GRECO REAL ESTATE

Do not rent from these people! First of all, Cindy Greco, (the woman who I rented the apartment from), does not return phone calls. Any time I called her for a question or a concern, I got her voicemail, and the only time I could get her to respond is if I wrote the company a lengthy email detailing my complaint. In the unlikely event I did get her on the phone, she was very short and kind of rude, like I was bothering her or something. Second, we had nothing but maintenance issues from day one! The day we moved in we had no hot water. Then, the boiler in our living room didn't get hot, and since it was the largest room of the house where we spent most of our time, we were freezing! They "fixed" it numerous times but it was never actually repaired. After that, we had a leak in the shower which caused water to pool all over the floor. They "fixed" it once with this caulk adhesive stuff which fell right off, so they had to come back AGAIN to re-grout and do it properly. We also had a gas leak in the kitchen. I was told by maintenance staff that I should not have called the gas company and that I should just "crack a window" and call them. Since I called the gas company, which any sane person would do with a gas leak, they turned off my gas until the building fixed the leak. They tore up my kitchen, and refused to hire a professional to find the leak. The gas company came back 5 separate times only to tell me there was still a leak. I was without gas for a week... they finally had to run a brand new gas line, it was awful! Half of our windows didn't open, and all of the plaster walls were cracking and peeling paint. And the heat NEVER WORKED. They said heat was included in the rent, but it was broken for the majority of the winter. I had the thermostat in my apartment which was always set to 72. Regardless, the temperature was always either 65 or 85! We called maintenance literally 2-3 times per week to "fix" the heat. The maintenance man told me he wasn't a heating professional, but that Dennis Greco, the owner, wouldn't pay to get a professional to fix the boiler system. Come spring, we had a constant infestation of ants - my apartment was immaculate, but the ants just kept coming even though we sprayed and set traps. It was disgusting. I also hated whenever the maintenance staff came over. They dragged dirt in, and smelled like booze. EVERY TIME! And they always came in the afternoon, so I'm not sure why they always smelled of alcohol - I was always very nervous to be in my apartment while they were there, and even more nervous to leave them alone in my apartment! One of the staff members even mentioned to me that they had more than 12 DUIs (I happened to be watching TV when an attorney commercial came on...). Third, I fell down their front stairs outside when it was raining which are marble (very slippery!) and do not have a railing (even though they are required to have a safety rail). I've been to physical therapy and a spinal specialist and am still injured. I called to report the injury immediately so that others wouldn't hurt themselves - I thought they might come and install some non-slip pads or a handrail, but never did. They also never returned my phone call... I contacted the Grecos directly asking to file a claim with their insurance company, and was told it was "my fault" I fell and they refused to even OFFER to help with my medical bills. Apparently, their tenants safety is not of any importance to them, as they've never fixed the stairs to make them more safe, or even bothered to ask how I was doing. Last, we finally got fed up and broke our lease as we had purchased a house. We were told, in writing, by Cindy Greco that we would get our security deposit back as long as they found a tenant to rent the apartment. The apartment was rented, so we were promised our deposit. When I emailed Cindy to tell her our new address, she told me that we weren't getting our deposit back. Luckily I saved the email in which she stated that we would get it back, and forwarded it to her - she agreed to "stick to her word." I couldn't believe after the h*** they put us through she would try to refuse us our security deposit! And of course they withheld $50 for "floor cleaning." I vacuumed and swept before I left, so I don't know what that was about, but I was sick of dealing with this company and these people, so I let it go. We were paying $1100/month which is more than our mortgage now, and it was an AWFUL experience!