More mold problems have surfaced again this week at Merrifield Apartments.
Talk among residents suggests there is standing water under many of the buildings causing moisture as one tenant witnessed a Comcast employee during an install emerging from under a building soaking wet complaining about sludge from dripping sewer and water leaks.
Other residents are voicing concerns about an illegal termite control pesticide application last month by a New Jersey tagged black pick up truck without any proper licensing displayed on the vehicle.
How and why is this apartment complex getting away with all of this neglect and obvious violations of city code?
49 comments:
inb4 treatment is subsidized from the "general" fund. Which good ole boy will it be?
All depends who owns it.
Which greasy nouveau-rich Salisbury family owns it????
A lack of payment to reputable vendors has caused a fly by night effect.No company local or otherwise will do work for these people because they don't get paid.Whenever a company requests an up front amount for services they act outraged.How this never became public before now is a mystery.What a mess.
Move If your Scared!
It's actively raining in the crawlspaces in the back of Sandstone court every day. No mold yet, but it has to come. The sumps and grading there were done completely wrong by the builders. Been there.
Valid point, where is code and compliance in all this?
Elon Property Management("new" company as of December 2011).
AKA - Empirian Property Management, AKA - EPM Apartments,
AKA - Empire American Holdings,LLC. No connection to ELON, North Carolina, as far as I can tell.) Co-owners/Co-presidents - Sam Moerman and Nathan Welder. Address - 25 Philips Parkway, Montvale, N.J. 07645. Phone numbers 201-326-3300 and 866-805-6600.
They own apts in other states that also have mold issues
People that live here need to call and speak to who ever will listen there are babies and elderly people living here.there have been no mold specialist removing the mold it has been the maintenance personal who clearly are not qualified to do this. Leon will not and have not spent the money to tackle this under taking. When someone dies maybe just maybe something will get done. There are on going problems and management and Leon corporate will return no calls to the existing tenants. Just goes to show what type of people run this place. Which by the way are from new jersey.
I met a girl at S.U. that lived there and she complained about SLUGS crawling up through the woodwork and she stepped on one in the bathroom. Squish!!
How nasty is that?? Obviously some rotten wood somewhere under the building.
Needless to say she got out ASAP.
When the city writes up the complex on work that has to be done does the city come back to check it out?
Always a smart one in the bunch
From the looks of these photos things are pretty bad there pictures tell a story and pictures don't lie.
In such an area it is important for the residents to understand their rights as tenants, and that if mold growth occurs, the landlord must remove it. Unfortunately, in the state of Maryland specific laws in regards to mold testing and removal do not exist. However, there are standards and codes that exist in regards to mold exposure in the Landlord Tenant Handbook, Maryland Attorney General’s Office, and the Maryland Health Department.
You must first make your landlord aware of this issue, by sending a written complaint describing in detail the issue you have with your unit. Remember to always send any documentation via certified mail so you can have proof of the time you sent the complaint and that the landlord received it. Depending on the county you live in within the state of Maryland, there are various time limits placed on when the landlord is required to fix a problem once they have been notified. Generally speaking, the landlord has a week to make the repairs once they have received your complaint. If the landlord does not make repairs, or contact you to establish a date in which they will fix the problem, you may contact your local County Code Enforcement Division. You may contact them to schedule an inspection to determine if the issue is considered a health hazard. If the inspector determines that the problem is dangerous and needs to be repaired, a time frame may be established in which the landlord must repair the issue or suffer a possible fine. You may also file a complaint with the Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs (COLTA). Yet another step you may take if the landlord still refuses to remove the mold is to “pay your rent into an escrow account established at the local district court.” This means that if you take your claim to court, the money you would normally pay for rent will be placed in an account that merely holds the money until a verdict is rendered. City Code, Chapter 6.16 for the state of Maryland indicates that it is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that “any condition that presents a serious fire or health hazard” is repaired or removed from the rental.
In the case of mold, it is necessary, especially in cases of extensive toxic mold levels, that it be removed completely from the unit. It is your right as a tenant in the state of Maryland to have a healthy home or business, and if these conditions are not met, you have options to ensure that your health is not in jeopardy.
