u/Working-Cat11

(Not exact address, ha, obviously)

Just curious. I remember news that he sold his Glendale/LA home, but I dont think I heard anything after that.

Every time I hear of an interview or something else where someone mentions working with FKA Twigs, I realize that everyone is doing alot of the groundwork/writing/styling/idea generating etc for her music/styling/projects. Crazy how she didn't even write the main melodies for her Eusexua song.

Apologies in advance for the long post, but I want to warn anyone considering renting from Urban Elite.

I originally booked a 2 month stay through Airbnb. Before my trip, I asked if I could simply arrive a little later due to health issues. They refused.

   Then, before check-in, they contacted me privately on WhatsApp and told me to reach out to a guy about check in. Right before I was due to arrive in Berlin and I asked to arrange check in , they suddenly informed me that the apartment I had booked “no longer existed.” They claimed the apartment had been managed by a woman who no longer worked for them and that she had sold it.

That explanation immediately seemed questionable because the Airbnb listing remained live, future dates were still bookable (and are to this day), and it was obvious that whoever managed the listing also had access to the WhatsApp conversation. it appeared much more likely that my room had simply been given to someone else.

They assured me not to worry because they had “lots of other properties” and could move me elsewhere if needed. Instead of the neighborhood I had specifically booked, I was then placed into a different room in Friedrichshain.

The replacement apartment had numerous issues from day one. My neighboring tenant was mentally unwell, yelled at anyone in german that tried to talk to him, chain-smoked constantly. There were no towels. The kitchen had  no utensils besides knives. The refrigerator had mold. The trash bin had mold food and no bag in it . I started waking up with a sore throat and was uncomfortable staying there.

After complaining, they moved me again. This time I ended up in an entirely different neighborhood north, in a room that was roughly one-third the size of what I had originally booked. They repeatedly promised that after one month I would be moved into the large balcony room, which was much closer to what I had originally paid for.

After spending an entire month in this tiny room waiting for that move, I discovered that on the very same day they had promised me the balcony room, they had also promised the current tenant that he could stay there for another week free of charge because he had complained about problems in the apartment.

Since everything was too expensive on airbnb to last minute rebook, i was kind of stuck. So I spent a month living in what felt like a closet (that smelled of mold) based on a promise of getting the bigger room eventually, that they apparently had no intention of keeping. 

The apartment itself smelled heavily of mold from the beginning. The smell hit you when you walked through the front door. The kitchen smelled of mold. Under the sink smelled of mold. The bathroom smelled of mold. Opening my bedroom door released the same smell. The only visible mold was in the bathroom, but the odor suggested a much broader issue.

Another tenant and I repeatedly asked management to address it.Eventually, someone from the späti downstairs came upstairs, sprayed only part of the visible mold, and said he would return to finish the job. He never did. A month later we had to chase management again before someone finally came back. Even afterward, the apartment continued to smell strongly of mold.

Meanwhile, there were numerous maintenance issues throughout the apartment. The shower head was broken. The coat rack was broken. The room had not been properly cleaned when I arrived. Construction downstairs created additional disruption. Cockroaches in the bathroom.

At one point I explained that I was having difficulty breathing because of the mold smell and asked whether they could move me to another apartment I had seen them advertising in Prenzlauer Berg. They claimed it wasn’t available for reasons that, based on everything that had happened up to that point, I found difficult to believe.

When I eventually refused to continue making additional payments until these issues were addressed, they threatened to call the police. What frustrated me most was the complete lack of accountability or empathy. I had traveled across the world expecting to stay in the apartment I booked. Instead, I was moved multiple times into different neighborhoods, placed in progressively worse accommodations, dealt with persistent mold, broken fixtures, construction noise, and promises that were later withdrawn.

I also learned I wasn’t the only tenant experiencing this. One tenant told me he had also been moved to a different apartment after booking a larger room. He said he was later told he would have to pay even more money if he wanted the larger room he originally expected, so he refused and was placed in a smaller room instead. Another tenant told me he had booked through a different platform where there was a cleaning fee of more than €1,000. He was furious because, despite that fee, the apartment was in poor condition, and he too had been moved to another property.

Finally, after I reported their original Airbnb profile, I noticed that they appeared to begin advertising through a completely different Airbnb account under a different name.

