I am so mad, and I need to vent Options

[Mommy]

This is probably going to be riddled with grammar errors because I am mad typing. Oh and I'm going to include liniks to a bunch of stuff.

Okay so as some of you may know, my husband and I moved to Georgia the end of August. My husband had just finished AIT so this was technically his first Army move. He is stationed at Fort Stewart, which main post is about 25 miles from the outskirts of Savannah. On a map, though, Fort Stewart stretches all the way to Savannah MAP. It was sort of difficult to judge distance from places by strictly looking at a map. All that extra land is just absolute nothing that is used as training and hunting grounds. I was super pregnant when we got his orders and I wasn't working, so he put me in charge of looking for a place to live.

Everyone (other military families) I spoke to that knew the area said not to live in Hinesville (the city that Fort Stewart is in) because it was basically a trailer park. Most housing in Hinesville would be mobile homes. So I looked on a map and found Richmond Hill, but it was too expensive. Additionally, it was 20 miles from Fort Stewart. So, then I thought Savannah, but the rent was kinda steep at most places, and I had to mapquest every single place on there to find out how far it was from Fort Stewart. Most places were around 30+ miles, and we would have to deal with city traffic.

I found an apartment complex through apartmentfinder.com called the Village at Rice Hope located in Port Wentworth, GA. I mapquested the complex and couldn't find it. I contacted a dude named Alan Franks who was the property manager. He said the complex opens in mid-August, and there was still a bit of construction going on. Residents that moved in that first week would get a new construction special. Well, when I told him we wouldn't be moving in until September 1st, he said we didn't qualify for the new construction special. When I told him we were a military family, however, he told me that he would make an exception for us and give us the discounted rate because we are military. Normally, rent for the apartment we live in is $945, but we pay $879. He went on to list all these wonderful amenities that we would have when we moved in: a pool, a cyber lounge, a game room, trash shutes in our building, a workout facility, etc. I was like "wow, that sounds great!"

Well, we get here the last day of August and we go driving around, and look at Savannah. We couldn't find anything we liked. Plus, traffic really was a pain. So, I call Alan for directions to that apartment complex in Port Wentworth, since even our GPS system couldn't find it. We head out there and look at the place when the office was closed. Yeah, it's a construction site alright, but most of the buildings look complete. The breezeways are really cool and are just like he described. I even found the apartment he told us that he would lease us if we came out here. I see where the trash shutes are and where the office was and stuff. Well, we meet with some chick named Britney the next day, and she is leasing out of an apartment because come to find out, the office isn't complete. She tells us that the trash shutes don't work. There is no pool yet. There is no work out facility yet. There is no cyber lounge yet. There is no game rooms, etc. She tells us though that these things will be opening very soon and they are just waiting for the furniture. She didn't know the special rate had been offered us so she had to call Alan. She didn't know that we were assigned to a specific apartment already so she had to call Alan again. She told us that the furniture and the workout equipment had already arrived, and they were just waiting for clearance to set it up. She said no more than a few weeks.

Well, Novemnber rolls around, and NOTHING is open yet. We literally only have a mailbox and our apartment. I went to talk to the "office" and Alan told me it would be no later than December 1st. Well, December 2nd rolls around, and still NOTHING is open yet. We have a note on our door that says January 1st. I talk to the "office" (still renting out of a vacant apartment) and let them know my concerns. Well, we decided to contact JAG (military legal assistance). I show them the Website for our apartment complex. They are still leasing to people, and their Website shows that these amenities (Village at Rice Hope WebSite. Click on Property Overview then Amenities to view the list) are currently available, including other things that I didn't know about BUT we don't have (covered parking, garages, beautiful landscaping, etc.). She says we definitley have a case because of something called contractual expectations. In other words, we have reasonable expactions of the apartment complex, and they aren't fulfilling those expectations. She wrote a letter on military letterhead explaining that we are willing to pay one month's rent to terminate the lease because of the amenities issue.

