Complaint Review: Arrath Associates

This letter is to request the termination of my lease with Arrath. Upon the suggestion of my lawyer I am attempting a letter of termination before taking further steps to pursue the extinction of my lease or possibly other lawsuits that may follow, in the case my lease is not allowed to be annulled. If my request to terminate my lease is not met than I will also file complaints with the proper authorities on some of these issues I have listed below.

My three year old son, my mother and her husband, and I all relocated to the Charlotte area from Austin Texas May 24th, 2005. I found the Villages in the Apartment Shoppers Guide, prior to moving to Charlotte. There were hundreds of apartments to choose from in Charlotte. I called at least 50 different apartments wanting to find the perfect one that had everything I wanted. The Villages seemed to be that place, screened-in porches, lots of trees, meandering walk-ways, pool, washer/dryer hook-ups, ceiling fans (which I never have gotten), microwaves and much more (looked and sounded beautiful in the book). I was not familiar with the area so I was not sure what kind of area the Villages was located.

Speaking with Brandi and Shelly I was under the impression it was a beautiful part of town and safe for my son and I. We had been in contact with Brandi and Shelly numerous times before arriving into town. We arrived a couple days earlier than they, or we, had expected. My mother and her husband were renting their own apartment and my son and I were going to rent ((REDACTED)). I was so excited to finally sign the paperwork and have my own place and my son to have his own room. I am a single mother and have lived at home with my mother for almost two years and shared a bedroom with my son. We were finally getting our own place and he was going to have his own bedroom.

As soon as we arrived into town we contacted the office and were told the apartments were not ready (two months they had known we were going to be moving in). We had arrived only a day or two early from our expected date. There had been plenty of time to get the apartments ready and they were not. My mother and I drove to the Villages in hopes we would be able to at least look at the apartments. We both wanted to get an idea of where we were going to put our furniture and what our new homes were going to look like. We showed up Thursday May 26th, 2005 in the afternoon wanting to take a peak at our new homes. Brandi was reluctant saying they were still not ready, but allowed us to view a model apartment. I got even more excited seeing how nice the model apartment was and how clean and orderly it was. We were told we could come back on Friday May 26th in the afternoon to sign our leases.

I had chosen my apartment from a map that had been forwarded to me from Shelly. I wanted to have my screened-in porch back up to the woods, for a little extra privacy. I wanted to look out my windows and see the beautiful trees of the East, since we did not have them in Texas. So I picked the apartment that looked to me to have woods surrounding it on two sides. I informed Brandi and Shelly of my apartment choice (two months notice). Throughout the two months, prior to my relocation to Charlotte, I had a number of phone conversations with Brandi and Shelly regarding paperwork and such.

My mother and I were very anxious to see the apartments and went back the following morning hoping to be allowed to view our new homes. My mother was unable to tour hers but Shelly brought me by mine so I could see where my son and I were going to be living. As soon as we walked up I took notice of the moldy dirty furniture, the half dead plants and the mosquito breading pool of a bird bath located right in front of my doorway, right in the breezeway. I asked Shelly why there was furniture in the breezeway and what could be done about it. She informed me the lady across the hall had been a long time tenant (found out she has only been there a year) and that she stored her furniture out there because she had no room in her home. It was a horrible I sore and it truly concerned me. I was sure it had to be a fire hazard as well, which I suggested to Brandi. I also suggested to Brandi and Shelly to mention to the tenant possibly putting the furniture in storage. Shelly was very adamant about telling me they were NOT going to ask her to move her stuff because I had requested. I had also noticed a number of black bowls located right next to my apartment wall in the breezeway that contained cat food. I asked about that and Shelly once again told me she was not going to have their long term tenant remove the cat food because I wanted. I was very concerned about all the other wildlife and bugs the food may attract.

We moved from the breezeway into the apartment. The place was a mess and I was supposed to be signing the lease that afternoon. There was a huge hole in the wall as soon as you walked into the apartment (at least 2' x 2'), there were a couple of bleach stains on the new carpet, the screened porch was so filthy and there was mold located in the back storage room off of the porch. The light in the laundry room did not have a cover and my ceiling fan in the master bedroom was missing. The windows were so dirty you could not even see out of them and most of them did not have screens. My dreams of looking out the window into the beautiful trees or opening my windows to let a nice cool breeze in was dwindling as my smile faded to concern.

