During 2008 I started a lease around August at Apartments on the Green. Everything was fine in my new little 1 bedroom apartment for the first couple of months. After a while I started to realize the area was not what their advertisement claimed by any means and I not only didn't feel safe, but I was not safe living in the complex. I heard from a friend (completely personal) that according to state law if there was a real reason to feel threatened in your current residents it was a legal way to relieve yourself of the contract you signed. Obviously this is something that I sought after. A few of the reasons being as follows: The first incident I had was with a neighbor getting into my apartment. The story is I had found a small puppy that looked to be a Pit Bull wondering around outside in the dead of winter. It had no tags or nothing indicating that it had an owner other then the fact that it looked to be in decent health. Well this is the last time I had chosen to be soft hearted to strays. I took the puppy in with full intention of talking to the complex asking them if anyone in the area was missing a small puppy. Before I had a chance to do so that weekend I came home to a note on my door saying "You had my dog, I took him. If there is a problem see John (Real name undisclosed for consumer's protection) in apartment *. There was obviously an issue with this as I knew better then to leave my doors unlocked. I notified the police about the situation and they told me they have to catch the person in the act of breaking and entering or they would not be able to do anything. Which first off tells me that I can go rob a bank as long as I where a mask, gloves, printless shoes, and a cop doesn't catch me "in the act." To Salt Lake City Police Department, I feel that does not "Protect and Serve" as you so swear to do. However, my complaints with law enforcement are much more extensive then this incident and I am not writing this complaint to the Police Department. (Which in my eyes doesn't deserve the capitalization in the name.) After speaking with Salt Lake Police I then contacted the complex as instructed by law enforcement. The window in my apartment not only was flimsy and easily breakable without much notice, but did not lock and had no screen on it when I entered the lease. I notified the complex that this is probably how they entered the apartment as it seemed like the only way in. They said they would send someone to fix it. About a week later I contacted the complex again to see if they were going to still send anyone. They said they had already sent someone and that the window was locking just fine. After the call was over I went to my window in the complex and it did not lock. Obviously there is nothing I can really do about it as the higher power of the company always wins so I brushed it off.
The next issue I had was with my car. I was not making enough money to have it insured and therefore could not drive it and didn't. While the car was sitting there it was broken into at least once that I know of. My window had been broken out and the stereo was not neatly removed, but violently ripped from the dash taking part of the wires with it. As the stereo was really about the only thing in the car of value I sold it for 50 dollars and shrugged my shoulders. I think I'm a pretty nice guy to not try to get out of the lease yet.
Next, I had 2 friends over one night, had some drinks, played some cards and just kind of relaxed. 7-11 was about a 2 minute walk away and I needed some smokes. I headed off leaving one of my friends that I greatly trusted there. Before I even got to 7-11 I got a phone call saying that he heard gun shots. He is kind of a paranoid person so I blew it off. I was speaking with the clerk at the gas station for a moment as he was one of my neighbors and I knew him fairly well.By the time I got back to my complex Police were not there so I figured it was nothing. Shortly after I went outside for a smoke and my apartment was surrounded with Police and there were 9mm bullet casings on my porch. After speaking with the neighbors I found that one of the tenants upstairs had gotten overly drunk and started talking trash on passerby's. One of them pulled out a 9mm pistol and begin to fire numerously. I don't know for sure if the tenant was hit, but I do know that one of the rounds went into the apartment next store and above one piercing the brick wall (which I didn't think a 9mm could do), curving upwards, piercing the bed and finally coming to a stop in the ceiling. This was one of the very rare nights that the people were not home. Otherwise would have resulting in him being shot as he was always in bed at this time of night. (Being around 11 pm or so.)
This was about my last straw. I had also spoke with the tenant that worked at 7-11 just a hop, skip and a jump away and his car had been broken into twice. Just to top all of this off, I had my girlfriend over for a night. She was there less then an hour and it had began to rain. She realized her windows were up and quickly ran outside to roll them up. Shortly after she came inside asking where her car was. Sure enough the car had been stolen within less then an hour of her being over.
This was the absolute last time I was going to deal with it. She called the police and eventually the car was returned. Not in the condition it was stolen however. I contacted the complex a third time about these issues and they said if I don't feel safe they would move me to a different complex. I'm sorry, but if it is happening in my apartment, what is to make them think that it won't happen 20 yards away? This was a mockery and to me made me feel as though the management cared more about getting a pay check then if someone was shot on the property. I even tried to bargain at this point and said fine, give me a washer and dryer hookup with it and I'll move. May be it'll be worth it. I knew it wouldn't, I just don't like the confrontation. They did not agree to this either. After about another month a friend of mine said that he was going to be moving out and I could take on his lease. I gladly jumped at the opportunity as Glendale was much safer of an area. Yes, for those of you that know the area, Glendale was safer and much easier to live in. That's saying something. After that and hearing 2 more complaints about friends being robbed in the area, the 7-11 had been robbed twice, and a coworker had been beat up in the parking lot of that 7-11, I called the complex back and said that I don't care about the lease, my life is in danger living here and I'm leaving. They said to keep them updated as to what is going on. I told them again, I'm leaving. I moved out and found a voice mail a few days later with the manager telling me that if I was going to leave then I could at least be a man and respond to her. This infuriated me obviously as I don't appreciate giving the complex that many chances and they personally insult me. This was unprofessional and very rude. Not to mention it was extremely immoral to keep me where I am in danger.
So overall, at least two friends had been robbed, coworker beat up, my apartment broke into, my car broke into, there were drug dealers all over the complex and a lab in the apartment upstairs, shootings, stolen cars, and unprofessional and rude management as well as a maintenance team that did not do there job and entered the complex without me knowing twice. None of this was in the contract that I signed. They obviously don't hold up to the moral of others and I did not sign a lease to get shot at.in fact, the exact opposite. So why should I hold up my end of the lease? Well, I shouldn't. And I absolutely should not be legally bound to it. But I did anyway. I stayed in the complex until my lease was up and moved into the other apartment after my lease was up. Now Apartments on the Green are sewing me because I didn't give them a 60 day notice. I also found out that after I told them I'm leaving they did not change the locks and somehow another person that I did know actually got into my apartment. Strangely my spare key was missing. I am now being held in account for this as well. There was mold in the bathroom, there was a whole about 2 feet high and a foot wide when I moved in, and they were charging me almost 1000 a month after all the hidden charges including for things I was not even using such as parking.
It has been over a year since I last had any communication with the complex and I was not served papers so I go rid of the voice mail and the paperwork was lost during moving. I no longer have anything to hold up in court and I am out over 1300 dollars. Obviously the judge will not listen to me and the apartments will get there money. How I don't know as I can't even find a job in this economy. But hey, I signed a contract. This is completely immoral and I want to make sure that anyone I can get across to should never lease from this complex! If this story has not influenced your decision then I suppose enjoy. But if I had any say the complex would be demolished and all management would be fired and left to suffer as I have in these hard times of a bad economy. If Apartments on the Green wants the money I supposedly owe them, then I'm sorry, but the only way to do so is to garnish my wages when I do get a job. I refuse to pay a dime to them or ever refer anyone to live in such a dangerous environment.
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