We got this tip this morning:
Good Morning,
I wanted to let you know that at least three apartments at Hillcrest 3555 27th Place West have been burglarized during the day by someone with a key to each of the units.? Most of my gold and silver jewelry was stolen, a new GPS, three hand bags and several other items.? I seem to discover a new item missing each day.? I wanted to post a warning to other residents.? I wish to remain anonymous so that the owners do not retaliate against me.
Thanks for the email! Stay safe!
Please explain what this means- “I wish to remain anonymous so that the owners do not retaliate against me.” This is NOT obvious.
I take it to mean that since apparently someone had keys to rob his place that maybe it was an inside job, which would explain his reason to be anonymous.
Thanks for the clarification. Initially, I mis-read “owners” as “others” which made no sense to me. However, s/he may be concerned that the owners may not appreciate her bringing this to the public’s attention. It would be quite sad if the owners (or one of their guests) was responsible for the thefts ’cause you can’t cure stupid.
I rented at a different property from Kimberly Guadalupe, and let me tell you, she will retaliate. The management company (Stratford Company) she represents is corrupt. Sad to see she’s also representing in Magnolia 🙁
Also, please clarify whether you believe additional items are being taken daily, or whether you’re just noticing more things missing each day from what you believe was a single break-in.
Guess what? There’s no restriction on your apartment manager giving a convicted felon keys to your apartment. Gives you a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that, huh?
You can do a criminal background check on your slumlords and their cheapest-possible-hired-labor. http://dw.courts.wa.gov/ will show you court records for free, and you can get actual criminal history for $10 at https://fortress.wa.gov/wsp/watch/
Something I did when a felon had access to my apartment was to install a webcam hooked up to my PC. Leave it running all day, and if it detects motion, have it send an email snapshot or video of pre-set length to a remote email server.
I think management should know immediately. If it is a person they hired they would be steeling from them too. Your locks should be changed now. They might even be able to figure out who it is and get your stuff back. In the mean time get your valuables out of there to a friends place or safety deposit box or something.
If the locks were not changed after the previous resident left, then I would definitely insist that the owners do so, at their expense.
They’re required to by law in Seattle. Though they never do 😛
April 11, 2013
Alleged Break-In
Attention Residents:
It has come to my attention that 2 residents are claiming
someone broke into their units with a key.
There
is no ?master key? system for this building. Each unit has its own individual keys
All
unit keys are combination lock ? secured
We
have had no break in to where the keys are stored
No
keys are missing from our secured, combination locked storage
Also on Monday 8th of April 2013 I was personally
present on the property doing a prospect tour for a new resident. As the Regional Manager I rarely do the
prospect touring and have not shown units at Hillcrest for well over 6
months.
We have 1 vacant unit #422 and I grabbed the keys to that
unit to unlock it for the showing. I
walked to the front door and tried the keys and they did not work, and then I
looked up to see the unit number and I was standing at the wrong unit ? I was
trying they keys in unit #424?s lock.
I did not hear anyone home so I simply walked down the hall
to the right unit and went in and did my tour.
I then got an email from the resident stating someone with a key broke
into her unit when she was home and by the time she got to the door the person
was gone down the hallway. I explained
what happened, and she has insisted that her unit was broken into by someone
who has a key. I have recommended to the
residents to file a police report, as they are the professionals and they can
handle these types of situations.
I am sorry for the un-needed hysteria that these residents
have caused and we have sent this over to our attorney to follow up with the
residents regarding defamation of charter ect.
Kimberly Guadalupe
Operations Manager
The Stratford Company
On one hand, I’m not sure how the resident knew the theft was done by someone with a key. You don’t even have to be an expert thief to pick a lock, and there’s no way to distinguish use of a key vs. a lock-pick. Just because there’s no obvious sign of a break-in doesn’t mean it was an inside job — just that it was a clean one.
On the other hand, this letter from the operations manager is overly defensive and inconsiderate. Your first priority should be sympathy for the victims, and efforts to improve security, not the threat of a lawsuit. (Not to mention the very unprofessional typos.)
This is a response coming from the same woman that did this: http://burien.komonews.com/news/home-garden/670048-eviction-notices-baffle-residents-burien-apartment-complex
So take the above statement from Kimberly Guadalupe with a heavy grain of salt.
Google Kimberly Guadalupe & The Stratford Company and you can understand the tenants’ concerns. They have had numerous complaints against them in buildings they manage. Not surprised by Ms. Guadalupe’s response. It’s par for the course and maybe she protests too.
and maybe she protests too much.
Just seeing the name ‘Kimberly Guadalupe’ hurts my eyes! I rented from the Stratford Company before Kim was hired and then for a bit afterwards. Things were fine until I needed something fixed in my apartment. Kim was rude from that point on. There were many in my building that despised her. Avoid Stratford Company if at all possible. They treat their maintenance team like garbage, they nickle and dime you, and they will try and collect $ from you when you move out.
Kimberly is absolutely EVIL! I live in the same building, she wanted to charge the person who was robbed $50 to change the lock! It’s an absolute joke, and I’m sure she’s in on it. I can’t wait to see her go down in flames. All of our keys are kept in a room that I can see from my unit, I’ve often seen this door propped open all day long while people do work, there is also a key duplication machine in the same room. Secure? Yeah right.
Not to mention that our keys don’t even have “do not duplicate” printed on them.