The Cortesian Apartments

I must say, the only reason I gave this place a 1 star is because 0 stars wasn’t an option on here. First, I set up an auto pay with the rent collection company they use, and the company they use set up my auto pay a couple days later than the actual due date, so the apartment nickel and dimes me after two months without even notifying me the previous month that the auto pay was «late». They knew this was no fault of my own, and would still not budge on their hefty late fee. However, it doesn’t end just there. Next, I have a neighbor above me that has this dog that howls and barks every night as if it is being mutilated. I have complained multiple times, and management has done absolutely nothing. Just when I thought things could not get any worse, I woke up to toilet water running down my vents because the nuisance neighbor above me was too stupid to shut off the water when his toilet was overflowing. My advice to anyone is to avoid this slum and any other apartment complexes managed by the slumlord company Greystar. The living conditions in section 8 housing would surpass this dump. Rude office management (the tough east coast lady in particular). They do not care about their tenants.

Im only leaving 1 star because I have to. I lived at the cortesian for almost two years. When I moved in the management company was alliance which wasn’t great but was tolerable. Then Graystar took over and the place went to complete shit!!! They are the worst management company I have even dealt with. All they care about it money!!! The management has no authority. its the big wigs up in corp that control there nazi régime. My rent went from 1040.00 a month to them wanting to renew my rent at 1350.00 for some old asepsis, led paint shit hole! My carpets were stained when I moved in and the place has an infestation of bugs and people who bring shopping carts and the cops called on the regular. They are trying to update the property but they have the worst contractors doing sub par work for high price pay. I had my tub refinished and the workers did the worst job. They even made me pay to have my floors changed when I moved in because they were stained so bad. Gray star is the worst company and the people they have employed at the office are a perfect reflection of that!!! They are rude and dont ever do what they say they will. They are totally disorganized and only care about the new ac unit. I would never recommend living here!!! I promise you will regret living here if you sign a lease with this horrible company!!! There are so many other places you could go for that amount of money!!! You could buy a house for the same price actually for cheaper then this horrible place. I recommend never living in a Graystar community.

why keep the place looking dirty… management is always in the apartments but you don’t care about the outside anymore… come on… and give some notice please… on anything… I will say … most of the staff is horrible… couple are ok… think they forget we are the customers… this is our home… clean it up…

Nasty apartments. Ours smelled of smoke the whole 6 months we lived there and now all of our stuff still holds the stench. Cockroaches and super old and gross. Only thing good is the location.

This Place is the ghetto of Scottsdale! I live here and it is absolutely awful… Management is rude and unhelpful, Alicia is one of the rudest people I have ever met! Takes over 10 days to get any repair in your apt, sofas, mattresses, shopping carts, broken down cars with flat tires, landscaping hardly ever done, not to mention the green pools! Dog crap everywhere because people are to lazy to pick up after their dogs. Air conditioning (chillers) always breaking down… Gun shots last week and police were everywhere…
DO NOT RENT HERE!!! I wish I never signed a lease here, stuck for another six months…

Only adding a star because I have to. I lived here for two years with the old management. It was ok. They were nice, helpful in the complex. I had a crabby old lady neighbor below me and a creepy guy next door. After a couple of complaints they were both relocated within a few months. A few months before I moved out management changed and things went down hill fast. There was a stabbing in my parking lot and management did nothing to step up security around there… I gave a 60 day notice and was still sent to collections. A strongly worded letter from an atty took care of that but since they don’t charge deposits this is how they get what they want from you. Cockroaches? I had a few. A/​C? Went off a few times. Upgrading the pool and laundry? Ha. No pool chairs for two months so they can be re-​strapped and not replaced. It’s cheaper to buy new. This place ended up being a joke and if it is for convenience only keep looking.

I’ve lived at The Cortesian about 2 years now. It is an older complex, but after considering many other Old Town apartment complexes, for the money, it’s the best bet. The new management has done a decent job upgrading the place since I’ve been here too… remodeled laundry rooms, gym, pools, redone asphalt and exterior paint and landscaping. I haven’t had any issues with bugs like some other people have mentioned and I would not tolerate creepy crawlies if I did see them. The office and maintenance staff are super dog friendly which is a must for me and even have treats for the pups. The couple times I have had a maintenance request, it has been fixed quickly and my microwave and dishwasher were replaced with brand new units.

