Complaint Review: Overlook Manor - Equity Apartments

I am a current resident at Overlook Manor property in Frederick, MD. I have been residing here for almost 2 years with my boyfriend and our toddler. We moved in to Overlook Manor in November 2005 and should have filed a complaint with corporate that same month.

Our issues and concerns with the management and residents at this location have escalated throughout our time here and we have notified the rental office that we will be vacating the property on July 31, 2007. We have had numerous incidents involving the management office since signing our lease. I was shown one of the apartments when we were looking to rent and there was a special for a 2 bedroom at $699/mo. The apartment I was shown by Jen Szke was very clean and the appliances, though outdated, were in useable condition. I signed the lease and prepared to move into an apartment that week.

The apartment that I was given looked nothing like the one shown. The countertops had horrible knife marks in them, the refrigerator was rusted inside, the cabinets were falling apart and the walls had not been repainted. The bathroom tub and sink were rusted and the apartment looked like it hadn't been cleaned at all prior to the move-in date.

The worst was when I opened a hall closet door to have roaches scatter throughout the room. We immediately asked to have our lease tossed out or be given a different apartment. This was totally unacceptable! We were told there weren't any other apartments available for that price but they did have one that was recently remodeled and we could have it for $857 a month. This sounded like a bait and switch to me and I told them I wanted it at the same price. We agreed upon a median rate. I was very forgiving and patient throughout this situation. Since the time we have lived here these are the other incidents that have ensued at 1208 Aynsley Ct-

- there was a robbery in a bottom floor apartment
- there was a gun shot into the back of a brand new pick-up truck owned by a resident on the lower level, this went to court and the shooter who lived across the street claimed he was trying to commit suicide and missed.
- the police have been called at least once every two weeks by us or other residents for noise and domestic disturbances.
-the Frederick City Police have records of us calling in at least 10 times this year.
- residents drink outside until 3 or 4 am, use foul language, break bottles and ride dirt bikes up and down the parking lot
- drug deals go on in the stairwells, the apartments and in the parking lot. These have been reported to the police department along with tag numbers and apartment buildings involved. These residents are still here.
-a tree fell on our motorcycle and another residents in the parking lot. The management was alerted and said they would not be held responsible for the damages. They offered no assistance.
-At least two accounts of domestic violence have been reported in this building by myself this year.
-A package containing a $120 dvd player was signed for by Jen Szke in the front office from UPS. This package was addressed to me and left in the care of the office. Went I went to retrieve it several days later, the office claimed they did not have it. It took over 3 weeks to get the manager of the complex to agree to reimburse us for it and when she did, she replaced it with a cheaper model. She never apologized. Jen Szke never spoke to me about the incident even though she signed for it. Krystal, the manager, admitted that they did not know where it was and that it may have been stolen but did not feel it was their fault OR responsibility. Another resident in my building said she too had a package come up missing even though it was signed for by the office.
-the office management girls including the manager Krystal are not professional. They have never once provided customer service to us in a professional manner.
-the laundry room on my floor was recently broken into and the change holder on top of the dryer was vandalized as well as all the cords/hoses. I told the office over a month ago and they have yet to repair it. Several weeks later after my inital contact of it, I reminded them again and they said they do not deal with the repair of the machines and that I as a resident, would need to call the # provided on the machine and let CoinMach know.
-Over 4th of July this year, there were illegal fireworks going off in the parking lot right next vehicles all hours of the night
-In the end of June of this year, two cars were vandalized in the parking lot.
-In the early morning of July 24 at 3:15 am, we were awoken by gun shots. We saw a male resident firing a revolver at our apartment building. There were 6 shots fired in the direction of my two-year olds bedroom window. The police were called and a report was filed. That day, my boyfriend informed the management that we would be breaking our lease and moving out on July 31 without paying a penny more for anything!

I refuse to live in any longer in an enviroment such as this. My family is not safe, my property is not safe and I do not feel that the management is taking action against screening their applicants correctly. I have lived in several rental properties before and I have never seen management the way it is at Overlook Manor. I have always paid my rent on time, I have been kind and courteous to other residents, and I keep my apartment in excellent condition.

I have done my part as a paying tenant renting from Equity. However, Equity has not done their part of providing a safe place to live.

Katherine
Frederick, Maryland
U.S.A.