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Cascadia Apartment Rentals / Nacel Properties review: Inexcusable rental management practices! 44

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In mid August, 2007 I signed a one year lease effective September 1, 2007 with Westland Townhomes, a property owned and managed by Nacel Properties Ltd. I was asked if I could hold off moving in till the 2nd or 3rd so that the carpets could be cleaned and the unit painted. I was fortunate in that I was able to hold off taking occupancy and was willing to do so. Much to my chagrin, I was advised on day of move in (September 5th, 2007) that the unit had not been painted and that the painters would not be able to paint the unit for several days. As most children, mine were eager to set up their rooms and get settled, as such I chose not to have the unit painted because of the disruption it would cause in the long run, and since they had 5 full days to do so, I was not willing to put my family in further disruption than they were already in with the move.

One September 7th, 2007, we suffered our first flood. About 7pm that evening my son stepped into about 3 inches of water. Where the leak came from was unknown except that it "appeared" to come from the upstairs bathroom, as reported by the resident maintenance person, who also tried to imply that the flood was a result of someone not being "careful while taking a shower". Strange thing with that is that no one had taken a shower at the time of the flood or anytime that day. Nothing further was done, and the promise for a new stove never came to pass.

On December 4th, 2007 at about 10pm I noticed a strong smell of something burning. The closer to the stairwell I got the stronger the odor. When I reached to top of the stairs (where the furnace closet is situated) the odor was so strong that I began choking. I quickly ran down the stairs, turned off the thermostat, went next door to the resident manager, reported what I had observed and requested that she come to take a look... she never did!

On the morning of December 5th, 2007 I turned on the thermostat and didn't hear the tell tale click that the furnace had started. I went up to the furnace, the pilot light was on, there was no reason that I could see why it wouldn't turn on. I contact Terasen Gas and asked for their advice, they suggested that I contact the property management as there was no apparent reason on their end as to why the furnace would not start. I did so and over the course of the next 2 days (left with no heat in the dead of winter) the maintenance person finally repaired the furnace. As it turns out the filter had not been changed in over a year according to his records, as a result it caught fire, burning through the transformer and several other components. My quick forethought of shutting off the thermostat prevented further damage not only to the furnace but to my residence and perhaps the three adjacent residences. I finally had heat on December 7th, 2007. I should also note here that the gas fireplace also failed to work during this time. All that was done to get it to work, was a couple of hits with a screwdriver across the burner.

On February 1st, 2008, we were hit with a second flood, a hot water pipe under the front hall had burst. This was immediately reported. As this occurred in the evening, nothing could be done till the next morning. Once again the resident maintenance person came in to "assess the situation". A plumber was called in and after several hours of jack-hammering, the pipe was eventually fixed. However, I was once again left with a horrendous amount of laundry to do (towels used to soak up the water and clothing that had been soaked by the water filling the main floor bathroom (where the laundry machines are also housed) and cleanup following the repairs (floors and walls to wash). At this time I requested to be moved to another unit, I was asked to reconsider, I did so reluctantly (hind sight, that was not a bright thing to do).

At 2 am on February 29th, 2008, I was woken with the sound of running water. When I got up to investigate, I stepped solidly into about 6" of ice cold water, with a urine odor. I ran upstairs only to step into another 6" of water in the upper hall way and the bathroom fully covered in water that was bubbling out from under the toilet. The toilet, which had been reported prior to this, failed to stop flushing yet again. I hit the flush handle and eventually the water stopped running, however the odor in the bathroom, hall way and throughout the main floor (kitchen, hallway, livingroom) was evident that it was from the toilet (septic). The water had poured through my cupboards, into light fixtures, through the ceiling, down walls, onto my furniture, into my appliances on the counter, literally everywhere. I lost untold amounts of food as a result, in addition to the cost of clean up which I bore in order to salvage what I could salvage of my belongings and clothing, etc. I have to wonder now if the first "unknown origin" flood of September 7th, 2007 and this last flood are related.

