I am a former tenant of Villa Capri I, managed by GMC along with 7 other Properties in the Arlington Region of Jacksonville, Fl -- most of which were either unlisted with the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation (www.myfloridalicense.com) or listed with expired licenses, until I reported the unlicensed activity of GMC to the DBPR late last year; now only half are unlisted and the ones that are listed have current licenses: Villa Capri II (unlisted), Sweetbriar (unlisted), Georgetown (unlisted), Greenbriar (unlisted), Forest Park Apartments, Monterey Manor & Colony Apartments (Villa Capri I is also listed). Because the local authorities don't really care what slumlords do -- so long as they don't drag the property value of the surrounding area down too much -- supposedly the licenses for GMC's unlisted Properties are now allowed to be "Grandfathered" under the listed ones. GMC's unsatisfactory record with the BBB can be inspected here: www.jacksonville.bbb.org/commonreport.html'compid=12409. While it is true that slumlords perform an invaluable service to low-income families by providing affordable housing which otherwise might not be available, it is important to recognize that because Villa Capri I & II are every bit the "garden spot" of the slum in which they reside does not mean that GMC is something other than a slumlord -- notwithstanding GMC having its own website (www.gmcpropertymanagement.com). Specifically, GMC engages in fraudulent leasing practices that revolve around the seemingly generous "move-in specials" (or "concessions") it uses to lure new tenants, which are then promptly rescinded through an "early move-out" clause in the lease, once GMC determines that tenants are not willing to be subjected to the incessant harassment which the COJ requires of it (since most of GMC's Jax Properties are too rundown for anyone but low-income minorities to want to live in and sit directly across the street from Jacksonville University, the COJ's most accredited University). This "early move-out" clause -- which requires tenants who vacate prematurely (regardless of the reasons or circumstances) to pay whatever rent was due under the remainder of their leases until their apartments are rented out again -- basically gives GMC license to steal from tenants by manufacturing evidence with which to evict them anytime it wishes, and without having to be concerned about any adverse legal or financial repercussions. While the "early move-out" clause is part of the standard Lease for Rental Properties that are members of the Florida Apartment Association, GMC is one of the select few FAA Properties that not only does not include an Addendum restricting the "early move-out" penalty to 1 or 2 months rent, but actually includes an Addendum expanding the penalty to require repayment of any move-in "concessions" going all the way back to when a tenant first moves in. Depending on the methods GMC uses to manufacture the evidence it uses to force tenants to vacate prematurely, it will sometimes attach a Liability Insurance Addendum to the renewed leases of any tenants naive or desperate enough to re-sign, so that it can be covered for any damage caused to the apartment or to tenants' property by those methods (the Liability Insurance requirement is also a part of the standard Lease of the FAA, and normally used as a means for Rental Properties to protect themselves against theft in the poorer & more crime-ridden areas, but not with GMC). All of this stems from the fact that the COJ can no longer legally force low-income minorities out of an area once they settle in through its usual method of raising the rent throughout the area -- as this "gentrification" violates Article 8 of the Fair Housing Act when it disproportionately displaces protected groups -- so that the COJ is left with no viable alternative but to use the only other method known to the Deep South for dealing with low-income minorities whenever they gather together in large numbers: Employing hard-core, redneck thugs like GMC to "crack the whip" sufficiently enough that the neighborhood does not deteriorate to the point where it affects Jacksonville University; thugs who in turn are left with no alternative but to steal from the tenants they wind up alienating in order to make ends meet. After GMC has either harassed tenants into leaving prematurely or evicted them, it is then free to start the whole process all over again by luring replacement tenants with an irresistible "move-in special" -- say, the first 2 months rent off (there is a big sign on the front lawn GMC's Rental Office right now that reads simply "FREE RENT") -- based on the expectation of continuing to obtain rent from the former occupants, since they typically will have no way to verify when GMC was able to secure replacement tenants; or GMC can simply take its time in re-letting the apartments, as opposed to making the "good faith" effort required by Florida Statute 83.595(2) to re-let the apartments with the same vigor as it does for apartments that it is not already receiving rent for (www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes). It is imperative, therefore, to seek legal help or to at least file a complaint with Consumer Affairs at the State level (the COJ no longer handles Landlord-Tenant issues, since it is essentially forced to investigate its own misconduct in situations such as this) the very first time GMC accuses you of doing something you know you have not done, at www.800helpfla.com or by calling (800) 435-7352; they are only authorized to mediate -- much like the BBB -- but at least you will have a record of your version of things documented with a local authority. Another good tactic is to notify Municipal Code Enforcement at www.coj.net rather than GMC itself when repair issues arise -- in the event that GMC does start fabricating evidence against you (as it is required to do by the COJ when confronted with low-income minority tenants who are deemed unsuitable for long-term tenancy for any reason) -- so that you will have an official record of repair issues with a third party. Also, check the info at Cafe Law (www.cafelaw.com), Three Rivers Legal Services (www.trls.org/housing.htm) & Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (www.jaxlegalaid.org/v2/pamphlets.html) for advice on ways to deal with negligent & abusive landlords. Since GMC's intent in manufacturing evidence with which to evict tenants or harass them into leaving prematurely is basically to make a few extra thousand dollars off of tenants who are not going to be staying for whatever the reason, they are not going to hire an attorney in order to do it (and, in most cases, would not really want to go to Court with whatever evidence they had fabricated if they did), so you will be in very good shape seeking any type of pro bono assistance offered by either TRLS or JALA. Also, since you are dealing with thieves here, under no circumstances is GMC going to refund your deposit, unless you take them to Court. In fact, the prudent thing to do would be to do a thorough move-in inspection and keep a careful record of it, and then schedule a move-out inspection several weeks before vacating and keep a careful record of it also, in anticipation of GMC not only withholding the deposit, but actually claiming that you owe them money at some point (in all of its efforts to steal from tenants, GMC relies heavily on the fact that no one is going to rent to a tenant who owes another landlord money, so that tenants are left with no choice but to pay whatever GMC says it is owed).

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