My apartment complex sucks

[Ivve]

Hey guys, sort of a long story here. I'm just looking for advice about how I should handle this situation when the office opens at 9, because I'm seriously considering just setting the motherfucker on fire.

I live in an apartment complex in VA. We pay $925 a month in rent for a one-bedroom piece of shit apartment that's got busted electrical sockets, ants, and a gas fireplace that leaks gas into the apartment when you turn it on. Nobody from maintenance has ever come by to check on these problems even though I have called on two separate occasions and even gone down to the main office in person about three times now. In fact, nobody has ever even shown up to the place for routine scheduled maintenance. Just now I went outside to check my mail for the first time in a couple of weeks. (I don't check my mail often; all my bills are online and I don't communicate with anyone else by mail.) At any rate, my FUCKING MAILBOX HAS BEEN RE-KEYED. Which means all of my mail from the past couple of weeks, that probably includes a motherfucking credit card I've been waiting for and some insurance and banking information, is who knows where.

Synopsis for those who hate wall-o-text:
The apartment maintenance team sucks because of:
1. Failure to show up for routine maintenance,
2. failure to respond to multiple requests for assistance with problems inside the apartment, and
3. taking away my mailbox that happened to be full of the kind of mail people can use to steal your identity.

Shit is fucking ridiculous. How should I handle this? Do I keep trying to deal with these retards, or should I contact a lawyer? Do I have a legitimate complaint to even contact a lawyer with, or would I be wasting my time?

[Apelila]

My take; your mileage may vary:

Step 1: move all your stuff out
Step 2: Turn on the stove, light a candle

The problem will handle itself, and you're covered since you've reported the gas leak.

Bonus: Don't move the stuff you don't care about / can live without for a couple months and SUE THE LIVING HELL out of them for not fixing it. Reclaim lost belongings on renters insurance.

Also, call that credit card company asap and report what they did.

As a first step I'd go bitch out the office people for no notice on the rekey and the gas leak. And if they don't send someone out for the gas leak call the gas company and bitch, they'll likely put pressure on the apt. to get it fixed.

[Vertabreaker]

Question for you Ivve, you mentioned routine maint. Do you have a copy of your lease? Does it say how often and that they definitely do routine maint. of your unit? I would have to assume that if they're supposed to be doing routine maint. and they're not that's grounds for a law suit. You're paying for a service that you're not getting.

I would talk to the office again and tell them that if they don't get their shit together and fix what you need fixed, then you're going to pursue legal actions. If they don't budge, then I would talk to a lawyer and see what actions can be taken.

Actually I would talk to a lawyer regardless but I would let them know that you're pissed off and that you're ready to take legal actions if things don't get fixed.

[Ivve]

Question for you Ivve, you mentioned routine maint. Do you have a copy of your lease? Does it say how often and that they definitely do routine maint. of your unit? I would have to assume that if they're supposed to be doing routine maint. and they're not that's grounds for a law suit. You're paying for a service that you're not getting.

I would talk to the office again and tell them that if they don't get their shit together and fix what you need fixed, then you're going to pursue legal actions. If they don't budge, then I would talk to a lawyer and see what actions can be taken.

Actually I would talk to a lawyer regardless but I would let them know that you're pissed off and that you're ready to take legal actions if things don't get fixed.

I'll have to break out the lease again and check for the exact wording on the maintenance, but I know it's supposed to be done. Every time there is a maintenance scheduled, they post a notice on your door just in case you have pets or something that need to be restrained when maintenance comes by. So far we've received 2 notices and 0 actual visits. I know they didn't come by when I wasn't at home, because the particular maintenance that we received notice for was a check of the washer/dryer appliances they provide in each unit. We had some disconnected tubing behind the dryer that should have and would have been fixed had anyone actually been here. As it was, we had to do the work ourselves.

The thing that pisses me off more than anything else is the re-keying of the mailbox. There was no notice. Nobody came by and checked to see if we were still living here. Nothing. I just go out there one day and I don't have a mailbox anymore. Seriously, what the fuck. I want someone fired over this shit. There's no excuse for something like that.

[Isiolia]

You could probably use stuff like that as grounds for getting out of your lease, assuming of course that the lease says it's their responsibility.

Otherwise, fuss at them as much as possible.

Mailbox, well, what may have happened is they put the new key in the box two weeks ago, and put a new lock on a week ago, figuring you would have gotten the key by then.

