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Post by gigito7 on Sept 7, 2024 21:05:43 GMT
My neighbor came to me yesterday with something disturbing, imo. We live in a condo community in a town where everybody knows your name, etc. Everyone in our condo community was sent a notice by the managing company that our dryer vents would be cleaned on Sept 5th starting at 9:00 am.
my neighbor was sitting in her living room when someone rang her doorbell and knocked on her door. She got up immediately to open the door but before she could get there the door was opened by a master key and three men were standing there, one guy almost inside. They wore regular street clothes with no identification saying it was such and such company. No truck outside her door other than her car.
she was very scared. She asked who they were and the main guy said he was the owner of the condo community and they were there for the dryer vent cleaning. They had no equipment with them. She asked them to leave and the guy said they would be back in about an hr to clean the inside vent.
she called the management company and talked the owner of the management company. The owner did not seem to understand why my friend was upset being a notice was sent out. The notice did not state anyone would come in regardless if you’re home or not. She does not own her condo. I told her to read her lease to see what it says.
one thing her lease does state is no other locks are to be installed and if you have a security system you have to provide the code to leasing company.
what would you do?
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pantsonfire
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Take a step back, evaluate what is important, and enjoy your life with those who you love.
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Post by pantsonfire on Sept 7, 2024 21:15:30 GMT
We rent a townhome. Our lease says that regardless if anyone is home and maintenance needs to occur, they will enter.
Our notices never say they will enter. It just gives date, reason, and time frame. Oh and ask that you secure any pets.
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,276
Location: Western Illinois
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Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Sept 7, 2024 21:15:37 GMT
I can see them coming in whether you’re home or not, as it was something they needed to do for all units.
What I have a problem with is the knock, ring and quickly coming in. They should wait to see if someone answers first. And announce themselves as they open the door, just in case there IS someone home who couldn’t get to the door fast.
AND, they should have identification, and whatever tools they need for the job. I’d be afraid it was a scam, and how are you to know given how they entered?
I’d be inclined to put those concerns in writing to the management company.
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pantsonfire
Drama Llama
Take a step back, evaluate what is important, and enjoy your life with those who you love.
Posts: 6,273
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Post by pantsonfire on Sept 7, 2024 21:16:51 GMT
I would let her manager know she will be home next time (if she is) and that she would prefer to answer the door.
You can't stop them from entering.
If it would make her feel better, she can ask for photos of the maintenance people and owner/manager so she can properly identify.
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Post by mom on Sept 7, 2024 21:30:27 GMT
We rent a townhome. Our lease says that regardless if anyone is home and maintenance needs to occur, they will enter.
Our notices never say they will enter. It just gives date, reason, and time frame. Oh and ask that you secure any pets. This is pretty standard for any rental. What would I do? Honestly, probably nothing. If I wanted to be a headache, I would call 911 next time and let them explain to the police why they have no identification. For all the renter knows, they are breaking in as one would assume management/maintenance would have some sort of ID identifying them as such. |
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Post by Lexica on Sept 7, 2024 21:34:53 GMT
That would have scared the heck out of me. What were those men thinking? No identification? No equipment? No paperwork to hand her? What if she had a gun? I wonder if she would have been held responsible if she had shot and killed them inside her home. If I were on a jury, I would not convict her for protecting herself against men entering her home without identification or duct cleaning equipment. I understand that the cleaning must be done and that they can enter if no one answers the door, but I sure don’t agree with how fast they entered her home and more importantly that they had no ID and no cleaning equipment.
I watch a lot of crime shows and I remember seeing one where an elderly woman disappeared from her home. It turned out the condo maintenance man had murdered her and robbed her home. He had put her body in the crawl space under the floor. Then went back later to retrieve the body to dispose of it somewhere else.
I think that condo association needs to alter the way they are doing things.
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Post by gigito7 on Sept 7, 2024 21:36:41 GMT
I told her to send the management company a letter stating what happened and to give her more time to answer the door. She is home with a baby. I would have been very upset but I realize not much can be done.
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Post by librarylady on Sept 7, 2024 21:45:23 GMT
I think about all she can do is complain that they did not give her time to answer the door and did not wear have ID or clothing to indicate they were the legitimate dryer vent cleaners. Hopefully that would make them start carrying identification or having uniforms.
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Post by Merge on Sept 7, 2024 21:50:26 GMT
Honestly in 2024 no one legitimate should be showing up at your door without ID, unless it's the kind of community where the manager is on a first-name, face-knowing basis with all the tenants.
I'd tell your friend to suggest to the manager that they send maintenance guys out with some kind of ID and instruct them to stand back from the door after they knock to avoid alarming the tenants. That just good practice - and frankly it's as much to protect the maintenance guys as the tenant. Too many people will shoot first and ask questions later if they're concerned. Wasn't there a story a year or so back where a homeowner shot the pool guy because he was in their back yard after dark? Can't be too careful.
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Post by leannec on Sept 7, 2024 22:03:21 GMT
Unacceptable!
I live in a three storey condo complex ... I own my unit ... they cleaned out dryer vents the other day but did not need access to any suites - the cleaning was done on the roof ...
No one in the condo complex or on the condo board has a key to my unit ... they couldn't just walk in!
I would freak out if it happened to me as I live alone!
She should complain ...
