East Valley Tribune, Saturday, March 24, 2007

RENTERS IN MESA COMPLEX HIT STREETS

By SARAH LYNCH, East Valley Tribune

Theresa Hill pays over $600 a month for her two-bedroom apartment at the Sandal Ridge complex on Country Club Drive in Mesa. For that price, she gets a unit with no smoke detector, a giant hole in the ceiling of her shower that leaks water, a toilet that runs nonstop and several rooms without working electricity.

Her neighbor, Alma Armendariz, has similar problems. There's a hole in the ceiling of her shower, no hot water and cockroaches.

Hill has placed several work orders with the new management company of the complex at 645 N. Country Club Drive. But the problems persist, and she doesn't have the money to move.

"If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have moved here," she said. "This is dangerous for my kids. I have no fire alarm."

These types of problems appear to be widespread at Sandal Ridge, but this week, residents got fed up.

They took to the street with signs to protest the bad living conditions, and more than 30 people signed a petition as well. Friday was the second day of the protest, and so far, it seems to be working.

"We had no idea so many people were unhappy and voicing their concerns about their units," said Jeff Weissman, regional vice president of the Lynd Company, the Texas-based business that manages the property. "We want to fix the stuff."

The company faces quite a task. It started managing the rental property on Feb. 16 after the complex was purchased by a new owner. Some residents said Friday they believe their original work orders may have been lost during the transfer, leaving the new company in the dark about some of the problems. Weissman said the property was not in good condition when Lynd took over.

Lynd employees confirmed they received work orders from residents, and a number of those are still pending. But Weissman said the company had not received any official complaints about the way those work orders were being handled. Records showed the company has received complaints from Hill about no electricity, but on Friday, the bedroom was still dark and a Lynd employee who walked through Hill's unit acknowledged there are problems.

"The owners are planning to invest millions of dollars to improve the property," Weissman said.

But some residents say they're tired of waiting. Lucy Lopez, who has lived at Sandal Ridge for over a year, said she plans to return to living in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community this year even if the living conditions there are tough.

"They should condemn this place," she said.

Copyright 2007 Freedom Communications. All rights reserved.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 02/26/2008
Thanks for the warning! Won't be moving here!!!!

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