For those looking for a nice place to live in North Phoenix, don't be fooled by the outward appearance of Terracina Apartment Homes at 14th Street and Bell.
Over the past year, we have seen the true nature of the management staff, the maintenance crew, and the new management company. While the grounds appear well maintained, closer inspection will show potential tenants that it is all cosmetic. For the most part, many of the things promised to new tenants will not be provided. For example, one of the amenities that were attractive when I moved in was the fully equipped fitness center. This facility has not been opened since I moved in. When I asked management about it I was told that it would be open in "a couple of weeks." It remains closed as I write this. When it comes to maintenance repairs, management behavior, and tenant relations - you don't want to live in this property.
Recently, the management company and ownership has changed from Old Dominion to REP Management of Phoenix. This change has not been to the benefit of tenants and has resulted in many of the longtime residents to refuse to renew their leases and to have management refuse to renew leases of those tenants who have the audacity to complain about noise, disturbances, poor condition of the buildings, and virtually anything else. Only those tenants who maintain their silence about shortcomings are being renewed.
The most disturbing aspect of the new management company is that they apparently put tenant safety and tenant relations on a lower scale than they do the power trips of the management staff. This fact was observed by me, just a couple of days ago. When the new GM had a run-in with my neighbor's 15 year old son, for no apparent reason, she was threatened, aggressively approached by the man who was obviously under the influence of alcohol, threatened with police presence and court action and her children threatened with some unspoken discipline by the man.
While he claimed to be the general manager during the confrontation, when she called the office the next day, he denied that it was him she spoke to the previous night. However, the next day when her son went to a Halloween party at the office, he saw the same man who had attempted to intimidate his mother, asked an office worker about it, and was told that the man was indeed the general manager.
When the man confronted my neighbor about her son being outside, it was well before the management imposed, property wide, 10pm curfew (around 8 pm), but he was insistent that the teenagers were not allowed to be "loitering" on the property. Apparently, management does not want the kids to be on the playground or basketball courts after dark - whether the parents have given permission for them to be there or not. He first tried to separate her from her son, insisting that she go around the corner with him for a private conversation. Not trusting that the man was who he said was, she refused. He became more belligerent and threatened to call the police, take her to court, and have her evicted. He advanced toward her, in what appeared to me (from my window) to be a threatening manner. When she stood her ground he became louder, more obnoxious, and continued to berate her and her son. When she walked away from him, he continued to call after her in a loud and threatening manner. The next day she received notice that her lease would not be renewed.
This type of treatment has become commonplace since the new management has taken over. Most of the existing office staff has been fired and replaced with people who have no knowledge or familiarity with the property or the current tenants. Repair requests are met with shoddy workmanship, nonresponses, or excuses for why the repairs don't need to be done.
In short, if you want to live in a property that does not care about the tenants, shows contempt for the rights of the people who live here, and are more concerned with allowing the management staff to run around drunk, threatening tenants, than they are meeting the needs of tenants - move in here.
If you want to live in a property that is well maintained, has respect for all who live and work here, and are willing to work with tenants to maintain a good rapport with the people who live there — look at other options.
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