Apartment Choice

by Alec MacGillis Maryland’s two U.S. senators and four of its U.S. House representatives , all Democrats, sent a letter today to the large real- estate company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump ’s son-in-law and senior adviser, demanding information about the company’s management of 17 apartment complexes it owns in the state. The letter to Kushner Companies came in response to a May 23 article co-published by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine investigating management practices at the rental complexes, most of which are in the suburbs of Baltimore, as well as an article this week in The Baltimore Sun that revealed additional details . The original story described the highly aggressive legal tactics that Kushner Companies has used to pursue tenants who owed back rent or had left their leases early — even tenants who left the complexes well before the company bought them in 2012 and the years following. In many of the hundreds of cases brough...

CHAPEL HILL A property management company has cut the rent at two apartment complexes to give public employees an affordable way to live in town. Chapel Hill - based Eller Capital Partners is reducing the rent for newly renovated apartments at Midtown 501 – formerly Foxcroft Apartments near Erwin Road and U.S. 15-501 – and 86 North – formerly Timberlyne Apartments near Weaver Dairy Road . The offer, which also waives application and administration fees, is available to thousands of employees who now commute from surrounding counties to work for the town of Chapel Hill , the town of Carrboro, UNC and UNC Health Care , and other state agencies. It could save them a few thousand dollars a year, said Daniel Eller, president and chief executive officer of Eller Residential, a division of Eller Capital Partners . The rent would be $645 a month for a one- bedroom apartment at 86 North – reduced from $795 – and $895 a month for two bedrooms – reduced from $1,095. That would be affordab...

The 1,184-unit Seven Gables Apartments in Eastern Henrico. (Photo by David Larter) Two suburban Richmond apartment complexes have become entangled in the collapse of an Australian real estate company . The 278- unit Rollingwood Apartments in Chesterfield and the 297 1,184 -unit Seven Gables Apartments in Eastern Henrico are headed to foreclosure and will be auctioned Jan. 11 on the their respective counties’ courthouse steps. Both complexes are tied to the defunct Babcock & Brown, a massive real estate and infrastructure investment group once valued at $10 billion that went belly up in 2009. The two properties are part of a Babcock & Brown loan pool valued at about $200 million that included multiple properties and was ordered into liquidation. The two local complexes are held jointly by two entities: PP2 FX2 Limited Partnership and Everest PP2 FX2 Limited Partnership . South Carolina- based real estate firm Greystar is managing the properties. The company declined ...

Along the busy Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Dunwoody is a sprawling collection of two- story apartment buildings . The units are worn but relatively kept up. Dozens of children play soccer or run in the parking lots. And numerous vans with ladders atop their roofs indicate a working class clientele . The buildings and their occupants might be largely unremarkable, but the Dunwoody Glen and Lacota apartment complexes and their 2,000-plus mostly Hispanic residents are now the focus of a controversy that has divided this newly incorporated suburban enclave and led to a federal lawsuit . In 2011, Dunwoody officials pushed a bond referendum that would raise money to demolish two aging apartment complexes and build a sprawling — and badly needed — park. Then- Mayor Ken Wright extolled the effort in a press release just before the vote but added that while the city “regrets the need to displace residents (in) 785 apartment units” it would work to relocate those citizens, including...

Call it affordable. Call it cheap. The fact is that those people renting apartments in Columbus enjoy some of the least expensive rates in the United States, according to Apartment List , a listing website that tracks the industry. August data show that Columbus, out of 100 markets nationwide, has the fifth- lowest median lease rates , with a one-bedroom averaging $640 a month and a two-bedroom going for $760 monthly. The lowest — or cheapest — rents on the list are in Wichita, Kan., with $560 for a one-bedroom unit and $750 for two bedrooms. It is followed by Fayetteville, N.C., Fort Wayne, Ind., Toledo, Ohio, and Columbus. Rounding out the Top 10 most affordable cities in terms of apartment rents are Huntsville, Ala., Winston-Salem, N.C., Cleveland, Ohio, Oklahoma City, Okla., and Des Moines, Iowa. Other Southeastern cities on the list and their affordability rankings are Montgomery, Ala. (15), Knoxville, Tenn. (31), Birmingham, Ala. (34), Tallahassee, Fla. (42), Jacksonville, F...

by Henry Rosoff WACO - Two prominent Waco-area apartment complexes are regularly suing their tenants. Saddle Brook and Saddle Brook West have filed justice court lawsuits against former tenants for both damages and unpaid fees.  Attorney Jeffrey Sprigg represents the Dallas- owned complexes in most of these cases.  He said his client is simply collecting money it is owed. "Rather than to follow other industry practices in terms of going through third party collection agencies that call at odd hours and harass everyone, they have chosen to have a third party, an arbiter in the form of a judge or in rare cases a jury, determine their rights with regard to the breach of the lease contract," Sprigg said. However, local attorneys defending several people being sued, said Saddle Brook is going too far. "Just in the light of my cases alone and I've got calls about others, it does appears this is kind of their 'MO,'" said Josh Tetens.  He's represent...