OMG!! Is that an air conditioning unit? That won't just make you sick, that will KILL you! Imagine breathing that Merrifield air for a few hours... then imagine those poor unsuspecting people that breath it 15 hours a day! Mold can do a lot of damage to your respiratory system, digestive system and even get in your brain!
Where is the health Department? Where are the inspectors?
Illegal pesticide spraying? Amateur contractors? Water in the crawl space?
Holy crapola! is this in Salisbury?
Unbelievable!!
This is a major class action lawsuit waiting to happen.
Annie nonymous sounds like a tort attorney! I'd say the tenants there need a good one. This is sickening!
Amen to that any suggestions?
Hears another number 646 596 4504
I saw a post a few days ago (Nov. 25th) about this mold problem and checked it out again after seeing this. It is amazing that someone (Elon employee) is trying to BLAME managements willful and deliberate negligence and incompetence, Elon property's cover up of water/sewer leaks, roach, termite and slug infestation, mechanical equipment failure due to neglect,leaky roofs, the use of unlicensed contractors, non payment of services rendered, bankruptcy, bribery, coercion and black mold contamination in all of their complexes on the east coast on, get this... cigarette smoking. That sounds like a ridiculous and desperate attempt to cover up the truth that Elon Management company is a proud and competent SLUMLORD with lowlife managers trying to defend the ripoff to protect their job while knowingly endangering the health and well being of paying residents many of whom are children, handicapped and elderly.
It's obvious these people need some legal help. Won't someone help them get on the right path?
Anonymous said...
When the city writes up the complex on work that has to be done does the city come back to check it out?
November 29, 2013 at 7:54 PM
No!!
Biology majors, remember the 3rd year Mycology unit? stachybotrys chartarum or Black mold.(bottom picture)
This mold produces mycotoxins called trichothecenes which can be deadly. So much in fact it was studied extensively during the 1930's and 40's to be used for chemical warfare. In natural unsynthesized forms as shown in this photograph it may cause fatigue, weakness, mucous membrane inflammation, bleeding disorders, diarrhea, hypersensitive pneumonitis and a host of cold and flu like upper respiratory symptoms. However in children or immunocompromised adults it may induce hemorrhaging in the bronchial tract and lungs leading to death under prolonged inhalation conditions.
It looks like Merrifield has a severe problem on their hands and if they handle this improperly lives may be in danger. This problem MUST be addressed by the proper authorities.
The top picture looks like garden variety aspergillus, penicillium and cladosporium molds with possible fungal hyphal flora. Not AS potentially deadly but still may produce mycotoxins that spawn internal fungal infections and subsequent carcinogens, especially since this appears to be an air handler of some sort blowing the spores all over the room.
So, there is your biology lesson for the night! Merrifield may want to hire a professional. (and a good attorney to offer these tenants a respectable settlement if they've been breathing this for any length of time)
Mr. Biology
I wish a good attorney would comment and give some advise to help these people get on the right track.
No attorneys have agreed to take the case that I am aware of.Quite a few have been called with no takers - yet.
@455, Yeah, poor students on one side and non payment on bills on the other.
See anything here?
No money to represent anybody here.
Now, at Sandstone court, there's money.
Send a certified letter, take photos, stop paying your rent, change your bank and move. When / if they take you to court, show up with proof of delivery and photos. Case will be closed.
Grow up and protect yourself and stop living in fear. They will only get away with it if you let them.
The gubment's priority is getting guns out of LAWFUL gun OWNERS hands. They don't have time for deadly mold.
Thanks Annie. The students pay because the parents pay or they are in on scholarships. The projects is not divided there is a mixture.
The way Elon works is if you don't pay and you show or tell them of a problem first they say we don't see anything wrong then when you prove there is a problem they get some unlicensed person to come in. Then they go on to say this is just routine maintenance. And then they move to eviction. And no calls returned from anyone from Elon or the property management.
I have this address Merrifield Apartments Lp C/O Leon property management 509 W.Kennedy Blvd.2nd fl lakewood , Nj 08701
Yes they do own other propertys look up Elon propertys Florida mold there you will see how great this management company is. Its shocking.
These people need someone like Erin Brockavich.
Annie you could help these people It sounds like!!!
Stop complaining and get out if it's that bad. $300.00 to get out of your lease is nothing if you don't want to live there.
Get over it.
