Management Services
3515 Trent Road, Suite 17
New Bern, NC 28562
Telephone: (252) 637-5600
Telephone: (252) 637-2400
Fax: (252) 637-3911
http://www.newbern4rent.com/

This week’s blip was fairly small and insignificant on my radar until this week. Management Services is a property management company here in New Bern, NC, and is the company which manages the house in which we now live.

Management Services seemed competent at first, but as I dealt with them in setting up our lease, it was apparent to me that this is a company accustomed to dealing with a very unreliable class of people. Threats about eviction were right there, spelled out in the lease and the “tenant handbook.” Things landlords normally handle, such as pest control, are the tenant’s responsibility under their leases. Putting up something as simple as a satellite dish is expressly prohibited. It seems that everyone, regardless of reliability, stability, or rental history is subject to being treated like a low-life.

Unfortunately, it’s clear that they’re pretty unreliable themselves, and generally have no intention of honoring their own obligations. There were several items which needed to be repaired which we found during the pre-move-in inspection. These were duly noted on the proper forms, and we were assured by the agent that they’d be taken care of promptly. Several (missing chain lock on the front door, ugly paint residue around the thermostat, broken blinds) still remain outstanding nearly six months after I took possession of the house.

One item was a countertop. In the living area is a lovely, lighted alcove designed as a wet bar. Unfortunately, the previous tenant decided to take the stainless steel bar sink with him, leaving a very nice formica countertop in the alcove with a large, sink-shaped hole in it. I was assured during the inspection by Kim Bennett, our leasing agent (kimb@newbernforrent.com), that this would be fixed and that a new sink would be installed. Then nothing happened for two months. When I called to complain, they said they’d fix it, and a maintenance man appeared a couple of days later.

Unfortunately, what he did was take a piece of sheathing-grade 1/2″ plywood, saw it to the proper size, paint it white, and glue it over the existing formica countertop.

When Allison moved here from Atlanta, we brought Raymond’s cat with us, something we didn’t expect to do. We contacted Management Services and inquired whether that was okay. They allowed that it was, so long as we paid an additional $300 pet deposit. Since that was pretty steep, Allison made arrangements to pay it at a later date and was honoring her commitment.

Earlier this month, when Allison paid our rent, without any authorization they diverted $300 and applied it as the pet deposit. We had no idea they’d done so until today; no letter, no phone call, no notification at all. This morning they called us, telling us that our rent was overdue, and that if we didn’t pay it by 1:00 this afternoon, they would file for eviction. Three hours’ notice, when they’d made the mistake.

Allison discussed this at length with Patricia Locke, the office manager at Management Services, who can be reached at patricial@newbernforrent.com. When she was informed that arrangements had been made for the pet deposit and that she was circumventing them by misallocating our rent payment, she did the only thing a surly, uncooperative corporate drone can do … nothing, or less. She simply advised us to pay up or get out. We chose paying up as the lesser of the two evils, and did so, although it took some major financial calisthenics to make it happen without leaving ourselves embarrassingly broke with family on the way for a weekend visit. Ironically, we’re broke because our tenant in Georgia, who IS a low-life, skipped without paying rent.

So there you have it. For misdirecting part of our rent payment, failing to even notify us that she was doing so, reneging on arrangements made in good faith, refusing to take responsibility for their own mistake, and generally being a great big jerk and treating us like the scum of the earth, Patricia Locke and Management Services are my blip of the week.