Autumn Creek Apartments in East Amherst has been sold for $15.5 million to a group of investors who own other luxury apartment complexes in the region. The investors acquired the 228-unit community on North French Road , west of Transit Road. It was sold by an affiliate of Legacy Development, which developed the property several years ago. The buyers also own Windsong Place Apartments in Amherst, Renaissance Place Apartments in Amherst, Green Lake Apartments in Orchard Park and StoneGate of Clarence, a senior community. Autumn Creek Apartments consists of 48 one- bedroom apartments and 180 two- bedroom apartments . Bruce Wisbaum, a local developer who is among the investors who make up Autumn Creek Apartments LLC , said he was drawn by the property's large units, its buildings' layout and its location in a growing area that includes CrossPoint Business Park . "It's a very competitive environment to try to acquire apartments ," he said. The new owners are ma...

Huntsville Police recognized first Blue Star compliant apartments" /> Huntsville Police Department More headlines The Blue Star program is a partnership between the Huntsville Police Department and local apartment complexes to "increase safety, reduce crime, and improve the quality of life for residents." Summer Tree Apartments attended the first Blue Star training class on March 22nd. HPD says that as part of the program, property owners are required to attend an 8 hour class explaining the Blue Star Program , what its benefits are, and how they can obtain Blue Star recognition . Their properties then undergo inspections and site assessments by officers certified in crime prevention techniques . Chief Mark McMurray says, "Summer Tree has worked hard to be a model for the other area complexes, and we hope to eventually have every complex in Huntsville involved in the program." The next Blue Star training class is scheduled for August 17 at the Hun...

When Hannah Alani found out the Indiana Daily Student was going to reduce its print frequency from five to two days a week, she wasn't upset. As editor-in-chief, Alani had seen her staff struggling to fill a print product that had fewer and fewer advertisements. Desk editors were skipping class to cover events that were barely newsworthy just so there was enough editorial content for the next edition. "The first thing I said was, 'Can we do it now?' Why go two more months?" she said. A printing contract with The Herald-Times and a few prepaid advertisements ensured Indiana University 's 150-year-old student newspaper would continue printing five days a week through the spring 2017 semester. But Alani, after being informed of the decision by student media director Ron Johnson , would be tasked with breaking the news to her staff. She planned to do it during Slash, the regular Friday meeting where the five most recent editions are evaluated and the next fi...

A single-story building with one-bedroom apartments will be built on 2 acres along Kasper Street NE Kelly Byer CantonRep .com staff writer @kbyerREP CANTON  ICAN Housing is developing a 14-unit complex to lessen the gap between housing and people who need a place to stay. A single-story building with one-bedroom apartments will be built on two acres along Kasper Street NE . ICAN Executive Director Julie Sparks said arborvitae trees, a type of evergreen, will create yard boundaries and have inspired the name Arbor Ridge. It will be the nonprofit's 29th property in Stark County and mid-sized for ICAN properties , which range from single-family houses to 20-unit complexes. "It doesn't overwhelm a community, but it also provides some measure of camaraderie and support amongst tenants," Sparks said.  Arbor Ridge will serve people with mental illnesses who make at or below 50 percent of the area median income . Rent will be capped at 30 percent of the tenant's inc...

Sergio Blanco-Herrera It is a good place to live if you are an IUPUI STUDENT. Super close to campus and the complex is very safe. It is pricy, so be ready to dish out a good amount on rent. The only downside is that parkin … g is not included and they charge 70-80 for it. more » It is a good place to live if you are an IUPUI STUDENT. Super close to campus and the complex is very safe. It is pricy, so be ready to dish out a good amount on rent. The only downside is that parking is not included and they charge 70-80 for it. Anon Y Terrible. I stayed for 6 months and had to leave. It's actually not very close to the campus at all (it takes the same amount of time to drive as to walk). Main issues: the apartment shakin … g. It felt like an earthquake in my apartment every few nights, shook me up and scared me so bad. My heavy wood dresser would shake with the walls. My light fixtures and dishes shook at least once an hour....this continued until 4 AM every night. Also you can hear...