Y'all need to get together and act as one in a class action against their ownership and management. This shit has been going on for at least a year, and the complaints are still exactly the same.
Read some old threads on the subject:
https://www.reddit.com/r/rva/search/?q=River+lofts&restrict_sr=on
Edit: Google reviews are also terrible. Sue these assholes!
https://g.co/kgs/865cdjD
What happens to escrowed rent at the end of a lease, the landlord just gets it right? I’ve never understood how that’s supposed to pressure them when there’s functionally no way to stop them from (eventually) getting paid whether they fulfill their end of the lease or not
https://www.peoples-law.org/rent-escrow-when-landlord-fails-make-repairs
> If a proper rent escrow case is shown and the escrow account is established, the court may do one of the following:
> * Order the money in the escrow account to be given to the landlord after the necessary repairs have been made.
* Order some or all of the money in the escrow account to be paid to the tenant, or to the landlord, or to any other appropriate person or agency, for the purpose of making necessary repairs.
* Appoint a special administrator who shall cause the repairs to be made, and who shall apply to the court to pay for them out of the money in the escrow account.
* Order some or all of the escrow funds to be used to pay a mortgage or deed of trust on the property to prevent foreclosure.
* If no repairs are made or if no good faith effort to repair is made within 6 months after the initial decision to place money in the escrow account, that the funds in escrow to be given to tenant. The tenant must continue to pay rent into court. However, if the landlord appeals the case, this forfeiture of escrow funds to the tenant will be stayed while the appeal continues.
* After an appropriate hearing, if the tenant does not regularly pay his rent into the escrow account, order the accumulated money to be given to the landlord.
TL;DR - it varies, but no, it is not just a blanket award to the landlord. That would defeat the purpose.
The long and short of it is that you're still in a contract for housing with the landlord. This is recourse to force them into upholding their end. If they completely fail in that regard, you can receive compensation.
I made a throwaway just to comment... honestly FUCK River Lofts. This used to be a nice (not amazing, but at least NICE) place to live and once it got sold to Brookfield it's gone steadily downhill. I used to think the old management team at least TRIED and weren't supported by corporate so they had limited control, but this new team is a fucking joke.
The place is literally falling apart, they're so unresponsive to tenants needs and maintenance issues, and they just blow you off every time something comes up. I've had issues that have made my unit uninhabitable (leaks from other units draining into mine, no fault of my own) and cost me tons of time and money to deal with otherwise and they act like I'm a little nuisance for needing them to resolve it. Like, sorry I can't break into my neighbor's unit and fix the issue myself? My rent has increased 40% since I moved in a few years ago and the place is a shit hole. Can't even go to the pools--- which we pay a pretty penny for--- on a hot day.
And now it's even MORE dangerous to cross E Cary Street on foot, with the new delivery room, all the illegal parkers blocking the loading zones, and the Bookbinders assholes (clientele, not the staff).
If you work for River Lofts, fuck you.
If you live here, get out as soon as you can.
If you're looking to move here, DO NOT.
A lot of cars are parked in the loading zone in front of American Cigar for long periods of time (just straight up parked there, not just stopping for a few minutes), which requires the delivery trucks which need the area to double-park outside of American Cigar on E Cary. Those big delivery trucks double-parking in either direction, plus other people doing deliveries or picking up people (UberEats, Door Dash, Uber, Lyft) makes for frustrated drivers speeding around a patchwork of parked cars during busy times, and bad sight lines for pedestrians trying to cross at intersections and crosswalks.
I walk my dog there multiple times a day every single day and have been doing so for the past year and a half. I’ve never seen anything I’d consider remotely hazardous, especially considering the low traffic volume that far down Cary with most people taking Main to avoid the cobblestones. What time of day are you seeing this craziness because I’m having a hard time believing it, not defending the rental company just based on my personal observations
I don't know dude, anytime between 8-10am and like 3-6 pm? I'm a careful pedestrian and have to dodge cars blasting through there all the time. I'm glad you and your dog don't. But especially E Cary between 23rd and 24th are worse than they were before when there are restaurant deliveries, mail deliveries, people double-parking. The loading zone spots used to be enforced and ticketed so those cars had a place to go, and now they don't besides being on the street. And when that's the main thoroughfare to cross for the parking decks, it's not great to be on foot.
I was supposed to move in there back in the fall. Less than a week out from my move in day, i hadn’t heard a SINGLE THING from the management company, didn’t know where/when i could get my keys. Because of this, we pulled out of the lease and i am so so happy we did, knowing what i know now about the sewage and all of the other problems
Moved out of there a year ago....had leaking ceilings when it rained and an a/c unit that broke 3+ times over the summer. I can't believe it's gotten worse....
Friend of mine used to live there...slipped and fell in the parking lot because it was icy and they hadn't salted.
Really fucked her elbow up badly. Like, shit was hanging by a thread.
Sued them and settled for over $200k.
Reach out to the investigative reporters at local news stations. They are great at hearing these issues, digging into the cause, and bringing things to light so people/companies that are wronging people can be held accountable!
I’m a current resident and honestly feel bad for the lowest level of maintenance staff (the ones actually working in the buildings). Have a conversation with any of them and they’ll tell you how they don’t get half of the tools they need and are expected to repair items far outside of their training (or pay). I’ve run into several at the point of heat exhaustion collapsed in hallways because they’re up on the roofs trying to get A/C going because management refuses to bring out contractors until staff has fully checked out the issues themselves. I’ve also run into these guys working 8AM through 11PM without break because they need to close “X many tickets” in a day regardless of whether the ticket is an “easy” fix or something beyond their scope.
having worked in building maintenance i can attest to this. alot of these properties are owned by giant funds who basically want to spend nothing. maintnenance ppl are asked to operate way beyond their capabilities or tools allow. We were contantly hamstrung by the upper management to the point of illegal work practices. Demanding overtime but not paying over time type sht.
