When Ball State senior Andy High agreed to pay $325 a month for his apartment, he expected to get his money's worth.
High, along with other residents of the new student apartment complex, Sterling University Estates, 4500 W. Bethel Ave., said he thinks he was taken advantage of by the 9-month-old collegiate residencies.
Numerous students have reported complaints about the buildings, objecting to Sterling's maintenance policies and what they think are poorly constructed apartments.
"I feel as if I was shown one thing and then given something else," High said. "But now I really regret living here because I could have saved $1,200 by living someplace else."
High's biggest complaint stems from maintenance problems he and his roommates encountered several months after moving into their three-bedroom apartment in August.
He said he had no idea that what appeared to be a small water leak would potentially ruin his roommate's big-screen television.
High said the roommates had noticed a small water spot in front of High's bedroom door. After contacting the maintenance manager twice during a two-week period, High said still nothing was done.
Another week went by before High said plumbers were contacted to check out the problem. He said the plumbers pulled out the entertainment unit to reveal stereo equipment, a big-screen television and electrical cords standing in water.
"Everything was soaked - everything," High said. "And the television ... I am absolutely positive that is what ruined it."
High said the television had stopped working two weeks prior to when the plumbers came out to fix the water leak. He said the men could see where the television had been waterlogged and where mold and bacteria had been growing behind the wall.
The damage to the roommates' belongings stemmed from a water leak found in their bathroom.
"They hadn't even caulked the bathtub, so all of that water had been leaking along the wall," High said. "We couldn't even sit in our living room for a couple weeks because they had to come and fix it."
High said the leak forced plumbers to tear out the wall and thought the entire situation was handled poorly.
When asked about the problems High and his roommates experienced, property manager Gail Eiler said damage to such personal property is to be covered through the residents' renter's insurance.
"We suggest everyone get it, and most students can get it through their parents' homeowner's insurance," Eiler said.
High said he thinks he and his roommates were not properly compensated for the incident.
"They sent us a $50 gift certificate to Wal-mart," High said. "Our whole living room was messed up for close to two months, and we have a television now that doesn't work.
"This in no way had anything to do with us, and it definitely wasn't our fault."
Eiler said the gift certificate was not in any way intended to be a replacement for the television.
"That would have been handled through renter's insurance," she said. "We gave the gift certificate to say sorry for such an inconvenience
"It was an unfortunate incident, but it was beyond our control until we could get it fixed."
For Ball State student Angie Martin, her living experience at Sterling has also been unsatisfactory.
"I think this is an over-priced, under-quality apartment building," Martin said.
Martin encountered problems with maintenance several weeks ago when pipes broke last month behind her bedroom wall.
"The maintenance people came without notice and wanted me to have everything out of my closet right away," Martin said. "They didn't call. They just came."
Martin said it was an inconvenience to move everything out of her closet and said it was a three-day period before the problem was fixed. When maintenance returned to bleach the floors and walls to prevent mold from growing, Martin said she was further annoyed by the work that was done.
"They left dirty, greasy tools lying on my bed and they dipped tobacco in my toilet and didn't clean it up," Martin said.
"When they bleached my comforter, that was the last straw."
Eiler said she responded to an e-mail Martin sent her about compensation for the $120 bedspread and that the problem had since been taken care of.
Some students at Sterling disagree with the views of unhappy residents like High and Martin.
Sophomore Angie Guidri said she has enjoyed living at the apartment complexes and will return again in the fall.
"I really like it here, and no place - especially in Muncie - can be perfect," Guidri said. "It's obvious they were put together quickly, but most of them will get damaged anyway by the college kids who are living here.
"I think a lot of the problems people have been having they've brought on themselves or could have solved themselves."
Former Sterling University employee Sam Carlson disagrees.
"Just because we're students and going to be in and out in a year doesn't mean we should be treated any less," Carlson said.
Carlson is one of a handful of students interviewed who thinks the materials used for the buildings were under par.
"None of the screens fit in the window, and we had to call maintenance and tell them to put them back in," he said. "They told us that they had ordered new screens, but that was last fall and we still haven't seen them since."
Ball State student Scott Swain said he thought the work Sterling did on the apartment complex was behind schedule and completed too quickly in order for students to move in by August.
"The first day I moved in, I went to hang up some clothes on the bar of my closet and the entire unit fell out of the wall," Swain said.
As far as she could recall, Eiler said the situation was "probably" taken care of.
Swain said the problem was addressed, but by the time maintenance arrived two weeks later to fix the unit, he had already concocted a way to hang his clothes in his closet.
Colin Smith, a Ball State student and friend of Swain, experienced firsthand the structural problems about which many residents have complained.
The first time Smith said he tried to do dishes for his friend, the garbage disposal did not run. After turning it off, Smith said he reached his hand down inside the disposal and scooped up what he said appeared to be remnants of construction.
"I must have had at least two handfuls of what looked like muck," Smith said. "It was plaster from the walls, caulking, metal washers and nails.
"I know Sterling is a business, and it's their right to make money, but it's not fair when what they have isn't put together right."
Swain said, "When you move into a brand new place like this, you just don't expect to deal with problems like this."
Eiler said the building materials used for the complex were safe and that many of her tenants were satisfied with what Sterling had to offer.
"I think they feel like they're getting a lot for their money," Eiler said.
Eiler said she didn't think the buildings were rushed to be completed either.
"Actually, I think the workers had plenty of time to complete the job," she said. "We were ready early for students to move in."
Eiler also said in a situation where new construction is involved, problems that occur may take a while to fix.
"You may have issues that have to be taken care of through a subcontractor, and it involves warranty work," Eiler said. "When you deal with warranty issues, things can't be done really quickly."
Ball State sophomore Angie Perry said she is aware that every apartment complex encounters structural problems, but Perry said she is alarmed at the number Sterling has seemingly had.
"You know, this is a brand new place, and I wouldn't be so mad about the problems we've had if we weren't the first people to be living here," she said.
Perry first experienced problems in her own apartment building a week after she moved in, starting her school year off in a way she described as frustrating.
She said the resident above her apartment did not use a stud finder to place a shelf on her wall and nailed through one of the building's plastic water pipes. Perry's roommate, Bree Wilson, had to notify Perry at work that the resulting water leak had flooded her bedroom below.
"My whole room was flooded," she said. "I had water coming out of the ceiling fan, outlets and my closet."
For three days Perry reportedly had no place to stay while her bedroom was under water. The incident, which occurred before classes started in August, left the women without electricity in the apartment.
"We couldn't dry the carpet and we were taking showers in the dark for a while," Perry said.
By the time fans were brought in and the carpet had been dried, Perry said several weeks had gone by.
"When they came back to fix the ceiling, they just painted over it," she said. "They didn't even use the same color of paint."
Perry said she expected more than the one night stay in a hotel room with which Eiler provided her.
"I definitely don't think I should have paid rent for that month, especially since I wasn't even able to live here for most of that time," Perry said.
In response to Perry's situation, Eiler said such incidents are handled on a case-by-case basis.
Despite Eiler's testimony that Sterling University Estates is the newest and best apartment complex in Muncie, offering its residents the best amenities, students like High have yet to agree.
"You know, I consider myself a pretty consumer-minded person, and I wouldn't have just dropped an extra $100 on a place to live," High said. "They definitely take advantage of college kids. They took us on this cool tour, showed us this weight room, pool and clubhouse and within a matter of minutes I had changed my mind on where I was going to live my senior year.
"But no, this last year has been horrible. And for $325, I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. I'm definitely going to look at what I sign from now on, that's for sure."
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