Evaluation of Aspen Ridge Management, Provo UT

*Jan. 28th Update: The following post is a one-sided rant, written in anger after a day of frustration. Aspen Ridge Management did not have an opportunity to respond to the following observations before I posted.  Since posting this, Management has responded to me, promptly and professionally, in an effort to justify their actions (or lack thereof). Hopefully, Mgmt will desire to sit down with me (of their own volition) seeking constructive feedback on ways to improve the Old Mill tenant experience—bryantanner@gmail.com


My Rant (after only 3 weeks at Old Mill):  Aspen Ridge Management (the corporation that manages my current residence—Old Mill Condominiums)—so far, reminds me of an alimony-dodging father figure, contented to do as little for their dependents as possible, whilst pocketing subsequent excess cash.  Here's a short list of my observations of Aspen Ridge Mgmt's failings:

• to clear the sidewalks of snow so that parking stalls markings are clearly visible.  (I was forced clear off three stalls markings myself, in 0-degree fahrenheit weather, in order to discover my assigned parking stall.)
• to maintain adequate lighting in the Solarium. (2 of 3 flood lights not working.) Welcome to sweaty Rapeville!
• to vacuum up the standing water under the community ping pong table. Mildew much?!
• to dispose of dangerous, loose, ceramic shards bordering the pool. I actually sliced the side of my big toe the one, and only, time I will ever go there.
• the authorization of Veracity (who claims to have laid fiber underneath us) to turn off our Comcast connection without getting the new provider, Hotsite Networks (a sub-standard ISP from Alpine), service up and running.
• shutting off Comcast without notification of the tenants, and on a holiday when their office was closed and unable to receive communication—very unprofessional.

Aspen Ridge Management's negligence aside, any actions they DO take are the ones that affect their bottom-line, with seemingly no regard for the welfare of their tenants.

E.g. Hotsite Networks (the new ISP) allegedly offered a better service at a lower price than Comcast (old ISP) to Old Mill HOA.  Okay, I can understand this business decision. The Old Mill HOA evidently voted to make the change.  However, once the decision was made, that change was extremely poorly managed, communicated, and executed.  The entire complex is currently without any internet connection for an undetermined amount of time. I fear that once the service is finally up and running, the connection is only going to be 6MB, as stated on Old Mill's internet login webpage, which is SUPER SLOW by any contemporary service standard.

While running no application on my 2012 Macbook Pro Retina

Suggestions: Aspen Ridge Management surely isn't intentionally neglecting their Old Mill tenants; they must sincerely believe they are adequately job looking after our complex.  Hopefully, this post will open their eyes to some serious safety issues.  If they want at least an "average performance" rating from me, they will need to:

• address all of the issue listed above.
• establish a responsive feedback system that encourages tenants to come to them with questions and concerns (aside from their semi-functional answering service).
• increase the number parking spots and widen their current ones.  I live in daily fear of having my car crashed into in the back lot. 
• regularly brush the sand off the walkways so it isn't tracked into our apartments and ground into the carpets.
• install a shower in the solarium for people to shower off their stink before getting in the pool (not to mention the sand from the volleyball court).
• *systematical remove the vestigial fireplaces from each of the apartments.  (Seriously—what were you thinking putting in fireplaces with no ventilation?!)
• *increase the lighting in living rooms. Someone could get away with murder in there.
• *split the shared tubs on the (2nd and 3rd floors, leaving the 1st floor tubs handicap accessible) in half so that the toilet area in each bedroom is connected to a half-size shower.
• write by-laws into tenant contracts regarding appropriate hours to play loud instruments. Just set some clear expectations.
• fix the solarium doors so they shut and lock properly. (Currently, anyone can walk in at anytime, which they do, and they also bang at all hours of the night, sometimes waking me from a dead sleep.)
• enforce solarium hours nightly when parking enforcement happens. (It seems like a loud dance party/fiesta goes on out there, after hours, 2-3 times/week.)

Conclusions: Old Mill apartments are livable—that is, if you are a 20-something bohemian, willing to live in anything is better than the Uruguayan huts you inhabited in for the past 2 years on your LDS mission.  You can do better, ARMgmt.  Although I've only lived here three full weeks, I've already experienced enough to motivate me to move out as soon as my contract expires.

Bonus: I've included this wildly popular image to drive traffic to this page.  Maybe the attention it draws will help to encourage ARMgmt to perk up and take action.

*Starred items may be issues that individual landlords are responsible for, but that doesn't make Old Mill any less livable.