Additionally, when I contacted Alan initially, he told me that the complex was only 30 minutes from Fort Stewart. Yeah, it's 30 minutes to the military reservation, but it is still another 30 minutes to main post. ASSHOLE. It's fucking an hour away. Whatever. We have done that drive before. No big deal. We did it when we lived in San Marcos, and Shane was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Here's the catch, though. 30 days after we moved here, Shane was assigned to a homeland security mission. If anything catastrophic were to happen, he would be deployed to any area of the country with no notice at all. He would have to leave right away. They do training exercises for this. They will call in the dead middle of the night, and say "Get here now, and you need the following items." Living this far away gets him in trouble because of this mission. The lawyer at Jag included this argument in her letter as well.

Well, the letter was no help. I went to talk to Alan today, and things went from bad to WORSE. I went in there with a calm and professional attitude. At first, we were talking okay with each other. He was feeding me his usual lines of bullshit. "I've worked for this company for 12 years and blah blah blah." Then, whenever I try to get a word in edgewise, he talks over me. I told him very calmy that I didn't go in there to argue. I just wanted to know where we stand and tell him my frustrations. He calms down for a second and then goes into overdrive. "Don't even try to tell me that you aren't happy here because of the amenities not being available. You know good and well it is because you are stuck with that hour drive. Well, missy, you should have done your research. It's not my fault that you can't do a little bit of research." I tell him that is not the case at all, and by this time, I am getting pretty upset. He is yelling at me, and putting words in my mouth. I tell him that I will have no choice but to contact my lawyer again. I didn't even finish that sentence when he yelled at me "GET OUT! JUST GET OUT OF MY 'OFFICE'. YOU ARE NOT TO SET FOOT IN THIS 'OFFICE'." I tried talking to him, and he said "I can't talk to you anymore because you said the word lawyer." Umm... ok? By this time, I am LIVID. Now, I yell "Fine, Lawyer it is." I leave and slam the door.

Their corporate office finally just returned my phone call. They are going to talk to Alan and my lawyer and get back to me tomorrow. I also made another appointment with the lawyer for January 9th.
Now, I can't even go to the "office." I AM SO FUCKING PISSED OMG I COULD JUST SCREAM. I mean, seriously, I think I am being pretty reasonable. We are paying $879/mo (includes water and cable and washer and dryer) to live out in the middle of butt fuck nowhere. He says we should be paying almost a thousand dollars/month. WHAT?!?!?!!? It costs $1100 to live in downtown Savannah. That's ummmm kind of steep.

If you look at the map I posted of Fort Stewart, you will find Port Wentworth on there as well. It is Northwest of Savannah. Mapquest shows us at 47 miles (give or take because this shithole still isn't on a map) from Fort Stewart. It only takes an additional 15 minutes living here than it were if we were to live in Savannah like a lot of people at Fort Stewart. Other than Shane's mission, it really has nothing to do with the distance.

[woody]

where do you pay rent? at the office?

[Mommy]

where do you pay rent? at the office?

yup lol... guess i can't pay rent. there is no drop box and we are supposed to be able to pay online, but our account doesn't work. I've told Alan about it several times.

[woody]

if no one else was in the office when he was yelling at you, file a sexual harassment suit

[pysex]

why the fuck is an apartment complex pre leasing units if they don't even have a fucking office yet....

sounds like whatever company he's working for is having some financial issues and they needed people to start paying rent fast before they lost funding or something

you were smart to get a lawyer involved because hopefully the JAG can get you out of that danger

[Mommy]

why the fuck is an apartment complex pre leasing units if they don't even have a fucking office yet....

sounds like whatever company he's working for is having some financial issues and they needed people to start paying rent fast before they lost funding or something

you were smart to get a lawyer involved because hopefully the JAG can get you out of that danger

My thoughts exactly. It definitely seems as if they have run out of money. They keep saying they are working really hard on stuff, but I never see workers. The website still only shows drawings of the outside of what the building should look like because the outside looks like absolute garbage. They have been open for a week shy of 4 months. It's one thing not having trash shutes, but what sucks even more is we have to walk out in a muddy field to throw our trash away in a construction dumpster.

[dauss]

I did not read a single word of your first post, but I gotta throw this in here.

[Billy]

Does the military pay your rent?

[Dogmeat]

It's hard to be a girl

[blaarg]

tl;dr

[Mommy]

Does the military pay your rent?

