I hate to say what I have to say, but if I can keep someone else out of trouble, I feel responsible to do so.
First, some background: My boyfriend and I (both 71 years old; both veterans; both with a clean backgrounds, ie: no criminal records, no noise, no parties, never been late on our rent, etc.) lived in a Rice Lake, WI apartment complex for 20 years. Our landlord was great. If something needed repair or replacement, it was taken care of promptly. (He had a 30-unit complex, as opposed to the 24 units the Whitetail Ridge complex has.) Other than being prompt in solving problems, this landlord was a kind person, who treated everyone with respect. The only reason we left was because he wanted to retire, and he sold the complex to someone who was his opposite. She raised rent exponentially, and we started looking for a different place.
We were grateful to find an opening at Whitetail Ridge, also in Rice Lake, as we knew it had been developed for low income people. Also, we were pleasantly surprised to find it very attractive, and the company that had developed it (Gerrard) did a wonderful job. Unfortunately, roughly six months after we moved in, the complex was sold to LJS Living FRL, LLC. They chose LSI as their property manager, and one resident said, "Oh, %#@!! We've had that company before; it was hell then; and it'll be hell again." Unfortunately, that turned out to be all too true.
I've seen and heard things since I've been here, to such an extent that I can't possibly believe everyone was lying to me. Some of the problems affected me; others affected only other people; but I started trying to effect change that would benefit everyone.
I had previously written a letter to LSI, requesting certain information. I received no reply. I then wrote to LJS, although they don't want to be bothered by residents. Again, I received no reply -- although, when I later (quite by accident) saw the owners in person, they admitted having received my letter. I wrote one more letter, which received no reply, either. Recently, I started writing on behalf of other residents, as well as my boyfriend and myself.
Apparently, I got someone's attention: Repairs that hadn't been done for a month or so were suddenly done. (Some of the problems didn't lend themselves to maintenance, however, so I won't mention them.) While the repairs were being done, I was on the phone with a representative of LJS (owners), who basically told me I should worry about my apartment, only, and not be writing letters to anyone but LSI. I was also told, in essence, that residents who had unburdened themselves to me had been lying. I won't deny that possibility -- except for the sheer number of people involved, and the fact that the residents in question had no close connections among themselves.
The LJS representative also made it known that my boyfriend and I could vacate, within the next 28 days. Hell, we couldn't even find a homeless shelter in that amount of time. I responded that we would be glad to leave, but it would take us more than 28 days to find a place. I was then told that we could stay -- basically, if we minded our own business, and that's the kind of thing I can't handle. Even if nothing drastic went wrong in our apartment, I can't bear the thought of my neighbors living in fear of what will happen to them, if they need repair or replacement of an appliance, a window, a door, etc.
I was also told (by the owner's representative) that our rent would be increasing by quite a bit. This, in spite of actual improvements we've made to the apartment (which were installed by professionals, and after we received permission). I don't know if our rent would have increased, anyway, or if my acting on behalf of ourselves and other residents had anything to do with it.
I know this was a terribly long story, and I don't know if anyone will ever read it. As I've already said, my boyfriend and I are looking for another place to live, because I feel/hear/see that there's something critically wrong at Whitetail Ridge. I feel bad for the people of Garrard, because they did such a good job in constructing this place. But something has gone wrong, somewhere along the line, and I wouldn't want any unsuspecting person to move in here.
My previous review (dated 1/2/2020) should be ignored. We had a better property manager then, and I hadn't been here long enough to learn all that was going on. read more