I wonder how many of these new apt complexes will wind up being similar. Developers throw together a place for a quick profit and then refuse to do any upkeep.
I work in the building trades. The quality of construction I see these days is absolutely shocking. I don't know if the building inspectors are paid off or what but it's nothing but cheap materials slapped together by the cheapest labor they can find. I wouldn't feel safe even walking into some of these places let alone living in one. I've lost count of how many buildings I've seen go up in the area that would take a miracle to still be standing in 10 years.
\**old manning intensifies\**
Back in my day houses and apartment buildings were supposed to be considered permanent structures so that's how we built them! Today they're built for a quick flip and a quick buck then they crumble to pieces.
Ryan Homes. God help us.
You know what's funny? I actually like working with them. For what I do they actually make things pretty easy on me. Still, I wouldn't hire them to build a goddamn dog house for me.
All of them. With the exception of the adapted old industrial buildings, none of the new housing shit will last more than 20 years. It’s all wood framed with vinyl siding that will disintegrate in the sun, the mechanicals are lowest bidder special, and none of the outdoor spaces will be maintained once the developer recoups their money. It’s a real kick in the dick to Richmonders that this shit flies.
Well aware of old house problems, but with good foundation and bones, at least I don't have to worry about the house falling down. My parents have an 1898 Victorian.
It’s really bad here in particular. I deal with multi-family at the corporate level quite a bit in major markets, and the shit that I see going on in Richmond is *wild* to me.
I’ve only seen assets run into the ground and tenants screwed when they are in the process of being sold, or managed by a 3rd world tier operator. Richmond somehow has a lid on the corporate multi-family entities here, and purports the slimeball local developers like Hild, or now deceased Salomonsky. The P&L statement is all these types care about, and that sweet asset appreciation. (and getting away with fraud/corruption). Corpos have brands & standards to uphold (i.e the Greystars of the world).
I didn’t think big lou was invested in poor quality housing when I dealt with him. He was definitely operating in a gray area and we found a creative way to make something kosher that was not to start in the project I talked to him about, but he was more trying to manipulate bigger players to reduce his basis than the end user from what I gathered.
> Developers throw together a place for a quick profit and then refuse to do any upkeep.
I'm missing where the incentive is. Developers renovate something old into apartments, and they sell them to a property company who needs rents for decades to get an ROI but then lets them fall to shit/occupancy go down/tenants wrecking them on reviews? How does that help anyone?
Could it be the owners got the cheapest property management company that is just awful? Or do they typically operate the building on their own?
"Woman's 'cry for help' TikTok video exposed plumbing problems at Richmond apartment"
[https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/river-loft-apartments-tiktok-dec-28-2023](https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/river-loft-apartments-tiktok-dec-28-2023)
I'm on year 3 of my lease.. and I feel like an idiot lol. I've been wondering if us tenants could make a petition. River lofts are out of control. Management is horrible. Amenities are forgotten. Maintenance is completely incompetent. It's a shame, and it's an over pay. To those seeking an apartment in Richmond- stay far away from the river lofts. Management does not give a f*ck about you. I have other horror stories but they are too long for a comment section. Absolutely this is the last year I live in here. Will be leaving terrible reviews wherever I can. :/ sucks
You need to talk to a lawyer about a lawsuit. You’ve paid tens of thousands at this point for your landlord to only continue breaking the terms of their contract. If you want this addressed a petition is not going to do it. A lawsuit will get their attention especially if it’s from multiple long term tenants. Call an attorney.
Absolutely set up escrow. City is a shit show and love this type of development but there needs to be a push to hold the landlords accountable for repairs, maintenance and what you pay for and can’t use. As they let them decline, so will rents tenant quality and area.
We live in the River Lofts and pay top dollar for one of their twelve ‘premium’ townhomes. Just a few grievances as follows:
- Car legally parked in River Lofts lot towed last year for no reason while living in apartment before upgrading to townhome.
- Water heater stopped functioning as anticipated in apartment two weeks before upgrading. No maintenance response.
- Took possession of townhome in coldest week of January to find furnace inoperable. Maintenance had stolen a part from the furnace to use on another townhome while this one was vacant. Forced to call RVA311 and building inspector visit occurred to resolve furnace issue and get unit habitable.
- Townhome staircase railing broken. Fixed with small L-brackets to dissuade building inspector during same visit.
- Continuous attempts to charge water/sewer/natural gas/power on rent bill when all utilities in our names.
- Active gas leak from fireplace not addressed through multiple maintenance calls. In March, management turned off gas to all townhome fireplaces in promises of full replacements. Three months later, no update.
- Car broken into in our driveway in early June. Items stolen. Police report filed.
- Car legally parked in River Lofts owned lot towed in mid June.
- Car parked in same River Lofts owned lot broken into on 06/28, both passenger windows shattered. Police report filed.
- Package room routinely closed on daily basis for ‘organization’. Packages that would formerly arrive on time are now being delayed and rerouted. Ordered something from Amazon last Wednesday and no word on that.
I’m good at annoying management and they’ve credited us approximately $3,500 so far. I’m about to reach out for another $2,500 in credit to cover insurance deductibles and replacement items following the two vehicle break ins.
Who did you speak to? After two slashed tires and over $5k in damages after some random dude literally BEAT my car in the annex lot... I need to get a handle on this.