We get a monthly housing allowance of $963 and is supposed to pay rent and utilities. That number is based on the area where Fort Stewart is located. Hinesville rent (come to find out, there are apartments there) is in the range of $600/mo. We pay around $50 for internet and another $80 for electricity, so we dig into our paychecks a bit to live out here. Thank god gas is cheap right now. I go through a tank of gas every other day, and I drive 4 hours a day for work. He goes through a tank every 3-4 days and drives about 2 hours a day for work.

[woody]

tell him to go to college & get his commision

[Mommy]

tell him to go to college & get his commision

he is. He is half way done. Remind you that he is two years younger than I.

[Inferia]

wow, why do you guys live so far away from work? Do you work in opposite directions or something?

[Mommy]

wow, why do you guys live so far away from work? Do you work in opposite directions or something?

No. not really. I work in Savannah, BUT our baby is enrolled at the daycare on Fort Stewart. I have to drive out there to drop him off at daycare before I can go to work. Yes, I realize I could find a different daycare, but not one this cheap and not one that does such an amazing job with him. He gets a ton of one-on-one attention. My husband has to be at work BEFORE the daycare opens at 6 am so I end up having to take our baby to daycare. I mean, yeah, we don't like how far it is obviously, but that isn't why we are complaining. I just had a baby 5 months ago. I would like to be able to work out. That's one reason why this place seemed nice. It had all the amenities we were looking for.... or so we thought. It's not like I can just go get a gym membership. There is no gym in Port Wentworth. All we have in Port Wentworth is a McDonalds, a Wendys, a Food Lion, a chinese restaurant, and 3 gas stations. That's it. Oh wait, and a CVS that always looks dead.

[woody]

he is. He is half way done. Remind you that he is two years younger than I.

cradle robber

[Mommy]

cradle robber

He's hot!

[Oasis]

We get a monthly housing allowance of $963 and is supposed to pay rent and utilities.

Is this common practice in the military? I don't like that one bit, at least for families

[Mommy]

Is this common practice in the military? I don't like that one bit, at least for families

If you live off post, you get money for housing. If you live on post, either in family housing or barracks, you don't get the housing allowance. Low ranking enlisted get a certain amount, high ranking enlisted get a little more, and officers get even more than that. Overall, the money is just to pay for housing and any utilities. If you live in a cheap ass place, you might have a bit extra. If you live in an expensive place, you pay out of your base pay. They have to offer the money because there isn't enough on post housing for all the soldiers and their families. Here at Fort Stewart, there is at least a 6 month waiting list.

Military also gets a small food allowance and some tax incentives. Basically, it's just to make sure that the money goes to the right places. It puts military jobs (excluding the Montgomery G.I. bill money) on par as far as pay with civilian jobs. Remember that in the military, your pay is based on rank and time in service, not your MOS. My husband has a specialized MOS. He is a lab technician. As a civilian, he would start out at around 35k/ year. His base pay is something like only $20k/year (estimating). Other soldiers with the same rank and time in service but work as only infantry or truck driver or something make the same amount. Of course, when you include the G.I. Bill (which gives soldiers up to $50k of money for school once they are no longer in the military) then yeah, I guess soldiers come out on top.

I think the G.I. Bill is important though. A lot of soldiers were leaving the military with little to no formal job training except what they learned in the military (in some cases, they knew little more than how to shoot a gun). The G.I. Bill allows them to go back to school for a new career. While in service, though, troops are allowed to spend a certain amount each year on school and the government will pay for it and won't touch your G.I. Bill funds.

My husband is working towards his bachelor's degree right now. Once he gets that, he can put in a packet to for the Green to Gold program which allows him to become an officer. Enlisted soldiers have a more difficult time becoming an officer than direct commissioned officers (those who obtained a degree then joined the Armed Forced). Many times, enlisted soldiers have to either have a lot of awards, a lot of rank, or a Master's Degree to become an officer. It doesn't hurt to try though. Plus, my husband just got promoted 6 months before he was supposed to because of his contributions to his new company. It really says something about his hard work when he gets promoted 3 months after getting here. He really impressed some people.

Just a little Army knowledge for you.

[Oasis]

Is it the same set living allowance (say $900/month) regardless of whether or not a soldier is single?

