Review of Jey Marks (Urban Vigor) by disgustedrenter

“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!”

Review of Carol Brooks by switchwitch

“Carol is a pleasant woman. She is not up in the resident’s business but still takes very good care of the property. Since I’ve been living here (I moved in August 2018) a lot of work has been done to the property including removing falling/rotting trees and landscaping that could be dangerous, painting the front door, and making the building look more inviting, and she has someone come in and clean the stairwell areas at least 1-2 times a year. Anytime I’ve had an issue - which, in 3 years really hasn’t been that many because the 100+-year-old property is well maintained, she responds to my texts as soon as possible and gets a professional out to take care of it within 48 hours usually. Pest control usually comes quarterly if not more frequently to spray the apartments to make sure there are no bugs. Since I’ve lived here I have seen 0 bugs other than little gnats in the summer. Not even really any spiders. My partner and I plan to live here until we buy a house.”

Review of Jey Marks (Urban Vigor) / Krista McLaughlin (McGregor Properties) by Mollystout

"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!"