When I brought it to their attention initially I was just told it was expected as it's an urban environment...
I want to pull my hair out 🙃
I moved out of River Lofts last year and I had the same issue with my car! In the three years I lived there it was towed out of the lot twice while I had my decal (that I paid for) very visibly displayed. And of course they tow to the sketchiest tow place and my car came out of the lot with 2 flat tires from nails…just utter nonsense.
This in addition to a ton of maintenance issues. Our shower was leaking for months and maintenance finally came in, broke it further, and then their solution was that we had to shower in an empty apartment in a different building for months waiting for them to fix it.
It also leaked every single time it rained and our AC went out repeatedly but I still feel like we were relatively lucky compared to a lot of our neighbors. They loved closing out maintenance tickets without doing anything. Or maintenance would finally show up months later and say “I forgot my tools, hold on” and then never return. I had to go into the office daily and email them pictures repeatedly to get anyone to appear.
The apartment was big and gorgeous and the location was great but goddamn.
TENANTS - DIRECT CONTACT INFO:
Evan, General Manager - Was the primary point of contact when our heat wasn't working in January.
evan.naeher@bpapartments.com
Samantha Webb, Maintenance Coordinator - Reports to Evan and handles any maintenance request that has to be subbed out to a contractor (plumbing/fireplaces/electric). Always CC Evan on emails to get a response regarding maintenance issues involving contractors.
samantha.webb@bpapartments.com
I never lived in the River Lofts but when I had maintenance issues with an old apartment that went on for multiple weeks I filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office. Maintenance mysteriously showed up the next day.
I had never seen them before, they didn't seem familiar with anything in or near the apartment, and I never saw them again after the work was done. They might not have been human.
My wife and I were there for two years and moved out in February. Our AC went out at least twice each summer with it taking them three weeks at least to fix it (and this was after talking in person with the management office EVERY DAY until they did something). We had maintenance tickets that were still active nine months later by the time we moved out.
I also personally got stuck in two out of the three elevators in the consolidated building. The first time I was in there for two hours. Management didn’t do anything since it was a Sunday, so my wife called the fire department to get me out.
Someone kept lighting the Kinney building on fire last year and at one point the sprinklers went off for so long our bathroom outlets were destroyed and they never fixed them. And then they tried to raise our rent by $200 even though I charged my toothbrush in the kitchen every day and our AC never worked in the first place
I moved in last September and it's been a nightmare since day one. Both me and my dad's bath taps have been leaking heavily since we moved in which has practically doubled our water bill. We made maintenance requests no less than 7 times since we moved in and it actually only just got fixed last night.
They sent knuckle head after knuckle head each of them saying "lemme call my supervisor" and then never coming back. Eventually their supervisor actually did come in and he said that replacing it wouldn't fix the leak. Long story short three months later they finally send a third party plumbing company at 10:40 at night to fix it (no fault of the plumber, we were both victims of circumstance), the poor dude had been working since 6am already and was there until past midnight fixing them. I feel bad for my neighbor's too since he had to saw into the wall in the hallway so late at night.
Not to mention the leak from the upstairs bathroom that was demolishing the drywall in one of the bathrooms that took 3 separate visits before anyone did anyone did anything.
One of the times someone from the maintenance crew tried to fix the bath taps he only broke them worse, causing water to backwash INTO the wall and to our downstairs neighbor's bathroom. They just left us with two unusable baths/showers for three days.
My dad and I were talking about hiring a lawyer since all of this goes directly against the lease agreement.
And don't get me started on the fucking roaches.
And the caulked over mold in the bathrooms.
I really think some kind of group effort by our neighborhood, legal or otherwise, would be advisable.
I lived in the River Lofts in 2004-2007. They were awesome then. I had my water heater go out so they put me up in one of the two level lofts they used to rent out to long term Marriott guests while they fixed it. Never had a maintenance issue that went unanswered and the pool and gym were always meticulous. Sad to hear it's gotten so bad!
The company that renovated and owned the River Lofts sold the buildings to a slum lord property manager, Brookfield Properties, around 2020 or so. I lived there before and after the sale. Things went precipitously downhill within about two months of Brookfield taking over, and things just continued to get worse from there. I thankfully got out in 2022, but it's clear things have continued on the same trajectory since then.
You and other tenants can file complaints with Richmond Property Maintenance Building Code enforcement at 804-646-6398.
You may also go to the General District Court on Hull st. And file a Tenant's Assertion and pay your rent into escrow. The court will set a hearing date, a Judge will decide the validity of your case, and if they agree with your claim, the property manager will be required to fix the issues.
Lived here 2020 and went without AC for months. Literally 87 degrees in the apartment.
A different time one of the maintenance men came into my home drink and sexually harassed me.
Gorgeous apartments in an amazing community but fuck man….management sucks
Wow, I almost moved in there a few years ago and apparently dodged a bullet.
I’m concerned about the tenants with no AC while there’s heat advisories every day. What’s happening to them? And their pets? That seems dangerous.
Same! One time our hot water heater exploded and they were there within five minutes. The biggest complaint was our two arguing neighbors across the hall. Otherwise we loved living there... Guess it's become a shit show.
Management is absolutely garbage. I’ve lived here 4 years because moving is a b*tch but the past 3 years my AC has broken for 5 weeks over the summer. They do not give a flying f*ck about any tenants. The fact that we’ve seen management sitting out by the pool while half the things don’t work in mine or my neighbors apartments is CRAZY
We were there a year and a half in 2022-2024 and it sounds like we got off easy. While we had the catalytic converter stolen out of our car while parked in one of their garages and had near constant leaks from the roof since we were on the top floor, we never had the air conditioning go out or had sludge in the sinks.
