Review for 507 & 509 Vancouver Rd., S.E.; Under Sky Mgt. Apartments

Some of the 4-plexes on this same block only charge $500/mo rent, which to me, is the fair/right price for these apartments. $550 was the rent I paid and, to me, is overpriced.

Known drug and meth neighborhood. Had at least two neighboring apartments where marijuana was smoked at least weekly and sometimes daily and throughout the day. Some really nice, also poor like me, neighbor families with children; really made some good friends, here. Never heard, saw, or heard of violence with guns, knives, or of deadly/harmful weapons in 7 months, although I didn't feel very safe over the incident I detail in the next paragraph. This road has about a dozen or more 4-plexes along one side of it and 2-3 bedroom, established homes on the other side. Overall, Rio Rancho is a great city to live in, so the "slums" of a "great" city to live in are never as bad as the "slums" of a poorer/less-than-great city to live in, such as of Albuquerque.

I had about $1000 in theft and vandalism done to my property (tires slashed on car, twice--all 4 the first time, 3 the second time; tires slashed on cargo trailer; trailer broken into [locks cut off] and items stolen; graffiti on trailer and car), but it was kind of "my fault"--yeah, whatever. I was woken up one night by neighbors arguing; I overhear a woman say, "You hit me in the chin" and a man reply "I did not"; I immediately call the non-emergency police line to report the domestic violence (SEE NOTE AT END); the neighbors deny having anything to do with it (I actually took up the guts to ask them face to face), but the vandalism series began *the next night* AND the gang graffiti on my trailer, as translated by a gang expert police officer, read "talks shit" (I think calling the police on somebody qualified me as someone who "talks shit"). None of the other neighbors were ever vandalized, at all, in my 7 months' stay there; I assume this is b/c no one else dared to call the police in protection of a woman like me, b/c they must already know it results in gang retaliation. Most people keep to themselves.

Star Team was original property managers and actual maintenance man was retained when Sky Management took over. They responded to my first THREE maintenance requests promptly and seriously (gas leak; an oven that, once turned on, would not turn off unless you unplugged it; cleaned the oven that was so dirty when I moved in that it billowed smoke when you used it). Even after repeated calls and follow-ups over about 3 months' time, they never took care of my other SEVEN maintenance requests, so I gave up (request to redo/improve weather stripping on front door--could see light passing through bottom crack of door; fix/oil squeaky whirlibirds on the roof--whenever wind about 10 mph or above, they squeak, sometimes pretty loud and through the night; fix wood on front door splintered around deadbolt and not always door latching because of it [apparent sign that someone had tried to break in the door prior]; replace window screen that was missing when moved in and another that bent up such that someone from outside can remove it [normally cannot remove from outside, but inside only--as a security feature]; repaint over graffiti on one wall of the twin 4-plex and on the trash dumpster; remove large trash on site [abandoned furniture, appliances, and large tumbleweed accumulations]--I actually voluntarily cleaned all that up while living there and upon moving out; repaint eaves where paint is coming off in large flakes); fix broken gate to courtyard between the two 4-plexes--attempted to fix but repair only lasted about 2 weeks).

Apparently, as neighbors told me, the carpet in my apartment was newly replaced b/c someone had killed himself in the apartment before I moved in, with blood all over. They were concerned it might be haunted; I was not concerned that way--never saw, heard, felt, or sensed any ghosts.

**NOTE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE/ABUSE: On my end, if someone, say my wife, her parents, or our pastor (all of them knew about the abuses), had had the courage to contact the police about my abuses towards her, our marriage and family could have been saved and our children spared the suffering this divorce continues to bring. I never caused her ER visits or physical injury, never a bruise or cut or life threat (no choking, weapons, or hurting in vital parts, face, or vital areas). So mine was "mild" (if any abuse can be called "mild")--physical abuse of smacks and light hits on the flesh of arms and legs or bear hugs. I think my marriage would have been saved b/c I would have been shaken up to see the truth of my abusive actions. I did not see as abuse but only as mutual fighting. She actually was more physical against me than I was to her (she pulled a knife a couple times, caused me to bleed and bruise). I wasn't shaken up to see the truth until she had already left, after which she finished with divorce and the final tearing of our family. So please, reporting domestic violence, "mild" to serious, can save marriages and families. PLEASE REPORT! b/c some overall good men like me are sometimes blind to damage they may be doing [I was abused as a child--mostly verbally, often if not daily, at a "medium" level, sometimes physically] and really have the heart, thus the power, to change and correct themselves--TO SAVE THEIR MARRIAGE AND FAMILY. I have 2 young sons involved in this, who continue to suffer effects of a divorce that didn't need to happen.

Sincerely,
Josiah Freeman
JosiahBHF@yahoo.com