New Management Notified Apartment Renters to Clean Up or Move Out

Imagine being told you and your family have three days to pack up and move out. You have no money and have no where to go. Eight families were faced with the prospect of being homeless under the same

Thursday, February 3rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Imagine being told you and your family have three days to pack up and move out. You have no money and have no where to go. Eight families were faced with the prospect of being homeless under the same conditions Thursday at the Westwood Park Apartments.

8-month-old Carrie Hathcock and her parents are looking for a new home. But it's not a happy time for the young family. "I've got a list right here of different apartments,â€ said Westwood Park resident Chris Hathcock. â€œNobody wants to accept us, because we got evicted."

The Hathcocks are being evicted from their Westwood Park apartment after two years of being, what they consider good tenants. "We've never done drugs,â€ Hathcock said. â€œWe never caused a problem with our neighbors. We haven't done any of that."

Property managers disagree. Just over two weeks ago, the Hathcocks received a notice, stating that they needed to clean house or be evicted. "All of that black stuff in the stove, I couldn't get it out,â€ Hathcock said. â€œI tried, but I couldn't remove any of it. The stove is exactly as it was when we moved into the apartment.â€

The landlord also wrote up Hathcock's apartment for the lack of cleanliness of his icebox, bedroom and bathroom. "I've never failed an inspection until this new management, Lynco Incorporated, took over," he said.

The management at Westwood says the people who are being evicted were given ample warning to get their homes in order. They said they were also given ample time, 10 to 15 days. Still, they say that the eight families who are now looking for homes were not able to meet their requirements. "We gave out fifty 10/15â€™s which stated you have 10 days to correct,â€ said Lynco Incorporatedâ€™s Lyn Goss. â€œIf you have not corrected at the end of ten days, then five days later, we will proceed according to the landlord tenant act."

With a budget of more than $300,000 planned for remodeling, property manager Goss says that now she's cleaning house. She says she has the pictures to put poor housekeepers and unauthorized pet owners out on the streets. Even goldfish are out-of-bounds. â€œI said I have one little fish,â€ Hathcock said. â€œAnd she said, â€˜One little fish is like one little puppy.â€™ And I said, â€œno, it's not because it can't get out.â€™"

Westwood management says there won't be any second chances. They want people to know they mean business. "They weren't worried about being kicked out when we first started giving them the notices,â€ Goss explained. â€œIt wasn't until we meant business that they now are getting concerned."