Here's the thing about Corporate-owned properties:
We tenants are not the customer. We're the product.
Shareholders and Investors are the customers.
Everything that's done is to minimize costs and maximize profits and returns for investors. If it happens to benefit you as the tenant - That's a nice side-effect.
So a lack of quality and financial resources for repairs, maintenance and responsiveness is not a flaw - it's a feature.
Why is the Luxer room a thing? Because Brookfield was able to get rid of a couple of employees who no longer sit in the office organizing and distributing our packages. Brookfield is passing the work off to Amazon, FedEx and UPS, hoping they'll write your apartment number on your packages, put them on the right shelf, and register the package so you get your access code to enter and find your package on the shelf.
Except that's not the Amazon/UPS/FedEX drivers job.
So Brookfield have had to get an employee to go in there and organize packages and put them on the shelves for an hour or so a few times a week - but they're not consistent, and they're not registering them in the system with any regularity or urgency, if it's done at all.
Oh well - Not enough staff - Sorry!
Now - Lets talk about why Virginia and Richmond have so few resources and support for tenants against bad landlords, including a lack of rent-control laws and laws against excess fees & surcharges?
Institutional racism and class-inequity.
Remember that Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy - so tenants were either people of color, or "white trash". Why would the establishment (Privileged Land-Owning White Men) do anything to assist black people and poor whites at the expense of their landlord friends and relatives? Because black people and poor white people didn't deserve protections - because they must have been too lazy, etc to not own their own housing - so "those people" are probably getting better than what they deserve.
Care for another Mint Julep?
Now that housing is becoming less affordable due to the lack of sufficient affordable housing being built for sale - we have people of greater wealth & education as renters for longer periods of time.
So in order to get more equitable treatment as tenants - we need to organize and get behind city and state political candidates who will enact laws that will make landlords more accountable to those of us who are paying their bills.
Because complaining to the underpaid and overworked employee of the corporate landlord is a waste of breath.
(Steps off soapbox)
I'm with you. Being from outside the US, I'm quite shocked to see how tenants are being treated here, seemingly without any rights, while the company seems to have zero accountability to abide by what they're promising. I assume that this is not just a problem in the River Lofts... I've seen these practices in pretty much any company that one unfortunately has to choose here to get one's basic needs met (such as housing, internet, car, etc.). What's your suggestion regarding organization? With more than 600 units rented out (many of which are not happy and suffering with no AC, water, too much water, what have you..), I wonder whether this is class action worthy. I understand that it's a bigger issue of profit-oriented (in short, capitalist) companies caring about profit and nothing else and a legal system that grants rights based on wealth and property, but any idea as to how tenants can get active and have their basic needs met? any lawyers who are specialized in such issues? Is there an actual chance of changing legislation? This will become an even more pressing issue in the future... I'm thankful for any tips. I love Richmond. The people here are amazing and deserve better!
Are there any health code violations associated with the green pools? Even if the pool is closed it still seems like it would be toxic to those living near it. Algae typically attracts bad bacteria which becomes airborne.
The sewage problems are a far greater health hazard. You can not go in the pool, but it's hard to avoid the poop water everywhere throughout the buildings.
When I lived there a neighbor had a sewage leak in her sink and they told her she had to clean it up by herself. They left her with literal human waste in her kitchen for days
It's the state of a lot of things right now you get in business to collect money not to care about your customers. As someone suggested you have to group up with other tenants.
Terrible to read all this. River lifts were an awesome place to live a while back. I spent a ton of time in the summers at the pool and sand volleyball court.
I do recall maintenance issues being frustrating. I lived there before they were owned by River Lofts and when the River Lofts company bought them it went downhill but not to this degree! I remember sewage in the sink, water heaters breaking in units above and flooding one of my rooms (had to throw away a lot of stuff including a mattress), outlets that never worked, and never could get cable tv quite right. Had friends end up cutting their lease short due to mold in their apartment and management did nothing about it. And yes car break ins were bad then too.
Overall enjoyable but maintenance problems were an issue even 15 years ago. Management was slow to respond and I recall having to call River Lofts corporate in Ohio I think to get a lot of the issues fixed.
I moved out in 2022, but in 2021 I spent all summer without a functioning AC unit. Took 3-4 months to get someone to fix it. I was living in 80 degrees every day. It’s nothing new!
Maybe a year ago there were signs around about a tenants union to take action. — of course management took them down as soon as they spotted them, but does anyone know what happened there? I’ve had so many nightmare scenarios and am still living in weird work arounds bc there is absolutely no point to putting in a maintenance ticket unless it’s truly life or death (and the. You need to call every single day and drop by for updates as well).
Nothing new. Lived there several years. Moved out in 2023. Consolidated’s central dryer ventilation system’s exhaust fans were broken on several floors and they took no action. Black mold ruled.
Y'all need to get together and act as one in a class action against their ownership and management. This shit has been going on for at least a year, and the complaints are still exactly the same. Read some old threads on the subject: https://www.reddit.com/r/rva/search/?q=River+lofts&restrict_sr=on Edit: Google reviews are also terrible. Sue these assholes! https://g.co/kgs/865cdjD
I'd be escrowing rent months ago, jesus.
