The Vanguard, cincinnati-oh

I've lived here for a year now. Everything is great. The front desk guys at the leasing center are doing a wonderful job with responding to our concerns anytime we call. I must say that Julia has been the absolute best for me in assisting with the needs of residents. She takes her time to explain every single detail any time I get to speak to her Thanks so much, JULIA!. Big ups to Jack, Mallory and the entire team as well!

Extremely Disheartening Experience as an International Student– DO NOT CHOOSE THE VANGUARD! I spent my entire time living here dealing with constant stress, neglect, and disappointment from the place you’re supposed to call home. After a full day of travel from Canada, I opened the door to my new room only to find it extremely filthy. It was clear that no effort had been made to prepare it for a new resident. Instead of settling into my new home, my family and I spent hours deep cleaning the room ourselves with several products we had to purchase. My first rent payment was made by certified check and hand-delivered to the office. Days later, my account showed a past-due balance. After several inquiries, we discovered that the office had simply left the check sitting on a desk and never processed it. I also experienced a lack of hot water every single day and had to rush through showers because it would run cold so quickly. Multiple maintenance requests were submitted, yet nothing was ever properly resolved. On top of that, I received shockingly high electricity bills. The usage shown on my account was several times higher than what my family consumes in our four-bedroom home. We repeatedly requested an investigation into the meter and the charges. Those requests went nowhere. The bills continued to be withdrawn from my account month after month without any meaningful explanation. Before returning to Canada, I made arrangements with the office for a large mirror to be picked up after my lease ended and was assured maintenance would assist. I relied on those assurances because I was moving out of the country and the only date available was after I left. On pickup day, the truck I paid for waited 45 minutes while the new manager, Rae, said she hadn't approved the arrangement. Eventually, she agreed to assist, but acted as though she was doing me an extraordinary favor. By then, the driver could no longer wait and had to leave. The mirror is still sitting at The Vanguard. My mother and I have asked for permission for my former roommate to pick it up, but Rae said she needs time to "think about it" because she has already gone "above and beyond." The item belongs to me and has no value to the property. If she refuses, I stand to lose both the $250 mirror and the money I spent arranging the pickup. As an international student, you depend on people to do what they say they will do. You put your trust in the people managing your housing. Unfortunately, that trust was repeatedly broken. My experience at The Vanguard was one of constant follow-ups, unresolved maintenance issues, billing concerns, and lies. What should have been an exciting chapter of my life became an ongoing source of stress and frustration. I discourage any student to sign a lease here.

DO NOT LIVE HERE. This has been one of the worst living experiences I have ever had, and I strongly urge anyone considering this property to live elsewhere. From the start, management moved me into an apartment with random roommates and then switched people around without even informing me who I would be living with. I later found out one of my assigned roommates was a client of mine, which created an extremely awkward and unprofessional situation. To make matters worse, this is advertised as student housing, yet I am currently living with a 40-year-old who is NOT a student, which is completely inappropriate and unsettling. The previous management team repeatedly harassed me with emails asking if I wanted a job there—to the point I had to escalate it to the VP of my company just to make it stop. The property has switched from Asset Living to Greystar, which speaks for itself. Even the maintenance staff admitted how poorly things are run—one maintenance employee told me they are overworked, underpaid, and treated rudely by management. It clearly shows in how poorly this property is maintained. Maintenance and building conditions have been unacceptable: * I moved in with a hole in my bathtub and couldn’t use it for a week * My ceiling was torn out during winter, leaving me without heat when temperatures were -13°, and management thought a $100 gift card made up for it * The building is extremely loud, and repeated noise complaints go ignored Most recently, my car was towed despite paying for parking, having my vehicle registered in their system, and possessing a parking pass. Their flimsy plastic mirror tag fell down, and the towing company they contract with failed to report the tow—even though tow companies have a duty to report a tow within 30 minutes. Because they failed to do so, police initially believed my car had been stolen and I had to begin a theft report. Considering cars have actually been stolen and broken into here multiple times—including leasing consultant Mia having her car stolen—this level of negligence is unacceptable. My car was also damaged during the tow, and management refused to reimburse me. Safety and security are major concerns: * People smoke weed constantly throughout the building * Suspicious individuals and drug addicts linger around the property * People regularly try to follow residents into the building * Entry doors/windows have been damaged and left unrepaired for days Every time I go to the office, nobody seems to know anything or have answers. Management is disorganized, rude, and impossible to work with. I will absolutely be moving out, and I sincerely hope no one else has to deal with what I experienced here. Attached are photos of these issues for proof.

I’ve had a wonderful experience at The Vanguard! A special thank you to Emma for her kindness, professionalism, and helpful attitude. She makes me feel welcome and valued as a resident, and I truly appreciate her support. Having someone who genuinely cares makes such a difference. Thank you, Emma, for making my experience at The Vanguard even better!

The beginning of my message is for previous management and the end will be to new management. When I first signed my lease here they were under old management that took me through the most. I had a car accident back in October 2025, 10 days after signing my lease. I couldn’t work, couldn’t attend class, nothing. I communicated NUMEROUS amounts of times and previous management wouldn’t tell me any correct information any time I called, told me anything to get me off the phone, told me the manager “wouldn’t let me out my lease that easy”, etc. If you had something similar happen, please disregard anything the old team did… I say this because new management has been giving me every helpful tip possible to make my situation better. Given, they couldn’t break the lease they still let me switch units and removed some of my fees to make payments more affordable when I do finally pick up the keys. I had lost hope but was very appreciative. Today upon picking up my keys, I found out there was someone that would be taking my lease over without any extra relet fees or extra work on my end. I am very grateful and appreciate the new management made sure my lease was known about. It is like a big weight has been lifted and I cannot thank them enough! The new management (Rae to be more specific) is doing everything in her power to correct what was broken by the old management. Try to give Vanguard a chance or another chance and if anything, make sure you have 100% clarification on your needs/wants before you sign. Just to put yourself at ease ! :)