[Mommy]

Is it the same set living allowance (say $900/month) regardless of whether or not a soldier is single?

Yes. I think so. Remember, it is only to pay rent and utilities. Yeah, your utilities would be a little higher if you had more people living there, but not much. Single enlisted soldiers ranked E5 (sergeant) and higher are required to live off post here. There isn't enough barrack space for them.

[Mommy]

http://www.goarmy.com/benefits/total_compensation.jsp

Here is a chart that kinda shows what I am talking about.

[woody]

Is this common practice in the military? I don't like that one bit, at least for families

yes it is

varies on the Cost of Living in the area. So you'd get more if your in San Diego than El Paso for example.

Some singles rent an apt together & then pocket the extra cash after splitting rent/expenses

[Mommy]

Anybody know how to go about suing these people? I am assuming I need to sue the management company based out of Indianapolis???? I am also assuming I need to contact a lawyer? Do I have to sue using a lawyer? Can't I go to small claims court without a lawyer? Can I even do small claims court? I mean, we aren't suing for much. Just enough to get out of here, like the cost of a U-haul, but the company has probably 100 employees. Are there laws saying I can't use small claims if there is a certain number of employees with the company.

I am going to post some stuff that is JUST HILARIOUS later.

I filed a complaint with the better business bureau today for advertising issues and contractual disputes. Hopefully this helps. They are still advertising the amenities on the site. I have a note from a month ago that says the clubhouse would be opening the 1st of January. Guess what? Still not open!!!!!! NOTHING IS OPEN YET!!!! I would think that this is illegal for them to do... advertise amenities that are not even available. I talked to some guy that moved in a few days ago, and they told him February. All the residents are just furious. I would go around getting people to sign a petition, but I don't know if that is illegal. Plus, the manager lives here somewhere, and I don't know where. PLEASE HELP. I know there is at least one of you that is in law school. Plus, Christine is a know-it-all (you know I love you, Christine). Any information and references you can give me would be UBER appreciated.

[Spectatrix]

Magistrate court (the small claims court in Georgia) is for disputes under 15k. You can file with or without an attorney. I'd recommend seeing if you can get an attorney on a contingency basis, i.e. they only get paid if you win. At the very least, you should consult with one before filing, even if they don't represent you in court. http://www.georgia.gov/00/article/0,2086,5...9334516,00.html

Definitely talk to your fellow residents. Get their contact info and get notarized witness statements from as many of them as possible. If others of them are interested in suing as well, maybe y'all could collectively hire a lawyer, though I don't know if it would be handled as multiple small claims suits or a larger regular case.

[Mommy]

Ok. I think I'm going to start looking for a lawyer today to at least get a free consultation. I want to know if I even have good enough cause to sue. Anybody know of a good site to find a lawyer? I don't have a phone book, and I don't want to get a site with a bunch of popups. I know thereare sites that find a lawyer for you. You just type a statement and where you are, and lawyers find you. Is that a good idea? Or should I just look for them?

[woody]

i think the army will provide legal advice.

they probably won't represent you, but i think they can give advice

check with JAG

This post has been edited by woody: Jan 5 2009, 12:01 PM

[Spectatrix]

Yeah, check with JAG. They might have recommendations for civilian lawyers in the area too.

Alternately, search for lawyers on Savannah Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/savannah-ga or start a talk thread there to ask for recommendations.

This post has been edited by Spectatrix: Jan 5 2009, 12:04 PM

[Mommy]

I already talked to Jag. That's where I got the whole "contractual expectations" bit that even though the amenities aren't included in the lease, I still have grounds to say the lease is being violated by them. I had another appointment to talk to them about taking it to court and how to do that, but the lady I have been dealing with has some Commander thing to do so she had to cancel. She said she was going to research housing court and call me back this week. She is a lawyer, but just said she needed to look into some things.

Should I sue for damages outside of the U-haul it would cost us to move? I mean, we moved here with movers, and it would be nice to have movers again, but I don't expect that. I mean, yeah, money would be nice, but I don't want to use court to get ahead. Just get what I deserve. We deserve to get out of here. Thanks for the link, Christine.

[Spectatrix]

Yeah, I would sue for the cost of movers, plus the amount of your deposit if they aren't gonna return it (likely) and the deposit on your new place.