What could I do, I had just moved to town and did not know where anything was or how to get anywhere. I felt trapped and had no where else to go. I at least had the option of signing a 7 month lease, I thought. I figured seven months is not to long, except when your living in hell.

Since signing the lease with Arrath my life has been torturous. I spent all evening of the 26th moving stuff in to the apartment. I was given a paper to make notes of what needed to be fixed in the apartment. Below was part of my initial list I presented to the office on 5/31/05 and notes on when the issues were taken care of.

1. NO AC WHEN WE MOVED IN 3+ WEEKS WITH NO AC

2. about 20 nails were sticking out of the sink in the front bathroom which my 3 year old son was using it was missing a trim board 2+ weeks and numerous reminders before this hazard was taken care of

3. both sinks leaked front and back bathroom the back bathroom was pouring out water and I was unaware and personal items of mine were destroyed by the leaking water which were never replaced nor was I reimbursed for. I had to wash my face and brush my teeth in the kitchen for a week The front bathroom was fixed and not the back, so I had to utilize the front sink 2+ weeks before the master sink was fixed

4. mold in the back storage area was painted over within a few days

5. smoke detectors did not work they checked them and said they were working on 6/15 and the one near the master was and the one near my sons was not it took another couple weeks for them to come back and replace the one near my sons room

6. master shower head leaks will replace both never happened

7. hot water runs out quickly I have never been able to enjoy a nice long hot shower, I have to rush to get in and out and forget shaving, I have to fill the bathtub up and shave

8. no ceiling fan in master bedroom on order still never been installed

9. no cover on laundry room light still not one

10. guest toilet leaked I fixed it

11. missing screens on most of the windows never were replaced

12. the huge hole in the wall was fixed prior to me moving in

13. the screened-in porch was power-washed, but that did not do much

I made numerous attempts to get these things taken care of so that I could live like a normal person should and be able to enjoy my new home. I continually heard we have the work order and will get to it. I was treated very unprofessional and with the utmost disrespect from Shelly on numerous occasions. She was very rude and had no empathy for my situation what so ever. All I wanted was my home to be livable and for things to work as they should and it seem nothing did. I lived with no air condition for THREE WEEKS+ in the hottest summer ever for Charlotte and I did not even have my ceiling fan in the master bedroom to help cool it down at night, nor could I open my windows. I went to the office numerous times to complain about the air condition not working. They finally called in an ac specialist to fix the problem and replaced the condenser on 6/9/05 since the maintenance man could not figure out what the problem was. This did not fix the problem and warm air was still blowing out of my ducts. No one ever seemed to believe me when I went to the office and told them warm air is blowing from the ac unit. Finally Shelly had to see for herself that the air blowing out of my ac was warm. It was another week and I was starting a new job and still had no cool air and had sleepless nights since I moved in the apartment. It was miserable, I could not sleep for the heat or the gun shots I heard constantly from the neighborhood behind my apartment. I had no screens on most of my windows so I could not open them and did not feel safe to open them even if I could. It was not until about the week of June 19th that my air condition was fixed

My apartment backs up to one of the worst neighborhoods in the Charlotte area, as stated to me be a police officer (whom I called to complain about all the cats) who said they get daily calls. I have been woken up on a number of instances from gun shots that seemed to be right outside my window. There is a hole in the flimsy fence dividing my home from possible danger and the crime ridden neighborhood located only yards from my apartment where I live with my 3 year old son. I complained to the office about people from the neighborhood using the hole in the fence to gain access to the property on a number of occasions. Another neighbor across the hall also stated she had complained about the same thing and nothing was ever done. A major safety concern and liability and it was never fixed or repaired. The latest gun shots I heard were on Saturday morning August 20th at 5:04 am. They were so loud and so close it made me jump out of my bed and lay on the floor next to my bed. I have a huge window right next to my bed and the fear of a stray bullet coming thru is a constant terror. I have never even opened any window blinds in my apartment for safety reasons. I am fearful that someone from the neighborhood right next to me will be able to see into my home and target it for a robbery or me or my son for something far worse.

I moved into my apartment on May 26th and the water had been turned on prior to my move in. A few weeks after living in ((REDACTED)) I noticed water in the laundry area and in the kitchen. I filed a complaint to the office on 6/24/05. By this time there was a lot of water. I had previously thought it was the dishwasher, but the water would show up even if I was not using the dishwasher. I had personal belongings stacked in the laundry area that were damaged because they got wet. The water was not as noticeable because the boxes kept soaking up all the water along with the carpet in the living area. I had to remove a number of boxes from the area and find them another home in an already packed apartment.

