Kota North Scottsdale

I moved in in March of this year (it is now August). I have made service requests numerous times a month for different things. I had to make 5 service requests and get very rude with the complex about my AC not working. It was constantly 84 degrees in my apartment yet they said nothing was wrong. I was told that because of this my last 2 electric bills would be taken off my rent, they never called or emailed me back after numerous attempts. Finally they got the clue that it wasn't working and got a new AC unit put in. During all this I had made 2 service requests because the fan/light in the living room has never worked. It was looked at once and they said they weren't sure why it wasn't working. End of conversation there. Now, I have made my second maintenance request because my shower doesn't get above a lukewarm temperature. They came in a week ago and said they "turned up the temperature" for the shower. Not what I had asked. After taking cold showers for a week I am wondering if I will have to get rude again. I'm a 25 yr old woman and do not like having strangers in my apartment, so having to make these requests month after month has been extremely annoying and I know I will not be renewing my lease. And I'm not even half way done with my current lease.

The apartments are cute, but they come at a major price. The windows are single pane. My bedroom never gets chilly, even with two blackout curtains. I resorted to putting car windshield covers up over my windows to help insulate. There are also a lot of fees they do not tell you about. I signed at one number and i pay nearly $120 more than that because of fees. Every neighbor I have talked to is either not renewing, has a 6 month or less lease, or are only there because a house is getting renovated etc. This is not the place to really call home. I can't wait until my lease is up.

I have been living at Kota North Scottsdale for over 6 months. During that time, I have had a couple maintenance issues and transferred to a new apartment signing a new 13 month lease.

Maintenance Issues have been always addressed promptly, and the staff is always very nice. At times when the solution takes longer than expected, Management is very accommodating and empathetic. On one occasion, I even received a restaurant gift certificate as a Thank You for being patient during a longer than expected completion time!

During the process of transferring to the new lease, Management went above and beyond putting in extra time and effort to make the transition as seamless as possible! They worked with me and all the parties involved to make the timing such that I could move directly from my current unit, directly in to the new unit. Which was a major life-saver!

The staff at Kota really do care and they go above and beyond to try and make sure the residents have a great experience living at Kota!

My husband and I have been looking for an apartment for a while now and Maryanne helped us sooo much! She emailed and called me back so fast about new and possible units until we found more than what we wanted! We were just looking for a 1 bedroom since we didn't think we could afford it, she kept her eyes open for us and was on top of it and found us a great 2 bedroom unit within our price range! We have been here for 1 week and absolutely love it here!

I give 3 stars for the pricing of the apartments, maintenance team, and location. The leasing office, on the other hand, is a nightmare to deal with. To start, they almost never answer their phones or emails. We had an apartment picked, toured, applied for, fees paid, and it still took weeks for any sort of confirmation or to receive any paperwork. The leasing agent will tell you that you can meet or call them at ‘x’ time, or that they’ll do something that to need to get done by a certain time, then never talk to you again.

It appears as if no one in the leasing office communicates with each other. If you tour a unit, decide you love it, apply for it and pay the fees, they will manage to give the unit away to someone else. Be careful of that.

We gave them proof of renters insurance upon move-in and they still signed us up for their own in-house renters insurance against our will. Now we are paying for two renters insurance policies until they decide to fix it.

Expect to pay an extra $100 in additional fees per month related to complex management and Valet Trash (which you can’t opt out of).

The treatment you get from the management office will really depends on what side of the bed they wake up on that day. One day, they’ll accept student loans (dedicated to living expenses) as a source of income, the next day they’ll tell you they can’t accept your income at all. A friend of mine got their application denied, but then got mailed notices from Kota about being non-compliant with a lease they never signed.

Be careful with these guys. If you can get past the weeks of hell it takes to work with the office, you may end up enjoying the place and its amenities.

I have been at Kota for a few months now and have loved it. Every time I've had a maintenance issue, the problem was taken care of very quickly. The maintenance team is so nice and helpful, and they even say hello if they see you around the community. It stormed pretty hard last night and they've been out working tirelessly since this morning cleaning up our community. The views are beautiful and common areas are always well kept.:)

When I called to inquire about the apartments Hanna was very helpful and knowledgeable. The apartments are very nice, would recommend checking them out.

Only work with Sunshine. Nobody else in the office returns emails or voicemails.
Also maybe it's just our unit but we've had scorpions and mosquitos galore. The scorpions I get because of the mountains, pest control came and took care of it. The mosquitos make no sense to me.

Since new ownership, things have gone downhill with terrible customer service as I have been hung up on by Alison and how it seems nobody is ever in the office the phone constantly rings!

Recently added fine new lounge and patio seating around our pool. We have a new dog facility indoors and out. And we had a great welcoming pizza party at the pool!

Only positive is the floorplan is nice.
Avenue 5 worst management company. Hidden fees are ridiculous!

I have been here for 1 month & am very disheart in the lack of response the office has given. Neither grill has worked at pool across road from me. I have notified Kota 10 or more times, response always is "we've never heard this problem before, and maintenance is too busy. "
Has now been 3 months since I've moved here, and the grills mentioned earlier still do not work. I've heard every excuse that is possible. The latest is that there is a problem with the gas lines going to the grills. Really, The grills include a propane tank that is part of the grill. Tanks are empty. The reason there is a problem with gas getting to grill is the propane tanks are empty. The pools are not heated, thus no-one swims in the 50 degree water. I regret moving here & if mgmt here would allow me to terminate my lease I'd move back to previous apartment. Don't move here, zero response

Dakota/ Kota was once an excellent place to live when Mark Taylor managed and would have rated it a 5 and that is why I signed my second lease. Since the new management (Avenue 5) has stepped in, I can not say the same. I have asked that the Community Manager, Sunshine, call me several times about an error on my rent statement that her staff created, and she is “too busy” to call me. I don’t know what my rent will be and she has staff that blame you for their errors. This issue has been going on for over 5 weeks.started with the leasing agent, then to the Assistant Manager, and now no response. It’s horrible when the one in “charge” doesn’t care enough to listen to the people that live in the Community. If you were to ask any of my neighbors about the change, not one would have anything nice to say about Avenue 5 except for the free food coming up.

Avenue5 has ruined this place. If you make the mistake of moving in, document absolutely everything. The owners have performed an internal audit and have back charged every resident close to $1000. Dont trust the leasing agents, talk to any current resident for a true perspective!

Leasing staff went above and beyond on showing this beautiful property in North Scottsdale! Clean and well kept property with an amazing professional office staff. Truly a remarkable experience.

The outside is beautiful! Living near Mcdowell mountain was peaceful!
The new management team.not so nice
When I moved in, I wanted to stay at least 3 years
I’ve moved after 1 year. It would not be a place I would chose to go back too: (
The 5 star reviews that were written on kotas website we’re written by employees

This is a beautiful property and the management is great. Sunshine is an incredible manager, I would recommend Kota to looking residents. She goes above and beyond! Thank you!

I toured the beautiful place and the leasing staff was so helpful and nice very professional and respectful

Love this property, location and ALL it has to offer! The staff service is superb and very friendly. We already felt their warm welcome through their smiles. We indeed felt home as soon as their door was opened.

Readers, please note! There was a change in property management at the Dakota on 4/30/18. Reviews made prior to that date reflect conditions under Mark Taylor Management. The Dakota is now managed by Avenue5 Residential and, to date, their performance has been poor.

Great location, staff is very friendly and helpful. Location is close to everything, very clean and beautiful. Absolutely love it here!