Since this flood, I have requested to be moved to another unit, withheld the rent for March, as a means of recouping my costs (cleaning and increased utility). I have been told that I will not be permitted to move to another unit until the rent for March is paid in full, and on March 15th, 2008 was served with a 10 day eviction notice.

Nacel Properties Ltd. is a poor excuse for a residential management company that fails consistently to provide safe and healthy rental units, be they apartments or townhouses... Lord knows what the properties they sell are like, from my own research, they're not to be touched either. Beware of renting from Nacel Properties Ltd. They treat good tenants like garbage!

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44 comments
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John Payzant
, US
Aug 30, 2022 8:07 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

https://www.aptrentals.net/apartments/acacia-rental-apartments

Came across this one with Jovana present Mgr after Donna Thomason lived in 1595 next to me at 1555, I moved in 92 till 2022 is 30 years. We're both glad to move out of there!

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John Payzant
, US
Aug 30, 2022 3:30 pm EDT
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https://www.aptrentals.net/apartments/acacia-rental-apartments

Here's the most recent rental ad for 1555 E 6th between Woodland & Commercial Dr is where I'd lived since 1992 till 2022 is 30 years but admit it was poor discernment on my part

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John Payzant
, US
Aug 16, 2022 1:58 pm EDT
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It's a bad mistake moving there never fix things after a certain point

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John Payzant
, US
Aug 23, 2022 8:15 pm EDT
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After the long term rent doesn't go up enough then stop the repairs. Tenant moves, rent is doubled from $1,000 to $2,000/month repairs are done only because twice the money is now going in so it's now ok to put money out now on repair, you see, makes sense?

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John Payzant
, US
Jul 13, 2022 1:28 pm EDT
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How long will it be before they have to change their name again? Nacelle to Cascadia to what next because people catch on & they become unpopular?

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John Payzant
, US
Jul 10, 2022 1:12 pm EDT
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Worst mistake by many when moving into & working for Cascadia lived there 30 years when it was called Nacel is owned by the Cressey family are worst slumlords almost never fix things has rapid turnover of managers too. It's just bad news in every way.

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CAMPBELL2525
Richmond, CA
Aug 10, 2014 8:28 pm EDT

WOW NOT BAD APT IN RICHMOND FILTHY MY EX HAS NO WHERE TO STAY INFESTED WITH BEDBUGS BATHROAD

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Jennnny
Burnaby, CA
May 17, 2014 4:03 pm EDT

Nacel has changed their name to Cascadia

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d_mac
, CA
May 12, 2014 4:52 pm EDT

They call themselves Cascadia now.. No more Nacel or Cressey

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John Payzant
, US
Jul 20, 2022 12:22 pm EDT
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Replying to comment of d_mac

How long till name change again? How long was it Nacel for? How long will it be Cressey for? They solve by name changing lasts for awhile then they have to change it again. One of the many former managers this one was Donna Thomason mentions the Cressies are Jewish & other Jewish people want nothing to do with them. The Cressies business ethics are terrible!

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John Payzant
, US
Aug 23, 2022 12:30 pm EDT
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Newest Mgr is called Jovan from the former Yugoslav Republic is where a number of Staff come from for some reason often not Canadian Born or from a Spanish or Portuguese Speaking Countries is because they don't know the Laws as well as the Cressies do & is easier for them to take them for a ride.

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John Payzant
, US
Aug 25, 2022 2:43 pm EDT
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It's now called 'Cascadia' right now but for how long?

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d_mac
, CA
May 12, 2014 4:49 pm EDT

Over at Shannon gardens the property manager over here likes to discuss issues from tenants with other tenants. People know whos being evicted before the actual person knows.
She locks tenants in her office to get information out of them about people.
And the regional manager.. Well she has something going on with her cause shes so quick to slip things under the carpet... Hush hush!
Now there are entering people units illegally and if you fight against them they start an eviction process on you...

