3/3/10
EMAIL:
Here's my experience with HPM: They have been managers of a wonderful apartment where I have lived for the past 9 years. Whenever I have called for a repair or to bring attention to a condition on the premises, they have immediately taken care of it.
What I have found out - because I asked about the discrepancy with our apartment units and the ones nearby also managed by them, is that they are paid by the apartment owners. Each contract with an owner is different. The owners here are obviously caring and generous. At the other place, the owners are obvious cheapos and the units reflect that. So your energy against HMP may not be the whole truth because the contract with the owner is what moves HPM.
Good luck.
RESPONSE:
Thanks for providing a good perspective. To be honest, I have had good dealings with HPM as well, up until the mold and rot issues came about. The problem as I see it, HPM has no "minimum standard" of care for their residents. I agree, HPM is at the mercy of the owner- to a point. There should be a line at which HPM says to an owner "your tenants are living in unhealthy conditions, we need to make improvements otherwise we cannot continue managing this unit." Unfortunately, HPM would rent out a chicken shed for $500 a month so long as they receive their management commission. In this case, the property owners neglect is being transferred to the tenant via the property management, which is wrong. As a property management company, they work not just for the owner, but the tenant as well. Unfortunately, they will bend and lose a good tenant before losing a poor rental. Its sad really. Their failure to command a minimum living standard from the property owners provides little incentive for upkeep/repair and instead breeds neglect. That is why I feel the real solution is a good competitor to HPM and other companies that choose to continue managing slums. Only once a competitor raises the proverbial "bar" will HPM change their practices. That, or the tenants need to take a stand and call health dept's/building inspectors on their own.
3/3/10
EMAIL:
Thanks for your post. I own two houses in Eureka. I have been managing the properties myself. I am in the process of looking for someone to manage them.
It's not easy to manage being from out of town.
If you here of a good company send me a email.
Thanks
RESPONSE:
Thanks for the email. I wish I knew of a reputable property mgt company in the area, unfortunately all I hear about are the bad ones... mostly 6 Rivers and HPM. I think I'm realizing the problem is that Property Management Companies neglect to require a minimum level care from the property owners and will continue to rent a unit despite its poor conditions. I think if you're a property owner willing to invest/maintain your property, most of these companies are okay. I can only speak from the tenant perspective though.
3/2/10
EMAIL
I can certainly appreciate your frustration with the current housing situation. I am trying to rent a 2+ bedroom home in Eureka and I have been plagued with nothing but spam and deceitfulness. The latest was a situation where I received a reply to my posting that made it sound like the owners were contacting me with respect to renting their home which they had to vacate due to a work transfer. After some simple investigating, it turned out to be a management company posing as the owners and giving their address as the office location even though they stated it was the address to the home. Initially, I responded with an earnest interest in the place only to discover it was just a feeble attempt to draw me into the office. I followed up my initial response with one of disdain of their so-called "business practices" to which I am sure they all got a great laugh at my expense.
It truly seems these unscrupulous management companies run the show in the Eureka area. I will continue my attempts for a short period but, if I am unable to find housing within that time I guess I will need to recognize this just may not be the area for me and I will move north to Oregon.
All in all, craigslist in this area is the biggest joke I have ever come across. I have successfully used CL in many other areas of the country without the volumes of spam and lies that I have found here in Humboldt county. I don't choose to live my life in that manner but apparently many do in this area.
Best of luck with your situation. I am enclosing a link to California renters rights that contains some very useful information.
3/3/10
EMAIL
I am a real estate broker near Sacramento and my daughter is trying to move
there for HSU. I appreciate your bitch-out email about that property mgmt
co. and would suggest you call the tenant rights dept. either of the county
or the state.... I am not sure what it's called, but places must be
habitable or you can withhold rent.
If you want, write me back at ____________, not whatever this email is
because in trying to write to you, my miserable computer opens Outlook
Express, which I hate! In fact, please confirm receipt of this so I know it
didn't get stuck in the outbox!
If you know of any GOOD rentals in the better parts of Eureka or Arcata that
are coming up, rent less than $600, let me know since my girl is going nuts
trying to deal with this from 250 miles away.
3/3/10
EMAIL
No, your posting gets flagged from people who are in the community looking for housing. I know you understand that you are posting it in the wrong place, but we are going to keep flagging your post for removal. It's pointless to do this everyday. No one wants to read your posting. How about you try to gather some people up on the rants section and you can all do a protest in front of Humboldt Property Mangement or something. Also, if they're such an awful company you should complain to the city of Arcata about them and you can also complain to the better business bureau. complaining on craigslist isn't going to do anything. if you are (or were) truly living in such a moldy place then there are major health violations there. i am glad you posted up the numbers for the health department, etc..
Again, i must say, people will continue to flag your posts and it's not HPM like you suspect. Personally, I am trying to find a place to live and i am so sick of your posts (i wouldn't care if you posted it in the correct area) and sick of the spam. so what i do is flag all spam and things that are categorized that i see.
