Here is our story:
My husband and I moved to Offutt and needed to find a place to live asap. We have a 100lb german shepherd that we could not put in an apartment. We did not have time to look for a house so we figured moving "on base" was our best option for now.
Offutt's on base housing is actually off base and not run by the military. It's a privatized community called America's First Communities or "Rising View."
The houses are old, run down and unfit for habitation. There is lead in the paint, asbestos in the floors, and mold behind the walls.
Link between asbestos and cancer:
http://www.mesothelioma-lung-cancer.org/asbestos-causes-mesothelioma.html
Link between lead paint and poisoning:
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5054.html
Mold's harmful effects:
http://healthandenergy.com/mold
When we went in to sign the lease I asked if they could give us a 6 month lease (as I *knew* we would not be able to stand living there for a full year). Of course, they declined my offer and said I had to sign for an entire year.
Not only does the property need maintenance all the time, but the people are unfriendly and not understanding of individual circumstances.
We tried to get out of our lease by offering an early-termination fee and they declined our offer outright. Not only that, but the housing manager told us that a guy lost his parents in a car accident so he wanted to move back home and break his lease and she wouldn't let him. Basically, they won't let you terminate your lease early for ANY REASON because they need all the money they can get. They can't keep their neighborhood full so they prey on new military families moving into town with promises of a new housing community and no utilities. Don't buy it! They lie to get get you to sign their lease.
They are not here to serve the military; they are only here to make a quick profit.
If you have a horror story like ours, please comment to my posts!
I will continue to rant and rave on this property until I get the word out to anyone looking to move into any of their houses/duplexes.
9 comments:
I agree with your thoughts on rising view and, frankly, they don't surprise me one bit. We moved in June 2008. We were lucky in that we got a brand new home. The people running this place, however, don't seem to have changed.
We came to Offutt from San Diego. The housing management company there is Lincoln Clark PPV. They are first rate. They had small offices in each community where they welcomed residents. They also offered a host of ammenities that the people here think outlandish.
We don't go to the office here unless we have to. The two times we've asked for help (what bug spray to get, what power cord to we need for our dryer) their suggestion was to go to Menard's and ask there. They care more about their precious new houses than the people in them. Yesterday was the second fourth of July we've been here. Fireworks are not allowed, but everyone was shooting them. They will distribute nastygrams if your yard is not adequately trimmed, but do nothing if you host your own pyrotechnics display and endanger others. I didn't see ANY security forces out patrolling.
These people rarely do a helpful thing. They stick to what they're legally obligated to do. My biggest peeve, in a legal sense happened back in October. My husband and I were thrilled to finally live somewhere we could have a dog. We found a wonderful Boston Terrier at the shelter in Omaha. We brought him home on a Sunday, but couldn't see the on base vet until a week from the following Monday. We called the office and told them that we had a dog and an appointment at the vet and asked if there were more we needed to do. We were told that all we needed to do was bring in the registration paperwork once he went to the vet. We took the papers by when we had them and my husband was asked for a $100 fee. They had enacted a new pet fee during that week and expected us to pay it. My husband was furious. He wanted to speak to a manager and they relented. Their excuse is that we needed to keep the website checked for policy changes. Essentially, they claimed they could change the terms of our lease via their website and not notify residents in writing. Several weeks later, we learned that those who signed their leases before the policy change would be "grandfathered in." I wonder if more people called them on it.
I could go on about all the ways this place is lacking, but I think I'll stop it here.
I just want to say every coment I have read sinks home to me because I have seen first hand the business practices of american worst..I was an employee there for a long period of time,I have witnessed things there that would blow your mind,countless times I have butted heads with supervisors in Maintenance and in leasing over the conditions of the housing and the way they would atempt the repair or bandaid of serios mold,water damage problems,leaking roofs and much much more.The employees there are treated unfairly to say the least,one employee was hospitalized for mold poisoning but could not prove it came from there.I was told on many occassions not to ever use the m word in front of occupants,the m stands for mold.They would and always will down play all serious problems that come up wth occupants,point blank American worst does not care about there employees or the occupants.The Maintenance side of the building is so messed up,not one employee understands how chuck still has a job.I have hurd him say many times how he feels about occupants,I will not repeat his words,The way I see it American Soldiers deserve to live in a Home that is safe and secure,and as an employee working on there houses I took pride in my job,in a way I felt like I was serving my country.More to say.
To the previous poster - yes, we ran into the same problem with the 'pet fee' issue. We moved in Aug 2008 and our lease stated there was no pet deposit required. We got a cat in the end of September and were told the same thing as you. Take it to the vet and bring in the documentation. Nothing else was said until my husband brought in the paperwork the first week of October- then all of a sudden there was a $100 pet fee! He raised hell and they said we wouldn't have to pay it and would be grandfathered in.
Since then we have had other issues. Our a/c ducting was creating so much condensation that it leaked through our kitchen ceiling! We asked them to come and fix it, so they show up and cut a 14x14 inch square in the ceiling and left. It was like that for just under two weeks. They came back and their 'fix' was to place an eyesore of a grate over the top of it. They didn't even take the time to make sure it was straight. So much for a nice new house!
The paint they used was one coat of white flat paint, so if you even brush up against the wall, you have to repaint! No scrubbing the walls, as all you do is scrub the paint off, so needless to say, we have a lot of extra paint and paint brushes to touch up the house every month. It's ridiculous!
The fireworks issues are still there - people shooting off fireworks all over the neighborhood and nothing is said about it...yet we got a nasty gram last year as we forgot to turn off our christmas lights outside one night.
