Home Sweet Home?
May. 27th, 2008 04:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penfieldAN OPEN LETTER TO:
Bruce MacQueen
General Manager
River House Apartment Homes
1400 South Joyce Street
Arlington, VA 22202
Mr. MacQueen,
My name is ____________ and I have been a River House resident for six years. For the first five years I lived alone in an efficiency and enjoyed the experience so much that I subsequently convinced my girlfriend to join me in a one-bedroom apartment in the same building. For most of my tenure I have spoken highly of River House and eagerly recommended it to others for its location, affordability and tenant relations. Sadly, I can no longer describe the property on such glowing terms.
This dissatisfaction is owed primarily to the policies and practices of the new management company. Since Kettler acquired River House in May 2007, there have been few discernable improvements to the property and in many cases the circumstances of tenancy have gotten worse.
Most egregious is the new utility policy. It may be that asking residents to pay for their own utility usage is now a common practice; if so, it is a relatively new development since my own examination of the market little more than a year ago. Regardless, Kettler’s implementation of the policy has been reprehensible. Since the individual units are not individually metered for utility consumption, River House is aggregating usage costs on the basis of unit size and occupancy, an approach that is apparently legal but ethically suspect. For the “privilege” of receiving this utility bill, residents are being assessed an administrative “set-up fee” and a monthly “administrative fee,” costs that River House could and should have absorbed or renegotiated with the submetering company. To date, communication with residents about these charges has been rare and vague.
There have been other noticeable changes, more subtle but no less insulting, generally related to nickel-and-dime charges for services that were previously complimentary. It is clear that Kettler views its residents as something less than members of a community; at best, we are now regarded as consumers; at worst, we are simply pests, or walking ATMs.
I understand that apartment management is a business and the housing industry is beset by economic challenges. I have no illusions that a single strongly worded letter will convince a large management company to rethink its policies. I do hope, however, that the management company will move forward with more consideration of the people that represent its lifeblood.
In one year I have gone from being a proud and boastful River House resident to a person who would actively discourage potential residents from leasing with the property. I do not purport to speak for my fellow residents, though I am confident that my opinion is not uncommon. There may be a time in the future when River House will need to rely on the goodwill of its residents, and you must know that goodwill is rapidly being depleted. For a company like Kettler, there is long-term business value in building a community of loyal residents rather than angry, alienated individuals.
Sincerely,
[signature]
Bruce MacQueen
General Manager
River House Apartment Homes
1400 South Joyce Street
Arlington, VA 22202
Mr. MacQueen,
My name is ____________ and I have been a River House resident for six years. For the first five years I lived alone in an efficiency and enjoyed the experience so much that I subsequently convinced my girlfriend to join me in a one-bedroom apartment in the same building. For most of my tenure I have spoken highly of River House and eagerly recommended it to others for its location, affordability and tenant relations. Sadly, I can no longer describe the property on such glowing terms.
This dissatisfaction is owed primarily to the policies and practices of the new management company. Since Kettler acquired River House in May 2007, there have been few discernable improvements to the property and in many cases the circumstances of tenancy have gotten worse.
Most egregious is the new utility policy. It may be that asking residents to pay for their own utility usage is now a common practice; if so, it is a relatively new development since my own examination of the market little more than a year ago. Regardless, Kettler’s implementation of the policy has been reprehensible. Since the individual units are not individually metered for utility consumption, River House is aggregating usage costs on the basis of unit size and occupancy, an approach that is apparently legal but ethically suspect. For the “privilege” of receiving this utility bill, residents are being assessed an administrative “set-up fee” and a monthly “administrative fee,” costs that River House could and should have absorbed or renegotiated with the submetering company. To date, communication with residents about these charges has been rare and vague.
There have been other noticeable changes, more subtle but no less insulting, generally related to nickel-and-dime charges for services that were previously complimentary. It is clear that Kettler views its residents as something less than members of a community; at best, we are now regarded as consumers; at worst, we are simply pests, or walking ATMs.
I understand that apartment management is a business and the housing industry is beset by economic challenges. I have no illusions that a single strongly worded letter will convince a large management company to rethink its policies. I do hope, however, that the management company will move forward with more consideration of the people that represent its lifeblood.
In one year I have gone from being a proud and boastful River House resident to a person who would actively discourage potential residents from leasing with the property. I do not purport to speak for my fellow residents, though I am confident that my opinion is not uncommon. There may be a time in the future when River House will need to rely on the goodwill of its residents, and you must know that goodwill is rapidly being depleted. For a company like Kettler, there is long-term business value in building a community of loyal residents rather than angry, alienated individuals.
Sincerely,
[signature]
