Review History for debbreck

Washington Garden Apartments


Review Author Icon

debbreck

Resident 2015 - 2020

2/25/2020

First in Ten Part Series: DO NOT RENT @ WASHINGTON GARDENS APTS., 834 Washington Ave., Carnegie, PA 15106 My husband/I have lived at Washington Gardens Apts. for 4 1/2yrs. Water/Sewage costs are OUTRAGEOUS! You NEVER know what you'll be billed and you cannot budget because the spike in your bill at times can be severe because there are NO WATER METERS IN ANY OF THE APTS. McKinney Properties (Landlord) uses an "Allocation Formula" to compute the water/sewage that is extremely complicated. Our Project Mgr. couldn't explain it, the Account Mgr for AUM who provides the billing service for McKinney Properties COULD NOT explain; she then directed me to call Customer Service to ask them to explain. Customer Service could not explain how AUM calculated the "Allocation Formula." You get the picture!? Imagine the Property Mgr, the Service Provider Account Mgr, and Customer Service all NOT KNOWING HOW TO EXPLAIN THE method by which they bill Tenants! To date, I still DO NOT have a clear, concise understanding of how McKinney (AUM) calculates our water/sewage bill each month. YOU MUST RENT where the Landlord pays for water/sewage, the apartment has its own meter to track your usage or the Landlord charges a flat fee for water/sewage per month. TOMORROW 2/23/20 Part Two Second in Ten Part Series: DO NOT RENT @ WASHINGTON GARDENS APTS., 834 Washington Ave., Carnegie, PA 15106 If you find yourself in the hospital for months and there is obviously zero water usage in your apt. you'd expect your bill would be $0, correct? Absolutely NOT! At Washington Gardens; McKinney Properties charges tenants regardless if there is usage or not-they call it "availability". A friend of ours, currently a resident at Washington Gardens was in the hospital last year for 3 months fighting to live, get well enough to return home. After returning to his apt. dealing with recovery and physical therapy to gain strength, he finds out McKinney has billed him for water for the 3 months he was in the hospital EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO WATER USAGE! One of my neighbors who has since moved out of Washington Gardens went to care for her dying father in New York. She was gone 4 months; her father passed away and after settling matters there returned to her apt in a state of grieving, sadness and exhaustion only to learn McKinney Properties had billed her for water/sewage for the entire 4 months she was gone EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO WATER/SEWAGE USAGE! Do you truly wish to live in an apt. where the Landlord charges you for water/sewer usage when there has been no usage? TOMORROW 2/24/20 Part Three Third in Ten Part Series: DO NOT RENT @ WASHINGTON GARDENS APTS., 834 Washington Ave., Carnegie, PA 15106 Landlord/McKinney Properties talks about, writes about conservation and conserving natural resources on Tenants' Lease, Addendum Section 3.Utilities Addendum (Allocation) first paragraph, "As part of our ongoing efforts to conserve natural resources, we are initiating a utility conservation program. We believe it is important to reduce our natural resources usage and that this is a responsibility we (both LANDLORD and TENANT) share." However, it seems McKinney Properties failed to remember their own initiated "utility conservation program" because in July, 2019 McKinney undertook a major capital improvement landscaping project in the hottest month in Pittsburgh (see ) causing a dramatic increase in water usage by an additional 4,000 gallons for July! It seems McKinney ignores their "ongoing efforts to conserve natural resources" by having executed this ill-advised, ill-timed, and poorly executed project because it failed by over 50% and had to be redone in October, 2019. July, Aug, Sept. and Oct saw an increase of water to insure success to this landscaping project at a high cost to our "natural resources" and Tenants. Here's a question: With this kind of decision-making, do you want to live at an apartment community where they do not even follow and observe their own policies of "conservation" and "conserving our natural resources"? It begs the question: What other decisions that have or will materially impact Tenants at this apartment community? Tomorrow, 2/25/20, I will share with you the stunning surprise Tenants received regarding who paid for the months of increased water/sewage. Fourth in Ten Part Series: DO NOT RENT @ WASHINGTON GARDENS APTS., 834 Washington Ave., Carnegie, PA 15106 Once the July landscaping project was underway, I asked the Prop Mgr who is going to pay for all the increased water. Prop Mgr. told me Tenants would be paying. I asked all the Tenants? No he said, just Building 1 Tenants. Why were only Building 1 Tenants billed and not Building 2 Tenants? Because Building 1 and 2 have separate water meters and McKinney used only Building 1's water meter for the landscaping project. This is one of the major problems of not having a water meter in each apartment. I began emailing Prop Mgr. stating McKinney should pay a larger amount towards the next water bill since they caused the increased expense. He replied stating, "McKinney agreed to pay an additional $500 of the next water bill, to compensate for the watering of the landscaping in front of the building." This reply is a tacit acknowledgement that McKinney had caused the increased water/sewage increase and hence the $500 intent to contribute to the next water bill. I followed up with Prop Mgr to confirm whether McKinney had paid the $500. Prop Mgr replied that McKinney reduced the $500 to "The $200 additional coverage by McKinney for the water/sewage costs was given to me by my Regional Mgr. It was reduced from the initial $500 which they feel was too high of an estimated cost for the water used." McKinney via email says they will take responsibility for the increased water by contributing an additional $500 to the next water bill - then arbitrarily changes their mind and reduces their original amount from $500 to $200. McKinney ignores their "conservation program" and their own policy of "conserving our natural resources," McKinney causes a dramatic increase in water usage for months to water all the new plantings in the newly landscaped front and charges only Building 1 Tenants for an expense they caused. Do you want to rent in a community with this type of conduct toward Tenants? Does this conduct engender trust with and among Tenants?

    Review 46 out of 66

    Share This Review

    Check Availability

    Washington Garden Apartments

    March 2024

    Sun
    Mon
    Tue
    Wed
    Thu
    Fri
    Sat
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    11
    12
    13
    14
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19
    20
    21
    22
    23
    24
    25
    26
    27
    28
    29
    30
    Beds

    0

    Baths

    0

    Share This Review