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d_mac
, CA
May 12, 2014 4:38 pm EDT

Over at shannon gardens the property manager over here likes to dicuss issues from tenants with other tenants. People know whos being evicted before the actual person knows.
She locks tenants in her office to get information out of them about people.
And the regional manager.. well she has something going on with her cause shes so quick to slip things under the carpet... Hush hush!
Now there are entering people units illegally and if you fight against them they start an eviction process on you...

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ExNacel Employee
White Rock, CA
Aug 31, 2012 8:45 pm EDT

Pick a different place to rent from than a Nacel property. Or buy from (they are also Cressey Development). The rentals fund the development of the fancy stuff they sell.

I worked there for a few months and dealt with the property managers in the late 80s...sounds like things haven't improved.

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Geekaalert
North Vancouver, CA
Mar 23, 2012 12:20 am EDT
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I worked for Nacel Properties, don't bother calling the media - Global and all the other media outlets have already done reports. You can check the rentals board and see that Nacel is a frequently reported company.
Almost every Property Manager that they hired was as crooked as the company itself, dreaming up extra charges to charge the tenants and asking for cash payments.
Nacel NEVER gives back security deposits without deducting for painting and carpet cleaning (plus anything else they can dream up) but NEVER do the painting or cleaning unless the unit is really bad.
Do yourselves a favor and never move into a Nacel property. If you live in a Nacel property, protect yourself legally.

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B4warned
Burnaby, CA
Nov 20, 2011 12:05 am EST
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My family and I moved in this past May 2011, after meeting some of our neighbours, we found out that they had very little if any respect for Nacel Properties, Cressi or the landlords of our complex, which I quickly realized why. We did take things easy and didn't worry about too many things until my requests for repairs would take up to 3 times until something was finally taken care of. We also had flooding/leaking issues, as the basement of our t/h would flood when it rained, and the kitchen would also flood from the roof, this would go through the kitchen cupboard, making it's way to the floor. The food would then need to be throw out. There were water marks behind the stove and the wall began to blister. The basement would have a musty smell after it would flood, eventually the lingering smell remained. The washing machine was not working properly, causing me to due laundry at the laundromat or wash the clothing anywhere from 2-4 times, soaking them first. The first repairman that came to look at the machine, came without tools, and told me that I needed to be using hotter water and higher level of water. He did nothing to figure out the issue. The second time he arrived, was also pretty much a waste of time. By the third complaint, I received a new machine, in the meantime, I was putting out extra costs for my utility bills, laundry supplies and laundromat fees. We have caught 2 rats on our own. The gutters desperately needed cleaning, as we had a waterfall at our front door, this took a couple of requests before this taken care of. One of my neighbours told me it took her almost 4 years before anything was done with her requests for repairs. I didn't want to have a fire in our wood burning fireplace, as there are so many trees, and had to request the trees be trimmed enough to be able to have a fire. The bathroom leaked down into the basement. The bathroom lights would sometimes turn on other times not, sometimes you could turn on the fan light and then the light would come on, I was told there was nothing that could be done about that. When you turn on/off the main bathroom light, our computer, on the other side of the house would make a noise, We had decided that we would remain living in the house, deal with the issues, keep on putting in requests for repairs for a few more months, only to wind up getting an eviction notice. Nacel Properties, is certainly just looking to add to their bank accounts, they are not their for their tenants. Now I understand the comment from one of our neighbours, when they told me that they were having a difficult time keeping tenants...

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Graveley1436
Vancouver, CA
Sep 23, 2011 1:54 am EDT
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Ijustneed... Definitely re-think and don't do it! You only have to put Nacel into google to find it all.

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Ijustneedanaffordablerentalsuite
, US
Sep 22, 2011 10:29 pm EDT

My roomate and I are about to apply for a rental suite that manges by Nacel Properties. It's a brand new building in Richmond. After seeing all these comments... We really have to "re-think" about this... Thanks for all your comments.

