Complaint Review: ELCO HOLDINGS LTD. LANDMARK RESIDENTIAL - Tel Aviv, Israel; Tampa, FL; Hoover, AL Nationwide

I would like to make all of this known and see if anyone out there can put the pieces together about why nothing is really being done about this complex (they boast that it is the largest apartment complex in Alabama, comprised of over 1,000 units). Why is no one doing anything about this place?? People here are sick of this, but because they don't have the money to move, they have no voice. People here who are good, honest, decent people need help in getting these issues resolved:

Is the City of Hoover getting grant money in order to keep the poor, the disabled, the homeless and the jobless, and/or the minorities (who make the mistake of moving to the cheaper "Lorna Road" area of town) all in one area, keeping them "contained" and more easily monitored, by way of offering renovated semi-slum apartments in Hoover at cheap rental rates???

If Hoover isn't receiving any kind of benefit from this area of town, then why does the city put up with such obvious concerns and issues, such as mentioned in the letter below?

Why are so many people who rent from the Landmark Residential LLC Company so terribly disappointed with their apartments (all over the southeast)?

These people pay their hard-earned money to live in a complex that advertises falsely, advertises as "luxurious" with the Apartment Finder/ Apartment Locator services and on a very large billboard on a main street less than a block away from the main complex entrance.

These apartments are NOT even safe to live in, much less "luxurious." If you were to check with the Better Business Bureau in each of the areas where a Landmark Residential-owned and managed property is located, you will expect to find many "F" Grades and low scores for various different reasons. Also, they did nothing over a period of months to eradicate a mold and mildew problem. They may possibly even use the Chinese dry-wall that is causing so many people so many problems, but that may just be a guess and something possibly worth looking in to by someone who knows what to do and how to do it. Also, the tenant had a pest-control issue for the entire time that he rented at Landmark at Magnolia Glen. The letter below goes into more detail about his issues and concerns.

Also, if you were to look up the individual complexes on www.apartmentratings.com, you will find numerous accounts of unhappy residents/ renters who are at their wits end with the condition of their apartments and the complexes as a whole.

Please read the letter below that was given to a Landmark Residential employee on June 20, 2012. It contains many serious concerns from the point of view of  a (former) tenant. It contains facts and opinions. No one satisfactorily addressed his concerns, even when approached by the Hoover Building Inspector, Wade Limbaugh. Some of these concerns were not met after the apartment and grounds were "inspected" by a Jefferson County Health Department employee who worked in the Environmental Services Department by the name of Erick Gilkey, if I am not mistaken.  Not the property managers, not the maintenance, not the corporate office people, not the city building inspector, not the police, not the parent-company based out of Tel Aviv, Israel by the name of ELCO Holdings, Ltd. Not by Mr. Joseph Lubeck, who is the CEO of Landmark Residential. Not the county health department, in the end.

Most of these people paid "lip-service" just long enough to keep passing the problems right along to the next person or just long enough to get the tenant off of the phone. Promises were made, but these people don't follow up on very many things at all. This company, Landmark Residential, LLC., needs to take notice of their tenants concerns, and this is just one tenant's problems.

Also, does Mr. Lubeck even know about the condition of his tenant's apartments? Does he know of the declining condition of this particular property?? Are his employees keeping him and the rest of the corporate people in the dark?? Does he even want to know? Does he even care?

This is a letter from a Resident of Landmark At Magnolia Glen
sent to/ received by:
 
David T. Skinner, Assistant Community Manager
Landmark At Magnolia Glen
([email protected])
2135 Centennial Drive
Hoover, AL 35216
Phone: 205.985.7463
Fax: 205.985.7466

Mr. Skinner received this letter, hand-delivered, in-person by one of the former tenant's representatives.

Re: Mr. Joseph Lubeck/ Landmark at Magnolia Glen STAFF

Joseph Lubeck/ Landmark at Magnolia Glen STAFF
CEO, Managing Partner and Member of Investment Committee
Landmark Residential (and ELCO Landmark Residential Holdings, LLC)
3505 East Frontage Road
Suite 150
Tampa, FL 33607


Dear Mr. Lubeck/ Landmark at Magnolia Glen STAFF,

My name is . .  . and I lease/reside in apartment # 176 Rime Village, Hoover, AL 35216 in your complex, Landmark at Magnolia Glen. Since signing the lease in October of last year (2011), I have experienced one problem after another concerning maintenance (emergency and non-emergency), safety concerns, habitability concerns, and, in my opinion, an overall LACK of concern from your office management team, namely Natalie Potter (who, I was told by another employee of yours, was fired for stealing and embezzling over $200,00.00 from your company) and Danielle Noel. Since speaking with two attorneys, I have been advised to provide you with this letter.

