked a few times and then entered my neighbor's apartment (a young woman living alone), assuming she wasn't home. She was home. She had been asleep and was awakened by 2 strange men walking into her apartment. It made my skin crawl worse than the rotten meat. If it had been me, I would have gone into self-defense mode, so I guess he lucked out on that one. The best (aka worst) part of renting with Urban Vigor/Jey Marks is that the building manager is also a "managing" partner", and all communications go directly to Jey. In fact, when I tried to complain about my neighbor's rights being stomped on, I was told by Jey's assistant how important Jey was in the company, and basically to get over it. In order to hold him accountable, the company doesn't even have a way to complain about the many ways I feel unsafe here. Since that is the case, my only course of action is to file a legal complaint and warn as many people as possible. DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY!”
"Maintenance issues were frequent. Once a month we would not have hot water or water at all building-wide, with little to no communication on the issue. Power outages, limbs falling out of trees on the property. A tree fell over through a fence and blocked an entrance to the parking lot, and it wasn't removed for 2 weeks. Took weeks to get the internet hooked up because Jey was unresponsive to the cable company. Can't get Metronet fiber because Jey won't talk to them. Jey would enter my apartment unannounced, frequently, including once walking in on me in my underwear. I had to install security cameras to document this behavior. My toilet tank broke because it was installed improperly and the tank was rubbing against the wall, and Jey said I "used the toilet improperly" and said I would have to pay for the repair. It was not repaired for over 2 weeks. This was the only toilet in my apartment, so I had to go to a local restaurant to use the bathroom. 7 months into a 12-month lease, a pet rent fee was added to my account on the online rent payment system. My signed lease did not mention a pet rent, at all. When I brought this up, Jey said there was a "typo" in my lease. There's no such thing as a typo in a signed contract. When I refused to pay these illegal fees, he added late fees to my account and then took those late fees out of my deposit. Jey took the house across from the apartment building and listed it on AirBnB, so there were loud wild parties every weekend, even during covid. And there's no sound insolation on exterior walls, at all, so I knew every song that was being played, even though it was on the other side of a small driveway. I was an ideal tenant. Paid my rent on time. Never threw loud parties. Kept my place clean and quiet. Jey always treated me like I was the biggest bother in the whole world. Jey always looks like he's having the worst time, even when giving tours to prospective new tenants. My sincere hope is that he really is having the worst time, all the time because that's exactly what he deserves. Don't rent from Jey Marks or Urban Vigor. And don't use the rent from them on AirBnB."
"I rented from Krista McLaughlin and McGregor Properties in 2019. The property was sold to a different company, Urban Vigor LLC, during my lease. Let's just say the transition was not handled well and I have numerous issues with both companies. My main issues were: 1. Urban Vigor did not pay the gas bill which was outlined as included in my rent, so my gas was shut off. They said this was not their fault since the previous owners with McGregor Properties didn't tell them they had to pay this bill when they bought the property? 2. When Columbia Gas came to turn the gas back on, it turns out I had been living for a year with a "red tag condition" that could have resulted in my injury or death (photo of letter attached). They turned my stove on, but I had to live without heat until I moved out two months later. It was spring, but it was still cold and I'm entitled to heat! 3. I moved out due to the above and due to being treated really unprofessionally by Jey Marks at Urban Vigor. But it did not stop there - I did not get my security deposit check and pro-rated rent refund check back for 82 days after move out. Countless calls, emails, and even in person trips to their office were made...TERRIBLE follow-up and they lied to me numerous times. Also, it is mandatory in the state of KY for landlords to return the security deposit within 60 days of move out, so what they were doing was ILLEGAL and was during a PANDEMIC. Overall, rude, unethical, illegal, bad people. Don't do it!"
The Lexington Tenant Review 