My family's experience with Cornell Associates has been horrendous, and I have found the way they do business to be very manipulative. They take advantage especially of the elderly or those for whom English is not a first language. When my family signed the lease for our apartment, the former property manager informed us that the responsibility of cleaning up the mold in the unit would belong to property management since the walls and surfaces could potentially contain lead-based paint given that the building was built before 1978. So, considering the health issues associated with lead-based paint, and following the instructions of the property manager, my family never attempted to clean up the mold. The last property manager we had before we moved carried out several inspections of the unit each year (about 4 to 5 times), and never attempted to get the mold cleaned up. His name was Dale and he is one of the rudest, most bad-mannered, inconsiderate and heartless people I've ever met.
On top of the mold not being cleaned, Dale's repeated inspections of our unit during the year left my parents feeling very harassed. Since Dale had open access to the unit several times, he either did not conduct thorough inspections, or he neglected his responsibility as property manager to ensure that the mold was removed from the unit. My parents, who were the ones living in the unit, had limited English proficiency, and were also not as familiar or aware of landlord/tenant laws and regulations. They were also under the assumption that the cleaning of mold would be handled by property management since that is what we were told. However, when we moved out, Cornell Associates not only took our deposit but also charged my family ridiculous amount for the cleanup of the mold and other things they "found" to be "beyond wear and tear." After all this, Dale even asked us why we hadn't cleaned up the mold! He was expecting us to clean the mold from walls where there could possibly be lead-based paint? After we'd been told it wasn't our responsibility, but rather that of property management?
When I wrote Cornell Associates a letter through certified mail explaining the inconsistencies between the instructions we'd received from their property managers and what we were being asked now (as well as requesting a copy of the invoice from the cleaning companies that did the cleaning of the unit after we'd moved), what did I get? No response. I had also attempted to contact Dale over the phone earlier on, but he was on vacation and stated that he "would talk with me when he got back." (This reminded me of another time I contacted him about a unit issue...after the first couple of sentences, he told me, "Are you really calling me at 9pm right now!?" He did not want to discuss the issue any further, and was not considering the potential urgency or importance of the discussion. He basically scolded me. I felt very disrespected as a tenant.
I researched whether Cornell Associates is accredited by the Better Business Bureau. Although businesses may choose not to be accredited, I can't imagine why they wouldn't want to be! Cornell Associates in not accredited with the BBB. Hmmm, I wonder why. Could it be because there have been so many complaints against this property management company and its property managers?
I also called the City of Seattle since they enforce regulations on mold in properties in the city. Mold can develop from the structure of the apartment. There could be leaks in the building or the property could be situated in a shady area where it is more susceptible to mold. In these cases, the responsibility of getting mold cleaned up lie with property management. If tenants want to request an independent investigation to see where the mold might be coming from, the City of Seattle are the people to contact. However, tenants have to have access to the unit (have the keys) in order for them to come in to investigate. When my family left, we could no longer request an independent investigation. For the lead based issues, I contacted the US Environmental Protection Agency and will follow up with them about my family's situation involving their unit/building.
To all potential tenants out there, make sure to check whether a property is managed by Cornell Associates. If it is, avoid at all cost! read more