Apologies in advance for the long post, but I want to warn anyone considering renting from Urban Elite.

I originally booked a 2 month stay through Airbnb. Before my trip, I asked if I could simply arrive a little later due to health issues. They refused.

   Then, before check-in, they contacted me privately on WhatsApp and told me to reach out to a guy about check in. Right before I was due to arrive in Berlin and I asked to arrange check in , they suddenly informed me that the apartment I had booked “no longer existed.” They claimed the apartment had been managed by a woman who no longer worked for them and that she had sold it.

That explanation immediately seemed questionable because the Airbnb listing remained live, future dates were still bookable (and are to this day), and it was obvious that whoever managed the listing also had access to the WhatsApp conversation. it appeared much more likely that my room had simply been given to someone else.

They assured me not to worry because they had “lots of other properties” and could move me elsewhere if needed. Instead of the neighborhood I had specifically booked, I was then placed into a different room in Friedrichshain.

The replacement apartment had numerous issues from day one. My neighboring tenant was mentally unwell, yelled at anyone in german that tried to talk to him, chain-smoked constantly. There were no towels. The kitchen had  no utensils besides knives. The refrigerator had mold. The trash bin had mold food and no bag in it . I started waking up with a sore throat and was uncomfortable staying there.

After complaining, they moved me again. This time I ended up in an entirely different neighborhood north, in a room that was roughly one-third the size of what I had originally booked. They repeatedly promised that after one month I would be moved into the large balcony room, which was much closer to what I had originally paid for.

After spending an entire month in this tiny room waiting for that move, I discovered that on the very same day they had promised me the balcony room, they had also promised the current tenant that he could stay there for another week free of charge because he had complained about problems in the apartment.

Since everything was too expensive on airbnb to last minute rebook, i was kind of stuck. So I spent a month living in what felt like a closet (that smelled of mold) based on a promise of getting the bigger room eventually, that they apparently had no intention of keeping. 

The apartment itself smelled heavily of mold from the beginning. The smell hit you when you walked through the front door. The kitchen smelled of mold. Under the sink smelled of mold. The bathroom smelled of mold. Opening my bedroom door released the same smell. The only visible mold was in the bathroom, but the odor suggested a much broader issue.

Another tenant and I repeatedly asked management to address it.Eventually, someone from the späti downstairs came upstairs, sprayed only part of the visible mold, and said he would return to finish the job. He never did. A month later we had to chase management again before someone finally came back. Even afterward, the apartment continued to smell strongly of mold.

Meanwhile, there were numerous maintenance issues throughout the apartment. The shower head was broken. The coat rack was broken. The room had not been properly cleaned when I arrived. Construction downstairs created additional disruption. Cockroaches in the bathroom.

At one point I explained that I was having difficulty breathing because of the mold smell and asked whether they could move me to another apartment I had seen them advertising in Prenzlauer Berg. They claimed it wasn’t available for reasons that, based on everything that had happened up to that point, I found difficult to believe.

When I eventually refused to continue making additional payments until these issues were addressed, they threatened to call the police. What frustrated me most was the complete lack of accountability or empathy. I had traveled across the world expecting to stay in the apartment I booked. Instead, I was moved multiple times into different neighborhoods, placed in progressively worse accommodations, dealt with persistent mold, broken fixtures, construction noise, and promises that were later withdrawn.

I also learned I wasn’t the only tenant experiencing this. One tenant told me he had also been moved to a different apartment after booking a larger room. He said he was later told he would have to pay even more money if he wanted the larger room he originally expected, so he refused and was placed in a smaller room instead. Another tenant told me he had booked through a different platform where there was a cleaning fee of more than €1,000. He was furious because, despite that fee, the apartment was in poor condition, and he too had been moved to another property.

Finally, after I reported their original Airbnb profile, I noticed that they appeared to begin advertising through a completely different Airbnb account under a different name.

Thank you

I'm almost a month in and I had multiple instances today (and other days) where I had the overwhelming urge to smoke, especially after socializing. I get teary often thinking about smoking, like I really did lose a life partner/friend. So much emptiness and grief, nothing feels complete without it- there's an emptiness without the ritual. I miss it. It feels like a part of me (probably especially as I started smoking so young). Nothing seems to replace the ritual- exercise, food, reminding myself how nice it'll be too be in better health, flavored water... Nothing cuts it.