The Titan Apartments in Ferndale

I really wish I could give this property group zero stars.

So, when I first moved in almost a year ago, there was so much disorganisation in the way they did things. We were told to not arrive later than 12:00 to move in, tell me why we only got moved in at 16:00, because they were still cleaning a mere studio apartment.

Everything seemed okay until I lost my job, which I informed them well on time that I did not have a job anymore and needed to leave the premises because I could no longer afford to stay here. The management told me how because I signed a 12 month lease that they could not let me out of it regardless of my being unemployed. For months I struggled to make rent because they threatened to keep my stuff until I can pay a lease cancellation fee of R19500. After having an explained for weeks that I cannot come up with that money, let alone the R6500 that was needed for the next month’s rent.

They told me I needed to make a plan, eventually, I found another job that wasn’t paying much and I still emphasised that I cannot afford this place, despite my attempts to ask them to let me out the lease, they still forced the issue.

When I could not make rent, they sent maintenance under the false pretense of “fixing” my meter, which by the way, has never had an issue, they did what they did and jammed the meter so I am not able to purchase and load electricity.

The next month, I managed to make a plan and pay the money owed to them, still emphasising that I cannot afford the place and pleading to be let out of my lease because every month would be a struggle and uncomfortable conversation with them regarding the rental amount.

On the 3rd month of struggling to pay rent, things got really tough for me financially, but I made a plan to pay a portion of what I owed.

They then decided to call me for a meeting at reception to discuss how much they expect me to pay at the end of that month, I left my door unlocked and went to speak to them because I knew the conversation would not last longer than 10 minutes.

When I went back up to the apartment, I found the door jammed and I could no longer open and I knew very well I hadn’t locked and realistically I couldn’t have locked from the inside and still went out. When I went back down to reception to ask about it, I was told they knew nothing about it and to log a maintenance ticket and then the manager Izelle Vester, told me with a little smirk on her face, that I need to bare in mind that the maintenance team will not prioritise me because of the unpaid rent.

I had to jump into the apartment through the balcony so I can get ready for work and jump back out again, at this current moment I have a swollen ankle because I sprained it trying to jump over. For a whole weekend, I had no way of getting out of the place despite calling security and the other building manager.

5 days later the issue of the door still hasn’t been sorted, emails are being ignored and security is useless.

If you're ever looking for a place, PLEASE DO NOT GO WITH AFRICREST!!! Apart from the above incident, they limit how many visitors you get depending on what kind of apartment unit you have, the security and the admin team is so rude and condescending, they are the most unprofessional bunch of people I have ever met. The place is infested with ****roaches and they only fumigate twice or 3 times a year and it doesn't even make a difference.

Do yourself a favour and find accommodation elsewhere.