After having a home for some time, I found myself ina situation of which I needed to rent again. I have (now) 3 year old son and sought out a safe and secure place for the two of us to live.
I lived here for almost three years. There were some issues, (like my dishwasher not being fully functional for the duration of my lease...the fact that I signed a non-smoker addendum and found out after I moved that I was in a smoking building....etc) but being a renter again, I tried to be open minded and understanding. After all, it was a roof over our head and the location was extremely convenient.
But let me tell you why I would never refer anyone to this company ever again:
In mid December, on a Sunday, my front entry door would not latch/lock. So I called the emergency number and was directed to someone in maintenance. I explained the situation very clearly and expressed my concern for our safety. The maintenance man told me that he had some things to take care of but could be there later on in the afternoon. Again, trying to be flexible, I agreed to stay put in my unsecured apartment until he showed up.
4pm came. No call, no visit. So I called him and asked for an ETA. It was then that I was told that he would not be coming. He told me that a door that didn't lock wasn't technically considered an emergency.
I again expressed my concern for safety. He then proceeded to ask me if I had a screwdriver. I told him I wasn't sure what I had, seeing as I'm a renter. I don't really keep a lot of tools.
He told me what he thought the problem was and instructed me to take the metal pieces off of the door frame and "it should lock after that....maybe just pile furniture in front of it because someone could probably kick the door in if they wanted to."
Here's the thing: I was able to get the metal pieces off (after having to pry one of the pieces off with a hammer because the screw was stripped) and the door did latch after I did that, but the safety of the residents should be a top priority.
It is also not my job as a renter to fix issues that present themselves. That's what I pay rent for.
I did email the property manager, and she apologized for what happened. They sent someone over the next day and he was extremely rude and implicated that I was ignorant for not knowing that the metal pieces were for "esthetics" anyway. How would I know that? Especially when the other gentleman I spoke to the day prior implicated that it would still be a safety concern.
At that point, with Covid running rampant, I decided to just leave the door as is, to limit exposure, and move on. This is when I decided I was going to find another place to live. I no longer felt valued as a human being and had zero confidence that if another safety issue presented itself, that it would be addressed in a timely fashion.
It took a few months to find a new place to live, but once I did, I emailed the property manager again, reinstated what had happened and asked for leniency regarding the standard lease break terms considering what had transpired and given the fact that a month to month option was offered initially due to covid, but I had declined due to concerns that my rent would be raised significantly as soon as things cleared up. With all of the uncertainty happening, I wanted to at least be certain of what my rent was going to cost for the next year.
She offered no leniency whatsoever and was pretty unsympathetic to say the least.
So guess what? I still broke my lease, I had to pay 2k just to leave and now I am being hit with an additional $600 dollar bill for the extra 5 days of rent, a parking sticker from a totaled vehicle that I didn't/couldn't return, and a suspiciously high water bill...over $100.
I called and inquired for a breakdown for the water bill, because it has never been even close to that high in the past and I have received no response.
So, if you're looking to rent Red Oak, understand that you are not viewed as a human being. Your safety isn't an emergency. There are no exceptions. And ultimately, all they care about is your money. read more