CLEVELAND — Angela Fox of Cleveland is issuing a strong warning to apartment seekers who are thinking about shopping online for an apartment unit using platforms like Facebook Marketplace.
Fox told News 5 that she found an apartment on South Woodland Road online, with her boyfriend doing a walk-through of the property because she was in the hospital for a medical procedure, but when she arrived, the unit looked nothing like the pictures posted on Facebook.
“The ad said move-in ready, one-bedroom apartment, accepts pets; we’re talking to the lady, and it was like, that’s it, that’s it, it’s ready," Fox said. “But I believe the posting was so misleading because I’m out here suffering. I’ve already lost everything, and I’m trying to read what they're offering and what they're offering is a nightmare."
Fox showed News 5 that her unit has no heat, no water service and no working stove, she's using electric space heaters and a small hot plate to cook meals.
“It’s the middle of winter, we’re having a snowstorm, I have no heat, no water. I'm recovering from surgery, and she knew that, and she knew what she was putting me into, and you still took my money."
Fox said she paid more than $1,000 for rent and a security deposit and had to stay at a hotel for more than a week for $1,200 while apartment management tried to repair boiler and plumbing issues.
Crystal Miezejewski and three other tenants who didn't want to give interviews on camera reported the same issues and believed online ads for the incomplete units were misleading.
"None of us could shower, me, my husband or my daughter, then we haven't had heat in this place since we moved in here," Miezejewski said.“There’s no walls in the apartment, they ripped out the bathroom wall, they haven’t fixed that, they ripped out the kitchen wall they haven’t fixed that.”
Ericka Dilworth, director of operations with the Cleveland Better Business Bureau, warned apartment shoppers to do their homework and don't just rely on online photos when making an apartment choice.
"Pictures can be modified, ownership can be modified, you cannot take anything for face value that you see on any kind of website," Dilworth said. “Research the address, research the owners of the apartment complex, put in the address and look for reviews.”
News 5 contacted apartment management, which is working for the building owners located in New Mexico. Management told News 5 that high water pressure from a City of Cleveland water main caused extensive damage to the heating and water systems. Management said it would work with tenants who have made hundreds of dollars in rent payments and assured us major repairs are on the way.
News 5 also contacted Ward 4 Cleveland Councilwoman Deborah Gray, who said she'll be working with the Cleveland Division of Water and the Cleveland Department of Building and Housing on how to best help tenants.
News 5 will follow through on this developing story.
Meanwhile, Fox issued her own warning about online apartment offers.
“It said move-in ready, one bedroom apartment," Fox said. “I don’t even have keys to get in the front or back door, I can’t even have my mail or medicine sent here because there’s no mailboxes, there’s no smoke detectors. Do your research, do your research, know who you’re dealing with.”