Do not take this company at their word! I am still fighting with their management over them charging more rent than what we were told. I recently got put on a last minute deployment (less than 2 weeks of notice) and notified housing that I might be leaving 3 days prior to my notification. I had heard a rumor of a deployment a few days prior to getting official notification. Anyways I told them that it wasn't for sure and asked if I would still have a house should I not be deployed. They told me that I would have a house and that they wouldn't charge me rent past the day of my RNLTD if I provided orders proving a last minute deployment. The day I got my orders I turned in a copy to housing. I scheduled my final out the day after their first available appointment so that I could have someone with a POA there for it. Last week i find out that they are going to prorate my rent up to the final out because I didn't take the first available final out. If this would have been explained at the time that i selected the date I would have made arrangements for someone else to have my POA and be at my final out. Since then I have been on the phone with them for several days trying to resolve this from my deployd location. Kelly the assistant manager was only apperently helpful and was very disrespectful and rude on the phone. She would talk down to me and acted as though I was trying to take advantage of them. I just wanted to have them follow through with what was intially told to us by their employees. I asked for the property manager and was told that they couldn't connect me with her. We will see how this works out. It is only like $350, but to a young SSgt that makes a big difference and besides that it is a matter of integrity. They had marginal service while I lived there and no service once you leave. They only care about money and nothing more. I fear that I may have been taken advantage of and can't resolve it since i am thousands of miles away. I was moved out and reported in it duty two weeks prior to the final out and don't think i should have to pay since that is what they originally told me.
My husband & I just arrived Offutt AFB,The homes are owned and managed by the Private Company but the land still belongs to the US Government May9,2012
After living in the home for 5 weeks, our health started to become a serious issue. We had been experiencing headaches since the first day that we moved in. I had other symptoms which are similar to an allergic reaction to some stimulus. On July 3, my neighbor who shares a common wall with our home moved out. On July 5, the managing company immediately went into the unit and started hammering and sawing. It seemed odd because the home was left in a condition that did not warrant anything but re-painting and some maintenance to the backyard where a swing set had been. I say this because the company had previous cut out drywall that was covered in mold. On July 11, the managing company returned at 8AM and did something to the structure in the attic. By 5PM that day, I was incapacitated with a migraine headache, coughing, swollen eyes & I was nearly hoarse. I went to an ER for remedy to the debilitating migraine. I was asked 5 times, while I was at the ER, if I had been exposed to mold. By 12 July, we had maintained a log that clearly demonstrated that if we were away from the house for more than 2 hours all of our symptoms would clear up. On July 13, we spoke with the property management and in the hour long conversation, we were told no mold had ever been reported at the home, no repairs had ever been made and our report was the first time anything like that had ever been mentioned. Which we knew was a lie. The landlord has refused to do anything. Since the house is on Federal property, neither the City building inspector nor the county inspector has any jurisdiction over inspecting the house.
With research, I discovered: America First did not have any permits. They had protection from City/County and State inspectors claiming the US Gov’t owned the land. With no permits & no inspections, the houses are now a threat to health.
Just some of the LIES told in the past 2 weeks
#1-Straight up LIE that no mold was ever reported at the house we live in.Story changed when he was standing by drywall that had squares cut out where mold had been removed.Troy who has told so many lies he can’t keep them straight!
#2- Lie by Dora- Regional Manager of AF Communities: “in 2009, mold was reported but the problem was resolved & on conference call the residents said everything was fine” REAL story Residents of current home were on a conference call (July 2010 when mold was visible on the garage walls of both units and the ceiling) both of the military members were told that AF maintenance would resolve the mold problem, military member said if they are going to do that then fine. NOT IT HAS BEEN RESOLVED Of course they didn’t do anything but cut the drywall out that had the visible mold on it.
#3- Lie by Shanta in August of 2010 said Rising view wouldn’t clean any air ducts or vents because cleaning the air ducts “stirred up the dust & worse air quality” On July 17, 2012- yes, today, Shanta called to schedule “professional duct cleaning company” to come & clean air ducts (research says they want to “CLEAN UP”visible evidence)
I can state that I have NEVER in my LIFE experienced so much dishonesty and outright deception. Someone needs to retain a good trial lawyer and go after this company in a class action suit. They have Moved at least 4 families into homes that they know have toxic mold.
I knew they were bad but didn't realize they were this bad. So disappointing and DISGUSTING.
I totally agree! I wish I would have found this when my husband was first stationed here 4 years ago! Since then though I have made my own page and it is slowly growing with fans. If anyone wishes Please pass this link on to everyone in the military you know so NO ONE Will move in to these HORRIBLE houses with Liars as landlords!
https://www.facebook.com/RisingPoo
My husband and i moved into our house on january 9th. Ever since we stepped foot into our house we have had a horrible pest problem. I cant even keep food in our house for fear it will be infested with ants! Its been almost two months in this house. I have called rising view about it six times. We even listed it on the checklist they give you in the first fifteen days.
They sent someone out once (while my husband was home on his lunch mind you) and my husband said the guy was in and out within two minutes of coming in, didnt speak to him or look in the problem areas!
They then had the nerve to say our house was "dirty" and we had "open containers". Only, we had no food in the house, because we have been eating at our family's house. And our things were still in boxes, so nothing was really "messy".
We bought numerous sprays and traps and such and it still persists. We have called RV 8 times now. Still nothing. I am at my witt's end!
All you have to do is google the name "Sally Mikat" to see what RV did to us.. And mike McKnight wasn't allowed to do the entire story because RV knew what they pulled was ILLEGAL.
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