Apartment Review for Bijou Properties - Colorado Springs, CO

A decent place for the money w/ overall decent management. I had $65 of items stolen (a $45 Cutco knife; $10 seamless can opener; $10 Fiskars) the day their hired painter left the security door off the hinges AND left the apartment unattended for 2 1/2 hours (both my floormates witnessed this neglect). When I came to management to talk about it--I was not angry or speaking with a raised tone or making up-front demands. I said I would like to be compensated (had in mind asking for a rent discount, not even asking cash, AND made this discussion one day after paying my upcoming month's rent *in full and early*--to show I wasn't in desperate circumstances and unable to pay my rent); told him that my floormates were witnesses of the neglect leading to the theft, that they and the painter denied having stolen my items, and that NOT once did I find the door to our floor left unlocked/unsecure by my floormates--6 weeks w/o theft or incident until their neglectful painter came. Property manager (Rob Wilhoff) said "I've heard this kind of thing before," he told me to get out of his office now, then and there, or he would evict me. I calmly started to repeat my request and he only got angrier, red-faced, and repeated his threat. THIS IS ONE ASSHOLE RESPONSE TO A LEGITIMATE COMPLAINT AND TRUE, LOW-DOLLAR INCIDENCE OF NEGLECT (and I have knowledge that their properties are paid for, so they have error money to spare, even if I were lying!)! Also, my rent was always paid a day or more early and in full, I regularly vacuumed my room, was friendly and known as such by other tenants, had stable work, was drug/smoke/alcohol free, and did extra cleaning and care on common areas without compensation--IN OTHER WORDS A TOP TENANT. The apartment had walls heavily yellowed from cigarette smoke and kitchen grease upon move-in. I systematically began cleaning the walls and fixtures. They did hire the above-mentioned painter to patch holes in walls, fix a few things, and to repaint (did not clean walls before repaint; only painted over--nonetheless, an improvement). Bathroom is carpeted and carpet around toilet is matted with urine drips and toilet-water splash-over. Upon my moving out and getting remaining security deposit, I was charged $25 for cleaning. I told them it was not even vacuumed when I moved in, the walls were dirty, that I left both my room and the common areas cleaner than they were when I arrived. Rob had asked me at my move-in if I wanted to have him clean the carpet first. The carpet in my room, at least, was not that bad, so I declined--but he did offer, although he/the previous tenant never vacuumed for me. I asked if they cleaned the carpets, especially around the toilet--saying that if they did, then their $25 charge was fair enough for me. She (Jude Wilhoff) made no comment. I asked to see if they actually cleaned anything, to justify the cleaning charge. She said she would not let me see the areas to know. I assume they did nothing and took the $25 as a charge for zero services. Their classified ad said laundry is included in the price of rent--worth about $12-15 per month for the amount of laundry I do. In reality, they did not have realistic hours of laundry access (only 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tue. to Fri.--no weekend or evening hours; so, if you're a blue-collar working man, like me--you never had regular weekday, mid-day time off work to do your laundry--only those on welfare and social security or stay-at-home moms could take advantage of their laundry offer; I TALKED WITH SEVERAL OTHER TENANTS WHO HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND COMPLAINT about laundry room hours)--making their classified ad DECEPTIVE. I once asked to finish a load of laundry after hours and then lock the laundry--was lucky to have a surprise afternoon off work. Rob reluctantly allowed it, "just this once," and watched me like a hawk. The next day, I happened--again, by chance and out of my control--to have had time off work again, where I could have finished my laundry during hours, if I had known. Ever after, I think Rob considered me a liar or deceptive and treated me accordingly (my theft and its complaint occurred after this). Literally, he glared at me and had a scowl on his face starting that second day off work when he saw me and thereafter. Because of his saying it was only once and not a usual exception AMPLIFIED BY his change in attitude, I did not ask him again for permission to do laundry after hours. Instead, I actually found a way to get into the laundry room after hours by taking out 4 wood screws holding the door's padlock and then screwing them back in (again, work schedule did not allow during hours, and per their original classified ad, laundry is incl. in the rent). A jealous tenant ratted on me for doing this after I had done it the third time around--never harming anything or doing my laundry later than 7 p.m. or earlier than 9 a.m. Rob then wrote me a note saying if he got any such report about me again, that I would be evicted. ON THIS PART--FAIR ENOUGH, because I strictly was guilty of breaking into the laundry (w/o damaging it) and breaking policy (again, not for the least malicious reason). I received his note while I had a load of laundry still wet in the washer. I obeyed his warning to the T, and did not even finish that load of laundry by putting it in the drier. Instead, I took it to the laundromat to dry it and I never entered the laundry after hours again, always going to the laundromat (which laundromat cost me extra money, even had machines that took money and did not work and no on-site employees to get a refund, etc.--the regular hassles of laundromats). Ironically, the load of laundry that I was in the middle of doing when I got ratted on, was a CHARITY load--that is, through my job, at one worksite, I came across a bunch of used towels in good condition that were going to be thrown away. I did not need any towels but I took them home and was washing them to give them away to my tenant neighbors--which I did do, even after being ratted on by one of them, warned of eviction by Rob, and spending my own money at the laundromat to finish cleaning them. I am a hard-working, good, charitable man. About a month later, Rob evicted me--without explanation or discussion (notice tacked onto my door after office was closed for the next 3 days, and warned to be gone in 2 days) and without warning. I tried to reach Rob to ask him what it was for/about, but the maintenance man would not help me contact him (I do not believe him that he did not have a weekend phone number for him and was their maintenance man). SO, I moved out/was evicted--only and first eviction of my life (I've rented for over 5 years under 12 different landlords and have never failed to pay rent and have never otherwise been evicted). Talking with Rob and Jude later and trying to collect my security deposit, I found out details. I was falsely accused of having vandalized the laundry room (I did not). Rob said he had an eye-witness who named me (probably the same person who ratted on me in the first place, who was right the first time but completely mistaken this second time), but he would not tell me who it was and did not file police reports. They had to replace carpet in the laundry room and clean an air duct. They charged me $75 for the falsely accused damage, plus $25 cleaning. What they charged was fair for the reported damage and considering they could have kept/charged my full security deposit (an extra $100 to make $200), but unfair in that I did not do it. They still disbelieve me. Why the heck would I write all this if I were guilty? Everything here is the truth and I'm not ashamed to put my name to it. Josiah Freeman, age 30 (during time of rental)