# Problems with apartments & congregate housing



## Geezerette (Nov 16, 2020)

If moving into an older ( over 10 yrs) complex be very alert to their maintenance practices. Ask penetrating questions up front. A problem I’ve been seeing first hand through 2 different older complexes and 1 assisted living  is that they do a great many cosmetic improvements to look attractive & up to date. 

Meanwhile no money has been spent on consistent preventive maintenance and the plumbing, wiring, heating etc have just been moldering away and can crash “bigly” at the worst possible times. Example : ( “what I did today”) was fight about obsolete plumbing. In another they refused to check a circuit breaker  until damage had been done.  Not being to able to use latest microwave or plug 2 things at once. 

Warnings about first floor : more likely to experience sink and toilet clogs from what upper floors are draining.
Quiz the mgt thoroughly & try to get frank opinions on maintenance from as many current residents as you can.
“I used to be nice and trusting but I got over it.”


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## MarciKS (Nov 16, 2020)

They are more concerned about making it appealing to the eye than they are about actually taking care of properties. This is what we in KS call slum lords. They will milk the property without actually taking care of anything. They want the rent but not the headache.


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## funsearcher! (Jan 27, 2021)

Where I used to live, there was an issue with the hard water corroding the metal water pipes and they would spring a leak and a bandaid repair would be done. Then it would happen again and again until finally they replaced with plastic tubing--but only on one floor.

The worst was when the boiler flooded the entire ground floor--I was next door to the boiler room--and had to live with the fans and being torn up for weeks--without compensation for any of it--and my renter's insurance had a 750 dollar deductible.


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## Ruthanne (Jan 27, 2021)

Geezerette said:


> If moving into an older ( over 10 yrs) complex be very alert to their maintenance practices. Ask penetrating questions up front. A problem I’ve been seeing first hand through 2 different older complexes and 1 assisted living  is that they do a great many cosmetic improvements to look attractive & up to date.
> 
> Meanwhile no money has been spent on consistent preventive maintenance and the plumbing, wiring, heating etc have just been moldering away and can crash “bigly” at the worst possible times. Example : ( “what I did today”) was fight about obsolete plumbing. In another they refused to check a circuit breaker  until damage had been done.  Not being to able to use latest microwave or plug 2 things at once.
> 
> ...


I am in my second first floor apt but this one is like floor #1.5 as there is one smaller floor below me.  It is true here there are sink clog problems from the apts. above and it's a real pain at times.  People put all kinds of things down their drains as I found out when my kitchen was flooded one year with noodles and water.  Some people are also not aware of what things you can put safely in a garbage disposal type sink.  I lived in another first floor apt. and there weren't any drain clog problems there but once the above floor had an overflown toilet and all such "debris" came through the floor into my bathroom--to say it was disgusting is saying the very least.  

I have mostly lived in places much older than 10 years and the current place I am in is 75 years old!  One good thing I can say is that the management here stays on top of most of the problems especially the plumbing ones but they want you to alert them to the problems right away and some don't--I do.  

One other problem with these old places is that the insulation has disintegrated in the ceilings and walls and so you can hear just about everything and that makes it lack privacy.  It's really hard to enjoy yourself in these places with having to be as quiet as a mouse.


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## katlupe (Feb 26, 2021)

The apartment management here where I live stays on top of things. It is an old school (built in 1880) and half of it has been remodeled for senior and disabled apartments. I don't have any complaints at all. I didn't really hear others until a couple moved in above me with a small dog. small but active. He plays and chews on something at night. I hear him, but I am not upset about the noise. I like him and all the pets in my building.


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## Kathleen’s Place (Feb 26, 2021)

I like our apt too. We can hear our upstairs neighbors walking around sometimes but that is about it. Nothing major as we always have some kind of noise (music or tv) when we are up. Cannot stand a dead quiet house . (If the music or tv would happen to go out, I would then have to sing and NOBODY, even myself, should have to be subjected to THAT )


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## Marie5656 (Feb 26, 2021)

*My apartment building is a seniors (over 62) building. It is about 40 years old.   They seem to care for it well. Maintanence requests are handled pretty quickly and efficently.
In fact, today they are going to each apartment, doing a yearly critter check. Looking for bed bugs.  My apartment was clean, and the guy told me so far no "visitors" have been found..and they have done 3 floors so far.*


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## debodun (Feb 26, 2021)

They aren't going to tell the truth if they are hiding some maintenance problems. Why scare away potential residents?


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## Aunt Bea (Feb 26, 2021)

The complex where I live was built at the end of WWII.

My apartment is an old third-floor walkup with a variety of problems.  The maintenance crew is very responsive and they maintain it better than I would if I owned it.

I stay because it's cheap, fireproof, burglar-proof, and has indoor parking.  The neighborhood is declining but it is still a very walkable area with all of the basics.

I've been here for over 10 years and have never seen an exterminator or anything that would require one but I'm sure that they have a discreet service of some sort.

When I eventually move I'll probably have to pay twice as much rent for half as much space.

_"The secret to happiness is having low expectations."_ - Warren Buffet


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## Murrmurr (Feb 26, 2021)

Aunt Bea said:


> The complex where I live was built at the end of WWII.
> 
> My apartment is an old third-floor walkup with a variety of problems.  The maintenance crew is very responsive and they maintain it better than I would if I owned it.
> 
> ...


Mine was run by a slum-lord and the city bought it with help from the state. After several months of renovation it became low-income housing. Only 2 of the 60 apartments have only one bedroom, and I'm in one of them. It's pretty here even though it's in a very depressed area. It's gated (for what that's worth), maintenance is responsive, landscapers and pest control do their thing twice a month, and a security guy patrols twice a day, evening and late night. I'm staying as long as I'm able.


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