Alma Realty Corp. — Local services in New York

I will post pictures. Let me start by saying that they keep the garbage at the entrance of the parking lot for the new buildings. Which, if logic is applied here, means that cars cannot enter the new parking lot. Would it make more sense to BUY DUMPSTERS in which to keep the garbage bags? Yes it would. Do they do that? No they do not. How hard is it to purchase 3 dumpsters and keep them in a section of the parking lot in which ALL the garbage can be kept? But, this is too difficult to implement. Now, onto some of the people that live here: in the new building, people are clean. However, in the old building (which is connected to the new building), some people are some of the most ghetto, hood rat, project-ish people you have ever seen in your life. People smoke marijuana (which you smell in the hallways), and have a dirty appearance. It is not good at all. This is the main reason why they can't get more leases in the buildings..... who wants to live around people like this? I live in the new building, and I am putting them on blast because the property management company is lazy, the women in the office are lazy (and curt), and maintenance does nothing. One day, on a weekend, I saw the maintenance team in the parking lot throwing footballs.... as opposed to actually working. Save your money.

Update: Pictures are below. These pictures are of the "parking lot" of the newest building(s). When I posted earlier about how a car can actually pass through the entry way to the parking lot with all the garbage around, this is what I was referring to. The management literally leave garbage in the parking lot like this. Who wants to live like this? The management company makes it seem like it is TOO difficult to purchase 3 dumpsters: 1 for plastics/paper, 1 for garbage, and 1 for cardboard.

This company couldn't manage a coin operated laundromat, let alone a property...

Every time we've tried to call (from when we first inquired about the apartment), it's been extremely difficult to get an answer to basic questions (what is available at what price, whether you've received our application), and when he have been able to actually speak to you (and not just a voicemail), we've been hung up on multiple times by various people (yourself included). If that were all, I would let this go, but your behavior has crossed over the line from being disrespectful and unprofessional, to being underhanded, crooked, and dishonest.

Although we were told by your Superintendent that all we needed was identification, and letters from our employers stating our titles and wages (or paystubs) to apply for an apartment, you expanded that list to include the letter AND paystubs, W-2's, Tax Returns, and bank statements, which would have been reasonable except that when I sent you the bank statement provided by my bank, you told me that was unacceptable. Additionally, you said you would not be able to submit the application ALL of our paperwork had been submitted, but then told us that the application was denied a few hours later (while we were still getting our paperwork together). When I asked how you submitted the paperwork without all of our information, you said that what we had submitted was enough to make a decision. Did the policy change within a few hours?

In addition, during this process you changed the quoted price for the apartment in question three times. The apartment was originally listed at $850 online, in your internal listing which was sent to me by your office, and the price quoted by your superintendent (which I have recorded on video). But then, in an e-mail the price went up to $925, and then over the phone you told me that the apartment was $950. Did that also change with your application policies? I'm only giving one star because I...

PLEASE save yourself from making the mistake I made - don't sign one of their leases unless you want to suffer for a year.

I can't even begin to go over all of the turmoil I experienced working with Alma, but I will give some bullet points:

1. When I moved in, there was a leak and mold on the bathroom ceiling and it carried into the roof of some of the other rooms. After several requests and complaints to maintenance/management, the Super came and painted over the mold. PAINTED. OVER. MOLD! After the leak persisted, my roommates and I threatened to contact 311 and the company had a plumber check the premises; the plumber found a whole leak coming from the upstairs apartment that required two days' worth of work. Mind you, their initial remedy was paint.

2. Good luck living here if you're not Spanish-speaking - I understand the neighborhood is predominantly Spanish so that makes sense, but you should at least be able to communicate with your Super in emergencies, which was not the case.

3. Everyone at this company is extremely rude whenever you call the Alma offices, no matter what time of day and no matter what your concern is and how nicely you present it. The employees are dismissive, unprofessional, and almost impossible to get ahold of. They act like you're bothering them on their personal phone line when you call, needing them to do the job they're answering phones for. If you ask for a manager, they will "take a message" and you will literally never hear from them.

All in all, if I could do it over again, I would never ever work with this company and I strongly advise reading up on Alma Realty yourself before making a...