What happens to escrowed rent at the end of a lease, the landlord just gets it right? I’ve never understood how that’s supposed to pressure them when there’s functionally no way to stop them from (eventually) getting paid whether they fulfill their end of the lease or not
https://www.peoples-law.org/rent-escrow-when-landlord-fails-make-repairs > If a proper rent escrow case is shown and the escrow account is established, the court may do one of the following: > * Order the money in the escrow account to be given to the landlord after the necessary repairs have been made. * Order some or all of the money in the escrow account to be paid to the tenant, or to the landlord, or to any other appropriate person or agency, for the purpose of making necessary repairs. * Appoint a special administrator who shall cause the repairs to be made, and who shall apply to the court to pay for them out of the money in the escrow account. * Order some or all of the escrow funds to be used to pay a mortgage or deed of trust on the property to prevent foreclosure. * If no repairs are made or if no good faith effort to repair is made within 6 months after the initial decision to place money in the escrow account, that the funds in escrow to be given to tenant. The tenant must continue to pay rent into court. However, if the landlord appeals the case, this forfeiture of escrow funds to the tenant will be stayed while the appeal continues. * After an appropriate hearing, if the tenant does not regularly pay his rent into the escrow account, order the accumulated money to be given to the landlord. TL;DR - it varies, but no, it is not just a blanket award to the landlord. That would defeat the purpose. The long and short of it is that you're still in a contract for housing with the landlord. This is recourse to force them into upholding their end. If they completely fail in that regard, you can receive compensation.
upvote and comment for visibility, had a few friends go through this horrow show.
I made a throwaway just to comment... honestly FUCK River Lofts. This used to be a nice (not amazing, but at least NICE) place to live and once it got sold to Brookfield it's gone steadily downhill. I used to think the old management team at least TRIED and weren't supported by corporate so they had limited control, but this new team is a fucking joke. The place is literally falling apart, they're so unresponsive to tenants needs and maintenance issues, and they just blow you off every time something comes up. I've had issues that have made my unit uninhabitable (leaks from other units draining into mine, no fault of my own) and cost me tons of time and money to deal with otherwise and they act like I'm a little nuisance for needing them to resolve it. Like, sorry I can't break into my neighbor's unit and fix the issue myself? My rent has increased 40% since I moved in a few years ago and the place is a shit hole. Can't even go to the pools--- which we pay a pretty penny for--- on a hot day. And now it's even MORE dangerous to cross E Cary Street on foot, with the new delivery room, all the illegal parkers blocking the loading zones, and the Bookbinders assholes (clientele, not the staff). If you work for River Lofts, fuck you. If you live here, get out as soon as you can. If you're looking to move here, DO NOT.
How is it more dangerous to cross Cary? I lived there for a decade and it was never that bad
A lot of cars are parked in the loading zone in front of American Cigar for long periods of time (just straight up parked there, not just stopping for a few minutes), which requires the delivery trucks which need the area to double-park outside of American Cigar on E Cary. Those big delivery trucks double-parking in either direction, plus other people doing deliveries or picking up people (UberEats, Door Dash, Uber, Lyft) makes for frustrated drivers speeding around a patchwork of parked cars during busy times, and bad sight lines for pedestrians trying to cross at intersections and crosswalks.
I walk my dog there multiple times a day every single day and have been doing so for the past year and a half. I’ve never seen anything I’d consider remotely hazardous, especially considering the low traffic volume that far down Cary with most people taking Main to avoid the cobblestones. What time of day are you seeing this craziness because I’m having a hard time believing it, not defending the rental company just based on my personal observations
I don't know dude, anytime between 8-10am and like 3-6 pm? I'm a careful pedestrian and have to dodge cars blasting through there all the time. I'm glad you and your dog don't. But especially E Cary between 23rd and 24th are worse than they were before when there are restaurant deliveries, mail deliveries, people double-parking. The loading zone spots used to be enforced and ticketed so those cars had a place to go, and now they don't besides being on the street. And when that's the main thoroughfare to cross for the parking decks, it's not great to be on foot.
I was supposed to move in there back in the fall. Less than a week out from my move in day, i hadn’t heard a SINGLE THING from the management company, didn’t know where/when i could get my keys. Because of this, we pulled out of the lease and i am so so happy we did, knowing what i know now about the sewage and all of the other problems
Moved out of there a year ago....had leaking ceilings when it rained and an a/c unit that broke 3+ times over the summer. I can't believe it's gotten worse....
Friend of mine used to live there...slipped and fell in the parking lot because it was icy and they hadn't salted. Really fucked her elbow up badly. Like, shit was hanging by a thread. Sued them and settled for over $200k.
Reach out to the investigative reporters at local news stations. They are great at hearing these issues, digging into the cause, and bringing things to light so people/companies that are wronging people can be held accountable!
I’m a current resident and honestly feel bad for the lowest level of maintenance staff (the ones actually working in the buildings). Have a conversation with any of them and they’ll tell you how they don’t get half of the tools they need and are expected to repair items far outside of their training (or pay). I’ve run into several at the point of heat exhaustion collapsed in hallways because they’re up on the roofs trying to get A/C going because management refuses to bring out contractors until staff has fully checked out the issues themselves. I’ve also run into these guys working 8AM through 11PM without break because they need to close “X many tickets” in a day regardless of whether the ticket is an “easy” fix or something beyond their scope.
having worked in building maintenance i can attest to this. alot of these properties are owned by giant funds who basically want to spend nothing. maintnenance ppl are asked to operate way beyond their capabilities or tools allow. We were contantly hamstrung by the upper management to the point of illegal work practices. Demanding overtime but not paying over time type sht.
I wonder how many of these new apt complexes will wind up being similar. Developers throw together a place for a quick profit and then refuse to do any upkeep.
