This is long, but worth reading
I moved into the complex in August of 06. I was a newly single Mother who needed a place safe and affordable. The night I moved in I was awoken by helicopters shining their lights in my window, kind of scary, first night being alone. I later found out that a tenant was being held, by knife point, in their home. That was just the beginning of a lovely year.

The next few months went by smoothly. I felt safe and taken care of by the staff and maintenance. I had no complaints of noise, bugs or parking. There was rain that came into my place, but it was fixed soon after. The gates are always broken, but they are false security anyhow. I find it kind of silly that everyone continues to complain about the parking situation because it seems so minute to what happened to me next.

I will paint you a picture:
I live on the first floor (there are two apartments above me). I have a child and a new spouse. I live in a 2 bedroom apartment facing the cat litter box (volley ball court, ha!)

Ok, it was Saturday morning (8am, a week before Christmas) and I walked into the laundry room because I heard trickling of water. When I opened the door, there was water running down the wall. I put some towels on the floor and proceeded to call the front office. When I went outside, I noticed an elderly gentleman frantic. He stated that he needed to get a hold of the front office because his apartment was flooding. When I went upstairs, there was a maintenance guy already there. Apparently, the pipe inside the wall was broken and he had been fixing it for about an hour, which then burst. The maintenance didn t want to shut the water off because they were afraid of inconveniencing other tenants. Everyone knows the law of gravity, what is up, must come down. It did.

Luckily we have a garage and family members in town that are willing to help at a moments notice. I started to pack all my things and move them in our garage. The maintenance said that I was over reacting and I should stop. An hour later, we had about an inch of water in our bathroom, kitchen, dining room and hallway. Good thing I over reacted and moved my things.

While the commotion was going on, the maintenance s boss asked him to remove the padding from all the units. His response was, and I quote, why me' I will get my boots wet. Wow. Needless to say, he no longer works there.

I called the front office to find out what the next steps were going to be. They stated that they have to make an assessment before they can involve the property manager. After a few hours of packing and moving I get a call from the front office. Apparently the property manager didn t like being interrupted on her day off and said that we can come in on Monday to discuss where we were going to live. For the time being, they had us stay at another furnished apartment for the weekend. They said that we would have to live at our apartment during the construction of it. (The water was sitting in the ceiling and they still were not afraid of mold). I have a child and it is a week before Christmas and they want us to live in our home while they cut holes in the ceiling. We offered to move ourselves on that day since there was a vacant apartment next door and we had the weekend off. They told us that it was already leased and we still had to live there.


Monday rolled around. We received a call from the property manager (so glad you took the time) and she said that we had to move that day. My husband and I were at work. Again, thanks to family, we were able to take time off work and move our things over. I was told that we would get temporary electricity for the night since APS couldn t make it that day. Around 7pm, after getting steamed about moving in the dark, we went to the maintenance guy s home to find out if we could get light. He informed us that the property manager has demanded that he not give us power. Apparently, we knew we were moving 11am that morning. We had to sleep in our new place with no lights or heat.

There was a kind lady at the front office who felt bad for us and purchased (I think with her own money) a gift card to subway. That is the Holiday spirit that I wish all would have.

So, we are moved (ourselves, no help from them) and have the worse neighbors above us. They are up until 2-3 in the morning drinking and yelling on the patio, weekends and week nights. They throw their garbage over the ledge and leave it there. My child asks us why we don t pick it up and it s hard to explain to my child what the principle of the matter is.

We have yet to receive any compensation or discount for the major inconvenience. I will state, I understand that they can t stop the flood, but they could have handled the situation in a more respectable way. We are moving once our lease is up and I STRONGLY URGE ANYONE TO RECONSIDER MOVING INTO THIS COMPLEX.

Oh, one more thing. They moved a young family into our old place and did no repairs (painted some walls). You can still see where the water sits/sat in the ceiling. Great service!

User Responses
From: laserenatenant	Date: 01/03/2008
Sounds like what happended to us when after 1 month a pipe in the bathroom of the apartment above us broke... inch of water in the master bathroom,bedroom and into the living room. After a request to move to a new apartment, which was denied... they gave us a blower to help dry it. Apparently they are not worried about mold. I move out in a month(thank god) and I feel bad for whoever moves into this particular unit.
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/06/2008
I think a health services agency for the city of Phoenix should be made aware of these situations. Mold can be a very serious health issue especially to the very young and the elderly. I wonder if the complex insurance carrier is aware of how these issues have been handled? I would say that any mold related health issues should be discussed with a lawyer based on the negligent maintenance of these units. Renters should document dates and times of such incidents, who you notified, names of people you spoke to, how the clean up was handled and by whom (were they professionals or was it just the local handyman onsite?), doctors visits, receipts, medical records ..... accountability is sure to come back and bite these folks in the behind.
From: ridinby	Date: 01/20/2008
I HAVE TO AGREE WITH THE LAST POST. THERE ARE LAWS PUT IN PLACE TO KEEP THAT FROM HAPPENING TO PEOPLE. I ALSO THINK MORE PEOPLE NEED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING THERE RIGHTS AS A RENTER AND INVESTIGATE WHAT THERE OPTIONS REALLY ARE INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING NOTHING WAS DONE
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/27/2008
I've lived at La Serena for several years. Maintenace here is a joke, mainly because they hire inept maintenace people and have a joke for a Maintenance Manager running everything. He cares so much for the property that I've witnessed him throwing his cigarette butts on top of the covered parking roofs more times than I can count. Their lack of care or concern for residents is appalling, they drop the ball on every occasion and do half-as* repair jobs when they feel like getting around to it. Whatever they get paid for their jobs is too much ! Property Manager LeeAnn is no better.
From: Anonymous	Date: 02/04/2008
What particular units have issues? I take it the 1st floor has the most ...
From: Anonymous	Date: 06/20/2008
LeeAnn is the -----.

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