I am writing to inform you of the inadequate living conditions concerning my apartment and the apartment community as a whole. After I moved in, there were concerns which were reported in person, verbally (on the phone), and online to multiple people in the leasing office and to the maintenance staff. At that time, those concerns were supposedly noted by the office staff and turned over to the maintenance team. Those concerns were (and still are): a roach infestation in the apartment and in the building as a whole, faulty electrical wiring, and the overall cleanliness of the property in general. Since reporting THOSE issues, AS WELL AS CURRENT CONCERNS, the people in the leasing office have treated me as though I were an offender instead of a renter/customer.  I have been almost apprehensive about requesting any kind of resolution to these problems at this point, simply in fear of harassment and retaliation by you, your organization, and your staff. 
Since signing the lease, the office staff have made numerous promises to clean things up: repair the electrical wiring, send the bug-man to the apartment every other week until the problem is resolved (but then later implied that the bug problem might be the fault of the residents for using other bug chemicals). It is now JULY of 2012 and the same concerns are STILL relevant, along with several new worries.

I (and my guests) have a right to feel reasonably safe and secure in my home and on the community property, as well as a right to an inhabitable residence as per the ULTRA laws.
As of today, July 16, 2012, these repairs need to be addressed and remedied:
Two weeks ago, both of my cars were broken into and my personal belongings were stolen. If you would like proof of this, you may obtain a copy of the police report from the Hoover Police Department. Also, there is trash, dirt and debris everywhere on the grounds and on the walkways/ breezeways (including nails, pieces of metal, spider webs covering door frames, baseboards and walkways, drug needles and spoons in parking lots, dead and live bugs and spiders, used tampons, chewing gum, and various other forms of filth and debris, etc.), the ceiling is caving in outside of the apartment in the third-floor breezeway area of my building, the concrete stairs are cracked/shifting, third-floor concrete walkway in breezeway cracked/shifting, concrete stained all along walkways and  in front of doors (with food, drinks, glass, melted gum, dead bugs, random trash, etc.), a dead body was carried out in front of my children, there are random people walking up to me and my guests offering to sell/wanting to purchase illegal/illicit drugs, a sex offender lives less than 2 miles from premises the last time I checked,  the electrical outlet in the bathroom is STILL popping when the fan is turned off  (even though it has already been replaced by a member of the maintenance team), electrical outlets in kitchen and den area are STILL loose and sparking at times, ROACHES everywhere ( in kitchen, bathroom, den, IN MY BED, on the ceiling ABOVE my bed, on my dishes, coming out of the dishwasher, under all of the sinks. . . NO MATTER HOW OFTEN I SWEEP, VACUUM, MOP, DISINFECT SURFACES, KEEP FOOD WELL CONTAINEDTHERE ARE STILL BUGS. . . MANY DEAD BUGS UNDER MY KITCHEN SINK RIGHT NOW, AFTER I CLEANED IT LAST WEEK, I cant even cook or use  clean dishes without having to re-wash them BEFORE I use them for fear of sickness and contamination by roaches), HVAC closet in hallway is still moldy after your maintenance people came and supposedly repaired it, dishwasher does not clean dishes suitably and retains standing rust- water at times after cycle finishes/ oven is not insulated and burns/melts anything left on stovetop/ fridge freezes food at times and does not cool food properly at other times (your company is charging me $40 a month EXTRA for these three NEW appliances), bug man has not been coming every other week as noted and promised by Natalie in January, AND I went without a toilet for more than a week and had to clean up raw sewage while waiting on Natalie and maintenance to RESPOND to an EMERGENCY MAITENANCE REQUEST during a weekend while my daughters were visiting. We were never offered ANY alternative restroom during that week while your maintenance people were supposed to complete the repairs  AND during this time, one of your maintenance people showed up to snake the toilet and ended up causing more damage by getting the snake stuck and ripping the toilet up off of the floor and stripping the bolts, leaving the toilet unsecured to the floor!

