Ok. I moved into a new place two weeks ago. It is fantastic. No problems at this place. The problems are at the old apartment.
This is going to be long....
Last year (july '06) my sister and I decided to move to Tallahassee. We checked out a few apartments, some were out of our price range, others not close enough to my new job. We thought we found the perfect place...rent not bad, and right across the street from where I worked. So we put a deposit down for a 2 bedroom, lease to start August 1st.
They refused to show us the apartment which would be ours, said that the tenets were still in it. So they showed us the model apartment. Wasn't bad. We also told them we wanted a 7 month lease, not 13 month.
We get to Tallahassee a few days early to sign the lease. Guess what? The lease they gave us was for 13 months not seven. We asked them about it, they evaded our questions, so we just decided to sign the 13 month lease. Big mistake on our part...
We go to the new apartment on August 1st, all ready to move in. It is 12:00 in the afternoon. Guess what? The apartment managment said we could not move in till 4 pm. That work was still being done on the apartment. Well, we had already checked out of our motel, and we had a moving van. So having to wait 4 hours was not at all convenient. Not to metion the fact that my fiancee was to help us move, and he had to be at work the next day. Plus it is our move in day-shouldn't the apartment be ready!?
So we go back at 4. What we find in our new place is awful. The carpet was never cleaned or vacuumed. There was dead roaches, nails, sunflowerseeds and dirt ALL over the carpet. There was a very thick layer of dust covering the ceiling fan, sliding glass doors, and utility closet. We look at the kitchen...A clog in the sink, which looked like paint. Holes ripped in the linoleum floor. Dead roaches in the cabinets. And the sink was falling down due to wood rot. We look at the bathroom...
There is a HOLE in the ceiling above the shower! I am serious. Oh yeah and they SPRAY PAINTED the sink and counter. Paint was already peeling off. We go to the office and inform them of this. At this point it is about 4:30. The office closes at 6:00. We were informed that they could do nothing that day, since they would be closing soon. At that point my sister and I are near tears. The manager went to look at our apartment, said yes, this is not right, then promised to have everything fixed...tomorrow. What about having to pay an extra day for the truck, and an extra night at the motel? Not our problem, she said.
They sent a guy to patch the ceiling. While he fixed it, he turned the AC up to 70 degrees! Guess who had to pay for that? He patched the ceiling. Said he would come back tomorrow...he never did. The manager sent a cleaning lady to "clean" the apartment. What did she clean? Just the mess the guy made while doing the patchwork. Absolutly NOTHING else. We also noticed there were no screens on the windows. We asked about it, and got told that they had to special order them. In the entire 13 months we were there the screen were never replaced. The apartment managers response to this? "Well, you moved in during the college rush, what else did you expect"... Also said: "Would you rather have dead roaches or live ones?" Uh, neither lady!
During our 13 month stay...
Our AC leaked 3 times. Our water heater exploded (maintenece man's words) flooding the carpet, which became moldy. Patch job became moldy. Upstairs kitchen sink leaked into our cabinets causing severe mold problems. Falling apart sink was propped up...it fell again. Linoleum was never replaced as promised. Roach infestation became severe. They had a nest in... our stove. I am not kidding. The pool was green and filthy for 10 of the 13 months. The laundry room caught fire 3 months ago. It has not been reopened since. My allergies became unbearable living there. My husband developed asthma!
I was out of town at the beginning of this August (our last month), due to my mother's death. I called to let them know I would not be there to pay the rent. I was told that is fine, but that there would be late fees. Just bring it in when we get back. I paid on August 16, all late fees included. ( This was the first time we had paid late during our entire stay) On August 25, we found a notice with our check, stating that checks were not taken for late payment. And that we now owed 1,000! Over 300 dollers more! When we confronted the office about this, the manager said it wasn't her fault, that the new employee had taken it. I pointed out that I shouldn't have to pay for someone else's mistake. I was then told I would get nothing if I acted ugly. My husband was told "Didn't you make mistakes when you were new at your job?" She then took the notice, turned around, and said she would take care of it. My husband vented to me saying that there had been nothing but fxxxups since we've been there. At that, the manager turned around and stared screaming at us to get out. My husband went to take the check back, and she held it back, playing keep away. She thought better of this, then gave it back. Since then the matter was corrected and my payment accepted. But my question: Is there anything I can do? This place is horrible, and needs to be reported. I am writing a letter to the actual management company, but is there anything else I can do? Anybody here been thru anything similar?