The one big gotcha that they don't seem to get, is what an entry notice is. They believe that they are exempt, BECAUSE THEY MAKE YOU SIGN AN ADDENDUM TO THE LEASE THAT ALLOWS THEM TO ENTER THE APARTMENT AT ANY TIME. People, don't get taken. That is not an "assignable" right. You can't sign it away. They are either too ignorant to understand Oregon landlord tenant law, or they are outright crooks, on that note. This is how you find out if you're going to get on. Try to communicate that detail to them when you're looking at it, first time 'round. It's a good way to see the worst side of the management, while you're seeing the nice grounds. If the discussion doesn't bother you, it's a good place to live. If it does, you're gonna be irritated.

The managers mean well, I think, but they're not real bright. They are currently remodeling, trying to get everyone to move out ("Comcast may be inspecting every room in your apartment for the next 10 days, including Saturdays and Sundays") so they can raise the rent.

Another example of their legal ham-handedness would be the notice given on July 3, banning all bar-b-ques. Fine. But then they had to go on and demand that you physically dispose of your grill, under threat of eviction.

On a the plus side, the owner actually lives in one of the apts, so they're not so bad. Have to check well, though, for past damage, as floods. Hers is the one with the tree and tomatoes, over the office, FYI.

It's all true, so really , really look into the details of your apt. Great ones, horrid ones, and they'll show you one after the other. Caveat Emptor!

User Responses
From: aqhagirl	Date: 07/22/2009
Hmm. I agree with most of what you said but had a question about the landlords. When we lived there the complex was managed by Princeton Properties and the managers were just employees of Princeton. I don't believe the managers own the property .. they just think they do.
From: JackHobbes	Date: 07/22/2009
Correct. To clarify, the real owner just moved in a few doors down from the managers. Forgot to mention on the legal point, if a landlord tries to enforce an addendum that says you surrender a Chapter 10 right, you can sue for 3x your rent. That makes all their entries without notice. My lawyer said I was entitled to 5x, based on two unnotified entries and their trying to enforce the "you waived entry rights" bit. It's simple, really. When they give you "notice", you tape your notice to the office door, saying "you are denied entry to my apartment because it unreasonably interferes with my planned usage". If they enter anyway, it's an unlawful entry, and you give them a 30 day notice to correct the behavior. If they don't, you leave after the 30 days with NO PENALTIES. If they repeat it within 6 months, you only have to give them 14 days notice to correct or you walk, again, with no penalties. And if they insist that you are in violation, because of the entry waiver...that's a flat 3x your rent! The key, obviously, is you really have to be ready to sue. Given all the money that could be involved, it's amazing this isn't already a class action.
From: PrincetonManagementIsPureEvil	Date: 07/22/2009
That's the same legal advice I got. Just to make sure, in case they change, their "notices" aren't because a notice must be "firmly affixed to the main entry to the premises", not stuck in a clip beside the door. And it has to be a real 24 hours, not 4:30 pm for an 8am entry. We caught Armando on camera, leaving one at 4 o'clock, and he denied it. We showed him the video- the sun is pretty different at 8 and 4- and he STILL denied it. So, I agree. These people are ripe for the legal plucking. Maybe it's a big bluff. There's no penalty for that bogus "entry waiver", UNLESS you try to enforce it. Break out the bar-b! They never gave you proper notice not to!
From: WelcomeToTheWildWest	Date: 08/24/2009
So, there can be no better example of their idea of entry notice, and reasonable maintenance than their entering apartments this week. I'll keep it to the facts. That way you can ask the management, ask a resident, and see that they're ALREADY looking you in the eye and lying (must be Princeton Property Management)! 1. Entry notice is dated Friday, for Monday entry. Notice was left at 6pm Sunday. 2. Notice was shoved in the crack of the door. Oregon law declares that it is not a notice unless it is "securely attached to the main entry of the dwelling. 3. By the first two points, Oregon law (Title 10) allows you to give them 30 day notice for illegal entry. Residents that have done so have been threatened with eviction. That is also a violation of the law. 4. They base their ability to enter at will on the "entry waiver" you sign with the lease. It is not enforceable, under Title 10. Attempting to do so entitles the tenant to 3 months back rent. During the court proceedings, they file bogus credit information with the credit companies. 5. The manager- not a maintenance person- is performing the "Annual Maintenance Inspection". She has picked the #1 week for people to be on vacation. Bottom line: go on vacation here the last week of August, and you'll find that the woman that is the company rep. has been digging around in your closets while you were gone. 6. As the procedure does not constitute legal entry, under Title 10, management is required to leave the names and actions taken by all the persons that entered. Instead, they collect the original notice, and tell you nothing. You don't know- until much later- that they searched your apartment. 7. The manager has never read Title 10. She follows a list of corporate policies, dictated by Princeton Property Management. They encourage managers not to read Title 10. Even for them it is obvious to see that they are simply doing things clearly prohibited by law. 8. None of this means ANYTHING, if you don't sue. They bet everything they have on the fact that folks in a $500 apartment will not be able to sue them. It has worked for them. When you do not give them a 30 day notice for illegal entry, YOU ARE EXPLICITLY GIVING THEM PERMISSION TO DO SO AGAIN! Bottom line, hire a lawyer, make a complaint, or you have not one iota of the rights guaranteed to you by Title 10. Title 10 is landlord friendly. If penalties for these behaviors were not made a "civil matter" by the provisions of Title 10, they would be criminal behaviors. That's not good enough for these people. Allowed to commit crimes with only civil liability to fear, they've decided to flaunt that. Effectively, living here and not suing is the same as living in the wild west, were there were no laws at all. I will be giving them a 30 day notice. How 'bout you all grow a pair and stop simply writing a check each month to people that are out to inflict damage on you, every single way the law says they can't!

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