I've been dying to do this review, but I wanted to wait until after I
moved out and got my security deposit back.
When I moved in (2006), I was impressed Dolben's rigorous screening of tenants
that kept the neighborhood good compared to the neighboring apt
complexes on Lakeside Blvd. That's when I wrote the "Made the right choice"
review in 2006. (Lost my old info, so had to make a new username.)
Then JPI management took over, and it all went down the toilet.
I'm not a demanding tenant. I am happy if I can just pay my rent with
no hassle and get a decent place to live in exchange. I shouldn't even
need to visit the rental office.
But, when your JPI water bill doesn't arrive until after the water/rent
payment is due (happens regularly), you have no choice but to go to the
office to find out how much you owe. And the JPI-run rental office is
rude, unresponsive, and incompetent.
One day, I got a strongly worded notice on the door demanding almost $500 in fees
for the "unreported dog" that they discovered during an inspection. The
thing is: I never had any pet. When I called the rental office, they
rudely insisted that they made no mistake. Now, how do you prove that
you don't have a dog exactly? I sent them a certified letter insisting
again that I never had any pets and that they correct the mistake. I
also asked that they respond in writing so I could have a record in case
of further problems. (A fair request, I think.)
Of course, although the charge was removed, I never got any response
or apology. What a hassle it was!
Red Run is now so desperate for tenants that they plaster the
neighborhood with roadside signs and banners every weekend. And they
are taking anybody. There are more obnoxious people in the parking lots,
people drinking alcohol out of brown paper bags, more trash in the
neighborhood, more vandalism.
Several times over the last 3 months there have been Baltimore County
court notices on the bulletin boards for people who aren't paying their
rent.
All of these problems are accelerating the move-outs of the decent
tenants and forcing management to fill the space with more bad tenants.
A vicious circle likely to get worse and worse.
The property is owned by Rreef, a stock market company... so there is
no real owner to complain to either.
And the garbage is almost always overflowing the dumpsters because Red
Run contracts with the cheapest garbage company they can find. The
drivers won't pick up the garbage unless the Red Run crew has opened
the dumpster gates for them. Yet, the staff often forgets to do this.
I have been lucky not to need much maintenance help, but the speed of
service calls has also gotten worse. And lack of grounds/facilities maintenance is becoming clear.
Red Run is still not the worst place in Owings Mills, but it fell below my standards and that is why I moved out.
If you do choose to rent here, avoid the apartments overlooking
Lakeside Blvd, traffic noise from the speeding cars is constant even
late at night.