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Graveley1436
Vancouver, CA
Sep 21, 2011 5:30 pm EDT
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Don't walk, run to your next tenancy! The more people that move out of these buildings, the more likely this company might change something. If you see "prospective" tenants at the door, warn them, put notices on community websites/facebook pages, craigslist, anywhere you can!
Here is the link to the Nacel Properties facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/5797690764/

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Susievee
Coquit, CA
Sep 16, 2011 1:58 am EDT

Nuisance, cockroaches and mice, etc. and quiet enjoyment laws, ( dogs barking when dogs are not even allowed) are all being breached. We have cockroaches and are breaking our one year lease. Our contract has been breached we can't even put anything in our cupboards, ridiculous, been here four week and am out of here.

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Susievee
Coquit, CA
Sep 16, 2011 1:54 am EDT

Take Nacel to small claims court. You can sue because your quiet enjoyment was ruined. You paid good rent money to enjoy your patio only to wake up and find it demolisihed. Whatever you paid for something you didn't get.

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westendguy
Vancouver, CA
Jul 15, 2011 4:47 am EDT

I moved in to 250 East 15th street< North Vancouver. On April 1st 2011 an d Moving out July 30th 2011. The landlord never ask me about my past history or gredit history, and when I ask if and when I could sign the rental agreement he keep putting it off, so I said F*ck it. I tried for 2 months to sign the agreement, thank god I never did thats why I can move so soon, Because as soon Nacel cash my first rental chegue, the apt whent to a monthly agreement. When I came to look at this apt the landlord said he would paint and clean the carpets. They had a month to paint and clean the carpets, and the day I was moving in the painters where still painting and the carpets where not clean and never where. the upstairs nieghbour is so loud and crazy, he is allways screaming to him self and plays his stero and TV very loud and when I ask him to lower his music he told me to go F*ck myself, and when I complained to the manager he said what do you want me to do about it. And the nieghbours on each side of me are very loud allso and I can hear everything they are talking about through the walls, I can even hear them on there phone calls. I will NEVER RENT FROM NACEL AGAIN... And i will get my damage deposit back on way or the other. So you people thinking of renting from Nacel, Please turn around and RUN as fast as you can.

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Monica2012
Calgary, CA
May 21, 2011 4:26 am EDT

Isabelle smarty pants - bad advise he will lose 50 bucks because the rtb will give a time frame to remove the materials and if not removed then they will pay...or if he is lucky might get 20 bucks ...you didn`t learn the lesson the riches are always the winners and we are the losers. wake up girl one thousand in our packet means big money but for the riches means 10 cents

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Isabelle T
Surrey, CA
Apr 14, 2011 9:24 pm EDT

Greg you need to contact the RTO and send the manager a letter, if they are going to tie up your space that you pay rent on and can't use then they could be told to reduce your rent for the time the space is being used as a deposit for building materials.

www.rto.gov.bc.ca

Isabelle T

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Greg N
, CA
Feb 10, 2011 6:02 pm EST

Nacel properties decided to take over and destroy the garden in my garden suite without any notice whatsoever. I was woken up at 8am to construction guys jumping over my fence, moving all of my outdoor furniture and other possessions around and loading in supplies to fix the balcony above mine. After several attempts I finally got ahold of a manager, who would not get any answer for me as to what was going on. Since then, they have continued to jump over my fence and start working as they please, randomly around twice a week, without warning and waking me up early. All of my plants in my garden beds have been trampled and killed. In addition, my outdoor furniture has been propped up against my sliding door, preventing me from using the space if I even wanted to. Ive tried to get answers out of them, but still no answers. Just a construction site for a garden suite that I pay a premium for.

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Dora22
, CA
Feb 09, 2011 6:20 pm EST

I moved into my apartment with my boyfriend in May 2010 and moved out December 2010. During this time I had no idea what kind of problems I would encounter because of my decision to rent from this company. The first problem I noticed was that the sliding glass door on the main floor would not close and lock properly. So I arranged to get it fixed with help of my friends. The floor in the kitchen was supposed to be replaced because the floor boards had not being properly installed and moved underneath my feet producing huge gaps. Needless to say I got a bruise from falling after slipping on them. However, this was just the beginning.

