At our last apartment complex, there was no sidewalk parking spots and, being that it was Florida, no snow removal problems. Just like HOA housing developments, there are rules/policies that are to be followed. Our last house was under an HOA and had absolutely no problem following the rules. We were told we needed to paint the front of our garage, and paint was paid for by the HOA, and we did it. No fuss, no complaints.
If it were me, I would be infuriated that you are living with the stuff that Bad Residents think they can get away with, and the Regional Manager you are paying out of your rent is basically enabling. Part of your rent goes towards paying others to maintain the community environment, and you (and other responsible tenants) are getting cheated out of it by those you are paying to enforce it. Depending upon how deeply involved you wish to get (because I have a hard time watching people get grief from corrupt Management when they do their jobs), consider this... >Ask Local Manager what issue the Bad Resident complained to the Regional Manager about. >If the issue were something the Bad Resident should have been held accountable for (like this parking thing), then do the following (you're gonna have to lie so the Local Manager does not get into trouble): >Call the Regional Manager and tell him that you overheard the Bad Resident claiming he/she called the Regional Manager to get the Local Manager off of his/her back (in other words, you heard it on the street, not from the Local Manager.) Tell the Regional Manager you don't understand...that the thing the Bad Resident is doing violates the terms of the lease, and that it's actually an issue/behaviour you and others have been trying to get resolved. Tell the Regional Manager that the rest of you are abiding by the terms of the lease for everyone's benefit and expect the same from others. Then ask for clarification. You can keep the implied threat of going over his head in your back pocket. >You might want to give the Local Manager a heads-up so she can deny having told you what happened if the Regional Manager calls her. She can "verify" that others who are complying with the terms of their lease are upset that the issue with the Bad Resident goes unresolved.
Most times, apartment complex managers aren't allowed to discuss problem residents with other residents. I generally find out this info from the girl that does the maintenance here. She is the only maintenance person here. We do have a landscaping company that takes care of the lawns during the summer and a snow removal company that removes the snow, if the snow is over 2 inches. Under 2 inches, the maintenance girl will shovel it and I've even seen the manager out shoveling snow with her. As for us, we don't want to get into any "legal" inquiry about anything. I just done the thread to see what forum members thought.
There have been problems with people not picking up their dogs poop also. Now the manager has a DNA thing for tracing the poop and a fine for the resident who leaves the poop laying on the grass. Then, there are those that won't put their trash in the trash bin. Where do they put it? On the cement by the bin........and the bin isn't even full yet. An e-mail was sent out by management about this also, and a few days after the e-mail was sent out, there was trash bags and trash laying on the cement by the bins.........no in the bins. The complex does seem to be a "magnet" for young folks, especially ones with large dogs. Someone even had a full-size St. Bernard here at one time.
Understood. I agree, it's not the time to be hiring lawyers. But if you have someone there who is doing her job to fix the things that bother you and that should be fixed, yet her management is undercutting her, I'd be tempted to call the guy out on it. You got two problems: -Irresponsible tenants -Irresponsible management The thing is, you're paying one of those to fix the other, and they ain't doing it. I would not just let that lay.
I disagree, John. First of all, the "manager" should be competent to handle her job or she should be replaced. Second, Cody should not be making calls on her behalf. The manager should warn the offenders with a direct communication that they have "X" days to comply or their vehicle(s) will be towed. When people have to be inconvenienced and it costs them actual money, they are more prone to following the rules. @Cody Fousnaugh -- does any of this actually concern you or impact your life? How about just MYOB and stay out of it.
The manager isn't irresponsible, she simply isn't that tough with residents that need a tough manager. She has helped out out "big time" with a next-door resident that would be loud after 10PM. The walls here are pretty thin and his kitchen/laundry room is right next to our master bedroom. If either of us would've had a job, the noise would've been a big problem. He would shut his kitchen cupboard door fast/loud and we could definitely hear that as well as him talking to his brother. She sent him two notices, he told her "sorry" each time, but did the noise again. Manager told us the next notice would've been a Court Eviction Notice. We didn't want him/his wife evicted, just the noise to lower. He did that, but look at what it took........being threatened for Eviction.
Not the kind, like many, to "MYOB". Actually that "MYOB" is what problem residents want to hear. The manager at our last complex was very grateful that I told her some things that I noticed. She said "I can't walk the complex everyday, so thanks". A neighbor, whose apartment was across from our back patio, told her that they didn't have a dog. She asked me to "please keep an eye on them for me. If you can, when you hear their back patio door open, take a look." Well, low and behold, they did have a dog! They just didn't want to pay the pet fee to have it.
You should fit in well with the new Socialist Amerika. You can continue spying and make sure your neighbors are sufficiently punished for their actions. Good job, comrade.
When an apartment manager asks me to watch for something, I will, if I can. As for the next door neighbor, and their noise, they didn't get evicted. The noise went down and we could sleep. I can tell you were never in the military. I was, and more than once, punished for my actions. My wife has told me that I would make a good manager, because I wouldn't take any crap from anyone under me. Today, young folks get away with many things, including being on their cell phone during working hours. Breaks/lunch is ok, but they go beyond that. IOW, Beth, wife and I see absolutely nothing wrong with complaining when we have to. We pay rent here, just like others.
Ya know, when I had my own rentals and when I and one of my x’s managed a very large multi-phase apartment complex, I was okay with someone coming in to complain about someone else or a maintenance problem if it was once in a while. That said, if someone continually sat on my doorstep to report their problems with everything from soup to nuts, I got a little testy. I had one older couple who only came to Mesa, Az in the winter months on a 4 month lease who thought it their duty to be like hall monitors. I offered to move them to another phase and nope, they loved their little studio apt but obviously disliked everyone around them. To make a long story short, the very next day after I made my offer, they both came in to report on someone who was in the pool after the posted closing. The guy they were talking about swam laps every night after work for around 3 years and everyone, except those two snow birds, accepted the situation so, I handed them their least and showed them the clause that said in essence, being a pain in the rear was grounds for an eviction. They moved without notice.
If your manager wants to assign tasks, maybe you should tell her to knock some off your rent for your hours on the clock. And FYI, there is a lot more to being an effective manager than "not taking crap from anyone."
If I read Cody's post correctly, the manager DID do her job, then the Bad Tenant went over her head and then her boss told the manager to back off and threatened her career. That's why I put forth my recommendation. Maybe I read his post wrong.
I do understand what you are saying, Beth, but, at least at the apartment complex were at now, I'm not a "Watch-Dog" for-to-say. The maintenance girl and I talk and we both discuss what she sees and I see and, generally, what she sees, I see. When it comes to managing, my wife was a manager once and that "one time" was it. She would stay late at work to complete something someone under her didn't finish and was suppose to. Compared to me, she hasn't the "management skills" that I do. She'd be afraid to write someone up, suspend them from work (without pay) or even fire them. I wouldn't have a problem doing any of that.