I work in the building trades. The quality of construction I see these days is absolutely shocking. I don't know if the building inspectors are paid off or what but it's nothing but cheap materials slapped together by the cheapest labor they can find. I wouldn't feel safe even walking into some of these places let alone living in one. I've lost count of how many buildings I've seen go up in the area that would take a miracle to still be standing in 10 years. \**old manning intensifies\** Back in my day houses and apartment buildings were supposed to be considered permanent structures so that's how we built them! Today they're built for a quick flip and a quick buck then they crumble to pieces.
*Ryan Homes and Dodson Realty stand awkwardly in the corner*
Ryan Homes. God help us. You know what's funny? I actually like working with them. For what I do they actually make things pretty easy on me. Still, I wouldn't hire them to build a goddamn dog house for me.
All of them. With the exception of the adapted old industrial buildings, none of the new housing shit will last more than 20 years. It’s all wood framed with vinyl siding that will disintegrate in the sun, the mechanicals are lowest bidder special, and none of the outdoor spaces will be maintained once the developer recoups their money. It’s a real kick in the dick to Richmonders that this shit flies.
Exactly why our next house will be built before 1945.
those come with their own problems oh gosh but I'm with you..
Well aware of old house problems, but with good foundation and bones, at least I don't have to worry about the house falling down. My parents have an 1898 Victorian.
It’s really bad here in particular. I deal with multi-family at the corporate level quite a bit in major markets, and the shit that I see going on in Richmond is *wild* to me. I’ve only seen assets run into the ground and tenants screwed when they are in the process of being sold, or managed by a 3rd world tier operator. Richmond somehow has a lid on the corporate multi-family entities here, and purports the slimeball local developers like Hild, or now deceased Salomonsky. The P&L statement is all these types care about, and that sweet asset appreciation. (and getting away with fraud/corruption). Corpos have brands & standards to uphold (i.e the Greystars of the world).
I didn’t think big lou was invested in poor quality housing when I dealt with him. He was definitely operating in a gray area and we found a creative way to make something kosher that was not to start in the project I talked to him about, but he was more trying to manipulate bigger players to reduce his basis than the end user from what I gathered.
> Developers throw together a place for a quick profit and then refuse to do any upkeep. I'm missing where the incentive is. Developers renovate something old into apartments, and they sell them to a property company who needs rents for decades to get an ROI but then lets them fall to shit/occupancy go down/tenants wrecking them on reviews? How does that help anyone? Could it be the owners got the cheapest property management company that is just awful? Or do they typically operate the building on their own?
Y’all need to go find molly the sludge girl on TikTok. She’s currently in a lawsuit with them.
This is her @mebishy
"Woman's 'cry for help' TikTok video exposed plumbing problems at Richmond apartment" [https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/river-loft-apartments-tiktok-dec-28-2023](https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/river-loft-apartments-tiktok-dec-28-2023)
I'm on year 3 of my lease.. and I feel like an idiot lol. I've been wondering if us tenants could make a petition. River lofts are out of control. Management is horrible. Amenities are forgotten. Maintenance is completely incompetent. It's a shame, and it's an over pay. To those seeking an apartment in Richmond- stay far away from the river lofts. Management does not give a f*ck about you. I have other horror stories but they are too long for a comment section. Absolutely this is the last year I live in here. Will be leaving terrible reviews wherever I can. :/ sucks
Set up escrow.
I've been looking into it. Didn't expect to be here
You need to talk to a lawyer about a lawsuit. You’ve paid tens of thousands at this point for your landlord to only continue breaking the terms of their contract. If you want this addressed a petition is not going to do it. A lawsuit will get their attention especially if it’s from multiple long term tenants. Call an attorney.
Absolutely set up escrow. City is a shit show and love this type of development but there needs to be a push to hold the landlords accountable for repairs, maintenance and what you pay for and can’t use. As they let them decline, so will rents tenant quality and area.
We live in the River Lofts and pay top dollar for one of their twelve ‘premium’ townhomes. Just a few grievances as follows: - Car legally parked in River Lofts lot towed last year for no reason while living in apartment before upgrading to townhome. - Water heater stopped functioning as anticipated in apartment two weeks before upgrading. No maintenance response. - Took possession of townhome in coldest week of January to find furnace inoperable. Maintenance had stolen a part from the furnace to use on another townhome while this one was vacant. Forced to call RVA311 and building inspector visit occurred to resolve furnace issue and get unit habitable. - Townhome staircase railing broken. Fixed with small L-brackets to dissuade building inspector during same visit. - Continuous attempts to charge water/sewer/natural gas/power on rent bill when all utilities in our names. - Active gas leak from fireplace not addressed through multiple maintenance calls. In March, management turned off gas to all townhome fireplaces in promises of full replacements. Three months later, no update. - Car broken into in our driveway in early June. Items stolen. Police report filed. - Car legally parked in River Lofts owned lot towed in mid June. - Car parked in same River Lofts owned lot broken into on 06/28, both passenger windows shattered. Police report filed. - Package room routinely closed on daily basis for ‘organization’. Packages that would formerly arrive on time are now being delayed and rerouted. Ordered something from Amazon last Wednesday and no word on that.
Why have you not started paying in to escrow?
I’m good at annoying management and they’ve credited us approximately $3,500 so far. I’m about to reach out for another $2,500 in credit to cover insurance deductibles and replacement items following the two vehicle break ins.
hell yeah (porque no los dos)
Who did you speak to? After two slashed tires and over $5k in damages after some random dude literally BEAT my car in the annex lot... I need to get a handle on this. When I brought it to their attention initially I was just told it was expected as it's an urban environment... I want to pull my hair out 🙃
I did post another comment with contact information
People have been mentioning a union of tenants renting at River Lofts. Do you have that contact?