The maintenance man came by a few days later and said water was leaking from the faucet used for a laundry machine and turned it off. The water continued to leak and even worsened. When I would step on the tiles anywhere in the kitchen water would seep up through the cracks. There were 5 layers of tile in the kitchen and water had gotten in between all the layers of tile. The walls in the laundry area were saturated and I once again I complained to the office telling them the problem was not the faucet leaking that something else was going on. On 6/27/05 the maintenance man showed up with a blower he placed in the laundry area. The puddle in there was about 2 inches deep and all the blower did was blow the water around. On 6/28/05 I called the emergency line to complain that the water had flooded my living room and all my furniture and carpet and belongings were getting soaked. They called a company that came out and vacuumed up some of the water and put the blower in the living area. I had to pull all my furniture out of the living room and find another place for it, not easy to do. A couple more days went by and finally they called in a plumber since the maintenance man could not figure out where all the water was coming from. The plumber could not figure out what the problem was and thought it may be coming from the slab under the apartment. A couple more days passed and they got another plumber in there and he pounded some large holes in the wall and found the leak in the wall between the laundry room and living room. The leak was so bad that you can compare it to turning on your sink faucet full blast. All that water had been pouring out of the pipes into the walls, kitchen, and my living area for over a month.

The plumber fixed the leak. Then there was the aftermath. The carpet people came back and sucked up some more of the water and told me the tile in the entire kitchen needed to be replaced since water had gotten in between all 5 layers of it and the carpet in the living area that had been saturated also needed to be replacedl. I lived with a loud blower, my furniture everywhere, huge holes in my living room walls and laundry room walls, boxes everywhere and the stench of moldy carpet for a couple weeks.

I complained to the office numerous times about treating all the mold that was on the walls and I cant even imagine all the mold that must be in the walls from all the water, them replacing the tile in the kitchen, replacing the carpet and repairing the huge holes in my walls. I had my best friend coming to visit and I did not want him to see my home conditions like they were. I was so excited to show off my own place to him and it was a disaster area. I made attempt after attempt to get someone from the office to get these things taken care of and all I received was attitude from Shelly and excuses. No one seemed to care that my life was stressful and miserable due to my home being in shambles. I had mold growing on my walls and was concerned for my 3 year olds health and my own. Every attempt to get someone out to fix my problems were met with excuses that there were people with no air condition and they were top priority and they will get to it when they have time. They surely did not seem to care or work so diligent on my air condition when it was not working for three weeks. But yet day after day nothing was getting done and my friend was going to be visiting in a week and my home and life were a mess due to the lack of anyone in the office taking care of problems when they should have been dealt with immediately. I had asked Brandi if I could relocate to another apartment since the carpet and all the tile in the kitchen were needing to get replaced and so many things had gone wrong already in that apartment that I did not want to run the risk of some other disaster happening and causing me grief. I had also stressed the fact that I continue to hear gun shots outside of my home at least 3-4 times a week. Brandi simply replied we have never had anyone ask to do that before. Since I never seem to get anywhere I never approached that option again.

The maintenance man finally came and PAINTED over the mold that had formed on the lower parts of the wall. Nothing was done about all the mold that I am sure is located in the walls. Then just a couple days before my friend arrived into town on July 22, 2005 the drywall was completed and the final coat of paint was applied.

The walls were finished and the carpet was never replaced and the tile in the kitchen was also never replaced. I can only imagine all the mold in the carpet and in between all those layers of tiles in the kitchen. This all may be the cause of my child's upper repertory problems he has been having. But I am sure it is all on their to do list and when they get all the air conditioners in the complex fixed they will get around to replacing the tile and the carpet.

