Local landlords and property managers are finding creative ways to market their apartments across the city.
Textbook reimbursements, free wifi, and even cat-sitting are among the incentives that make one apartment complex stand out among many similarly priced rentals. Also attractive to students and other renters are the new and near-new apartments that have sprung up around town in place of aging or dilapidated old buildings.
“We’re proud to say that we’re the first complex in the history of Emporia to offer wireless Internet to all of our residents,” said Rod Russell, whose Russell Enterprises LLC, manages Eastwood Lake Apartments, an 80-unit complex of five buildings at 1102 East St. The complex has been family-owned for 24 years by Eastwood LLC of Missouri.
To read the complete story see the print edition or the online print edition.
countrydog (anonymous) says...
did you ever get rid of all the roaches left by the last tennents?
it would take more than free interent to more to that side of town!!!
September 30, 2009 at 5:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
"that side of town!!!"
What's that supposed to mean?
R.
September 30, 2009 at 6:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
upsetcitizen (anonymous) says...
While some landlords are trying to get tenants, others are trying to run their tenants out. The property owners Town and Country sent a letter out to their tenants for every single park that they own stating that they are going to raise their rent $20 November 1st and then $20 more in May. They say this is for the cost of water and sewage, however if you drive through their parks you will see it is a whole different story. They have numerous mobile homes sitting empty, many of them just need to be torn down as they are not livable. They have lost numerous tenants with the Tyson layoffs and want to get their money back so they are raising lot/mobile home rent.
The landlords cannot even enforce their own lease. Numerous tenants who live there have loud music/parties well into the late hours of the evenings. The lease states quiet hours at 9pm. They do not clean up their parks, unless you live in Lincoln Village or Belmont. You drive through their parks and you will see numerous mobile homes with broken out windows, yards that look like the city dumping grounds, and many many mobile homes that are so unsafe to live in and are sitting empty causing an eyesore.
They have signs posting private drives, and unauthorized vehicles will be towed, however numerous times you cannot get into Southgate when there are parties at Las Casitas due to the patrons of the party parking in the driveway of the mobile home park.
And let's not forget the signs posted that the speed limit through their parks are 10mph, due to children playing. Numerous times their are vehicles drag racing through their parks. When asked if the landlord will put in a speed bump to help detour this and make it safer for our children, we get told NO. Guess the safety of the children is not important.
If a tenant complains to the landlord, you get told call the police, or "I don't care if you have pictures of proof", "they are friends with the gentlemen who takes care of the grounds and would not do that." It is not the police's responsibility to manage the parks, they do their job and come out and take care of the loud music, but they cannot enforce park rules.
Aren't the tenants supposed to have rights? What good does it do the tenants to complain when the landlord refuses to do anything.
MAYBE the city should look into doing a clean up at these parks, or MAYBE making this landlord responsible for taking care of their property.
September 30, 2009 at 10:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jackslap (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
October 1, 2009 at 9:08 a.m. ( permalink )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
Don't rent call Acorn.
October 1, 2009 at 9:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Good post, upsetcitizen.
Sounds like this would make a great news story for the front page complete with pictures of these run down parks.
Oh wait, it's not positive.
Am I being sarcastic? You bet! Too many of these areas exist in Emporia and people are expected to live in these rundown units. Many don't have the incomes to live elsewhere, but does that mean children's safety must suffer too?
Shouldn't owners of substandard trailers be ticketed? Shouldn't that include all private property?
Yeah, yeah, dangerous ground there involving that age-old landlord-tenant battle again. How many of those loud people at the last city meeting of landlord-tenant issues were landlords of substandard properties blaming tenants for the condition of rentals?
On the other side of the coin, those who rent should also be expected to keep property in good condition and not trash the place. If anyone has ever lived on base housing on a Marine base like I have, they would understand the meaning of "Keep the property squared away or else!"
October 1, 2009 at 9:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
countrydog...I too would like to know just what you were refering to with your "in that part of town" post?
October 1, 2009 at 4:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
October 1, 2009 at 5:18 p.m. ( permalink )
upsetcitizen (anonymous) says...
Here is another question for the owners of the mobile home parks in Emporia, why do you feel it is justified to increase everyone's rent to cover your empty rentals? You cover this up by stating it is for the increasing cost of water and sewage and keeping your parks in good order, but in truth you have empty homes you cannot fill so you are making your current tenants make up for that lost income. If you were truly hoping to keep your parks in good order, come visit your parks, and not just sit behind a desk all day.
Maybe if you had an after hours number to call for you tenants to call if their sewage backed up, they would not have to call emergency services at 10:00 at night on a holiday weekend just so that they may have a toilet and water. Then you try to make that tenant pay for the repairs when it is tree roots in the sewer.
October 1, 2009 at 10:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
upsetcitizen....its a pretty common practice among many businesses today to offset declining revenue by raising rates to the customers they still have left. Land-line phone companies are getting famous for it. The fewer customers they have....the more they charge those customers. It's a short-sided selfish view but a quick look at politics today shows short-sided selfish views to be pretty much the status quo.
October 2, 2009 at 8:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jackslap (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
October 1, 2009 at 3:51 p.m. ( permalink )