Apartment communities with no on-site management (apartments, leasing, tenants, rental)
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I'm in the middle of an apartment hunt and this is one of my pet peeves. I know not every apartment community is able to have a leasing office on-site, but as a resident I want someone there because:
1) I feel like it might be safer, since people know that someone is monitoring the premises to some degree
2) I can easily stop by to hand my rent check to them or put it in the dropbox connected to the rental office . I know that more and more places now offer online pay so maybe this won't matter elsewhere, but it is handy at my current place.
3) It's helpful if they can receive and hold packages for me during the work day so I can pick them up later. It's not convenient for me to go to the post office or UPS or FedEx to pick up a package. (I have to do this where I currently live and it gets on my nerves), and I don't want them leaving the package outside the building either! Yes I can have things delivered to my office but that's not ideal either.
It's frustrating because there are some good apartments I was considering until I realized there was no leasing office on-site. Maybe it's silly but that's a deal breaker for me.
Humans on site are nice but they're probably cutting costs and potential liability. Depending on a clerk in an office to provide any degree of security whatsoever is completely futile. that's not their job, really and in this litigious day giving the appearance of security without truly providing can get you sued.
You could get a PMB for all your mail including packages and easily pick them up when you get your other mail. Just authorize them to sign for anything that comes for you.
And, just pay your rent by mail or electronically.
Honestly this would not be a deal breaker for me. You can easily pay your rent by bill pay that you have with your checking account. It's not their responsibility to be providing any security for you anyway. You will be given a number to call for maintenance issues. You can rent a UPS box in which you are given a real street address and not just a P.O. box and have anything sent to you and mail is signed for you. I actually prefer no leasing on site. Less folks in my face.
I don't want to have to go somewhere to pick up my mail. The post office is not close to my apartment or my office. UPS isn't close either. I just want my mail at home when I get home. I know it's not a BIG deal but I'd rather not go out of my way just to get my mail. It shouldn't be that complicated.
I've lived with both on-site and off-site management. On-site can be helpful. But its no guarantee. Oftentimes they are only there to protect their investment, not for the convenience of the tenants. I've never seen on-site management properly enforce security measures. If anything their presence creates a false sense of security, and security and safety in reality are much worse than if they weren't there at all.
The only time I've had a real hard time with packages is when I lived in a building that had on-site management--but no buzzer at the front door, so UPS and FEDEX couldn't alert anyone that they were there.
My conclusion: ask about how these things are handled; don't assume that the presence of management on the premises means any kind of amenity to you as a tenant.
I agree with kodaka... I have lived in a complex with on site management and they had a view at the pool area and never said one word about the bad behavior of some residents.
No alcohol allowed.....nothing was done about it.
No pool parties on busy days.....happened every weekend.
Riding a bike into the pool...of course not allowed, but the management was too scared to say anything.
I don't want to have to go somewhere to pick up my mail. The post office is not close to my apartment or my office. UPS isn't close either. I just want my mail at home when I get home. I know it's not a BIG deal but I'd rather not go out of my way just to get my mail. It shouldn't be that complicated.
If you can't afford to buy your own home then you could also look into renting a house which is on a mail delivery route or a private apartment as part of a home.
I personally prefer large corporate complexes with on-site management and maintenance and would not rent in the property described in the OP. However, I have friends who only rent in that sort of property where they have a more personal relationship with their landlord, so it's very much a matter of personal preference. Do what you feel is right for you.
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