ABC57 News looks into resident complaints of a "blackout" at The Jefferson Apartments in South Bend
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For two days, residents have contacted ABC57 News about a "blackout" at the Jefferson Apartments, describing total darkness in the parking lot, in the corridors, no trash pickup and increasing late fees in the middle of a lease.
On Thursday, we took a look at some of the buildings to find their concerns were true, no lights in the corridors and some garbage was left outside of the dumpsters.
One resident we spoke with said she resorted to picking up the trash herself and placing it in the dumpster. She says when you knock on the doors of the leasing office, you are not allowed in. She tells us a leasing agent will crack the door to speak to you.
We knocked on the doors of the leasing office and saw multiple notices on the doors. One sharing the contact information of the new property manager, Ursula Dean. The other one stating the office is closed unless you have an appointment.
In January, Daniel Management Group, or DMG, took over the property and according to residents, they are still getting situated.
We were welcomed in and spoke with Regional Property Manager, Lyndi Merced. She asked not to be on camera due to personal reasons, and we agreed.
First, we asked about the lights in the buildings, parking lot and the trash pickup.
“We have a third-party energy provider and because we’re new management, they had a delay in the transition so we’re calling them like 'what’s going on?' and they’re like 'because it’s new management, there was a delay in us putting in your information to get the utilities paid,' Merced explained.
She continued, "they're a utility management company. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of them, Conservice, so that’s what’s happening. We’re hounding them, making a bunch of calls trying to get this turned on for the residents.”
Conservice is a utility provider based in River Heights, Utah.
Merced says since there was a delay, its taking time to get the name on the account changed and the bill paid.
A resident shared this email with us that says late fees for rent are now $150.
The full email reads:
"Good afternoon valued residents of The Jefferson. We appreciate your patience as our system is still being updated and our back office continues to update ledgers. Please note that February rent is still due on the 1st! If we do not receive payment, you will be assessed a $150 late fee on the 6th day of the month. This is the same for every month. No exceptions! Please remit your payments via AppFolio Portal. Personal checks, cashier's checks, money orders, and cash will NOT be accepted. If you drop off any one of these forms of payment, you will be asked to pick it up and a late fee may be assessed if payment is not made on time via the appropriate method. Also, please note that our office is still currently closed. Staff is available by appointment only. To reach the office for an appointment, call 574-397-0601 and press 1. To reach maintenance for emergencies call 574-397-0601 and press 3. You may also send text messages through AppFolio. Non-emergency calls and messages will be responded to in the order they are received during office hours only. Non-emergency maintenance requests will ONLY be accepted via AppFolio Portal."
She explained in her lease, late fees are listed as $100. We asked about this too.
"Obviously, we just took over. Everybody’s lease is different so if there are some people, some are not even on a lease, so if there’s a late fee that’s incorrect, all you have to do is tell us. There’s people that came in and we lowered their late fees because we’ve inherited leases that weren’t incorrect or that didn’t exist or we just didn’t have their lease on file so once they provide us with their lease we match whatever’s on there.”
When we went to the office, the manager was on the phone with the utility company trying to get things sorted out.