RESPONSE:
Well _____,
You continue on your mission of ridding Craigslist of all the miscategorized ads and spam, and I'll continue on my mission of raising awareness about HPM. You're only the second person in weeks to email with a complaint about my post- and the first one couldn't compose a structured sentence, so that doesn't say much. Alternatively, I've received a dozen emails from people with similar property mgt issues and others expressing appreciation for warning them of HPM. What I would like to do is pull together a rental rights organization to promote better rental conditions in Humboldt and I'm using CL to advocate better living conditions while receiving feedback.
I know how annoying it is to deal with spam, but my only intention is to warn others about HPM and raise awareness. Unfortunately posting on the "rants" page fails to reach rental seekers, otherwise I would continue posting there.
I can appreciate your flagging spam on CL, but I would hope as a renter in Humboldt Co you can understand that advocating renters rights is important. If you've ever had to live in poor conditions because you were deceived from your property manager, wouldn't you wish someone would have warned you?
Although re-posting is time consuming and redundant, I will continue to do so as long as the appreciative emails outnumber the hate-mail. Plus, each time my posting is flagged, it gets re-posted right at the top for everyone to see :)
Have a nice day.
3/2/10
EMAIL:
Hi,
My husband and I are moving to Eureka area and encountered you posts a few times. Just wanted to add one to the appreciative emails (-:
Thanks for the heads up! We'll try to rent from owners.
3/2/10
EMAIL:
I am sorry to hear that you are having trouble with HPM. I agree that there is a problem with housing in this area. Many rentals are in poor and/or unlivable condition. I went to several HPM apartment showings and was appalled at the conditions of some of their rentals. However, the apt. I ended up renting through HPM was clean and in good condition. In the 2 years I lived at an HPM-managed property, I never had a problem with this company. They took care of each and every one of my concerns in a timely manner. I would rent from them again. However, I have had problems with PPM and would never rent from that company.
Good luck to you.
3/1/10
EMAIL:
Hey, I totally understand your complaint. Here are the reasons, however, why you're probably being flagged:
You're posting with the wrong title - you're advertising for a place that people can rent, but when they click on your ad it's not at all a rental location as advertised.
You're posting in the wrong location - this technically should be in the rants and raves section.
Like I said, I actually agree with your post and find it helpful, but I'm sure it will continue to get flagged unless these changes are made.
RESPONSE:
Thanks for the advise. I'll likely post in the rants section as well. I posted where I did because I figured it was probably the most effective way to warn people potentially looking to rent from HPM.
I've received a lot of emails and am looking at starting a local Renters Rights group to raise awareness of these issues. Just trying to be proactive instead of complaining.
RE RESPONSE:
Ooo, keep me posted!
I'm currently looking for a two bedroom place that allows a small dog. It's been a painful search as HPM pretty much manage everything and the one place I looked at for $1200 was in a horrible condition! There's no way I'd want a kid to live there let alone an adult!
3/1/10
EMAIL:
thanks for looking out for others...people r desperate so i think they will take anything...
3/1/10
EMAIL:
WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM IN FORTUNA WITH THE MONOPOLY "6 RIVERS PROPERTY MANAGEMENT." I UNDERSTAND
2/27/10
EMAIL
Hey, just moved out of a scenario almost exactly as described and just wanted a little bit more of your dealings with them. I moved out because of huge mold problems, improperly ventilated heater, i.e. going straight into the attic, and general lack of care or concern from HPM. Let me know what was going on a little more there _____________ and am curious to know what you've gone through.
RESPONSE:
Hey,
Sorry to hear you went through the same deal we're currently in.
I'll give you the run-down.. Basically, we moved into this place last summer when things were dry. I noticed a musty smell in the place, but figured it was because it was closed up for weeks. Turns out, that musty smell was a serious mold problem sitting idle until the rainy season began in October. With a little investigating (pulling back the carpet) we found the carpet was laid ontop of mold ridden floors without any moisture barrier. Upon closer look, we found black mold in spots. We promptly contacted HPM and the only response we were given by their management was a suggestion that we find another place to move into. We also found holes drilled in the floors of some of the rooms (previous grow rooms) that were not sealed correctly, which caused items in our room to become mold ridden. We've had to throw out shoes, clothes, a mattress, and a couch because of mold.
Also, friends of ours used to live in a place managed by HPM with worse mold issues than ours. They just moved out because they were constantly sick from the mold. The place is disgusting. There is damp sheetrock that is actually peeling off the walls in places. HPM has proceeded to "fix it" by spackling over the mold and painting it.
From what I gather from the city of arcata, they won't deal with mold issues, only rot.
I would be interested to hear more about your mold issues and what actions you are taking. It would seem there should be some health code regs against mold. Any suggestions you can give would be helpful.
2/17/10
EMAIL:
Hey I saw your posting I agree! my old land lord took 3 months to
take care of our rats. I had to call the health department and
threaten them, in the end they still tried to steal our security
deposit! We should unite renters of this area and file a class action
law suit against them! I deffinately suggest calling the health dept!
