Oakbrook Corporation

Very poor maintenance and when contacting the corporate office, the property manager is immediatley notified of your reporting an issue - so it doesn't resolve the problem only gets you on the "hit" list of the property manager. That's particulary true when your issue is relating to that manager! I find it difficult to understand why General Capital Group would use this Property Management Company. When I move I will make sure it's not a property that's with Oakbrook.

I've been in an Oakbrook property, Sheboygan Falls, for 3 years. The property is unique, an 1800's woolen mill. I love my apartment unfortunately the company does not care about maintenance. The common areas are filthy! I'm being accused of breaking a deadbolt by using a copied key. They didn't even tell me they were billing me $120! Instead tacked the bill onto my auto rent deduction! Thankfully my bank didn't pay it. When I inquired what the $120 was for I then was told it was for the broken deadbolt. I've been accused of harassing a tenant by asking them to put their mask on in the middle of the pandemic when mask were required in the building. Girl came in laundry room with her mask around her neck. I said, works better when it's around your face. I was given a remedy or vacate in 5 days notice! Never did management ask my side of the event! The dumpsters are constantly overflowing because they are not big enough for a unit with 30 plus apartments. I had to leave the faucet in my tub run all weekend because they wouldn't get a plumber out on a Friday after hours when it broke. Instead blaming covid for not getting someone. This was after a year of covid. They didn't want to pay after hour rates. There is 1 maintenance person for 2 large buiIdings. I could go on. After 3 years I'll be leaving in Jan when my lease is up.

Review: My complaint involves potential scam practices by the Property Manager at Coventry Apartments. The Property Manager, Eric A[redacted], currently has two checks that I signed over to Coventry Apartments to rent their clubhouse. I am not a resident of Coventry Apartments, nor were any of our guests that were present at the Bridal Shower we held May 2, 2015. To date my check for the use of the space in the amount of $100 has not been cashed, and the security deposit check for $200 is still in his possession. Below is the letter I sent to the Property Manager of Coventry Apartments which explains my concerns. I am afraid that the damage found was done purposely and that my guests and I are being scammed!

5/8/2015

To: Eric A[redacted], Property Manager

I’d like to start off this correspondence by stating the Coventry Apartments Clubhouse was an ideal backdrop for our bridal shower tea party. From the very beginning, we were head over heels for the venue especially with all of the amenities that were included (as well as the great price of $100). As we had done our research, there was no other place that would have been as accommodating, so we were pleased. We were told that we can pick the key up on Friday (which I did) and if necessary, could drop the key back off on Monday (per Keva). On Saturday afternoon, we were informed that we had to be out by a certain time and the key placed in the rent drop box. While this was doable for us, as we were going to be done by the designated “check-out” time anyways, it was odd that we were provided this information during our event. (We were informed that there was another shower the next day, Sunday, May 3).

I will say that we did an outstanding job of maintaining the property, and took pictures of the entire venue before we left on Saturday evening. We did this (as well as photographed and recorded the key being dropped into the rent box) as a precautionary measure, because we wanted to have solid proof that we’d done EVERYTHING that was required of us. We even took ALL of our many garbage bags with us (because that’s what the contract stated that we were to do) even AFTER you said that we could leave it there and you’d dispose of it…because we didn’t want ANY room for error. This is why the claims that the countertops were damaged are so disturbing. We took extra measures to ensure that ALL things were done well.

While fruit and vegetables were, in fact, cut on the countertop, there are a number of things that need to be considered:

1. After your second appearance into the kitchen, I placed a barrier of paper towel between the countertop and the knife because I saw you watching what I was doing, and didn’t want any issues to follow.

2. The paper towel that I used as a buffer didn’t even get cut up during my cutting, so there is NO way that the countertop could have suffered the extensive amount of damage that is now there.

3. While I was the only person to cut anything on the counter, there are were a number of women who were in the kitchen helping and cleaning throughout the day. They are: [redacted]…NONE of which saw the countertop in a damaged state. [redacted] was the one who wiped the counters down before we left.

4. The knives used to cut the fruit were from my own kitchen and property of the Coventry Apartments Clubhouse. Therefore, you are more than able to go and check the state of those knives. They are dull and could never cut the countertops in the manner in which the pictures show. Unless one is SAWING with those knives (which you don’t need to do with fruit), the damage shown is next to impossible. If it is ok with you, I’d be willing to come up and cut some fruit on the bare countertop (which also didn’t leave a mark) and with the barrier of the paper towel in order to SHOW that this was not of our doing.

5. After we left on Saturday, you told us that there was another event (a shower, I believe) that took place in the clubhouse. While you stated that the renters “had their event catered and never used the kitchen at all”, we don’t know what took place during the hours in which they were there. You informed me that there are cameras, and if possible, we would love to be able to view footage of what actually took place.

6. 4 DAYS after our event (Wednesday, May 6, 2015) I called YOU to inquire about the return of my deposit check. Then and only then is when you informed me that “we may have a problem”….and proceeded to tell me about the damage done to the countertops. I’m confused as to why if there was an event the very next day after ours, an inspection of the area was not done and I wasn’t notified right away (or even the next day….or the day after…or the day AFTER THAT) about what was discovered. You claimed that you were waiting for your contractor to come out and view the damage to give an accurate estimate (which as of Thursday, May 7, he STILL had yet to come out) before you notified me. This made (and still makes) no sense to me.

For these reasons, I have opted to contact a lawyer. I pride myself on being an upstanding, morally sound woman and though you do not know me, I have a variety of people who can vouch for not only my character, but the characters of my witnesses as well. If ANY of us had seen the countertop in such a state, the situation would have been rectified immediately. The damage that was done COULD NOT have been missed. From this point forward, if you could contact me via email ONLY so that I will have documentation of all correspondences from here on out, that would be greatly appreciated. I have copied my lawyer on this email as well. I’m really disappointed that this is how our experience has ended up, however, I REFUSE to pay for something that I am not responsible for. Thank you for your time and have a blessed day! [redacted]Desired Settlement: I would like my security deposit check of $200 returned and to be cleared of damage claim against the property.

Business

Response:

First and foremost, we are truly sorry for any inconvenience or frustration which may have occurred, as it relates to the damage claim after the event at Coventry Apartments. We have been providing excellent service for over 28 years and we strive to create the best possible living experience for our community. This complaint was unexpected and to my knowledge, is the first one ever received. Our employees care deeply about their duty of managing the owner’s assets. You can be rest assured that there is no scam to make false damage claims. There’s no motivation or desire to do this in our organization. We are re-evaluating our policy related to allowing non-resident's use of property amenities.We do have photos from our video camera system of Ms. [redacted] cutting on the bare counter top, however in good faith, we have returned [redacted] deposit check of $200. Thank you,K[redacted]