AVALON BAY COMMUNITIES

ROACHES, AUNTS, BED BUGS, LACK OF SECURITY, DOMESTIC DISTERBANCES, GATES NOT CLOSED/BROKEN, BURGLARY AND CAR BREAK INS, AND AN OTHERWISE COMPLETE RIP

2nd of Dec, 2011 by namaste

I also live in and Avalon Bay owned community. We have similar problems. The first thing, immediately upon moving in, I had a roach infestation in my kitchen. It took 2 or 3 months for them to rid it completely. About a week after moving in, once my daughter began sleeping in her room, she began getting bit by something. I suspected at first glance that it was spiders - lots of spiders around the communitiy and in the apts. The excuse that was given to me is that they can't control the spiders due to the large quantity of trees and bushes around the premesis. Within a week the bug bites became bigger and more frequent. Only in her room, in the front where the roaches were. It turned out to be bed bugs. I questioned them about the possibility that the apt had a bed bug infestation and they insisted that it was fleas from my dog. (those were no flea bites and my dogs never had fleas). Finally I found one and took it to them. They then tried to blame me for bringing them here. Since I had a large moving company move me I entertained the thought that it could have been transferred on the truck during the move if anyone else before me had had bed bugs. But I later found out that my neighbor had been having the same issue in her daughters room and had sought medical treatment a month prior to my moving in. A neighbor below us also had them, it turned out. They waited two weeks to do the treatment- ample opportunity for the things to bite and lay hundreds of eggs- finally did the treatment- heat treatment- which ruined many of my belongings although I followed the instructions given. The leasing office was not well informed of the whole process and did not give good detailed information concerning this infestation and the treatment. The treatment killed the roaches but not the bed bugs. I spent hundreds of dollars on treatment and bed coverings and finally, after 7 months we see and feel no sign of them. The community gate is left open most nights, one or the other, with multiple excuses for why it's not being closed and as a result I know of one person who has been burglarized and another who's car was broken into. i only know 6 people who live here. Twice I've been woken up in the night by loud disturbances outside my window. One time ended with 6 squad cars and the entire community on their porches due to at least 20 minutes of screaming. Obviously security is ineffective. The community here is advertised to be resort style although only one area-near the leasing office- even begins to resemble a resort style, and much of the other areas are not well kept, or well landscaped. The pool is advertised to be heated but it is not. The hot tub doesn't work properly, is never all the way full, and makes loud noises if you turn on it's jets. When I moved in the property was advertised to have an onsite gym. The gym was not very nice but it was a gym. A few months after moving out, they removed the gym, turned the area into another apt and told everyone to get a pass at a gym down the street. One woman moved out over the ordeal and said she planned to sue. The girl who was burglarized is also talking about suing. The parking is terrible. There is not enough parking for everyone, some of the spaces are so small you can barely get out of your vehicle. I have an extra vehicle that I don't drive. They try to tell me that I have to keep it tip top clean, and move it every 72 hrs or it's going to be towed at my expense. If you want a carport thats an extra $50.00 a month. Some of the apts have been re done, others are very outdated and breaking apart. I've never missed a payment on a home in 12 years and never even so much as been late on a payment in 6 years- 8 months with this community. They have it set up so you either have to pay your rent by electronic check, check, or via charge which costs $30.00 per 1500.00 being charged. They will not do a wire transfer or take cash or money order at the leasing office. I came up $10.00 short by mistake and bounced my rent check last month and now they are trying to run me in circles. They send me a notice of the returned check via email 8 days after it was returned. I don't know when I actually checked my email- not a big email person- but I sent them a cashiers check as they requested none the less with added $80.00 in charges. I mail it. The day after I put it in the mail, I get a notice in the mail that I have 3 days to give them the money before litigation begins. (I didn't even realize the 3 days, I'd sent the check a week prior so I must have dismissed it at first) I try to pay my next month rent and my online account is locked so I call them to find out if they have received the check, and how can I get the money to them without getting charged another $60.00 late fee. They inform me that they will no longer accept the money order and because I didn't have the money turned in by the 28th- (which was described as the deadline given in the letter which I received on the 28th) That now I have to pay them another $34.00 charge. And because the check I'd sent on the 21st did not reflect the added $34.00 charge that they can not accept it. They then proceeded to tell me that I have to pay them $3500.00 (rent is 1428) because due to them not receiving my check by the 28th, they have began litigation and I have to pay the fees. All of this because of a letter that they claim to have left on my door on the 22, and sent a copy out and I did not receive until the 28th. In the letter it states that I have 3 days from the receipt of the letter- which is today not the 28th. So this litigation should not have even started. I was never called, no knock on the door, no mail until the 28th and on the first they say there is litigation. And to add to it they say I can either pay the $3500 overnight certified mail (cost $53.00) or pay to run it over the phone which was $60.00. I had to cancel the cashier's check-thank God I did it at my banking institution- None of the other people on the lease, were ever informed at all of any of this. And now this month's rent will be there on the 3rd so I will pay another late charge. In no way would the customer service dept even consider what I had to say, I could have sent them evidence that I'd taken the necessary steps to pay the rent. And they are still sending me bills for water (some kind of screwy setup where they charge you an amount off of a community meter) Sometimes the bill is $28.00, other times it's $80.00. My friends have complained of them illegally entering their homes, and also had roaches when they moved in, as well as rats in the back patio. The community says that there is nothing they can do about the rats besides put out bait. Oh, and they will only give you one amenities key per household. So if I want to do the laundry and my roommate is at the pool I have to go get the key from her, come back, do the laundry bring her the key, wait go back get the key...get my drift. I even offered to pay $50.00(cost to replace lost key) to have an extra key-nope, they wont do it. I sublet my old apt to a girl who says she is suing them. I don't know if they are doing this intentionally to try to get me out of here because they're pissed off about that, or if this is how they treat everyone who live in their communities but if it weren't for my roommate, I'd let it go, go to litigation and show the court that I am the only one with a paper trail, and that they have no paper proving that I received any notifications to begin with. Oh and the customer service line is closed at like 5:00pm or 530pm my time. I work from 5 am until 6pm, I can't call at those times. Just happened to get out early today to have these conversations with these ppl. If I'd been able to contact them to begin with it wouldn't have ever been an issue. They do not have an answering service of any kind to leave a message on either.

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