Landlords/apartments to avoid?

Submitted by slut-cemetery t3_10dy98w in Maine

I'm moving to Bangor soon and want to be aware of shady landlords. Like the kind who steal your deposit when you move out, neglect repairs on the unit, or include surprise fees after moving in/out. That kind of thing.

I'm moving out from a place like that. I don't want to repeat the nightmare of this past year lol.

I know there's bound to be things we don't like about landlords or apartment complex management; but I want to know if there's a few who are particularly nasty so I can avoid them. Thanks!

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Wooden-Importance t1_j4nxuba wrote

With the shortage of apartments in Bangor, you probably won't be able to choose a landlord.

If you are lucky enough to find an apartment that you like and can afford, you should probably just take it.

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slut-cemetery OP t1_j4o364t wrote

Ah, so I take it that it's a situation where a few companies (or individuals) own many buildings? That's unfortunate but something I've dealt with before. Thank you for your honesty!

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Wooden-Importance t1_j4o9q0f wrote

Not necessarily, but there are very few apartments available, and the few that are vacant are priced extremely high.

Have you looked online?

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slut-cemetery OP t1_j4oehs1 wrote

I started my search online with apartments (dot) com, trulia, zumper, and zillow but I'm trying to branch out and find apartment complexes website to browse listings that don't get pushed on the big websites.

I tried calling some larger companies like Maine Real Estate, but they are not well recommended.

Is there another resource I can use?

I tried looking on Craigslist but that... was an experience lol 😆

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Wooden-Importance t1_j4ogrvd wrote

It sounds like you are looking in all the right places.

I don't have any other suggestions.

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Maliboogal t1_j4plc4a wrote

Call R & B Realty. They own 300 rentals. Many of them are mobile homes some of them are apartments but all are in a decent price range. They do background checks on all renters so it’s a safe environment to live in. Maintenance is done- could be better but could be much much much worse. I’m not sure what they may have available as most stay long term because it’s a decent company to rent from.

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DidDunMegasploded t1_j4o5q6n wrote

long slow whistle Are all the bad landlords gonna exploit this to high fucking hell and back...

(Narrator: They probably are already)

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Michael_Kansai t1_j4o849y wrote

Exploit? They are the reason. Companies and wealthy individuals buy up a ton of property and then rent back to us for high profits and little maintenance.

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DidDunMegasploded t1_j4qk9uq wrote

Yeah...that's what happened to Redbank, unfortunately. Now it just looks like a shell of what I remember as a child, and definitely just as scummy as it was two decades ago, especially since the "affordable" part is a gross overstatement.

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ChazmasterG t1_j4o5waz wrote

I know you said Bangor, but KRE/King Real Estate. They are hands down the WORST management company in Southern Maine. They scam you during the application, lie to you constantly, will NEVER come to fix your stuff, and gooooood luck getting your security deposit back. It is my life's mission to make sure nobody else falls prey to their bullshit

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slut-cemetery OP t1_j4o7r31 wrote

Omg that sounds like my current management place. It's been a nightmare. Keeping deposits is the biggest concern I have because it's usually equivalent to an entire fucking month of rent. I would just be livid if I was robbed of 1200 when it was supposed to be a damn deposit that you get back.

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teeceeinthewoods t1_j4oa78k wrote

There are pretty specific rules they have to follow. They have 30 days to give you your deposit back or send a letter that details why they're keeping your deposit.

The amount of rent due and the cost of repairs for any damages caused by the tenant can be retained. However, if any portion of the security deposit is retained, the landlord must provide written notice to the tenant, itemizing the reasons for the withholding of any part of the security deposit. Landlords are not permitted to retain any part of the security deposit for normal wear and tear.

If a landlord fails to return the security deposit to the tenant without legal reason to do so, the tenant can commence legal action against the landlord. If the court rules against the landlord, the landlord is liable for double the amount of the withheld security deposit, plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees of the tenant.

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Dr_Clout t1_j4pjhi5 wrote

King sucks my muthafuckin $@&@. My gf and purchased a condo a couple years back in southern maine from them. The ENTIRE street is owned by King and all the units talk shit. We pay $125 a month HOA fee and these mofo hardly ever comes to shovel or plow.

You should seriously see the photos I took of our lawn this year. Company sucks and takes 0 pride in themselves as people. Even the landscaping company sucks he works with/I get that’s probably not king but it’s who he contracts! 1 fuckin kid with a mower constantly smoking his vape in a hoody. I vape too dude but it’s 90 fuckin degrees in July and you’re workin bro. 24/7

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Sir_Drinks_Alot22 t1_j4qykpk wrote

I always wanted to find other people that bought homes by them to see what problems they have had. Ours are pretty bad. Talked to some lawyers it’s impossible to sue they know everyone the lawyers we talked too won’t take it because of business conflicts or they know them. His brother is their lawyer so go figure.

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ChazmasterG t1_j4shm3u wrote

Me and my girlfriend lived in one of their apartment units in Sanford. Every door weighed like a quarter pound because they were made out of literally reinforced cardboard. One day the back door handle literally fell off, both sides just crashed to the ground leaving a big hole in the door. Took them a month and a half to come fix it. Washer started leaking one day so I emailed them 3 times over the course of the week, it took me saying "hey its YOUR building that this water is leaking into not mine, come fix it or don't, I don't give a shit" for them to come fix it. The walls literally only had primer on them, no paint. They never plowed the parking lot. They had electronic locks on the front door to the building but never gave out a code for them, so they were inevitably locked one day and nobody knew how to get them open. Just an absolute clown show through and through. If I could be given one wish in life, it would be for king weinstein to have to huf each and every one of my farts right out of my asshole. Absolute total scum of the earth slumlord, a total waste of skin.

