CINCINNATI - A judge said several Tri-State apartment properties were so neglected by their out-of-state landlords that the court ordered a third party to take charge and get them repaired.
But now the residents are complaining that the receivers aren't getting the job done, either.
And residents admit some of the people who live there are part of the problem.
"My 3-year old has to see a bullet hole in her window," said Ciara Lindsay.
"The whole building is filthy," said Sylvia Morton
"We have holes in our walls. We've got our floors messed up," said Rosa Marshall, a 22-year resident.
They want the work speeded up.
The president of Milhaus, which took receivership of several Reid's Valley View, Shelton Garden Apartments and several others, says hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of repairs have been ongoing. Roofers and exterminators were on the job at Reid's Valley View on Wednesday.
Still, Alexandria Jackiw says she understands that for the residents, it can't get finished fast enough.
Jackiw says exterior doors with locks are on order. Windows, she says, are a problem because in many cases, the wooden frames are rotted out and have to be replaced.
But all that work only addresses part of the problem.
"It's the residents they got there," said Morton. "They know who it is. They need to get them out of there."
Other tenants agreed. Their fellow residents are trashing the buildings as fast as they're repaired.
Jackiw says Milhaus has evicted several residents for violating the terms of their lease, but that is also a slow and legally challenging process.
To reduce the vandalism, she says they have hired Cincinnati police to provide security 24/7.
Milhaus management says they hope the $4.25 million projects will be completed by the middle of next year.