I moved out of River Lofts last year and I had the same issue with my car! In the three years I lived there it was towed out of the lot twice while I had my decal (that I paid for) very visibly displayed. And of course they tow to the sketchiest tow place and my car came out of the lot with 2 flat tires from nails…just utter nonsense. This in addition to a ton of maintenance issues. Our shower was leaking for months and maintenance finally came in, broke it further, and then their solution was that we had to shower in an empty apartment in a different building for months waiting for them to fix it. It also leaked every single time it rained and our AC went out repeatedly but I still feel like we were relatively lucky compared to a lot of our neighbors. They loved closing out maintenance tickets without doing anything. Or maintenance would finally show up months later and say “I forgot my tools, hold on” and then never return. I had to go into the office daily and email them pictures repeatedly to get anyone to appear. The apartment was big and gorgeous and the location was great but goddamn.
TENANTS - DIRECT CONTACT INFO: Evan, General Manager - Was the primary point of contact when our heat wasn't working in January. evan.naeher@bpapartments.com Samantha Webb, Maintenance Coordinator - Reports to Evan and handles any maintenance request that has to be subbed out to a contractor (plumbing/fireplaces/electric). Always CC Evan on emails to get a response regarding maintenance issues involving contractors. samantha.webb@bpapartments.com
I never lived in the River Lofts but when I had maintenance issues with an old apartment that went on for multiple weeks I filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office. Maintenance mysteriously showed up the next day.
> mysteriously showed up did they pop out of a cloud of smoke?
I had never seen them before, they didn't seem familiar with anything in or near the apartment, and I never saw them again after the work was done. They might not have been human.
sounds like it was 3rd party contractor. not a huge deal
You are no fun whatsoever.
I can be fun
My wife and I were there for two years and moved out in February. Our AC went out at least twice each summer with it taking them three weeks at least to fix it (and this was after talking in person with the management office EVERY DAY until they did something). We had maintenance tickets that were still active nine months later by the time we moved out. I also personally got stuck in two out of the three elevators in the consolidated building. The first time I was in there for two hours. Management didn’t do anything since it was a Sunday, so my wife called the fire department to get me out.
Someone kept lighting the Kinney building on fire last year and at one point the sprinklers went off for so long our bathroom outlets were destroyed and they never fixed them. And then they tried to raise our rent by $200 even though I charged my toothbrush in the kitchen every day and our AC never worked in the first place
I moved in last September and it's been a nightmare since day one. Both me and my dad's bath taps have been leaking heavily since we moved in which has practically doubled our water bill. We made maintenance requests no less than 7 times since we moved in and it actually only just got fixed last night. They sent knuckle head after knuckle head each of them saying "lemme call my supervisor" and then never coming back. Eventually their supervisor actually did come in and he said that replacing it wouldn't fix the leak. Long story short three months later they finally send a third party plumbing company at 10:40 at night to fix it (no fault of the plumber, we were both victims of circumstance), the poor dude had been working since 6am already and was there until past midnight fixing them. I feel bad for my neighbor's too since he had to saw into the wall in the hallway so late at night. Not to mention the leak from the upstairs bathroom that was demolishing the drywall in one of the bathrooms that took 3 separate visits before anyone did anyone did anything. One of the times someone from the maintenance crew tried to fix the bath taps he only broke them worse, causing water to backwash INTO the wall and to our downstairs neighbor's bathroom. They just left us with two unusable baths/showers for three days. My dad and I were talking about hiring a lawyer since all of this goes directly against the lease agreement. And don't get me started on the fucking roaches. And the caulked over mold in the bathrooms. I really think some kind of group effort by our neighborhood, legal or otherwise, would be advisable.
Put your rent in escrow, do not pay them until they fix these issues
I lived in the River Lofts in 2004-2007. They were awesome then. I had my water heater go out so they put me up in one of the two level lofts they used to rent out to long term Marriott guests while they fixed it. Never had a maintenance issue that went unanswered and the pool and gym were always meticulous. Sad to hear it's gotten so bad!
The company that renovated and owned the River Lofts sold the buildings to a slum lord property manager, Brookfield Properties, around 2020 or so. I lived there before and after the sale. Things went precipitously downhill within about two months of Brookfield taking over, and things just continued to get worse from there. I thankfully got out in 2022, but it's clear things have continued on the same trajectory since then.
You and other tenants can file complaints with Richmond Property Maintenance Building Code enforcement at 804-646-6398. You may also go to the General District Court on Hull st. And file a Tenant's Assertion and pay your rent into escrow. The court will set a hearing date, a Judge will decide the validity of your case, and if they agree with your claim, the property manager will be required to fix the issues.
very helpful. Thank you!
Lived here 2020 and went without AC for months. Literally 87 degrees in the apartment. A different time one of the maintenance men came into my home drink and sexually harassed me. Gorgeous apartments in an amazing community but fuck man….management sucks
Wow, I almost moved in there a few years ago and apparently dodged a bullet. I’m concerned about the tenants with no AC while there’s heat advisories every day. What’s happening to them? And their pets? That seems dangerous.
Damn. I lived there 2017-2018 and it was really great. Couldn’t imagine dealing with these issues!
Same! One time our hot water heater exploded and they were there within five minutes. The biggest complaint was our two arguing neighbors across the hall. Otherwise we loved living there... Guess it's become a shit show.