[Ivve]

You could probably use stuff like that as grounds for getting out of your lease, assuming of course that the lease says it's their responsibility.

Otherwise, fuss at them as much as possible.

Mailbox, well, what may have happened is they put the new key in the box two weeks ago, and put a new lock on a week ago, figuring you would have gotten the key by then.

AFAIK, they only re-key when people move and the box is assigned to the new resident in that building. We didn't request it and received no notice that it would be happening if that's the case. I can't understand the reasoning for doing that.

[Cheerios]

$925 for a 1 bedroom apartment lol

[Ikith]

I say sue the pants off of them! Make sure you have all of your shit together like proof of mait times all that as well as proof of gas leak etc! Also put this shit up on the BBB site. Go nuts and complain all the way up to when it actually happens. Have fun with it too because honestly it sounds like they are fucked!

Also call the credit card company tell em what happened. Check your credit to make sure its still correct and hasn't gone down or that you have anything in there that you didn't do etc. Protect your identity as well because that shit can be a pain to fix if you wait.

[Quixon]

$925 for a 1 bedroom apartment lol

Really not that far out of the ballpark. But in my part of NY $925 will get you a much better 1 bedroom then the shit this dude is being put through.

[wintersquall]

tampering with mail is a federal offense.

rekeying your mailbox without notice, causing you to miss any mail (i.e. court summons, bill payments that could ruin your credit etc.) is a federal offense in the same vein. most rental companies don't touch mailboxes unless there's a REALLY good explanation for this reason, and the penalties are or can be rather severe.

document everything, call and leave a message for the VP of ops/whoever really runs the rental company and record it with a time/date stamp - be sure to let them know on the message that it's being recorded.

you'll get action quickly if the company wants to stay in business. also, from a pragmatic point of view - have a backup place to stay just in case.

and yeah... where the fuck do you live in virginia paying 925 for a one bedroom? my new place is 625 for a one bedroom and it's about a 10 minute walk from downtwon minneapolis... and shit ain't cheap here at all.

[Norelco]

I'm paying $925 for an 870 sq ft. two bedroom apartment in Buffalo, NY in one of the nicer neighborhoods.

[aru]

call the fire department if you smell a gas leak. they should put pressure on your landlord to get it fixed and having them show up might motivate him enough to do something.

i would also suggest that you see a lawyer. bring your contract and see if there are any violations. you might also have a case for the disruption of your mail (pretty sure that is a federal offence, isnt it?).

might want to start searching for a new place. moving sucks, but this guy sounds like an asshole.

[wintersquall]

Oh, it's a TWO bdrm in BUFFALO. sounds about right.

i fail at reading with a hangover the rest of my post is solid though.

[Osede]

I'm paying $925 for an 870 sq ft. two bedroom apartment in Buffalo, NY in one of the nicer neighborhoods.

my last triad apartment in buffalo is 845 per month and in close to the university >.>

[Tirrock]

In theory, your mail should be at the Mephis mail processing center. They're probably trying to find a new address for you. (And probably having a hard time because you're at the same place.) This is all assuming that the carrier can even touch the mail after it's been put in the mail box though. If he just shoves letters in a slot...eh... Your mail really might be trashed. :/

I'd head down to the main post office in Mephis (pretty sure there's one there) and ask one of the window clerks about it. They should know a lot more about it than I do.

[Norelco]

I'm paying $925 for an 870 sq ft. two bedroom apartment in Buffalo, NY in one of the nicer neighborhoods.

my last triad apartment in buffalo is 845 per month and in close to the university >.>

I'm in Williamsville and live in an upper. Right there it will easily cost an extra $100-200 a month.

[Intense]

$925 in Southern California will get you CRAP. Literally. $1100+ for something decent.

[Isiolia]

All about location though. 3 bedroom apartment 'round here (Virginia Tech area) is maybe low/mid 600s, possible to find in the 500s.

If you're paying $900+ you're in a house, and a decent one at that.

[Norelco]

BTW, even though my rent may seem a bit high at $925 for Buffalo, I also have access to a pool and a workout room + sauna...so yeah...it's sort of a snobbier place.

[wintersquall]

outside of LA/SF/NY, rents are pretty much equal in big cities right now - i spent a few weeks searching other cities before i decided to stay in mpls for a bit.