Ive been renting apartments for about 172years now moving every year or two for work and the like. I had been a resident of Pheasant run twice in the past with little to no problems, however, this last experience has left me infuriated to the point that Im willing to bear the time and expense of a lawsuit against the community, and to see what will be necessary to have the property shut down, or at the very least, warn the public in the greater Ann Arbor area about how inept and incompetent the management of this property is both on the local and corporate levels. Pheasant run isnt the cheapest apartment community for those wishing or needing to live in the city of Ann Arbor, but they are also far from the most expensive. Knowing this, you can expect that the buildings will be a little older with occasional maintenance issues, some ants, etc. Having lived in this community in the past before and after Hartman and Tyner took over I see a noticeable difference in how well kept the property is overall, the attitude of the management, and the quality of the maintenance. I didnt go into the last lease with any above average expectations, but this place has proven to me that just because a company has a nice logo and some nice trucks that they can still be slum lords in the end.

First off, the bug and ant problem is horrid. The ants have infested the building we had resided at (3634 #2), along with earwigs. The windows and doors are very drafty, and often leak, which Ill get into later. Mold and mildew seemed to be a constant problem because of the leaks. The laundry dryer was often barely working, and when it did, it would often take two cycles, even with 100% cotton and a light load. The security door could often be found propped open day and night, not because people left it that way intentionally, but rather from the door frame sticking to the point it was sometimes difficult to even close the door. Hallway lights were burned out about 25% of the time. The electrical system was rather touchy at times, often tripping the breaker for no apparent reason. The central air units have been replaced on about a quarter of the apartments. Im uncertain of how many of the furnaces are modern. Whatever you are thinking youll be saving in rent will be made up for in utility costs. Some of the central air units are probably dating back to the end of the Regan administration..

Paid parking is another thing that I wouldnt advise to anyone living in this community as its not enforced. Their answer to someone being in your assigned parking place is put a note on their window. Given that they wont actually do it, on the other end of this, you could do that if you live there, whether you rent the spot or not I suppose.

So, you may be wondering what happens when one calls in a maintenance request' They are very professional on the telephone during business hours. They promise an immediate response and assure you the problem will be taken care of. All I can say is that based on many, many requests, that the professionalism ends there. For the times that the maintenance did actually respond (at about a 60% response rate, mind you), they were often late, spent very little time actually looking at the problem, and did the quickest, cheapest, and often the most ineffective job of resolving the problem Ive ever seen. My main point of contention was the patio door frame. Unit 2 is a one bedroom apartment located in the back of the building and is what borders the storage rooms. If Im not mistaken, there is one single bedroom unit per building. Around February of 2006 the snow and ice started to melt outside and a rather significant leak started at the inside of the door frame at the seam of the drywall. By significant, I mean at least a gallon of water came in through the right of the door frame in the matter of about two hours. I called the after hours emergency number, received a call back from someone claiming to be the maintenance manager. I had met the maintenance manager in the past after my car had gotten broken into. I was upset, and told them they needed to do something about all of the non-residents hanging around the parking lot in large groups after hours. He chuckled and said it wouldnt do any good. I told him F You, after which he picked a fight with me. It truly says something about the quality of the help when the manager picks a fight with a tenant& Either way, this maintenance manager on the phone wasnt this guy.. He informed me that since it was already wet and leaking he couldnt do anything.. Logic tells me, that while the water is pouring in, one can identify the source of a leak when its that significant.. Anyway, the following day, the guy comes by and puts a bead of caulk along the inside of the door frame. The next time the snow melted, in poured the water in 4 concentrated areas where the caulk had pulled up into the door frame area. The next two calls (after hours, since I work days), were answered but nobody ever came out. Mind you, both times I spoke with two new maintenance managers. This whole thing was getting old.. I had called a total of 7 times on this issue, it never did get resolved. I dont know why I bothered putting buckets, pots, pans, plastic bags, whatever I had to that would catch as much of this water leaking in, but I did. There was water damage to the carpet, there was mold and mildew forming on the top of the carpet. I had some damage that my dog had made in the hallway, Im willing to accept the damages for that, they are legitimate, however, I just received my bill for damages. They are calling for me to pay $474.24 for new carpet and padding.

I had called the corporate office a few times to complain about the local management and the lack of maintenance response. I was concerned about my safety as the wall that was leaking had an electrical outlet on either side of it. With that much water, it could have caused a fire or electrocution from the soaked carpet. Their resolution when visiting the property was to waive the August rent when I gave less than 30 days notice to vacate the premises. Im apparently now supposed to pay the entire August rent along with the carpet damages.

If you are a tenant at this property and have long outstanding maintenance issues, please contact me. Ive been in touch with the Ann Arbor housing authority, and will be contacting lawyers in the next couple of days. If theres a positive outcome out of all this, Ill be happy to send you a copy of all the associated court paperwork and whom to contact to ensure your rights as a tenant are honored. Legal aid in Ann Arbor is free and is located in the Annex across from the courthouse in downtown Ann Arbor. They have a guide on landlord-tenant rights. There are people there that can help. I had started the process before moving out of state, but dropped it once they had agreed to not charge me for the August rent and promised Id not be charged for any damage to the carpet that wasnt mine. They went back on their half of the arrangement, so Im doing exactly what I said Id do, which is inform the public and take them to court. Its petty for $765.00, I know, but its about principle.. Its about getting a public record for others to refer to when it comes to dealing with this horrid property management company. For all the stress this has caused me over the last few months Im considering contacting a lawyer that deals with such damages.

User Responses
From: mainte44	Date: 09/15/2006
this person doesn't know what she is talking about. Everywhere there is crime you can't stop it,Alos if you don't tell the office about the problem they can't fix it.Go buy a house and find out what it take to keep the up keep.you'll find it's not easy.
From: hmmm2006	Date: 10/03/2006
I need to speak with u...I'm having problems at this horrible place...my email is discreetfemale@gmail.com...if you see this PLEASE email me
From: Anonymous	Date: 09/06/2007
this person is my hero. i am also having problems with/HATING LIVING AT pheasant run apartments. they suck.
From: lilywize	Date: 09/23/2008
I lived there in 2002-2003. I believe every word this person said is true, according to my experience there. I had water leaking from my bathroom ceiling, into to the lighting fixture, every time the upstairs neighbor used the bath/shower. They have been to fix it over 4 times, and did not solve the problem. (They did, however, keep painting over the wet spot, as if it would make it disappear). They were always very nice on the phone; they just did not fix the problem!! When it rained, water would pour through the living room glass door to my carpet, since the gaps were so huge between the frame and the wall. It was drafty too, off course. During my stay there in winter, I would feel fine at work, and start having headaches when I returned home. At the last four months there, I had a boyfriend, who would stay with me on the weekends. After a while we noticed that he is feeling fine before getting to the apartment and start having headaches a shortly after getting there. Looking backwards, we suspect there was a carbon-monoxide issue there. We had neighbors across the hall that had a baby. They moved out a few weeks after she started crawling, and when I asked them why, they said it is too drafty and cold, and they don???t want her to spend time crawling around on the carpet and getting sick.

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