The Classic at the Preserve Apartment

When we arrived at the apartment Sunday evening from a weekeend trip to Fargo, a letter had been placed under our door by the apartment caretaker.

The letter said “Routine Maintenance/Spring Time Pest Inspection” and informed us of our inspection time Monday between 1 pm and 3 pm.

The receipt of this letter is interesting because earlier in the year, the apartment complex gave us a “Resident Handbook” which explicitly states that we are responsible for any “pests” in our apartment.

Monday morning, I heard the caretaker of our building vacuuming the halls. I peeked outside my door and called to her. She came over and I asked her if the whole building was having a spring inspection. She said no. Only our apartment, the one above, the one next to it and the one on the third floor above the 2nd floor apartment was going to have an inspection.

Hmmmm … interesting.  She then informed me that the reason for the inspection is to check for bed bugs as the caretaker who lives above me has found some in her apartment. The caretaker who lives above me then showed up in the hallway. (Two caretakers live in the building I’m in.) She then came over and told me that the apartment complex wanted to charge her $2500 to fumigate her apartment four times. She has done everything she could and has thrown out beds, sofas, etc. She is scheduled to move to a different building the end of this month.

I found it rather interesting that the letter made no mention of bed bugs but only of a routine maintenance.  Having worked in property management, I’d never heard of such a thing.

So — I called the office and spoke with one of the leasing agents there. This particular woman has always been very nice to me but lately there is tension since they have forced us to leave then turned around and begged us to stay.

Me: I received a letter for routine maintenance/pest inspection and I’d like to cancel the appointment.

She: Oh, I don’t know anything about it. (Speaks to someone in background) Oh yes, there is an appointment scheduled for you today.

Me: I know, I’m calling to cancel it.

She: There’s an appointment scheduled for today.

Me: I know, I’m calling to cancel it. (Did she not hear me I wonder?)

She: (muffled sounds as she speaks to someone else) Well we scheduled the appointment for today. It’s this afternoon.

Me: And I’m calling to cancel the appointment. (Am I audibly speaking I wonder?)

She: When are you moving?

Me: (Really? They don’t know that? They’ve threatened eviction and they don’t know that?) I’m moving Friday.

She: Oh – okay, well, we’ll cancel the appointment.

At 1:00 pm, the time that the inspection was supposed to start, I hear a knock on the door. Opening the door, I find a young man with the name of a pest company on his shirt. He tells me he knows we canceled our appointment but that he’s checking for bed bugs in the apartment above me. “Have you had any bites on your body?” he asks.  No, I respond.

He thanks me and goes away.

I hear nothing else until 9:00 pm when there’s another knock on the door. The caretaker who lives next door to me wants to let me know that she overheard people speaking in the office that the inspection company will be back out today.

I thank her as she has been very helpful while I’ve lived here.

It’s too bad — too bad that the apartment complex treats people, both tenants and employees, the way they do.

 

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