West Main Street Apartments, Morgan Properties Management

Here's a copy of the letter I sent to the owner of Morgan Properties, the management firm who looks after the apartment complex- Main Street Apartment, Lansdale, PA

Mr. Mitchell Morgan
Morgan Properties
160 Clubhouse Road
King Of Prussia, PA 19406-3307

Dear Mr. Morgan:

Recently I have had some problems at my apartment, the latest incident being a snake in the apartment. Before that, there was a major flood. Since you are the representatives of the owners of the building, I thought I would contact you first.

The level of maintenance at the apartment complex is terrible. From the time I moved in to the present, I have had nothing but problems with maintenance. I have had roaches, ants, mice, a snake, floods (2), ovens that didn't work, days without hot water, and lights that don't work. I also have peeling paint, which I believe may have lead in it. When I put a call into maintenance I'm told that the problem will be addressed. In the matter of the oven, it took two weeks before anyone came to look at it. That meant I was without an oven for two weeks. The same happened with the hot water. It took three days before anyone came to check the problem.

As for the roaches and ants, nothing was ever done. I had to purchase insect killer myself and continually handle the problem. When I had mice, I called the emergency number at 10PM and was told this was not an emergency and someone would come by first thing in the morning to take the mouse that I managed to trap under a bucket away. When the next morning came, no one came. It took a walk to the office to get any results. The answer at the office was someone would be right over. That was at 9AM. It took someone until Noon to make it to my apartment to remove the mouse. The other one has not been found.

As for the flood in July, I called the emergency number at 6AM and told them of the problem and the severity of the flood. I moved what I could lift. At 7:30AM I again called the emergency number. This time I was told someone was on the way. At 8AM I called the office and left the same information on the answering machine so they could prevent any more damage. tried to call again later in the morning, but there was no answer. I called again at 2:30PM and talked with someone at the office. They had no knowledge of the flood. I reached the apartment at 3:30PM and found the carpet cleaner in my apartment. He told me he arrived at 3PM. For the last few weeks I have been under the impression that it took the management/maintenance people 9 hours to arrive and do something. However, in talking with other tenants of the building, I found that there was a call to the emergency number around Midnight. That means it took at least 15 hours for anyone to respond! I think this is totally unacceptable for such an event!

Since management/maintenance thought so little of the problem, much was destroyed. I have had $675 worth of damage to collectables and books and other items. I feel that since management was so negligent, they should incur the cost of reimbursing me for the damage. I have deducted the amount from my month's rent. I still have the problem of the electric bill. I had to run a dehumidifier for days to dry, and remove the odor from the carpet. I am still forced to run the air-conditioner to keep the moldy smell from the apartment. I fear that black mold may be growing in the apartment and hallway. Again, I feel these are issues that management should resolve. As such, I will forward this month's electric bill to them for payment.

I am not at all pleased with the level of maintenance. I have on a previous occasion notified you that my apartment was flooded in January and that maintenance was terrible at that time. I even mentioned a piece of siding that was lying on the steps for weeks that maintenance would not even pick up even though it posed a hazard to the children. It took a letter to the King of Prussia office to even have that small hazard removed.

There are many hazards around the building, one being the fire doors. They are constantly propped open. Another potential hazard now is the electrical closet in the basement where the flood occurred. The water was under the door, but we have no idea if this was even looked at after the water was cleaned up. Are we in for a fire like the Norristown apartments because of water on electrical circuits?

Should I even mention that during the winter the sidewalks were not shoveled for days? That the sidewalk and steps were usually covered with ice? People were falling. That the person who eventually plowed out the parking lot would push the snow INTO the cars? We not only had to dig out our cars, but the snow from the parking lot. Even after the cars were moved, the parking lot was not plowed cleanly.

To say that this apartment complex has management and maintenance problems would be an understatement. I feel since I have had to deal with poor maintenance, the least management could do is reimburse me for the damage that was caused by their neglect.