Sycamore should be shut down by building inspectors. The main problem: MOLD! There is a huge mold problem that management refuses to address. The...
Sycamore should be shut down by building inspectors. The main problem: MOLD! There is a huge mold problem that management refuses to address. The staff claims its minor, and if you follow a few simple suggestions its not a big problem. That is complete bull ----. In my unit, there was mold growing in the corners of every room, under most windows, and in the closets. Under the windows the walls were pretty much mold from the bottom of the windows to the floor. There was also water seeping through the walls, and ice was forming on the inside of the windows. When I talked to management about it and tried to show them pictures of the severity of the problem, they did not even want to see any pictures and proceeded to blame me for the problem. They suggested I not allow my dishes to air dry (do they seriously think air drying dishes is the cause of all that mold?) and open my windows while cooking (despite the fact it was the middle of winter and it was -5 F outside).
Another problem is the heating and cooling or really lack there of. The apartments just have baseboard electric heaters on the floor. During the winter, my electric bill shot up to $200+ and my apartment still wasn't warm. Not only are they expensive to run, but also installed in such a way that they are a safety hazard. These heaters are not allowed to be located less than 6 in. below outlets, yet most of my heaters had outlets less than 6 in. above them. One of my plugs was melted by these heaters just from being in the vicinity (it wasn't even touching the heater). This is a huge fire hazard. When I told management, they completely ignored the problem and said it was grandfathered in (yet claimed it was efficient on their website). Both building code and the product manual say not to do this very thing. Essentially, the safety of their residents means nothing to Sycamore. As far as the cooling, there is one air conditioning unit just in the living room. The units have no circulation and trying to strategically place fans did not help. The bedrooms are unbearably hot in the summer.
In addition to all of the above, there are barely any outlets. My kitchen did not have a single outlet on the wall that had the only counter area. The kitchens are a big space but there is just one row of counters, and my oven was more like an easy bake oven that most standard cookware will not fit into. Also, my unit had no dishwasher and inconstant water pressure in the kitchen.
As far as the buildings as a whole, the basements look like they are out of a horror movie. They had loose wires dangling from the ceiling, and pools of water. It smelled gross. There were also a lot of roaches in the building hallway.
Management is completely rude to the residents and just blame residents for every maintenance problem. The maintenance staff are usually fast to respond to a problem (that is when management concedes there is a problem and passes it along to maintenance).
The grounds are kept up very well (except for the pool). The pool is dirty. They had a couple women who were supposed to watch over the pool, but they did a terrible job cleaning it. Also, Sycamore allows residents to smoke in the pool area.