Park Property Management owns properties in both Hartford and New Haven. I lived in one of the…read moreproperties in New Haven on Clark Street.
The small management team is very disorganized and poorly overseen. There is one "handyman" on staff, and then contractors are hired for more complex problems. Oversight of workmen is poor, so that problems are only ever partially fixed and usually an enormous amount of mess is left behind.
Examples:
1) PPM forgot it had been written into my contract that the kitchen would be renovated. Five days before I moved in, they started the renovation. When I moved in, there were no countertop and no sink in the kitchen; open electrical sockets (including one behind where the sink would eventually be installed); and screws, nails, and tools strewn across the floor. And, a closet door I had asked to be fixed before move-in was not fixed. They kept telling me these things would be finished "the next day," so, wanting to establish good relations, I didn't make a big deal about it. I cleaned it all up and was careful not to electrocute myself. Later, when I asked for compensation -- because I had been living in a dirty, hazardous construction zone for 2-3 weeks after the official move-in date and had paid full rent for this time -- PPM did not acknowledge or respond to my request.
2) The wiring in my bedroom was such that one switch turned off the power to all sockets. To fix this, PPM installed a cheap ceiling fan directly over my bed. (The ceiling fan did not even generate movement of air!) The workman did not cover my bed, dresser, stereo, etc. before cutting into the ceiling, so both big clumps of ceiling and fine sheet-rock dust covered everything. No effort was made to clean up. I cleaned up.
3) Due to management's poor oversight of its apartments, the grout between the tiles in the shower above mine had completely worn away. (Mine too was worn away, and I had to ask them to re-caulk the tub.) Water poured through the ceiling of my bathroom whenever the tenant upstairs took a shower. After the ceiling fan incident, I did not look forward to having the repair crew back in my apartment. It was fixed once, inadequately, so they came back to fix it a second time. After the tub in the upstairs apartment was re-caulked, they cut a hole in the ceiling of my bathroom, which I had to let dry for a week to prevent mold growth. Eventually they patched the hole, but I didn't want them to finish the ceiling as that would require sanding sheet-rock, and experience had shown me PPM doesn't know how to properly manage sheet-rock.
4) When the ledge of the window in the apartment above mine was repaired, my pricey air conditioner, sticking out of the window below, was not covered and so, got covered with dried concrete. I would have pulled it in had I been given notice....
5) GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING! PPM does not use email; all communications are done over the phone... personable, if you're dealing with honest management, but Dennis, the primary owner and manager, does not honor his word, or that of his partner, Maren.
-- When I moved in, I got (verbal) approval from Maren to paint the apartment three light colors. I was explicit that I wouldn't paint if it wasn't approved because I'd eventually need my full security deposit returned to me for graduate school. My father repaired the walls, which were in terrible condition and hadn't been painted in 1.5 years. When I moved out, management did not honor it's word. It deducted $225 from my security deposit.
-- One November, the first of the month had passed, and I noticed my rent check hadn't been deposited. I usually sent my checks in batches and have never been late in my 11 year rental history. I was convinced the office misplaced my check. The landlord thinks I never sent it. Since I called the office only a few days after the first to inquire why my check hadn't been cashed, Dennis said I would not be charged a "late payment" fee. When I moved out, the $50 was deducted from my security deposit.
I have given PPM notice of these grievances and an opportunity to make things right, a goodwill gesture, but they refuse. Thus, PPM has shown me - again and again - that it does not value good tenants who take excellent care of their property. They do not value their own property, as fixes are done quickly and on-the-cheap. They do not keep their word. PPM is out to make a profit, a big profit, as evidenced by management's luxury wheels and canine's designer wardrobe.
OTHER THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW
-- Street parking on Clark is a nightmare. PPM will tell you there's always plenty of street parking, but that's because they show apartments during the daytime when neighborhood residents have gone to work and happy hour at Christopher Martin's has not yet kicked off. Finding parking after work is impossible. Be prepared to haul your groceries several blocks.
-- 11-17 Clark Street is very noisy from nearby restaurant traffic.