Like there aren't other places/apt. complexes in Salisbury just like this? There are, believe me.
How about the roaches crawling on the floor (or across the table in my case) in Dayton's, roaches in Red lobster, Olive Garden and many more places? Any Complaints over that? No. Just don't eat there.
All much ado over nothing.
anonymous 11:00, do you really think its that easy, ($300.00) to get out of a lease. Let's say you have a full apartment. You need to find another one, first off. Then you have to rent a truck to move everything to a new location. Other than the disbelief of your $300.00 easy out, relocating somewhere else is not an easy or inexpensive task.
Thanks Joe finely someone is listening
Many just can't pack up and go to another place. They are having enough problems just paying their rent. Coming up with another months rent or even 2 months for a security deposit is almost impossible.
So I wonder how 11:00 A.M.
knows the fee to break the lease is $300.00??? Sounds like they've seen a few of Merrifield's leases to me.
Must be the manager!! LOL
AND, why should anyone have to pay a fee to break a lease when clearly the Apartment complex is violating the terms and conditions of the lease as it is the landlords obligation to meet acceptable standards?
They thought it was the greatest apartment in Salisbury before they moved in. The pictures show it as a dump. Who the heck would move in that mess?
i read it's $300.00 on here.
and if you can't afford to pay it, you stop the complaining. it's chump change if the mold is such a big deal people on here say it is.
go get on other places in salisbury like mcdonalds for roaches or other complexes. or hotels in salisbury full of mold in the ventilation systems. your a bunch of hypocrits.
I try to avoid renting from people that are out of town owners. They really do not want to fix anything.
$20/mo gets you legal help from Legal Shield (was prepaid legal). They'll put the management company on notice of the housing violations and walk you step by step through the process of taking them to court. Do as they say, and you should have an easy time representing yourself before the judge. If you really need your attorney to go to court for you, you'll receive a discount on their service. The attorney will most likely sue for their fees from the management company, too.
Even better, all the residents that want to participate in the legal actions will benefit because they can just follow the exact same steps at the same time as the subscriber. Getting half a dozen notices of unsafe conditions, notices to appear in court, and escrow payment receipts is going to get them waking up to reality really fast.
So you residents...you're not without affordable representation. Get 1 person to sign up and split the cost. For 6 people, that's $40 each to cover a 1 year subscription. It's a no brainer to make this problem go away for $40.
Note that I don't sell the product. But I did benefit from my parent's Prepaid Legal subscription when I was in college and renting from a slum lord.
Your best bet is to band together and hire a mold inspection company yourselves ($300)there is one in Delaware, get the documentation you need so when you skip out and use your security deposit as your last months rent and when you end up in court you have a defense. And you need to send a complaint letter to the management company putting them on notice. Moving is simply a part of life. Its not fun, but neither is living like that. So you can do what you have to , or you can make excuses. There is also a free legal office downtown. Find them and ask them what to do. No one is going to solve this problem for you. So put on your big boy shorts and get to work. Any apt adjoining the affected apt is also living with it. Walls mean nothing to mold.
Who is the lawyer down town? Is there an address?
Who is the legal office downtown?
Did you no that the maintenance man went into a collage students apt while they were away for thanksgiving and removed the ad unit the students never said anything was wrong with the unit. Residents no that the maintenance man takes the coils of the units to recycle them for money to put in his own pocket. He has been photographed by several people here on the weekends taking refrigerators and a c units for his own gain. By the way he does this when the office is closed. He also has been seen on the weekendends removing items from the maintenance shed for his own use. So interesting that at one time when there was no management were here due to them quitting that the maintenance man was seen daily taking these things from empty units. So you see this is what elon hires to work here so people beware of this man coming in your unit. Thanks elon for hiring this man pics don't lie.
So elon is being ripped off by its own people priceless.
Elon has no clue how to run the company. The money comes from Arbor who ovioisly doesn't have a clue that Sam and Nathan are misusing funds. They hire a VP for Florda every 3 months because they don't want to hear the truth. Nathan is a racist and mistreat people working for him most of all residents. The apartments are full of mold. They clean the mold and paint over it and put people at risk of getting very sick but they don't care. I have contacted many county officials and have reported this. Next will be a letter with pictures to Arbor who is really the owner of these communities
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