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Post by Merge on Sept 7, 2024 22:21:31 GMT
Unacceptable! I live in a three storey condo complex ... I own my unit ... they cleaned out dryer vents the other day but did not need access to any suites - the cleaning was done on the roof ... No one in the condo complex or on the condo board has a key to my unit ... they couldn't just walk in! I would freak out if it happened to me as I live alone! She should complain ... It's different when you own the unit. Renters generally have to provide reasonable access. |
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Post by littlemama on Sept 7, 2024 22:28:49 GMT
Im more confused about a condo association that pays for dryer vent cleaning! But yes, if you are a renter, they can come in.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Sept 7, 2024 22:30:32 GMT
I have in my hands a notice they will be cleaning our dryer vents Sept 23 9am-5pm. They will enter whether we are home or not.
This is done every year. These are rental apartments and a maintenance man accompanies the men doing the work. Four years they came in ONLY to turn the dryer while they cleaned from outside, three floors. Last year it was raining and they all came in, one literally climbed behind the dryer to clean the vent from inside.
In condos, building maintenance is the responsibility of the complex owners. Clogged dryer vents can be dangerous, cause fires.
Your neighbor has a real issue with anyone who knocks and walks in without allowing someone to answer the door. They were in here just the other day to check out sprinkler heads. Light knock, LOUD knock before I got to the door. I did get there before they entered.
They should announce that they entering at least twice. I would think they would for their own safety too. Is there a dog? Wake someone up, maybe face a gun?
Note here they are required to leave a written notice in the unit if they have entered with no one home. It must be left in a prominent place, stating why they entered, the time they entered as well as the time they left!
Your neighbor has a valid complaint.
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Post by bc2ca on Sept 7, 2024 23:50:08 GMT
the main guy said he was the owner of the condo community This is the only part I'm confused about. What the heck is "the owner of the condo community"? IME, the notice of maintenance always made it clear that the unit would be entered whether you were home. I was at DD's place when they came through to test the sprinklers. They knocked, unlocked, called out "maintenance" and entered before we got anywhere near the front door. I'm sure that for 90% of the units no one was home. ETA I can't imagine the nightmare of trying to track and arrange come back times for units that were missed. |
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Post by gigito7 on Sept 8, 2024 0:00:07 GMT
The “owner” is part of an investment group that built the condos. HOA is managed by a leasing group and pays for all dryer vents to be cleaned for fire prevention.
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Post by melanell on Sept 8, 2024 0:21:11 GMT
What I have a problem with is the knock, ring and quickly coming in. They should wait to see if someone answers first. And announce themselves as they open the door, just in case there IS someone home who couldn’t get to the door fast. AND, they should have identification, and whatever tools they need for the job. I’d be afraid it was a scam, and how are you to know given how they entered? All of this, especially since there are so, so many duct/vent cleaning scams out there right now. I can see why people might feel suspicious or scared. Yes, only authorized persons should have access to a master key, but many things in this world do not go as they should, and so there is at least a remote possibility of someone with access to a master key using it for the wrong reasons or someone without given access finding a way to get their hands on one anyway. |
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Post by chaosisapony on Sept 8, 2024 0:48:08 GMT
Unacceptable! I live in a three storey condo complex ... I own my unit ... they cleaned out dryer vents the other day but did not need access to any suites - the cleaning was done on the roof ... No one in the condo complex or on the condo board has a key to my unit ... they couldn't just walk in! I would freak out if it happened to me as I live alone! She should complain ... It's different when you own the unit. Renters generally have to provide reasonable access. Back when I owned my condo I got letters yearly from the HOA requesting a key to my unit. I ignored them every single time. No one needs a key to my house but me. As a renter, yes it's pretty standard for there to be maintenance people that may need to come and go when you are not available. I will say, whenever our dryer vents were cleaned the crews did have to come inside and they were never very professional people. They had no ID and some of them gave me the creeps. I could at least see their van with the logo in the parking lot though. We were also sent letters a couple of weeks ahead of time with the date and general time frame so I knew when to expect the crew. Knocking and barely giving any time for someone to answer the door before barging in isn't acceptable. Not having ID isn't acceptable. It's about safety for the tenant AND the service provider. She should complain and suggest that the property management company hire a different dryer vent cleaning company next time. |
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Post by Zee on Sept 8, 2024 11:32:43 GMT
Question though, what would constitute a valid ID? Anyone could just make up a lanyard.
I think the real issue is that the owner did not make sure to notify her properly. I assume the owner got the email, if I'm following correctly? And she's not the owner and therefore will not be getting these emails?
I can't say someone just showing up with some ID is going to be very reassuring, if I wasn't the one who made the appointment.
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Post by Layce on Sept 8, 2024 11:52:37 GMT
Good way to get shot.
Go ahead and quietly get a chain lock installed, HOA Rules be damned. That’ll stop them long enough to at least announce themselves before barging right in. KWIM, like “HOUSEKEEPING!”
🤦♀️
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Post by gigito7 on Sept 9, 2024 14:36:22 GMT
Thanks for everyone’s opinion. For me personally, I was just shocked this person did not give my neighbor enough time to get to her door before it was opened. I think this man was taking risks that could cause dire consequences for him in this day of 2024. I hope he realizes his mistake in the future.
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