Quote:
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Originally Posted by Trumpetman
The numbers you are tossing around on the low end still sound a bit high. I mean you are talking more than a half a months rent, to half of all rent paid.
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Perhaps I didn't make myself very clear about all of those numbers. I'm not thinking about asking them for half of all rent paid back. That was merely a step involved in the process I was using to determine what I thought was reasonable. Perhaps it would make more sense like this:
Step 1: Determine total rent paid while problem remained unfixed
Step 2: divide by two (they provided the apt, but not the maintenance, therefore fulfilling half of their obligation)
Step 3: Multiply by 13.617% (the room affected is 13.617% of the total square footage)
So: $5584.34 / 2 * .13617 = 380.21
As far as the problems go, I noted the problem when I moved in. I asked for it to be fixed. At that point, I assumed that it was fixed, because they did fix the other thing I requested to be fixed (some caulking was cracked). But since the problem resided on the roof, there was no way to verify that it was indeed fixed.
Time went by, and the weather was rather dry. There were occasional sprinkles, but no real rain.
When the rain began again, it became apparant that the problem was not fixed. I literally came home from work one day to see that water had run all the way down the wall. The carpet was wet, the wall was wet, it was bad enough that I put a dish ont he floor to try to catch the water to at least keep it from ending up in the apartment below mine. This was in either November or December. I don't remember off of the top of my head, and I don't feel like looking it up.
I went to the apartment office and told them about the problem (the water, and the stain on the wall). They told me that they would send a roofer up there to fix the problem.
Whether they did or not, I don't know. I was never home when they were there because I went to work before the leasing office opened, and got home after it closed. Evertime that I had to talk to them, i had to either call them, go home during my lunch, be late to work, or put it off until the weekend when I would be home. But they never sent a painter to pain the water stain.
A week later, I went down there, and asked them about it. I reminded them where the stain was. They said that they would send a painter. They did. The painter left without painting. He claimed that he could not see a stain. Now, this stain went from the ceiling to the floor. It was about a foot and a half wide at the ceiling, and about six inches wide at the floor. We aren't talking about a little stain. After I went down there and complained again, and them brought the manager to my apartment to point out the stain, they sent another painter. The painter returned, and painted the stain.
The next time it rained, the rook leaked again. Only this time in more than one place. The leaking was actually worse than it was before the roof was "fixed." I went and complained again, and they sent roofers again. Painters never came, so I went down to inquire about that, and they sent painters. Te painters painted over a single stain, dripped paint all over things, and then left. I went down to complain, put post it notes on the wall to point to all of the stains since the painter is aparently unable to find them himself, and they sent painters again.
This went on evertime there was a heavy rain.
This past time, the roofer aparently fixed the roof, because it hasn't leaked since, I asked that they send a painter to paint over the water stains while I was on vacation (last week) so that I wouldn't have to smell the fumes. While I was gone, they were also supposed to send someone to clear up another maintenance issue.
I went to the leasing office the day before my trip to confirm that someone was supposed to fix my apartment. I was told that they would be there the afternoon of the day I left for my trip.
I came home from my vacation to find that no painter had been in my apartment. Furthermore, when the maintenance person had been in there fixing the other issue, they left a complete mess.
I know that the problem here lies with the contrators that the complex uses, and not with the management personnel, but the way that I see it is that the management should make sure that maintenance needs are handled, and if the current contractors cannot accomplish the job (which they apparently couldn't) to find someone who can.
What's the point of this long post (possible my longest ever)? I don't think that I am being a drama queen here. This went on for months. It was months before the problem was ever even addressed. The people who were supposed to fix things either did not show up when they were supposed to, or performed below standard work.
Trumpetman, you suggest that I move. Quite frankly, I am going to move. My lease is up at the end of September, and I am not going to renew it. Because of the problems I have experienced, and because I plan on moving in with my boyfriend, and the current apartment is not large enough for our stuff. But when it comes down to it, I do not have the time to go about moving right now.
By the way, for the record, my rent is $670 a month. I know that the total rent that I said I have paid does not divide evenly, but it includes prorated rent for the first month, as well as only half of the sun for this month, since the problem was fixed half way through the month...