I am so thankful to be out of this place. I lived here spring 2012 – 2013. I wouldnt recommend moving here because:
Roaches. Just thinking of our old kitchen gives me chills. I never wanted to cook because many times would see a roach running across the stove or countertops.
Management. Trying to make cortesian an upscale and trendy place hahaha! Not sure if still up but their website had showed a river on the property and models as residents, making it look like some upscale complex.
They put in new laundry units and half of them did not work. They changed the laundry room to have a fob to enter and when I said I needed one, they got suspicious because I was not on my husbands lease even though I told them that I had filled out paperwork with the old management which they didnt have.(my husband had moved in there first) they said I had to fill in a new form and have a background check because «the cortesian Is a crime free community» and if I didnt return the form I would get evicted?!
Our dishwasher didnt operate correctly and they made the maintenance guy come 3 times to try something to see if it would work (it didnt). Finally after like a month and a half we finally got approved to get a replacement
The best was when we moved out. We hired a maid to clean up the apt and she did a good job. But not good enough apparently because we got charged because «not up to their standards»?
Some of the residents are questionable. A hoarder lived downstairs from us and the one across from us would leave their trash bags outside for days. No wonder we had so many roaches. There was another one close to us that would blast eminem every saturday morning at 8am.
The only good thing is the location but would encourage you to look at the many other complexes.

Update Mid 2015:
New management has taken over and they aren’t as good as the previous company.
Soon after the change, I started to have issues with roaches (never used to be a problem at all for over a year). There weren’t any permanent solutions from them. The best I could call up to have someone come to spray the apartment down one time. Of course after a couple weeks the roaches came back. I gave up on calling and bought my own products to keep the bugs at bay. On countless nights I was about to go to sleep and found a roach crawling all around my tub. The office told me there wasn’t anything more they can do because the roaches come in from the public water works. Whether that is true or not, I couldn’t live like that anymore. Why not install meshes on the taps?
I don’t think it’s a terrible place to live, but not a fan since the new management took over and wouldn’t live here again. It’s still worth mentioning that the lease renewal was ridiculous. They yet again jacked up the rent, required a 13 month minimum lease, and the month-​to-​month listed is now $ 1300+ /​mo. That coupled with all the new rules they’re putting into place makes me wonder why anyone would continue to deal with them.
On a final note: the communication was terrible. I rarely received confirmations of my emails or messages. Often I was forced to follow up over and over again on simple issues and it never felt like anything was being done. While some office staff are friendly, there are key individuals who are pushy and rude. In addition, they don’t seem to have the ability to modify their billing amounts for pro-​rated situations etc. I’ve had to write checks for seemingly random amounts they came up with with no documented proof because the billing was incorrect EVERY single time there was something different than the norm.
Why did I have to be the one to push for confirmations and request the proper billing adjustments? These should be stands. All I can say is that I’m happy I’ve moved on to better things.

I had previously written another review on another site prior to vacating my apartment, and was concerned about retaliation.
However, now that I am out I would like to update. If you live here, cross your ‘t’s and dot your ‘i’s in every aspect possible! I just received my first interaction with the collection company that the Cortesian sent me to. Now, mind you I fulfilled my end of the lease and have absolutely no reason for any type of money owed to this company. Believe nearly everything you hear because it’s bound to hold much more truth to it, than not.
I resided at the Cortesian in ²⁰⁰⁸⁄₂₀₀₉ and at that time it was not pretending to be anything more than a cheap apartment in the heart of Scottsdale. I had no issues at all since I figured that I was getting what I paid for. So, when I was looking for an apartment again in 2012 I didn’t see any issue with moving back in.
Well, shortly after my moving back in, the Cortesian sold and the residents suffered. To the best of my knowledge their policy regarding felons went away, this can be justified by the amount of shady activity going on, on any given night. I was fortunate in that I made nice with my neighbors and we were able to respect one another and keep the noise and the drama down. However, I was constantly able to hear domestic disputes through the court yard behind my balcony as well as through my bedroom window in the parking area. So, if you are looking for quite, don’t go here.
Furthermore, the staff in the office are nowhere near as attentive as the previous rental company. I waited months for my refrigerator to be fixed, my bathrooms to be fixed, the list really goes on and on. As I said some of this can be found in my previous review however, the update is that I have recently been sent to collections for a bad debt that is invalid. I am doing what I can to work with the collection company and certainly hope that I don’t need to get a lawyer involved. Not only, did I go into the office to notify them of my intent to vacate (signed a little sheet of paper), I also dropped off and mailed a copy of a letter to the leasing office and their management company 33 days prior to the expiration of my lease. I completed my walk through the first day of October and my lease expired September 30^th, 2013. So, why I would owe them anything at all is beyond me.
I also went ahead and cleaned the apartment top to bottom. Yes, that’s right I literally cleaned the floor boards just to be nice. I know that when I moved in, they claimed it was a new carpet, only the previous tenant had items all over the floor which tells me they didn’t even vacuum. I video recorded my walk through to cover my own butt, I kept copies and records of every single communication I had with the staff. The one thing I did not do was get a copy of my notice to vacate, or have the staff sign off on the walk through (lucky for me I still have documentation).
I would suggest looking elsewhere, especially since the utilities are no longer included, there are far better place in the area to consider before choosing this one. Also, if you insist on going against anyone who has ever lived there and their experience, keep records of any and all communication that you have with the staff. Keep your maintenance slips (be sure to submit them online, you will receive an electronic confirmation), document phone calls and interactions and get something signed if and when it might be necessary. I feel that it is very important that if someone chooses to reside here they do everything in their power to cover their own butts because it’s only a matter of time before you will need to support yourself. Best of luck in your apartment search, I was miserable here and though I once recommended this place, I would never do such a thing ever again.
Previous: «Just don’t do it, unless you are prepared to live in what I call the ghetto of Scottsdale. All is good and well, so long as you require nothing from the apartment complex. The reviews on here from 2012 were said to have been posted by the leasing office staff, they changed management in 2012 and it only became worse, rumor also had it they were rewarding tenants for good review. Yes, they make it appear to be a decent place although it really isn’t. Generally when you mention anything to the front office staff, they seem to be attentive until two months later you’re still waiting on repairs to be made. I needn’t really get into the details but it’s overpriced at this point for it’s value. I would highly suggest finding a place you can’t imagine living without and trust me, this is not it. Yes there are bugs, yes there are stenches, yes they have had the water off multiple time without notice as well as with notice, yes it’s visited often by SPD, and yes you can find a better place to live.
Last updated: 9÷17÷2013»

