Pest prevention and problematic tenants
Hiring the one contractor you dread the most: Exterminators
Something told me I should have pressed the issue more. I walked into an apartment building and saw a spacious living room and bedroom, and a reasonably sized kitchen. It was near public transportation, and since I worked in downtown Chicago throughout 95 percent of my career, that was important. I owned a car and parking was included. Plus, I could see the “el” (Chicago’s name for subway trains) from the living room window. The place was spotless.
I came back one more time to sign paperwork and to hear how loud the train was if I opened the windows. I then checked the kitchen cabinets to see whether all my pots from my off-campus apartment in Missouri would fit. That’s when I noticed the black, circular roach motels. I knew what they were. I’d had a relative and a couple of friends who had roaches when I was a kid. But although my childhood home had the worst luck of dealing with one pregnant mouse, roaches were not something I was used to.
I immediately asked the agent, “Why are those under the sink cabinet? They weren’t here last time. If this place has roaches, you can forget it.”
Recommended Read: What to be aware of when hiring an exterminator ~ Know the difference between those trying to make a profit and those invested in pest control
The agent talked to the property manager, who said that the roach motels were a “preventative measure.” I mentioned that they weren’t trying to “prevent” anything when I first came to see the place, not thinking I would come back for a second visit. I was assured that the building didn’t have an extermination problem but had exterminators come out for prevention checks annually anyway. I couldn’t shake the thought that no building needs preventative checks if it doesn’t already have a bug problem. (Note: My off-campus apartment for two years, third apartment for eight years and a condo rental for three years further proved this point.)
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But I moved in. It was convenient. It was only $675, which was an amazing rate for Chicago’s north side (now averaging approximately $1.5K per month but about $900 in 2004). As a first-year college grad, I needed something realistic for my annual salary. And for the size of this place, including parking, it would’ve been hard to pass this deal up.
Recommended Read: “Battle of the Bedbugs”
Less than two weeks later, I immediately started seeing roaches on the counters and the stove. I was furious. In a lengthy and irate letter, I told the property management company this needed to be resolved pronto. The extermination visits went from annually to quarterly. I was appalled when they offered to let me break my lease so they didn’t have to spend more on extermination.