‘Like am I in the wrong? This is WILD’: Woman prepares to move out of Greystar apartment. Then her landlord steps in
One woman has a cautionary tale for people considering renting from real estate giant Greystar. She says a Greystar apartment complex charged her for services they didn’t provide and are trying to overcharge her for the last month’s rent.
In a viral TikTok with more than 550,000 views as of this writing, Saraphine Stanier (@saraphineisabellestanier) shares her side of the story.
According to Stanier, the Greystar apartment’s amenities were down for months. Eventually, she told them that she would no longer pay the amenity fee.
“I’m not going to pay it if I’m not getting what it’s for,” she says.
When she informed the property managers, Stanier claims they said it wasn’t actually an amenity fee.
To this, she retorts in the TikTok, “If not amenity fee, why amenity fee shaped?”
The problems didn’t stop there.
Moving time
Now Stanier is preparing to move out on the 16th. She says that Greystar is refusing to prorate her rent for the month. (Where you pay based on how many days in the month you actually live in the apartment.) Instead, she says they’re trying to charge her the full amount.
When she complained about this, Stanier says that they reassured her that she’d eventually be refunded for the roughly half-month’s rent paid in excess.
She’s not having it.
“I need that money for my cashier’s check to be able to pay to move,” she says, adding, “No, I can’t do that, there’s no way I’m doing that.”
According to Stanier, the landlord offered to do what he characterized as extra work by figuring out the prorated amount. He purportedly promised to email her the sum so she could pay that amount and no more.
She says he never did.
By then, it was May 2, she says, and rent was due the next day. Failure to pay on time results in a $100 fee, per Stanier.
If they charge her the fee, Stanier says she’ll put the full amount demanded in an escrow account until they can reach an acceptable resolution.
“You got me [messed] up if you think I’m going to pay the full rent then just expect you to send it back to me.”
Who is Greystar?
Greystar is a South Carolina-based property management behemoth.
According to its website, Greystar has more than 1 million rental units globally across nearly 2,700 properties.
The company describes itself as “the Global Leader in Rental Housing.”
“Every community is staffed by the very best real estate professionals; each team member is specially trained to think like an owner and take pride in resident satisfaction,” its website boasts.
Stanier says that she has lived in multiple Greystar properties. She’s never had an experience like this before, she says.
Stanier didn’t immediately respond to a direct message sent via TikTok.
What’s Greystar’s reputation?
While some current and former tenants speak highly of Greystar, the internet is littered with negative reviews of the massive company.
It has 1.4 out of 5 stars on Google. The 484 people who’ve reviewed it on the Better Business Bureau have given Greystar a collective 1.02 out of 5 stars.
Reviews include lines like, “Find Somewhere Else to live; ANYWHERE ELSE” and “management is the epitome of laziness.”
It’s also facing a series of lawsuits.
According to Reuters, just last week, another potential class action in California claims the company conceals the real price of its units.
The case purportedly alleges, “Put simply, Greystar’s tactics make it impossible to actually rent from Greystar for the advertised prices.”
This follows the Federal Trade Commission accusing Greystar of tricking tenants with hidden “junk” fees earlier this year.
@saraphineisabellestanier Like am I in the wrong? This is WILD to me. #apartment #apartmentliving #apartmenthell #crazy #landlordspecial #fyp #storytime ♬ original sound – Saraphine’s Version ??
Greystar has reportedly denied the FTC’s allegations and is trying to get the California case dismissed.
Greystar did not respond to an emailed request for comment about Stanier’s allegations.
Stanier’s outcome
Update May 7, 3:41pm CT: Via TikTok direct message, Stanier said the company made things right.
“They sent me an email after I went into the office basically apologizing because they don’t know how their new system works,” she wrote, noting that they’d had the system for at least three months.
By May 5, she said, they’d fixed the issue.
Stanier’s most recent experience with Greystar may not have been the best, but it doesn’t appear to have soured her on the company.
“It’s just solely this apartment,” she said.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
