COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Ashlee Gainey, a senior mass communication major at the University of South Carolina was excited to start the year off on a good foot with a new apartment. She was disappointed.
Gainey, who had just studied abroad, had her friend look for apartments. They decided to sign a lease at The Rowan Apartments in Columbia.
"The tour looked amazing, the virtual tour online, stainless steal appliances, everything looked great," Gainey said.
Gainey showed up Sunday and was shocked by what she saw.
"I got here and it was like a complete 180, it was absolute disaster," Gainey said. "There was mold on the floor, there were roaches and maggots in the drawers, spent my entire day yesterday cleaning the walls."
Gainey said there was even damage to her carpet that prevented her from staying in her bedroom overnight. She says the complex told her the problem would be fixed in a day but when she spoke to News19 on Monday afternoon, she says there were no changes.
Gainey's apartment wasn't the only one with issues.
Shaniyah Carmichael is a junior at South Carolina and also tried moving into The Rowan during the weekend.
"As I was walking down the step, I noticed there was a lot of stains on the carpet," Carmichael said. "Then, as I was walking by my room I noticed that the carpet was wet, and as soon as I stepped on the carpet, water came up."
Carmichael told News19 that she was offered a place to stay overnight but was not comfortable staying with strangers.
"Several people complained to the managers about how everything was," Carmichael said. "I don’t even want to live here anymore."
New19 reached out to 'Campus Advantage' who said in a statement:
"This falls short of the high standards by which we operate, and we regret the inconveniences that have been caused. We are in communication with those we are aware of who had issues with their apartment upon move-in. We are working individually with these residents to make it right.”