Apartment Review for Del Rio Apartments - Albuquerque, NM

The management here is horrible. My husband and I have lived here two, long years and can’t wait to get out of here as soon as the lease expires in two months. I could look past the cheap construction, cave-like feel, thin walls, noisy neighbors if only the management would treat its tenants with the tiniest bit of respect and care. There has been one thing after another since we moved in and there has been no help or sympathy from the management on anything. For some examples: There are lampposts scattered around the property that come on at night. When we moved in, I noticed that there was one right outside our bedroom window that didn’t come on at night like the others. I happily concluded that this light must be permanently turned off because the management must have received complaints from previous tenant of not being able to sleep with a bright light bulb shining into their room all night. Unfortunately, I was wrong to assume that they had any common sense and two months after moving in, maintenance ‘fixed’ the light and we slept on the floor in the living room because it was too bright to sleep in our bedroom. We called the next day to tell them to turn it back off and their answer was that there was ‘nothing they could do’ and we should buy opaque curtains so no light could get into our room. We don’t have the inclination or the money to go out and buy curtains (not to mention the fact that we enjoy knowing when the real sun comes up) and continued to press the issue. The girl in the office said she would talk to the manager and she would give us a call. After waiting a week to get the call that never came and sleeping on the floor in the living room, we finally took off the lampposts cover and unscrewed the lightbulb so we could sleep in our bed again. We never did hear back from them. They have ‘fixed’ it a few times since then, but since we know they management is going to do anything about it, we continue to unscrew the bulb each time. Since then, we have had property damaged on two occasions by negligence on the part of the owner – once because of leaking plumbing and once because of the clothes dryer they provide and maintain. The management denied any responsibility, blamed me for the damage and hasn’t yet resolved either issue. Due to a waterline break within the property, water was out off and on for four days to the apartments and we couldn't use our bathroom or shower for work. There was no communication from the office during this time to let us know what was going on or when they expected service to return and when we called to inquire they were completely unapologetic and unhelpful. These people also manage Sombre del Oso across the street and could have provided water from there in buckets so we could have at least flushed the toilet, but they weren’t interested in that. Also, I do not feel safe living here. Aside from ordinary vandalism, drugs and theft – about a month ago, someone shot out two windshields right outside our bedroom window in the wee hours. There was no word from the management on that and they didn’t even clean up the glass. According to New Mexico law, landlords have to provide tenants 24 hours notice, a time of entry, and reason for entry before they can enter a rental. However, Del Rio thinks it is above the law and its tenants are not entitled to these rights. There have been multiple times that we have gotten notices that they will be coming into our apartment for annual maintenance, or bug spraying and give a full week as the time frame during which they will stop by. The letters also generally state that ‘it is impossible for them to make specific appointments’ and that the tenant is responsible for making arrangements for their pets, because ‘they cannot be held responsible for letting your pets out of your apartment’ during their visit. I went to the management and told them that I pay for my dog to live in my apartment and expect her to be safe there and not be let out by the maintenance people and due to this I asked for an appointment for when they will be in our apartment per New Mexico law. They reiterated that ‘they cannot make appointments’ and I will just have to stay home and wait for them to come if I don’t want them entering when I’m not there. They really expected me to take a week off from work to wait for their maintenance man to show up so that I could be sure my dog wouldn’t be let out of the apartment. After pressing them on this issue, they finally agreed to an ‘appointment’ stating they would be there during the afternoon on a certain day. I took the afternoon off from work and they didn’t even show up. With our lease about to expire, we have been going around Albuquerque looking at other apartment complexes. I can tell you that there are several others in this price range with intelligent, helpful staff with nicer apartments in better locations. I strongly encourage you to make your home in one of those rather than at Del Rio.