I moved to MA from out of state for a job, so I had to find a place rather quickly so that I wouldn't be living out of my suitcase. Enter Richmond Properties. This is a family owned & operated business, but in NO way is this like your friendly family owned diner. I met the landlord at the place I eventually moved into. You know how a salesman will say anything just to get you to buy their product' The landlord was no different. The apartment I lived in had 7 parking spots and only 4 tenants. So before I moved in I asked if I decided to buy another car, if that would be ok to park here. He said sure. So eventually I bought another car for winter use. Now, not everyone can afford to buy a brand new Mercedes. My winter car was not the most beautiful car on the block, but it drove fine and didn't leak fluids all over the place. The landlord took offense to the appearance of my winter car, and refused to allow me to keep it on the premises (contrary to his previous word). He also won't allow cable TV on any of his properties. He says this is because the cable wires are "unsightly" from the street to the house. Now, you've all seen those horrific TV antennas that look like tree branches on top of some houses. His buildings have at least one, maybe even two of THOSE instead of a single cable TV wire from the cable company. You tell me if that makes sense' I was able to get DirecTV for myself, since it wasn't "cable." Apparently he used MY satellite hookup as a bargaining chip for another tenant that moved in above me! He told her that I had satellite, and I would be willing to set her up with her own equipment. Now, I don't have a problem with helping a neighbor out. BUT RICHMOND DIDN'T EVEN CONSULT ME BEFORE USING IT TO LURE A NEW TENANT INTO FOOLISHLY RENTING HIS PLACE! He wanted ME to do HIM a favor, and when I ask for something like parking my other car in one of the multiple EMPTY spots I get refused. Great landlord, huh' The apartment itself is poorly constructed since it's so old. My heating bill (which you'll have to pay for) was sky-high due to the complete lack of insulation and weatherstripping around the doors & windows. I could just feel my wallet getting lighter as the cold air wafted underneath the cracks in the doors. Even the electrical system can't go without fault. For god sakes, all my lights are on PULL CHAINS instead of light switches. The lights physically DIM when using larger appliances like a microwave. When things break (which they WILL because the place is so shoddy), service takes forever. I went for 4 days without hot water because my hot water heater went out. Then the swapping of the hot water heater stirred up so much sediment in the pipes (because the hot water is physically BROWN at his property) that my kitchen sink nozzle was CLOGGED with gunk and didn't so much as let out a drop of water!

I bet you think I'm making this up. Well I wish I were; if so I'd be writing fiction novels for a living.

Bottom line: I can't believe I lived here for an entire year. Were it not for the 1 year lease agreement, I would have jumped ship after the first month. I might as well have given my excessively high rent payments to charity and lived under a bridge somewhere, because dealing with Richmond Properties is not worth the hassle. If you try to call Richmond for anything and he disagrees with you, don't be surprised if he SLAMS the phone down and hangs up on you. It happened to me multiple times. This is the kind of business you'll be dealing with.

The truth is out there...and it's scary. Be careful!

User Responses
From: Looking4AHaven	Date: 09/17/2005
Thanks for the warning... I'm adding this one to my DO NOT VISIT list.
From: Anonymous	Date: 11/21/2007
Thanks for the input, I can relate and agree to a couple of things you pointed out. However he now allows cable and a pet per house hold....that's about the only thing that has changed.... The houses are still cold and the windows need to be replaced....I dread the winters due to the high heating bills....400.00 plus per month!
From: Brokeashell	Date: 07/22/2008
Thanks for the input.... I'll stay away from richmond , had my share of nasty landlords don't want another one.

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