I had my phone turned on the beginning of July. Unbeknownst to me the phone was not working. I had it for almost a month and never realized I was unable to receive phone calls. I could place calls, which were fuzzy and you could hear a radio or tv station playing when calls were placed but I was unable to receive calls. I had purchased a brand new computer and thought the computer was broken but it was the phone line that was not working, not the computer, which I ended up taking back because I thought the computer was not working properly. The phone company said it was going to cost me to have someone to come out and fix the problem. I contacted the office and told them that my lines were not working and I felt I should not have to pay for something that should have been working prior to my moving into the apartment. They sent the maintenance man out to check the jacks. Because he said they were all working that it was not their problem and they were not going to pay to have a Bellsouth repair man fix the problem. At this point I pretty much gave up. I tried to tell them I needed a phone that worked for emergency purposes since I have no other way of communication (no cell phone). I ended up moving my phone from one jack to another and it rings now but placing calls is a problem now, it is extremely fuzzy and hard to hear. I simply got tired of fighting the battle and gave up trying to get this problem fixed.

One of the last couple of problems I want to mention are the issues with all the wild feral cats that are located directly around my apartment and the mosquito problems related to the lady across the hall having a pool of nasty water in a bird bath located just feet from my door in the breezeway which is full of mosquito larvae. I have complained to the office on so many occasions regarding all the cats located around my apartment. I finally took matters into my own hands and called animal control. I explained to them that there was a lady directly across the hall from me that continually fed about 20 wild cats and I had health concerns and worried about rabies and other diseases these wild cats could be carrying. My 3 year old son wants to run up and pet them and play with them and I continually have to tell him to stay away from the kitties. I have seen raccoons, possums and I am sure other rodents eating this food that is placed in bowls right in front of my apartment door. I was also concerned because a number of the cats were missing all or parts of their tails, which lead me to believe there was animal cruelty going on somewhere with these cats.

After speaking with animal control regarding my concerns the police officer informed me there was nothing he could but instructed me to contact the management and inform them they should place traps to catch the cats and animal control would come out and remove the cats after they had been captured. He also stressed the fact this was a major health concern. Just within the last few weeks I have seen two sets of new kittens and many more will come if the cats do not get removed from the area. I followed the instructions of the officer and called the office and initially spoke to Shelly (only because Brandi was on vacation). She in return put Athena on the phone who was in town since Brandi was on vacation. I explained the situation to Athena and my concerns about all the cats in the area and the fact that the lady across the hall was feeding all these cats. Athena asked why the lady was placing food out for the cats. I explained to her I had complained to Brandi and Shelly about this situation a few times and they refused to tell her to stop. Athena told me she would take care of the problem. I even gave her the number to contact the police officer I had dealt with at animal control who was willing to work with the complex and helping to remove all the cats. This was a few weeks ago I spoke to Athena and nothing has been done as of yet. The lady across the hall still feeds the cats and they are still breeding and getting more used to us as we walk by them and one day my child is going to get a hold of one of them and get bitten and there will be a major law suit. I know there have been a number of documented cases of rabies here in Charlotte and wild animals can carry all sorts of diseases. I have a complaint filed with the animal control department and I have complained to the office a number of times and nothing has been done.

I want to touch briefly on the mosquito issue and furniture in the breezeway as well since that is or can be a major health concern or a fire hazard. Since the lady across the way has been allowed to keep her nasty bird bath, plants and moldy furniture in the breezeway I have had lots of problems with the bugs which breed in the bird bath and hang out around the plants, which are within a couple of feet from my front door. The bugs are there all day everyday and have no sense of what time of the day it is. When I get home I literally have to run to my front door and hope that no bugs bite me in the seconds it takes me to get my door open. It is always fun to get home from work with my son and tell him alright it is time to run now so the bugs don't get us. A lot of the time we don't make it and he gets bitten or I do or worse one will get into the apartment. Just last week one came in when I opened the door and got into my sons bedroom. He received 15 mosquito bites on his legs. He is allergic to them as I and his skin welted up and became red. Try to stop a 3 year old from itching, not easy. He will scratch himself until they get bloody and can become infected.

Now would you want to live in a place like this, I don't think so. No human being deserves to be treated like this or subjected to these kinds of circumstances. Twice within the last two weeks there were police officers swarming the Villages. My son was outside playing and a helicopter was hovering over him and his father while the police officers spanned out around the complex with spot lights. I have been terrified at times because there have been people walking through the woods at night behind my apartments. I live in constant fear of the neighborhood behind me and the wild cats and the bugs.

All I want to do is find a new home for myself and my son. If your company is unwilling to allow me out of my lease than I will have to take other measures to get out of those apartments. I don't deserve to have to live like this and I want a safer place for myself and my three year old son.

Robin
Charlotte, North Carolina
U.S.A.