Apartment Review for Deaktor Development - Pittsburgh, PA

These people are completely inept at the leasing business. I rented an apartment in shadyside and had neverending issues. Some of these included: basic repairs that were never completed, an underprepared and understaffed office, bookkeeping issues where tenants were accused on nonpaying of rent, ONE repair person for every property in the Pittsburgh area, unreturned after unreturned phone call. At the end of my lease I left the apartment in perfect condition. I was given the runaround for 5 months then told that I had done thousands of dollars of damage to the apartment including a $1200 repainting of perfectly white walls. I took Marsha Deaktor to court. She complained that I had never left a forwarding address. I produced evidence disputing this fact. Luckily, the judge believed me and returned my security deposit. The problem may not necessarily be greed but simple inexperience and bad decision-making on the part of the Deaktors. They routinely overpay for their properties, sink enormous amounts of money into renovating the properties, and then aren't able to provide the maintenance or administrative services necessary for upkeep or to justify the premium costs. If you do live in a Deaktor property, please document your conversations with them, take pictures of the property when moving out, send all correspondences via email or preferably, certified mail. Do not rely on oral promises made by the Deaktors. I don't believe that they are bad people, simply between a rock and a hard place and willing to keep security deposits and breach oral agreements to preserve any profits or keep their head above water. Currently, they have a just released $676,000 federal tax lien levied against them by the irs, a $40,000+ civil judgment against them, and another county tax lien against them. Don't let their troubles make your life more difficult.