When I moved to pittsburgh, I found Franklin West properties to be one of the best. Very well maintained and clean. However when it comes to management they are the worst. They took advantage of lease auto-renewal and charged additional amount which was like one month's rent along with a lease breakage charge. I have moved to multiple places across the country and never faced any issue like this. I will never recommend Franklin West to any of my friends at least despite of the fact that their properties are well maintained.

I live near one of their apartment buildings. One day, one of their employees accused me of using one of their, Franklin West's, garbage bins. This man was quite rude, and when I called Franklin West to complain about him, they never called me back. Neither the employee, nor Franklin West acted in a cordial or neighborly fashion.

In the last ten years I've moved frequently around the country and rented five different apartments from agencies large and small. Franklin West Inc. is *by far* the best management company I've ever leased from; I would stay with them indefinitely if I weren't currently buying a home. Their apartments in Shadyside are a little pricier per square foot than average, but you get what you pay for, namely: superb location, impeccable and prompt maintenance, high-quality appliances, as well as competent, friendly, and reasonable staff. Their leasing and move-out policies are professional and on-par with most large management companies - I've found as long as you understand your lease there are no surprises or hidden costs. I would definitely recommend Franklin West to any of my grad-student, medical resident, or professional friends who can afford the extra few dollars per month. It's been worth it for me.

The best option I ever encountered in Pittsburgh: I moved between several different apartments in Pittsburgh, and I wish that I had known about Franklin West when I first arrived in the city. They distinguish themselves from other landlords/companies with their professionalism, prompt maintenance service, and an overall more intelligent way of doing things. Perhaps most importantly, I was impressed by how they appear to design and maintain their units in such a way so as to prevent a lot of common problems that I've seen in so many rental properties. For example, in contrast to just about every apartment in which I had previously lived, the shower stall was mildew-free, I encountered very few insects and no mice, none of my appliances had any problems, the heat and air conditioning worked fine, and upon arrival I found everything to be damage-free and very clean. As regards other comments that have been made on the internet, I can say that I have been through the move-out process and did get my security deposit back, and that all went fine. It is true that units of a given size might be more expensive through Franklin West relative to what you would find elsewhere, and annual rent increases are likely. So, if you want to rent from them, I would just make sure to plan for that in your budget, and don't sign a lease for anything that feels like a "stretch." Do be sure to carefully read the lease and any other written documents you receive. Those are important, and you will probably encounter a few more rules and responsibilities than you would experience with other landlords. Nothing outrageous, but just pay attention. So, all in all, a good choice, and I hope more management companies in the area will learn to replicate their approach.

This company makes a huge living by screwing over graduate students who come for short stints to study in Pittsburgh. When they are ready to move, Franklin West will drop the hammer and try to extract 4 month's rent and all this other nonsense. BEWARE OF FRANKLIN WEST THEY ARE SNAKES. My building is entirely CMU Tepper, CMU Engineering, and Pitt Law, and everybody hates Franklin West. Like many others, I was moving to low-rent Pittsburgh from a high-rent city for graduate school. Franklin West's nice stock of apartments looked great online. It was only after I moved here that I realized I could have saved serious amounts of money by renting from someone else. Anyway, I truly did like my apartment. It was just seriously overpriced. Possibly the most expensive place in the entire neighborhood. They have great pictures online of their places, which make them look much better than others. The other rental agencies might not employ pro photographers, but they will have just as nice housing. When I graduated and was planning my move back to NYC, Franklin West told me that I owed them an additional four month's worth of rent. They also wanted me to pay for the rental broker fee for the new people who were moving in, which is worth another month's rent. They wanted to keep the security deposit, and they made me pay to paint, clean, etc etc for the place. Read your lease very carefully, because this company is a bunch of snakes looking to take advantage of graduate students.