I would rather live in a box on the street than live here. There are enough cockroaches for a horror film. The repairs take weeks to get done. The ac and heat comes and goes. The front office lied about moving out fees and sent me to collections. They change the pet rules mid lease. Apt life kind of sucks anyway. Here it’s like hell.

This is the worst apartment complex on the planet, they moved people into my apartment with me still in it. Tried to charge me over 400 in late fees, tried to put an eviction on my credit, and made me get a lawyer involved.
Do NOT sign a lease with these people. I urge you at the sake of your sanity.
I did nothing wrong, paid on time, and the leash agent Alicia is honestly the scum of the earth. Anything she tells you is a lie. I helped two people who were waking into the leasing office find another apartment as I was moving out.
Good luck to any potential renters. I would choose anywhere else.
Thank

This is by far the worst rental company I’ve had to deal with. The staff are horrible. Their customer service skills are worse than mcdonalds employees. Maintenance is required monthly. Takes about a week or so before they even show up to do the maintenance. A/​C goes out during the summer at least once a week. Hot water was shut off for days at a time. I could go on…

This is by far the worst run apartment complex I’ve ever lived at or heard management doest care about you or your needs just your cash. Took three months to change a outside light bulb and a screen for my kitchen, not kidding. Id rather rent a cardboard box in el-​paso then resign my lease. they shut off your water no notice by the way, tow your car if you have a flat tire you walk in the office very snobbish for people that make 8.00 hr to rent a living nightmare. If your looking the bus stop is a much better place to live.

And now, upon moving out, they’re hounding us for triple-​digit «move-​out» costs despite us having a maid service clean the place from top to bottom upon moving out. According to the lease they’re supposed to advise the tenants of when the move out inspection will be so the tenant can be present, but they didn’t with us. When I called them out on it, they claimed we «gave up that right when we turned in our keys.» Both attorneys I spoke with said their claim and interpretation of the lease wouldn’t hold up in court, and their assessed charges were illegitimate, but the cost to take them to court exceeded the amount they were charging so it wasn’t really worth it. CURRENT TENANTS: DEMAND TO BE PRESENT AT YOUR MOVE-​OUT WALK-​THRU.
And their current property manager as of April 2013 is not pleasant to deal with. She’s more concerned with collecting money than working with tenants to solve problems… there are apartments north, south, east and west of this place… move into one of those, cause they can’t get much worse than this place.

DO NOT MOVE HERE!
The cortesian apt. use to be a good place to live until they switched to alliance management. Since then they have raised rates, added utility costs, increased late charges, and more…
Recently I have boiled over because in the last two months i have been without hot water for 5 days straight on 2 separate occasions. On the last occasion the apartment manager tells me theres nothing they can do and that its not a law to have hot water. I also have been looking for a house to move into and finally found one only to find out I cant move into it because my 30 day notice wasn’t properly filled out.
i have roof rats, a constant cockroach problem, and a funny smell coming form my ac unit. The washer and dryer units are constantly broken and when they work they have a tendency to wear down clothes. Everyday for over 2 months now i am woken up to the sound of various heavy machinery as they attempt to remodel the complex.
I can go on for a really long time about a ton of problems with this place but, in the end it comes down to the management company. Every single alliance property i have lived in has always screwed me and have they been the most heartless organizations i have ever had to deal with.
I have held up my end of the lease yet even though my living conditions are not what i agreed upon what so ever, alliance/​cortesian are up holding their end… NOT!
DO NOT MOVE HERE!

