I have lived at 915 N. Ogden for 8 years now, and as you can see by the other reviews, there have been Major issues with Optima and the lack of maintenance on our very old apt building.
I have always had a good rapport with one of the administrative staff there and she's always been a conscientious hard worker- however even when she has tried to get things taken care of, the owners have not allowed improvement because that would cost money. Plain and simple it's always about money! And what is a little disconcerting, is that they don't do what is cost effective in the long run? Any old building is going to have issues, seriously, and the key is to have a management team who cares about their renters-who will challenge the owners and stand up for renters rights, because they want good quality renters to come and STAY.
I'm giving four stars today because there is a new person working at Optima who's been trying hard to instigate change, and I do feel like Optima is changing. I'm being positive about it. They are willing to try it seems now to bring about effective and lasting changes and improvments and to listen to the needs of renters.
That being said, we still have 2 very old washers and 2 dryers which break constantly, need to be replaced, and one has just been sitting broken for a while; old water pipes that desperately need to be replaced very badly ( so yeah, dirty water and no water pressure); NO security at the front door,( no intercom no locks?) so anybody can walk in which is full on crazy nuts; and a massive problem with ants, termites and roaches that gets a band-aid, but never a tent fumigation which would solve the whole problem in One shot?! And lastly the pool, omg, the pool can't be used because the tiles are falling off and there's mold and it isn't cleaned or maintained.It's not heated either. Which is a shame because its a selling point and people would use it if they could.
But to be fair and positive, on a personal level, my apt needed many things to be fixed and replaced last year and Optima Finally took care of all of those things. My apt needed a new floor, and although it would have been more sanitary and better to put in wood laminate, which I requested, like the other apartments, they put in new carpeting instead( hey, it was an improvement); my fridge was corroded, mildewy and old, and they wouldn't give me a new one ( too cheap) but gave me a second hand used smaller one- lol-which was actually an improvement; the linoleum was ripped and old and musty and they replace that in the kitchen and bathroom; I've called for an ant problem and gotten the gel at least twice a year, the termite problem at least once a year also gets a gel or spray, and the roaches get the same... and even though they come right back,and I try the ant and roach traps from the store etc... at least the administrative team tries to take care of it by calling to have a pro come and do the same ineffective thing; my balcony got painted last year and I think my private stairs will be this year; and lastly, I have bedroom closet doors that are broken because the wood doors are Very heavy and the old tracks are bent and corroded so the heavy doors get stuck and fall off! It fell off onto my toes last year and thank G*D didn't break my foot. I've complained for yearssss, and once again, they attend to it, but just put a band-aid fix so the problem re-occurs. Which really stinks. And in my opinion is a such a waste of peoples time, when fixing it correctly just once would solve the issue and they'd never have to hear about it again! But whatever, I will keep trying.
Fingers crossed, things really are going to turn around here with Optima, because these properties could be really awesome places to live! And the building owners will then be able to get in higher paying tenants who are really happy and will want to stay! Win-Win :-) read more