Reviews
Harassed and oppressed by management
moved into Sierrabrook in early May 2014. On June 28, I received a phone call from Brad McFadden in the leasing office, stating that they had just had an audit of their resident records and they found that I have a cat and that they did not charge me the pet deposit of $500. It's annoying and inconvenient that they failed to include this charge in the total they told me was due upon move-in, even though I asked for that amount with more than enough time for them to verify that all the charges were correct. But what was unreasonable was their demand that I pay the $500 with the rent on July 1--in three days. I told McFadden that I would be willing to make up the deposit payment, but that I would be unable to meet such a short deadline. He said that I would receive a letter if it wasn't paid by the 1st, but that it wouldn't be a big deal as long as I pay it within the month. I said fine, and he brought me some paperwork about it for me to initial.
When I went to pay my July rent through the resident portal, I noticed that the $500 pet deposit had been added to my amount due. I was unable to pay a different amount through their system, so I decided to use my bank's online bill pay service, which I have been using to pay the majority of my bills for the last five years with no problems. For reasons unknown, the check from the bank never arrived at the rental office. I received a letter taped to my door stating that I had three days to pay (by cashiers check only) or quit my lease. I called the office and spoke to a new female employee whose name escapes me. She said that they would wait a day or two to see if it arrived. A few days later I got a voice mail from McFadden, saying that his manager Diane Salewsky said I had until noon the following day to pay the entire amount: July rent, the pet deposit, and the $75 late fee--by cashiers check only. But since the rent payment had already been funded out of my bank account and sent to the rental office, I did not have the funds available to meet this demand.
I went to the bank to see if I could get the payment reversed and the funds returned to my account. They said they could put a stop payment on the check, and that it would take 2-5 days for the funds to appear in my account again. Well, that wasn't going to work because I only had until noon the next day. The banker tried to be helpful. He spoke to Salewsky on the phone, which I could tell was a frustrating conversation. He tried to explain the situation, and that I didn't do anything wrong. Then it sounded like she hung up on him. He gave me a letter on official bank letterhead with his branch manager's name and contact information on it, just in case it would help.
Luckily, I got paid the next day and was able to get the cashiers check for the rent payment. I took it to Salewsky along with the letter, which I asked her to copy and keep in my file. She and the bank branch manager are now emailing back and forth about who should be responsible for covering the $75 late fee.
One week later, I received another letter taped to my front door. It was a second notice to remove items from my balcony/patio/front area (could be any of these) that were identified as not being allowed according to the community policies. However, I never received a first notice. Also, the letter did not specify which items were in violation of the community policies, but it said I had until 11 am the following morning to remove them, or else they would have no other option than to issue a notice of entry, remove the items, and charge me for their removal.
I called the office and left a message on the answering machine, asking for a call back about the matter. (Yes, they still use an actual answering machine, and they screen their calls.) I never received a call. I emailed the office, requesting a copy of my rental agreement, which I never got when I moved in, even though they said they would email it to me after I signed it. Within 30 minutes, I had a return email from McFadden and the packet of papers was at my doorstep. Still no word about the items to be removed, though, so I called again.
I spoke with McFadden, who said that Salewsky was issuing those notices to everyone because they are preparing for an upcoming inspection. He could not tell me which of my items were flagged for removal. He just repeated what was in the community policies and said that Salewsky and Alliance management were being "very picky" about this. (Very picky, but they weren't specific?) His email reply said that the first notice must have blown off my front door.
I have had a terrible experience, and I've only been there two and a half months. I am being harassed and oppressed by Diane Salewsky and Alliance management, and I'm beginning to think they're trying to push me out so they can raise the rent on the unit and get a new tenant in there.
When I went to pay my July rent through the resident portal, I noticed that the $500 pet deposit had been added to my amount due. I was unable to pay a different amount through their system, so I decided to use my bank's online bill pay service, which I have been using to pay the majority of my bills for the last five years with no problems. For reasons unknown, the check from the bank never arrived at the rental office. I received a letter taped to my door stating that I had three days to pay (by cashiers check only) or quit my lease. I called the office and spoke to a new female employee whose name escapes me. She said that they would wait a day or two to see if it arrived. A few days later I got a voice mail from McFadden, saying that his manager Diane Salewsky said I had until noon the following day to pay the entire amount: July rent, the pet deposit, and the $75 late fee--by cashiers check only. But since the rent payment had already been funded out of my bank account and sent to the rental office, I did not have the funds available to meet this demand.
I went to the bank to see if I could get the payment reversed and the funds returned to my account. They said they could put a stop payment on the check, and that it would take 2-5 days for the funds to appear in my account again. Well, that wasn't going to work because I only had until noon the next day. The banker tried to be helpful. He spoke to Salewsky on the phone, which I could tell was a frustrating conversation. He tried to explain the situation, and that I didn't do anything wrong. Then it sounded like she hung up on him. He gave me a letter on official bank letterhead with his branch manager's name and contact information on it, just in case it would help.
Luckily, I got paid the next day and was able to get the cashiers check for the rent payment. I took it to Salewsky along with the letter, which I asked her to copy and keep in my file. She and the bank branch manager are now emailing back and forth about who should be responsible for covering the $75 late fee.
One week later, I received another letter taped to my front door. It was a second notice to remove items from my balcony/patio/front area (could be any of these) that were identified as not being allowed according to the community policies. However, I never received a first notice. Also, the letter did not specify which items were in violation of the community policies, but it said I had until 11 am the following morning to remove them, or else they would have no other option than to issue a notice of entry, remove the items, and charge me for their removal.
I called the office and left a message on the answering machine, asking for a call back about the matter. (Yes, they still use an actual answering machine, and they screen their calls.) I never received a call. I emailed the office, requesting a copy of my rental agreement, which I never got when I moved in, even though they said they would email it to me after I signed it. Within 30 minutes, I had a return email from McFadden and the packet of papers was at my doorstep. Still no word about the items to be removed, though, so I called again.
I spoke with McFadden, who said that Salewsky was issuing those notices to everyone because they are preparing for an upcoming inspection. He could not tell me which of my items were flagged for removal. He just repeated what was in the community policies and said that Salewsky and Alliance management were being "very picky" about this. (Very picky, but they weren't specific?) His email reply said that the first notice must have blown off my front door.
I have had a terrible experience, and I've only been there two and a half months. I am being harassed and oppressed by Diane Salewsky and Alliance management, and I'm beginning to think they're trying to push me out so they can raise the rent on the unit and get a new tenant in there.