When I moved in, I believe 5 Sparkling Pools were advertised as an amenity (currently you are advertising 4 in the apartment guide), and as of now, I was told that only two (2) are in working order, which is now a trivial issue in light of your companys seeming absence of concern for your residents wellbeing and/or safety as it  relates to this apartment complex. Do you know that you can visit the City of Hoover website at : http://www.hooverpd.com/home/default.asp. I suggest you take a look at the Apartments/ Condos Monthly Calls section for a look at the monthly log of how many times the Hoover Police Department was called to this complex. Last month, in June 2012 alone, the police were called 241 times for things like child abuse/neglect, burglary, theft of property, breaking and entering a vehicle (not just mine), wanted people, discharge of a firearm, person with a weapon, stolen vehicle, violation of the AL Controlled Substance Act. Your property received more calls than any other for last month and usually has the highest amount of calls over the PAST YEAR each month!!! I moved to this side of town to live in HOOVER, not the ghetto. And your new property, Landmark at Deerfield Glen (previously Cedarbrook Apartments) has the SECOND HIGHEST amount of calls to the police!!! In my opinion, that says A LOT about you, your standard of business ethics, and your company as a whole. Your Better Business Bureau rating in my area was an F the last time I checked.  I just cant fathom having such a lack of concern for your residents. You dont seem to care for our safety or wellbeing in the least. You dont seem to care that HAPPY RESIDENTS may give a good referral to a few of their friends and family, but that UNHAPPY RESIDENTS will give  a bad referral to 100 people by any means necessary, to spare others any possible and/or similar misery of being one of your tenants. I would like to bring to your attention the gross disparity between what your company implies through its advertisements and billboards AND THE ACTUAL TRUTH ABOUT THIS PROPERTY (such as using the terms: luxurious, Heart of Hoover). Does the word UNCONSCIONABLE mean anything to you or your company? I am shocked and horrified at your companys negligence in providing a clean, safe place to live. This isnt just a personal issue. It is a community issue. It is my opinion that the disparity of your sub-standard property is detrimental to our community as a whole and that it has become a local issue.

I would like to bring to your attention the fact that I have asked . .. . to contact the office/maintenance workers on my behalf in lieu of the fact that I work during your normal business/maintenance hours. She has my power-of-attorney. I have provided your staff with her name and number and have asked  that your staff contact her directly, so that she may relay any concerns or messages I might have regarding the apartment to your leasing office/ maintenance team (AND YOUR STAFF AGREED TO THIS ARRANGEMENT). I have also asked that she is allowed to be present during maintenance work and that she should be allowed to speak with your staff directly when ANY maintenance issue arises, simply because I cannot be there during maintenance hours (I have called the after-hours emergency maintenance line to no avail). I have also asked for her to contact the City of Hoover Building Inspector on my behalf as well as the Jefferson County Department of Health (Environmental Services Department)  in regard to the insufficient and substandard conditions of your property which have affected the health and quality of life of my family and myself since signing your lease. The quality of the service provided by your LAZY, DISCOURTEOUS office staff and some of your maintenance people has been derisory, at best, up to this point. I dont understand why you hire some of these incompetent, inefficient people. 
 After contacting the Jefferson County Health Department and The City of Hoover Department of Building Inspection, I received a letter from Danielle Noel the VERY NEXT DAY stating:  She (Danielle) came to my apartment with a maintenance person (Ross) and repaired the AC (which they did NOT repair, it still leaks), she also stated that the mold condition was somehow my fault (as per the lease), that no bugs were apparent (they did not look for any bugs), that there was not a problem with toilet,  referred to . .  . (her) as my wife and then stated that she must leave the apartment IMMEDIATELY because HER BEING THERE TO OBSERVE THEIR PROGRESS (rather, lack of progress) was somehow in violation of the lease because she was not listed as an occupant and then went on to state that THIS issue FAR OUTWEIGHED the importance of my apartments living/safety conditions. The fact that Danielle would even suggest that Jennifer (who your staff have been communicating with about maintenance concerns  until they learned that reports were made to outside agencies) leave the apartment made ME feel harassed AND defenseless and as if your office is intentionally trying to RETALIATE for having reported the conditions to the Health Department and to The City of Hoover. The office staff have always spoken with her in regard to these issues since the day that the lease was signed, UNTIL they found out that I have requested  outside help as a necessary reaction to NOT RECEIVING THE HELP I WAS PROMISED BY THE OFFICE STAFF AT MAGNOLIA GLEN. Also, the statement that she made in regard to Jennifers presence on the property just goes to show where your priorities lie in regard to your customers and their friends and families. It seems as though your employees are trying to skirt around an issue by not talking directly to me, by leaving harassing letters on my door. If that is the case, Im not sure that they know HOW to fix these problems, leading me to believe that they are truly incompetent and ineffectual!

