Dangerous DIY Landlord Repairs
Pros
Great building location, fantastic apartment layout
Cons
Mike, the landlord, is a sketchy character who attempts fixes himself. He replaced the lock cartridge on our front door at one point but installed the new one backwards, causing us to be locked into our apartment for hours until a real locksmith could let us out. Shoddy work also caused our bathroom to fill with smoke, left us without a functioning microwave or oven for several months, and caused half the outlets in the apartment not to work. We paid on time every month for over five years, even during the pandemic when times were especially hard, yet Mike withheld our security deposit without cause or notice and stopped answering his phone when I began calling him regularly for an update. I would not recommend renting from him under any circumstances (I would, however, recommend looking up his father, also a landlord, whose building with illegal rental space caught fire and resulted in three deaths in December 2003–it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree).
Advice to the owners
Return my security deposit, in accordance with the law
BEWARE - You won't get Security Deposit back
Pros
Building was clean and neighbors were great. Friendly Older Gentleman comes around often to put out garbage. Everything was great, except the landlords ability to manage the building and money.
Cons
Had to reach out to Landlord, Mike, multiple times to get anything done in the apartment. The toilet was not installed properly during renovation and kept getting backed up, constantly. I had to reach out to Mike so many times to get a proper plumber to look at the toilet. He won't answer unless you push him. And he's off to Greece a lot, so will be unavailable a lot. MAJOR ISSUE - You will not get your security deposit back. They are lucky that covid hit when my friend was about to sue them to get her deposit back. She ended up moving to CA. I also was going to sue to get it back but it would be too much of a hassle, which is exactly what they want. They have more properties which I'm not sure the locations unfortunately. Once you call/ask enough times for your deposit, he will block you and you will no longer be able to reach him. I tried for months to get in touch after moving out. The real estate agent I used to sign the lease also would not provide any information or try to reach the landlord or his brother after I complained about this. I sent a security deposit demand letter through text because his cell phone is the only way to contact him. He most likely already blocked me by that time.
Advice to the owners
Stop stealing everyone's money. Give me back my security deposit.