DO NOT RENT HERE!! SHOOTINGS DID HAPPEN!! PLEASE READ
From:
-Anonymous-
Date posted:
7/27/2007
Years at this apartment:
2007
-
2007
4 responses
My wife and I also woke up to 4 consecutive gunshots on Thursday at 4:30 A.M. I called 911 and they sent a squad car right away to check it out. By the time I was off to work, there were 4 police cars by the entrance/exit; 2 blocking the entrancec to the complex. I told one of the cops walking around that I had called about a shooting and he confirmed that the shootings did, in fact, take place and that they had a man in custody.
How can you possibly enjoy a 'luxurious' and extremely over-priced apartment complex when you don't feel safe coming home or going to the gym'
This is three weeks after the sister-complex that we share the fence with (Montecito Apartments) had a similar incident that was all over the news about a man who chased down a robber and shot him in the parking garage.
Back to Montierra, we have seen cars on blocks and heard about break-ins, which is expected in a big city and can happen anywhere. This shooting was a wake up call, however, because you can replace wheels and TVs, but not a loved one hit by a stray bullet resulting from a situation that could have been avoided with half-decent security. When I asked the 'manager' what they were going to do to make us feel safer, she told me that they were going to do nothing. That we should be responsible for our own security and watch our surroundings. I agree, just like you have to be careful with the speeding cars in the garage to avoid getting hit by one, but some slight degree of concern from the 'management' in the office would have made us feel somewhat reassured instead of worried that they plan to do nothing. It's like they are giving up because they know it has gotten so bad and out of their control.
I asked about installing security cameras in the garage and she told me they don't help at all. Reassuring coming from the 'manager.' By the way, the DEA busted down the door of the apartment below mine a few months ago, and even that seems minor when compared to the shooting.
Needless to say, I gave my 30-day notice, so if you still want to move in to this over-priced, thin-walled apartment complex, you can have mine. I am gladly paying the $2,500 're-letting fee' just because you can't put a price on your wife's life.
Recommended: NO
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User Responses
From:
jonjond
Date:
07/30/2007
I spoke to the police, and they said this guest was invited into the complex by his girlfriend. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but is there REALLY any way to prevent domestic disputes? Maybe management should regulate who we date. Yeah, yeahhh, that sounds like a good idea. Wait no. That would be illegal, wouldn't it?
I've lived here for about three years now, and I think I am a pretty rational person. Knowing this, I would never assume something like this can be prevented. Come on guys, let's start using those educated heads of ours and invest our time into something a little less ridiculous.
Also, from what I read about the Montecito incident, it seems very similar to this. The guys who robbed him were his friends. Yeah I think I'm with you on this dude. We should protest management and insist they require our friends to report to the office for an extensive background check and strip-search beforehand. My friends would really get a kick out of that...
From:
Anonymous
Date:
07/31/2007
OK, jonjond, you are definitely pro managment. Let's see. How about the fact that they don't (and haven't so far) background-check anyone who lives here? Why did they have to wait until there were gunshots in the complex to start asking for criminal background of the residents? Coincidence?, or they figured out they had been doing things wrong?
The fact that there is NO SECURITY WHATSOEVER (a guard 3hrs per week is a joke that doesn't count as security for me) is something that obfuscates me. Don't tell me that they're doing a great job there. With the 25% premium you're (b/c I bet you're with the management) charging, you should hire a FULL TIME SECURITY GUARD THAT ACTUALLY ASKS VISITORS WHOM THEY VISIT and that stops suspicious people.
In the Montecito case, you say they were friends. Last time I checked, friends don't shoot each other in the face, which is what happened there. I doubt that they were friends.
I just hope that this lesson woke you (management) up. Start asking for background. Hire a guard. Make it look like you're concerned and that you are going to do something about it, instead of telling people, "I'm sorry, but you're on your own". With that attitude I feel that you don't give a rat's behind.
And let me correct you: investing time in trying to avoid gunshots in front of my door by making suggestions to the management is not ridiculous. I wonder what you would feel and how you would react if you were awaken by gunshots in the middle of the night. Not a pretty scene, and we lived it.
PS. Didn't you hear the story of the DEA busting down that door? I bet not having you're background checked if you're a thug must've been a plus when considering to move here. Just a thought.
From:
Anonymous
Date:
07/31/2007
I am not management (in fact, I wrote a negative review for this place), but jonjond makes a good point:
There's no way that management can can ensure protection against domestic cases like these....whether it's a guy shooting his girlfriend or vice-versa.
However, I DO believe that there ARE higher probability of things like this occuring here because of the TYPE OF PEOPLE living there--brats, thugs, and playboys.
Similarly, as already pointed out, auto-thefts in this apartment area also committed by known acquaintances... (In this case, though, it can be prevented by 24/7 guards with active monitoring.) But moreover, if you throw 20" spinners on your Hummer or Chrome wheels on your leased BMW, expect them to be stolen, no matter where you park it. It's not as if there are random thieves out in the parking lot trolling for treasures... it is the tenants who attract this kind of stuff and the only solution for potential renters is to avoid this place like the ebola
From:
Chuck77056
Date:
08/07/2007
Yes, i agree with JONJOND. But ANONYMOUS, before you assume im "pro-management", think about this....Go and find an apt community in Houston that offers SECURITY.. you wont.! Find something from any APT complex in writing that offers SECURITY, you wont. If you havent noticed, gates are called CONTROLLED ACCESS gates, not SECURITY gates, no place will offer SECURITY.
Like jonjond said, these incidents were done by "guests and friends" of the tenant, do you want MGT to run a credit, background,(you said MGT havent...i guess you work in the office and know that right..?) drug, and as they are going in, subject themselves to a strip-search and an x-ray weapons scan..?. Dont be ridiculous, crime and stuff like that can happen anywhere. You talk about auto-thefts. Well, if i was a crook, would i want to go and break in and steal wheels out of a 1982 Toyota in the Heights, or a BMW, LEXUS, in the Galleria area. Duh..!!
JONJOND i agree with you 99%, but "24/7 guards"...how helpful is that?unless you are in law enforcement, how are they going to arrest them? HPD does not have this as their highest priority, trust me, i got my motorcycle stolen once, i saw them doing it,(high rise, couldnt get down) called the cops, and they said, they come out when it is an actual crime, (GRAND THEFT AUTO, technically, is not until the vehicle is "moving"), they have nothing on the crook but TRANSPASSING, and wait..! the parking area is is not city property but PERSONAL PROPERTY belonging to the APTS as a whole, and since the vehicle being burglarized/stolen doesnt actually belong to the APTs there is nothing they can do, trust me, i almost exploded when i learned all this by my bike getting stolen....)sorry, sidetracked...plus, what would ANONYMOUS complain about then, when the "security" guard gets shot and killed for protecting your car? You'll blame that on MGT too? Get serious.
You talk about montecito too, "friends dont shot friends in the face.." are you that oblivious to reality.>!! remember the shooting here?, it was a DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE, i think a couple if the rumor is correct. so, going back to your statement "friends dont shot friends...", right, just the ones sleeping together.!
I agree with you, i wish things were different too, after all i live here too, but to blame everything on MGT, that is ridiculous, have you seen them breaking the gate as they leave everynight, or throwing trash on the floor, no. We, the residents are..!!!!! If you are so disgrunted, then move out, move to HAPPY LIFE Apts, i heard they are offering SECURITY at $499 a month, and you can even sign your contract as ANONYMOUS.
Unlike you, i live in reality, i have lived in other communities, and i pick the lesser of the evils. Need help moving?
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