In response to their apathy, laziness and complete lack of helpfulness, I requested that an employee from the Jefferson County Health Department show up to perform an inspection of the apartment and he verbally reported his findings to Jennifer over a month ago (and reported them to YOUR LEASING OFFICE/MANAGEMENT TEAM at Magnolia Glen, as well). The Building Inspector also reported to Jennifer that he would call  to speak with Natalie Potter to tell her that a report had been made with their office about safety concerns in the apartment complex. Since then, I feel that I have been harassed by your employees.

Nothing has been said to Jennifer about being at my apartment or about helping me with day to day things that concern the apartment UNTIL NOW (since official reports have been made to several people, including different government agencies). I feel that this is discriminatory, punitive, vengeful AND direct retaliation in response to seeking outside help with all of these issues,  after having brought these concerns to the attention of your office staff/ maintenance staff  MONTHS AGO on NUMEROUS OCCASIONS!! For example, I shouldnt have to call your office fifteen (15) times in one day to report an emergency situation, and then wait for days without a response from you or your maintenance people.   

In accordance with The State of Alabama: Tenant/Landlord Law, I have documented all of this in writing and I am distributing this to you and the local office at Magnolia Glen in Hoover, AL to LAWFULLY notify you of my intent to follow up with you and/or your employees about these problems within fourteen (14) days of receipt of this letter (even though I have ALREADY REQUESTED these things in person, over the phone, AND filled out multiple online requests for maintenance with YOUR office, the property management office, and the leasing office dating back to the Fall of 2011). 

If, at the end of the 14 days, all of my concerns have not been addressed AND resolved, I will have to assume that you and the staff at Magnolia Glen DO NOT wish to comply with state law in providing a clean, safe, habitable place to live, in effect causing unavoidable displacement, and that I am free to move without being fined or penalized by your company. 

Preparing for necessary relocation, in order to find a home that is safe and habitable, is ALREADY costing me a considerable amount of peace of mind, time, AND money. I will also have to set up new utilities elsewhere, sign a new lease, pay another deposit,  and use more of my money and my time to move out of this apartment due to your companys negligence in following through with maintenance requests over the past nine (9) months. 

In addition, my rent for this month has been paid, and your staff have left multiple RED NOTICES FOR NONPAYMENT on my door. I called twelve (12) times the first time the notice showed up on my door (I received a second notice the following day) and thirteen (13) times over the following week in order to speak with David, who is refusing to return my phone calls or acknowledge payment. I have a bank statement with proof that your company withdrew the funds from the account, but your staff continued to harass me after the payment went through.  I paid online and the money was withdrawn from the account. Proof of this transaction will be provided upon request, at my convenience.

It is my sincere wish that your company will follow through with what it SHOULD have done months ago, not only for me and my apartment, but for this complex and ALL of its tenants as a whole. You should know that I have requested these repairs multiple times and that promises have been made and broken for months now. I dont really care whose fault it is at this point; the office staff blames the maintenance staff and vice versa. Please be a responsible landlord/ company and keep me and my neighbors safe by following through on these matters. I am not paying you and/or your company rent in order to live in a dirty, moldy, roach-infested, unsafe apartment. In fact, I feel that I am over-paying you what the apartment is worth in light of its present condition. I feel that I have given a more than fair amount of time for my concerns to be addressed and resolved, and that I have been left with no alternative but to seek outside help with these issues. 

Just to be clear, in compliance with ULTRA requirements outlined in the law, if the above-mentioned repairs/ concerns are not remedied and resolved within 14 days of your receipt of this notice I will terminate my lease and vacate the property. 


Sincerely,


....................
Tenant of Landmark at Magnolia Glen
July 16, 2012


Cc:

Current Property Manager
Office of Property Management
Landmark at Magnolia Glen
2135 Centennial Drive
Hoover, AL 35216


The Honorable Doctor Robert Bentley, Governor of The State of Alabama
The Honorable Luther Strange, Attorney General of The State of Alabama
Mr. Wade Limbaugh, Building Inspector for The City of Hoover
The Health Department of Jefferson County, Environmental Services Department
Alabama Legal Aid Services, Housing Department
Mrs. Ronda Robinson, Fox 6 On Your Side, Fox 6 WBRC News
The Better Business Bureau, Birmingham Office