It's best to remember that these people are in the business of making money, not providing the residents with a good living experience. In the course of a two year rental period, they raised our rent twice. They sent us a letter telling us to quit feeding the cats outdoors--which we had never done-- and cited us for parking backwards--which we did do. It's safer! We tried to be perfect tenants and were rewarded by receiving an eviction notice because my bank screwed up the bill pay over Christmas/New Years (I can prove this). An advisory phone call would have been nice, rather than waiting until they could slap on the $100 late fee. That's when I decided to move!
The unit I rented was in Eugene near Autzen Stadium, and in that two-year period, we experienced shootings across the street, a stabbing in the next apartment building, a bum sleeping under the outside stairs, an attempted car break-in and someone trying to get in through the bedroom window. The empty apartment upstairs flooded, which filled the light fixtures and ran down the walls. A broken window opening mechanism was never repaired. The icing on the cake was when we moved out, I inadvertently left two bags with recyclable cans and a small shelf sitting beside the door. A phone call would have been nice, but instead the management wrote me a letter, giving them many days to reap the "abandoned goods" clause ($50) and $30/day storage fee for eight days, which they deducted from my deposit. Where's the humanity? I will say that the maintenance staff was extremely responsive and helpful. The office staff is pleasant and well-meaning, but they are marching to the beat of the greedy corporate office of Norris & Stevens. My recommendation is to rent from them only if you have no other choice! read more