My living experience here was sub par, I lived here for 9months, and in those short months their was a switch of management companies and to say the least the old company was much better, more personal and friendly and now its run by Alliance Management, a bunch of snobby women and false move in specials, in the middle of summer my air conditioner wouldn’t go below 87 degrees, they said they would have it fixed the next day because they ended up having to order a part that was suppose to come the next day. understandable the next day i was leaving to come back to Wisconsin to visit and the part still hadn’t showed up (need I remind them if the problem isn’t fixed within 48hrs I am suppose to stop paying rent until it is resolved according to the lease agreement) I can only take off so many clothes to keep cool before I’m naked, I get back from Wisconsin 6 days later and the problem with the air conditioner still exists, finally after 12 days my air conditioner was fixed supposedly I still felt it was warm, maybe because our building was prorated for utilities they had it fixed so it couldn’t go as cold as I wanted and in 118 degree weather I WANT IT COLD! There is alot of better places to live around Scottsdale than this joint, do research and find a better spot if i ever moved back to Scottsdale I wouldn’t even consider this place. Oh and also if you get a move in special read the fine print. if its there, because after I went through my run down of my place to make sure everything was in order to move and AFTER SIGNING THE PAPER SAYING IT WAS LEGIT AND I OWED NO MOVE OUT COSTS I GOT A BILL FOR 194 A MONTH AND A HALF LATER !!
Seriously before signing a lease here Look for other places around that area to live, right across the street in all directions are apartments and up and down N. Parkway and hearing from those tenants I wish i would have done the same!
I am just one person but this is how i feel so Cortesian Suck it ! Bring back Jackie!

The Cortesian recently came under new management during the summer and I’ve had a great experience with it so far. I recently moved out to Scottsdale for work and I’ll boil down the perks of The Cortesian in four quick points:
1. VERY CHEAP! Is it the most fanciest place in Scottsdale? No. But you’ll pay half the price or a third of the price compared to San Marin or Palladium and still be within walking distance to Old Town.
2. Respectful and prompt management team. Every time we submitted a report, the maintenance guy would come fix it within two days. Even when we had huge packages that we accidentally delivered to the front office, they held it for us without a problem.
3. Renovations. Brand new state-​of-​the-​art laundry machines were put in place so you can see which ones are being used online. New pavement and 3 swimming pools.
4. Clean.
Definitely check out this place first if you’re in the area. If you want a cheap low-​key place to live right near Old Town, this is the spot.

Time out. These negative reviews are extremely far-​fetched. There is new management that has been extremely friendly and responsive. For instance, they personally remind me when packages arrive and are sure to take care of my maintenance request the following day. The inside is extremely nice compared to the other apartments in this price range.
More importantly, the location is the best in all of Scottsdale. It is near everything you need and within walking distance of every bar/​club/​restaurant in Old Town.
This place is no where near perfect, but for the price– you simply can not beat the environment and atmosphere.

I’ve waited to write my review on this apartment complex until I put in the time living here. Unfortunately, this rating has dropped substantially in the past couple months.
The location of the complex is excellent, as it’s very close to parks, night life, shopping, and everything else. The community has more pet and dog owners than average, and you will definitely see them walking around. The residents seem to be fairly young, and there are many families with children.
In the past, maintenance response has been quite quick. However, when we recently asked to have our apartment sealed up to reduce the number of roaches we’ve been seeing recently, the front office made it no secret that fixing our building’s broken AC in the middle of summer was more important, so we would have to wait until it was fixed (with no solution in sight).
We received a letter from the complex manager that specified our rate for renewing our lease, and we were pleasantly surprised to see that it had gone down. When it came time to go and sign our new lease, the manager acknowledged that she had sent the letter to us but claimed it was a typo. As a result, our rent was $ 50 more a month than we were told it would be. After speaking with her about it, she was very unapologetic, and told her that we could just give 30 days notice and leave because she would have no problem filling our vacancy. This happened the week before our wedding, and it was really more stress than we wanted to deal with.
As a result, I would NOT recommend this apartment to anyone. There are plenty of other complexes in the area, and, if our rent renewal didn’t coincide so closely with our wedding, we would be looking for another home.