After a month, I started noticing a severe allergic reaction all over my body and realized that we had moved into a place that had bedbugs. I also started seeing cockroaches in my dishwasher that had a broken seal and carpet beetles crawling all over the place. We complained to management and they told us to deal with it ourselves. That was until the current management stole all the cash from the office and quit that month. We had a new landlord who managed to spray our apartment and I threw everything we owned away, mattresses, couches, clothes, books everything. That's when we discovered the mice. They had chewed a hole in the wall in our bedroom and had been living there for a while now. So we sent letters to the landlord and finally someone came to patch the one hole. No further checkups or search for other holes were made.

During this time our neighbors upstairs decided to introduce themselves in strange ways by forgetting to turn off the bath and flooded our bathroom, throwing their still lit cigarettes onto our balcony, and throwing wild parties then tossing the trash onto our deck below.

Did I mention the bum that broke into the building and tried to set a fire in the boiler room below our apartment? That incident made me decide to move that day. So we wrote a letter of our intentions of moving and left it at the office that morning. We went out for the day and came back to find a notice on our door stating that we didn't pay them two months of rent and we have ten days to get out. So we went to the tenancy board.

During the judicial hearing the nacel manager said that we didn't owe any rent and never had an issue with us paying our rent late. The Tenancy Board judge asked her why we were even here? I told her that I wanted partial rent back from living in an untreated apartment for two months. When the nacel manager was asked why our place didn't receive a second spraying and proper maintenance the manager said she was waiting to do all necessary sprayings and repairs after we moved out. (wait didn't we move into our apartment where necessary repairs hadn't been made?) We were awarded money in our favor and tried to collect in January. We still have yet to receive the money awarded to us by the tenancy board.

Nacel Properties is playing a dangerous dirty game. They are not there to provide you with a place to live but they are there to make money. They avoid the law by making false promises and putting other peoples health at risk. If you try to be reasonable they will be even more unreasonable. If you are making a fuss they will make false claims to cost you money and get you out of the picture. This is a warning to stay away from Nacel and protect yourself and the ones you love.

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TonyLoz
, CA
Jan 22, 2011 1:58 am EST

Attn: AmandaRAC
My name is Tony - I am Chelsea Park-Court Manager. May I request You to give me a call to set up inspection to identify "things do not work in the suites" if You're living here of course. NB: Re. "Cleaning Lady" she is not smoking "weed". It is the aroma sticks she is periodically using. And if You do not really distinguish between "weed" and other "smell" please do not write such comments!

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AmandaRAC
Pitt Meadows, CA
Dec 21, 2010 3:07 am EST

Pitt Meadows Chelsea Apartments are a HELL HOLE. The "Cleaning Lady" gets her rent free and she smoke weed and her apartment ALWAYS STINKS! It is just grouse in here. Stinks all the time, stained carpets, holes in the ceilings, things do not work in the suites. Not worth the time or money living here. BEWARE OF CHELSEA APARTMENTS IN PITT MEADOWS

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nacelpropertiestenant
Vancouver, CA
Dec 15, 2010 2:50 am EST
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Just moved into an apartment building run by Nacel Properties on East 6th in Vancouver, BC, Canada on December 1st 2010.
Problems:
Cockroaches - Lots and lots and lots
Floods x2 - Water flushing through bathroom light fixture from people above me (there toilet is broken too)
Electricity Issues - No hairdryer still. Flickering lights.
Security Issues - Front Door lock has been broken for 4 weeks prior to moving in, but the landlords sneakily distracted me from that issue. All the doors within the building look as if they'd had break in attempts (Jimmy Scratches) Mail Boxes busted, Laundry Stolen notes
The building managers do not answer their phones and have a worst on site repair guys working for them.
It's Dec 14th and I found myself at the Tenancy Board in Burnaby. They left Nacel some voice mail messages ensuring that they are breaking more than 3 different acts just about the front door security issue.
I had the opportunity to hear from other tenants that the building that they are very unhappy living there and do not feel secure and safe at night as there has been many break ins.

