Sefarad
Las Vegas,#2Author of original report
Sat, October 31, 2009
Since Conam has taken over University Park Apartments on 6/9/2006,
several very unsettling pattens in the management team's dealing with
tenants have risen. The bottom line appears to be that management is
interested in nothing but keeping as many apartments filled at no
matter the cost to tenants' quality of life. The maintenance of the
property has slowly deteriorated, crime has gone up and long term
tenants are becoming an endangered species. We have gone from having a
beautiful lawn in front of our doors, to a dirt lot which turns into a
dust devil at the slightest breeze, from chatting with twenty year
residents of the complex to wondering what new group of two or three
families will move into a vacant apartment near us. From lazy late
night walks, to loathing waking up in the morning to witness what new
graffiti or vandalism to cars has popped up overnight. Management
should take note of these events and perhaps ponder why they are
occurring
here rather than in neighboring complexes, or why University Park
resembles a slum(albeit a recently repainted one) while neighboring
properties have all been revamped. The bottom line is that management
has not kept its end of the lease contract, which is to manage the
complex.
Management's lack of initiative upon learning of residents' grievances
has already resulted in tragedy and even potential deaths. While living
at 4210 Fairfax Circle #4, we constantly complained about the residents
in apartment #1, who would store gasoline and gasoline powered scooters
inside of the unit and proceed to smoke inside. We were told that these
residents have the right to do as they please and that our complaints
are unwarranted. On June 18, 2007, the building went up in flames as a
small explosion rocked their apartment and quickly spread flames
throughout, leaving us trapped inside our apartment. After the fact,
management would completely ignore us when we would remind them of our
past grievances. The assistant managers of the time would simply
pretend to not hear us.
We hope that our current unanswered grievances will not lead to a
similar catastrophe, for both us and for Conam, as it is in neither of
our interests to see Conam's property degenerate into slum like,
dangerous conditions. After this incident, we were transfered to an
apartment where again, problems arose. These
have been outlined in a previously sent letter to the complex's
management, and which have gone unresolved until the family of 13
living in a 2 bedroom apartment recently moved out.
Following suit with the overall actions taken by Conam management at
the apartment complex, since August, 2008, we have found ourselves in a
conundrum in relation to the tenants in 4248 Chatham Circle #4 as the
family moving in quickly turned into 2 to 3 households living in the
unit. Along with the 13 people living in unit 2, yo can imagine the
toll which this has taken on the noise levels, the wear and tare of the
premises, and the overall decrease in quality of life for those of us
simply seeking a decent place to live. Complaints of loud noise caused
by music, long term visitors inhabiting the unit, drunken get togethers
and turning the apartment into a mini daycare center have all gone
unresolved. Nor has the fact that the landscaping(I use this word
quite loosely) has been turned into an ashtray and make shift garbage
dump. The fact that there is only one dumpster per 10 buildings in the
complex is another problem altogether though.
Instead of resolving the problem, management, simply ignores any
mention of the amount of people living there, and as usual has blamed
any noise we hear on the fact that it is an older building. A fact
which might be relevant given that we would hear other tenants or
previous tenants as well. Or that those in other buildings might hear
everything their neighbors do. This however is not the case, a
squeaking floor or thin walls are different from the noise of 2 or 3
families with small children on an extended stay in an approximately
700 square foot apartment, or
loud music. Were the building to blame, we would have had to have
problems with anyone living in the unit above us, this is simply not
the case as until the current residents arrived, there was no such
problem. In most complexes, or at least those which do not break laws,
the number of individuals per apartment and the length of extended stay
visitors is limited and regulated. Likewise, when management did hear
the noise, the answer has been that since it doesn't bother people in
neighboring buildings and since we're the only ones at home during the
day to hear it, it is alright for them to be noisy if they please.
The second strategy enacted has been to turn the situation into a tit
for tat argument among tenants, rather than viewing it for what it is,
the fact that no matter how many people live in an apartment unit, they
do not have the right to infringe on the quiet enjoyment of anyone else
and that management is responsible for enforcing this if the said
tenants do not have the common sense to not let up tp 8 children run in
the apartment and up and down the staircase on a regular basis, or to
keep their tv/radio volume down to a reasonable level. Likewise, it is
up to management to either ensure that tenants do not throw refuse
around the premises, and if management refuses to enforce such common
sense, then it must be responsible for cleaning the premises. The Conam
management at University Park does neither.
As most of the noise occurs after management has gone home, as onsite
management has dissipated with Conam's arrival, we have called the
security patrol and left messages which have to date gone unanswered.
Management's reaction to these events has been that since they have not
witnessed the events, they did not take place. Likewise, management
believes that just because said events did not take place exactly at
the moment they visit the tenants in 4248 Chatham #4, that no noise
occurs at all. Further complaints are rendered as a game of tit for tat
by management via being answered by the noisy tenants' responses,
namely that they state that they do not do anything and that we call
them names. Despite the fact that we do not speak to them and that we
use Czech at home. Actually, the reason management has been notified of
the events in the first place is because it is impossible to deal with
the tenants in #4 as the first time we mentioned the noise, they
refused to speak and later only responded with a f**k you and don't
be an a*****e coming from one of their extended stay visitors and the
tenant's teenage daughter. While management fails to acknowledge that
said events occur, they have no problem utilizing whatever false
information the troublesome tenants have shared with them in order to
create the illusion of a game of tit for tat. While such an approach
on behalf of management is illogical, it does allow management to shake
off any responsibility and to keep rent for the unit coming in a few
more months.