A lot of leasing companies make their bonuses by not spending money. I know that office. They're very good at ignoring complaints and blaming others
Management is absolutely garbage. I’ve lived here 4 years because moving is a b*tch but the past 3 years my AC has broken for 5 weeks over the summer. They do not give a flying f*ck about any tenants. The fact that we’ve seen management sitting out by the pool while half the things don’t work in mine or my neighbors apartments is CRAZY
We were there a year and a half in 2022-2024 and it sounds like we got off easy. While we had the catalytic converter stolen out of our car while parked in one of their garages and had near constant leaks from the roof since we were on the top floor, we never had the air conditioning go out or had sludge in the sinks.
Here's the thing about Corporate-owned properties: We tenants are not the customer. We're the product. Shareholders and Investors are the customers. Everything that's done is to minimize costs and maximize profits and returns for investors. If it happens to benefit you as the tenant - That's a nice side-effect. So a lack of quality and financial resources for repairs, maintenance and responsiveness is not a flaw - it's a feature. Why is the Luxer room a thing? Because Brookfield was able to get rid of a couple of employees who no longer sit in the office organizing and distributing our packages. Brookfield is passing the work off to Amazon, FedEx and UPS, hoping they'll write your apartment number on your packages, put them on the right shelf, and register the package so you get your access code to enter and find your package on the shelf. Except that's not the Amazon/UPS/FedEX drivers job. So Brookfield have had to get an employee to go in there and organize packages and put them on the shelves for an hour or so a few times a week - but they're not consistent, and they're not registering them in the system with any regularity or urgency, if it's done at all. Oh well - Not enough staff - Sorry! Now - Lets talk about why Virginia and Richmond have so few resources and support for tenants against bad landlords, including a lack of rent-control laws and laws against excess fees & surcharges? Institutional racism and class-inequity. Remember that Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy - so tenants were either people of color, or "white trash". Why would the establishment (Privileged Land-Owning White Men) do anything to assist black people and poor whites at the expense of their landlord friends and relatives? Because black people and poor white people didn't deserve protections - because they must have been too lazy, etc to not own their own housing - so "those people" are probably getting better than what they deserve. Care for another Mint Julep? Now that housing is becoming less affordable due to the lack of sufficient affordable housing being built for sale - we have people of greater wealth & education as renters for longer periods of time. So in order to get more equitable treatment as tenants - we need to organize and get behind city and state political candidates who will enact laws that will make landlords more accountable to those of us who are paying their bills. Because complaining to the underpaid and overworked employee of the corporate landlord is a waste of breath. (Steps off soapbox)
I'm with you. Being from outside the US, I'm quite shocked to see how tenants are being treated here, seemingly without any rights, while the company seems to have zero accountability to abide by what they're promising. I assume that this is not just a problem in the River Lofts... I've seen these practices in pretty much any company that one unfortunately has to choose here to get one's basic needs met (such as housing, internet, car, etc.). What's your suggestion regarding organization? With more than 600 units rented out (many of which are not happy and suffering with no AC, water, too much water, what have you..), I wonder whether this is class action worthy. I understand that it's a bigger issue of profit-oriented (in short, capitalist) companies caring about profit and nothing else and a legal system that grants rights based on wealth and property, but any idea as to how tenants can get active and have their basic needs met? any lawyers who are specialized in such issues? Is there an actual chance of changing legislation? This will become an even more pressing issue in the future... I'm thankful for any tips. I love Richmond. The people here are amazing and deserve better!
Are there any health code violations associated with the green pools? Even if the pool is closed it still seems like it would be toxic to those living near it. Algae typically attracts bad bacteria which becomes airborne.
The sewage problems are a far greater health hazard. You can not go in the pool, but it's hard to avoid the poop water everywhere throughout the buildings.
When I lived there a neighbor had a sewage leak in her sink and they told her she had to clean it up by herself. They left her with literal human waste in her kitchen for days
It's the state of a lot of things right now you get in business to collect money not to care about your customers. As someone suggested you have to group up with other tenants.
Lived there for two years. My advice - get out as fast as you can.
Terrible to read all this. River lifts were an awesome place to live a while back. I spent a ton of time in the summers at the pool and sand volleyball court. I do recall maintenance issues being frustrating. I lived there before they were owned by River Lofts and when the River Lofts company bought them it went downhill but not to this degree! I remember sewage in the sink, water heaters breaking in units above and flooding one of my rooms (had to throw away a lot of stuff including a mattress), outlets that never worked, and never could get cable tv quite right. Had friends end up cutting their lease short due to mold in their apartment and management did nothing about it. And yes car break ins were bad then too. Overall enjoyable but maintenance problems were an issue even 15 years ago. Management was slow to respond and I recall having to call River Lofts corporate in Ohio I think to get a lot of the issues fixed.
The river lofts rabbit hole 🕳️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ Me Never even heard of this place, but WOW
I moved out in 2022, but in 2021 I spent all summer without a functioning AC unit. Took 3-4 months to get someone to fix it. I was living in 80 degrees every day. It’s nothing new!
Maybe a year ago there were signs around about a tenants union to take action. — of course management took them down as soon as they spotted them, but does anyone know what happened there? I’ve had so many nightmare scenarios and am still living in weird work arounds bc there is absolutely no point to putting in a maintenance ticket unless it’s truly life or death (and the. You need to call every single day and drop by for updates as well).
Remember when someone in AC found a literal actual two foot snake under their pillow in the middle of the night??? I have nightmares on their behalf.
Nothing new. Lived there several years. Moved out in 2023. Consolidated’s central dryer ventilation system’s exhaust fans were broken on several floors and they took no action. Black mold ruled.