If you have the opportunity to rent from ANYONE else, do so…read more
I've given this company 2 years of my time - time spent in utter misery.
The first time was in June, 2012 the house we leased would not cool below 85 degrees. It took a over 2 weeks for technicians to arrive and that was after we called 3x. They did what they could but, the unit was 1) not big enough for the square footage and 2) the old unit had been in the attic and the duct work was not updated. After that, we were lucky if we got it to 78 degrees but, I'd say it averaged 83. Our electricity bill the first month we were there was over $500. We had to purchase 3 window units, one for each bedroom. None of the other windows would open.
Our living area, kitchen and dining area made up over half of the square footage. We couldn't sit and watch a movie as a family, use the office or sit and have a meal unless we wanted to sweat profusely. We pretty much lived out of our bedrooms the entire year. If I had friends over, we had to hang out in my bedroom which is just awkward! (In the winter, we had the opposite problem but, in the winter you can at least put on layers.)
The house also seemed to have bad ju-ju. I mention this because the 2nd place I rented from them was steeping in it. In 2012, I didn't believe too much in ju-ju. Now? I have to say I do.
Fast forward to May, 2018 - My partner was approved for a bottom floor duplex in the Brick Street District. If I were to tell you everything that went wrong with this place, it would be a novel. Suffice it to say that Lewis Realty doesn't seem to care for same sex couples. We were told no animals whatsoever. The lady upstairs moves in with 2 chihuahua's, a cat, a kitten and a drug addicted 23 year old daughter who was an escort. We were told the back yard was exclusive to us but, nothing was done about the chihuahua poop and trash being left out in the yard. I was assaulted (not violently, but enough to press charges) by the main tenant upstairs after she had been up all night on a bender. Lewis Realty didn't even respond to our notification.
We had to call the Police about 20 times over 10 months. Our calls were legit noise complaints at 2am. The tenant upstairs would call them at 10am to complain that I was keeping them up with my music. They enjoyed antagonizing us. They were purposefully loud and we found a board with our pictures on them. Apparently, the main tenant had been stalking me online.
Once, she flooded her apartment, water came cascading down our walls. It looked and sounded exactly like rain.
The electrical was horrific. I don't think it had been rewired since the early 70's. Our dishwasher was out for 6 months. I must have called every week for 2 months then every 3 or 4 the remainder. Our bathroom light was out for 2 and a half months. We had to use a string of flashing christmas lights for night-time. The 2nd bedroom's light and ceiling fan was out for 6 weeks.
Oh, and the ju-ju? My partner and I began feeling very sickly the longer we were there. It was similar to the way I had gotten sick at the house I rented from them previously. My partner does energy work, which is what opened my mind up to it.
After 10 months, we moved directly next door into a nicer, more affordable single story duplex. The landlord is a dream! When she heard how horrible things were, she let us move in for a discounted deposit so we could get away immediately. We paid her the rest a month later when we got our tax refund.
Stay away from Lewis Realty. They don't care about their tenants safety, they don't enforce their own rules, they don't hold themselves to a decent standard. If they're the only ones who will lease to you, I wish you nothing but the best of luck and hope you're handy around the house.
P.S. I have a folder FULL of photos and other evidence from the hell we escaped most recently. Here's just a few, to give you an idea. I'll post the video of the water cascade and video/audio of the noise as soon as I get it off the other computer.