The last time the police bothered to arrive after being called(as the
police states that noise levels on private property are management's
concern), on November 12, 2008, the drunken party quickly moved inside
off the stairs as the police approached, only to have the woman from
unit 4 explain to the police that we are overreacting and that
management knows the situation and that they can do as they please.
That we need to mind our own business and let them do as they please,
that management agrees. Only to be angered at receiving a warning for
the disturbance. From the way management has handled this situation,
there must be some truth to what she said. Likewise, despite the fact
that there is a police presence at various apartments on Chatham Circle
at least twice a week, we have yet to witness anyone being sanctioned
for the disturbances.
The fact that these occurrences have not been curbed is a direct
violation of the lease contract: A.(1) of Section 7, precisely states
Quiet Conduct: The conduct of the lessee and such others for whom
Lessee is responsible shall not, in any manner, disturb the quiet
enjoyment of other lessees, minors, invitees, or visitors of the
property including the pool area, recreation area and other common
areas. Likewise, the sprinklers which our neighbors' children have
broken have yet to be repaired.
However, A.(2) of Section 7 of the lease contract states vert
specifically: Damage: The conduct of lessee and others for whom the
lessee is responsible shall not result in or cause destruction or
damage to the premises, the property or any part thereof...
Management also seems to approve of empty beer bottles, children
standing on the stairs, spitting down in front of peoples' doors,
spilled food and other refuse strewn around on a daily basis. Despite
the fact that the lease contract strictly prohibits such acts.
Section 10, A states that: Lessee shall keep and maintain said
premises and every part thereof in good and sanitary condition...
In all honesty, the only portion of the lease contract which management
seems to uphold is enforcing rent payment. The most management has
offered, has been to transfer us to a different unit, despite the fact
that this is not a solution as anyone else who moves into the unit will
suffer the same fate. It can only be deduced that management's goal is
to fill up as many apartments as possible and to hope that the tenants
shut up and take whatever affronts to their quality of life are given.
One only needs to assess the demographics of the apartment complex to
comprehend what is going on. Due to the fact that many tenants are not
English speaking, and that more than one household is allowed to reside
per unit(as is evidenced by the 12 people living in unit 1 of 4248
Chatham Circle, the fact that unit 4 acts as a makeshift daycare center
and overnight drop off for children of the tenants' extended family, as
well as unit 3 where long term visitors have been present for over 3
months), management takes advantage of the situation and does as little
as possible to maintain the premises, while in return those said
tenants are allowed to do as they please without fear of recourse in
exchange for putting up with management's lack of efficacy. The theft
of washing machines, increased burglaries, cockroach and bedbug
infestations, even the theft of the gate to the swimming pool, a
complete lack of care for the landscaping, the facades of the buildings
and the disastrous state of the parking lot have all taken place under
the present management. To compare what the property looked like before
they took over, simply visit the University Park website,
http://www.universityparkapts.com/unit_listing.html , where one can
view photographs of what the complex was like prior to Conam's taking
over, and simply look at the way it is now. The contrast is atrocious.
What is troubling is that when compared to other Conam properties, it
becomes clear that not every Conam management team is obviously the
same. Having viewed 4 other Conam properties, which shall remain
unnamed, in order to compare management styles and the upkeep of the
property, we were astounded. Each of the 4 complexes were impeccably
clean, had paved parking lots, units up to a third larger than those at
University Park, had limits on how many people can live per unit,
impeccable landscaping, and all at approximately the same rent as
apartments at University Park, less actually when we look at the dollar
amount per square footage.
Sefarad
Las Vegas, Nevada
U.S.A.
Diva23
Champaign,#3Consumer Comment
Fri, July 24, 2009
I can't believe I just found this. I lived next door to your building when it caught on fire. Tons of the smoke came into my apartment and I saw the fire engines up and down the street. I had no idea what caused the fire until I saw your post. I am sooooooo glad I don't live there anymore. When we asked maintenance what caused the fire he got angry and upset and told us apartment fires happen all the time. You probably should have called the police when you found out what your neighbors were doing, that's what I did when my neighbors broke the law. I know what you are saying sounds rediculous, but it's all true because I had to endure 2 years of hell living there! Also, the new management recently paved the lot.
Georgeinlv
Las Vegas,#4Consumer Comment
Sun, May 24, 2009
I used to live at UPark many years ago. The place was a dump then, the only reason I lived there was that is was close to UNLV. Each 4plex was constructed out of cheap concrete blocks, which made for some cold January mornings. The things that made it bearable in the early 1980's were 1) It was cheap, 2) It was a short walk to campus so you didnt need a car, and 3) The place was filled with students, who pretty much went to class, studied at night time, and minded their own business. Which brings me to my question. If the place has deteriorated that badly (as many older apartments over by UNLV have) why the hell don't you just FRIGGIN LEAVE?? I would not stay ONE NIGHT in an apartment where a guy in the building was storing gasoline and motor scooters. And smoking on top of it?? Unreal! I had a problem with a business lease once. One of the neighbors created big problems for me, some of them safety related. I went to the management and said' "Look. Fix this now, or I am gone." "Oh no, you cant do that, you still have a year to go on your lease!" I said, "I don't care what it says on some piece of paper, I am leaving, period." "Oh, we will have to sue you" they replied. "Go right the hell ahead and do what you think you can do, I am leaving." Next week, I was gone. and I never heard from them again. Because if it ever would have gotten to court, I would have been easily been able to show cause. Dude, just leave the stinking place and let the rats and scum live with each other!
Flynrider
Phoeix,#5Consumer Comment
Thu, March 19, 2009
Why are you still living there? Nobody has a lease for that long.