[Mommy]

Yeah, I would sue for the cost of movers, plus the amount of your deposit if they aren't gonna return it (likely) and the deposit on your new place.

We didn't pay a deposit here, and we are hoping to move onto post, so I guess just the cost of movers + attorney fees.

[Mommy]

hehe, The Better Business Bureau has sent my complaint to the company. I am now waiting for a response. Maybe something will happen with this. If not, they will get a bad mark on their business.

[Inferia]

We didn't pay a deposit here, and we are hoping to move onto post, so I guess just the cost of movers + attorney fees.

Is it possible to move first and get reimbursed for the fee? If you're so miserable there, maybe it would be a better idea to just move first and then see anything can be done afterwords or do things not work like that?

[Mommy]

Is it possible to move first and get reimbursed for the fee? If you're so miserable there, maybe it would be a better idea to just move first and then see anything can be done afterwords or do things not work like that?

The fees to get out of this apartment are absolutely ridiculous. Here is a copy of the letter they gave us, which is in and of itself completely against the lease contract. Never did it say that we were being given reduced rent in the lease. They are saying that if they didn't make this "special deal" with us, that we would be responsible for $120/month of every month that we have lived here to reimburse them for the reduced rate that they have given us. We don't have this kind of money. Plus, on top of the money that they say we owe, we would have to give one month's rent. That's $2600 to live here one more month. That is money we just don't have.





UPDATE: VERY INTERESTING. I went to the State of Indiana's (that's the state the SC Bodner, the company that owns our apartment complex, is located in) website, found the Secretary of State Website, and did a search on SC Bodner, LLC. They have been Administratively Dissolved. Doesn't that mean they are in bankrupcy? Or that they have no funds so the state is in the process of dividing up the company and selling it in parts? This website I found said this can be done with or without the company's knowledge. Who knows if they ever plan on completing this place. Anybody know exactly what all of this means? Do we have any rights? What can we do?

[Hartmann]

I'm not sure what Georgia housing law is but there is usually a provision for unsafe living conditions. If the trash chutes aren't working I would send a letter to the office requesting that they be fixed. If they are not fixed within a given amount of time, the law usually allows for the breaking of a contract.


Looking at the letter, I'd say take it. Put the cost on a low APR credit card and get out of there while you can.

[Mommy]

hmm... I may be an idiot. I looked up SC Bodner Construction in Indianapolis, IN and this is called SC Bodner Company. The company is still active and is not being dissolved. Weird that they would be so closely related in name and be in the same city. Whatever.

[Mommy]

Christine, I can't go through the Georgia Magistrate Court because their company is located in Indiana and all their registered agents are in Indiana as well.

[Inferia]

hmm... I may be an idiot. I looked up SC Bodner Construction in Indianapolis, IN and this is called SC Bodner Company. The company is still active and is not being dissolved. Weird that they would be so closely related in name and be in the same city. Whatever.

I think SC Bodner Company used to be SC Bodner Construction. They are (were) owned by the same person.

http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_c9j0vr
http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/archi...280201.msm.html

[Mommy]

I think SC Bodner Company used to be SC Bodner Construction. They are (were) owned by the same person.

http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_c9j0vr
http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/archi...280201.msm.html

yeah, I think they may have changed their name? I guess that is what it meant when it was Administratively Dissolved. They just changed their name.

[woody]

don't they have like a KVIA i-team in that area?

[Spectatrix]

Christine, I can't go through the Georgia Magistrate Court because their company is located in Indiana and all their registered agents are in Indiana as well.

Damn, that sucks. Definitely talk to JAG -- you don't want to have to go to Indiana for court.

[chook]

you have a copy of your lease right? Send me a copy and I'll look into it this weekend.

[Mommy]

you have a copy of your lease right? Send me a copy and I'll look into it this weekend.

k. where should I send it?

[Oasis]

[Mommy]

need I link every thread you start about your pathetic, drama-ridden life?

[Mommy]

They are considering the trash chutes an amenity I think. We are just supposed to use some shitty construction dumpsters right now. I'll bring that idea up to the lawyer I am meeting with on Thursday, though.

[Oasis]

need I link every thread you start about your pathetic, drama-ridden life?