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Sir_Drinks_Alot22 t1_j4t1smh wrote

They must have people that have no idea how to even install door knobs. Both our front door and back door ones fell right off with me just opening the doors. Siding blows off in the slightest wind storm. Wooden beam is already rotted out because water wasn’t diverted properly. Had flooding due to piss poor grading. Retaining wall on the verge of collapse and more. Cheap ass fucks that have code inspectors in their pockets.

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kindashyy t1_j4oa4iu wrote

Maine real estate management. Just plain awful

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Substantial_Snow15 t1_j4on0yd wrote

Agreed! No one rents from MREM because they want to. They rent from them because they have to.

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slut-cemetery OP t1_j4ocx7w wrote

😬 That's the company I was emailing this morning.. nice to know. Thank you!

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NotYou007 t1_j4oekdw wrote

Look into rentbangor.com The are good folks.

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Juparies t1_j4scev7 wrote

Seconding! I moved out of a unit with MREM into an apartment with rentbangor/Marsh Property Management and the experience is night and day.

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Notmystationbro t1_j4o7iz8 wrote

Stay away from 1-5 streets at all costs

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BikesMapsBeards t1_j4oiu3r wrote

1st and 2nd can be tough. The rest have nice spots and not so nice spots just like most other neighborhoods.

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slut-cemetery OP t1_j4o8ab7 wrote

Noted! Unfortunate because I did see a really cute looking apartment off of 1st hahaha. But I don't want to take that chance

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Psychological-Bear-9 t1_j4xqq66 wrote

The accuracy, I used to live in the area and had a woman I was seeing at one point who had to temporarily live in a studio on 1st while her rental company finished her new place. Long story short, there were multiple times I had to physically stop junkies from breaking in at two or three in the morning, thinking we were the dealer who lived right upstairs. That whole section of the city is a cesspool.

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blaz138 t1_j53am4e wrote

We got a house on 2nd and it's really not too bad at all

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NumberFortyTwo t1_j4obnfr wrote

Little City is good but avoid mid to lower Center Street.

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EastRaccoon5952 t1_j4q29hx wrote

If you can afford it I would look into moving to Orono or Old Town as well. Theres a lot of apartment rentals with very high turn over because of the school, and they generally are relatively affordable. I'm assuming you arent a college student, but if you can get onto the Umaine housing and sublets facebook group you can get a feel for the market up here.

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TheMobyDicks t1_j50oqii wrote

Been a long time since I've been there but when I was, living in Old Town was only an option is you had no sense of smell. That fucking mill REEKED. And it if was foggy out, even worse. We didn't have a/c at the house we rented and one night in the summer - and thus had the windows open - the smell was so bad, I tied a tube sock around my head to cover my nose before going to sleep. Paper mills make rotten eggs smell like a rose bush.

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daisakai42 t1_j4o38kv wrote

Avoid lower Essex street area and lower Ohio street area.

And avoid first and second street.

If the apartment is in one of those four areas, it will be slim chances of a good landlord.

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slut-cemetery OP t1_j4o6fi7 wrote

Thank you! I had heard that those areas were more sketchy in general. But sometimes that's a subjective/perspective thing too.

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Yourbubblestink t1_j4oanos wrote

Ohio Street is just loaded with drifters and really poorly operated apartment buildings. First Street is like a case study in what happens when a city code enforcement really neglects its responsibilities.

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daisakai42 t1_j4ofy2r wrote

You’re welcome. I know there’s a lot of mixed responses from people when “bad neighborhoods” get pointed out, but when you have landlords willing to rent to anyone, it’s usually because they don’t care about the buildings or tenants.

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slut-cemetery OP t1_j4oiyb2 wrote

You know, while I'm at it. Is it uncommon for apartments in Bangor to have an in-unit washer & dryer? I feel like I've combed through nearly all the listings, and there's maybe 2 that actually have a washer & dryer in the apartment. [I'm looking at 2 bedrooms]

Most say they have the hookups for them... that sounds like a whole other hassle & large expense to acquire the machines myself.

I'm really hoping this isn't a far fetched dream to have an apartment with the machines already installed.

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LeisureSuitLawrence t1_j4p9xdh wrote

Fewer and fewer have washer, dryers, dishwashers, etc. Landlords don't need to sweeten the pot, so they don't. Added expense for them too.

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slut-cemetery OP t1_j4q3jea wrote

Makes sense but man that sucks! I just know I'm not going to want to go to the laundromat when it's sleeting out

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The_Cream_Man t1_j4q8tez wrote

OP, PMd you about a potential rental :)

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blaz138 t1_j53b4ub wrote

Our old apt was on my hope and was run by MREM. It was just ok. I didn't have too many problems with them. JNF Properties bought it that last year we were there. We made them walkthrough with us to make sure they didn't try to stuff us on the deposit. They seem much better than MREM but I'm sure they jacked up their prices. No where in Bangor is worth what you'd have to pay. It's ridiculously expensive for this area

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blaz138 t1_j53b8xu wrote

Our old apt was on my hope and was run by MREM. It was just ok. I didn't have too many problems with them. JNF Properties bought it that last year we were there. We made them walkthrough with us to make sure they didn't try to stuff us on the deposit. They seem much better than MREM but I'm sure they jacked up their prices. No where in Bangor is worth what you'd have to pay. It's ridiculously expensive for this area

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