I'm out after my lease is up. What a F***** waste of $900.00/month
I look forward to sending this letter to as many people and media sources as I can.
Did I mention that this place has the worst hallways ever!

http://www.aptrentals.net/vancouverfiles/acacia.shtml

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Naceltenantnomore
, CA
Dec 03, 2010 9:19 pm EST
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The owner of Nacel is a slumlord plain & simple, and the condition of the buildings he runs are deplorable. I had a break in my unit & waited six months for the window to be fixed. They are were going to install security bars, but to no avail. Disgusting management & I am working with a friend at the Georgia Straight to have an expose done on them. They deserve to be outed for their shoddy & borderline criminal management "style". A truly vile operation & a stain on the face of Vancouver. I am taking my $1000 per month adding another 300 & moving to a nice place in Kits.

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annoyed1222
vancouver, CA
Nov 25, 2010 7:51 pm EST

NACEL PROPERTIES HAS THE WORST PROPERTY MANAGERS I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH. We've had a crack addict for a property manager who would knock on our door asking for drug money at all hours of the day... that lasted 1 year (thank God Nacel is on top of their employees). We have had dirty moldy carpets (seems to be a recurring problem according to the posts above) and my neighbor cut her carpet out herself because she couldnt deal with the mold smell anymore, she said she didnt even need tools, that she just ripped them out with her hands and they practically disintegrated as she went along, which they refuse to replace/clean.
We have had water leaks in the front door.
We have had bad bathroom mold which they didnt do much other than repaint over it (I am sure that my asthmatic lungs will feel better now that you painted over the mold and that the mold will not come back)... they said it's not in the building code to have a fan in the bathroom and therefore why we have mold... funny, you'd think it would be more economical to put a fan and save your walls than have to completely rebuild your walls and bathroom because they are rotting with mold. Neighbors smoking pot, having loud partied, fighting outside our appartment are a recurring problem. Racoons and rats are another problem.
Cutting hot water without any notice is always a good one... I love going to work in the AM without taking a shower.. or getting into a fridgid shower in the AM.
I also love getting notices that I owe money without knowing why, and without explanation... sure let me just throw money at you without knowing why... and when I ask why and to call me, I never hear from them again.
I LOVE NEVER GETTING A CALL BACK FROM ANYONE IN THE MANAGEMENT. I must've asked them to call me back at least 30 times... never did anyone call me back.
the poor maintenance guy is pretty much going insane handling all the complaints, but he is not being backed up by the managers.
My roommate even slashed his elbow on the BROKEN soap holder which we asked Nacel to repair many times and never did... 4 stiches in his arm, you'd think we'd get a phone call... not a chance.
Laundry machine was broken for months, they would not replace it until I showed up with oil stained clothes. I was not even offered a sorry letter for the clothing I had lost due to the damages.
Then we were without a laundry machine for about 2 weeks, and the property manager would have me go into suites where no tennants lived to do my laundry... until the day I walked in the suite which she gave me the key for and noticed there were luggages and stuff in it. VERY SAFE FOR THE NEW TENNANTS... welcome home, people are doing their laundry in your suite and can go through your stuff while you're not there (I didnt, obviously and gave her back the key).
Right now, it is below 0 degrees and apparently the heating is at the max. It may be 12 degrees in the house. Maintenance say the heating is at the max... cant no anything.
NACEL PROPERTIES LTD IS THE WORST PROPERTY MANAGERS I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH
DO NOT RENT FROM THEM.
they are too painful and ridiculous and disrespectful to deal with.

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Dixie1lou
Maple Ridge, CA
Sep 02, 2010 9:10 pm EDT

I also have rented from Nacel Properties...Chelsea Apartments in Pitt Meadows. I thought the place seemed decent when I 1st checked it out except for like others have mentioned...like dirty stained carpets...my bedroom smelled like dog urine...I only lived there for 2 1/2 months to be exact. I broke my lease and agreed with the previous building manager that my damage deposit would be kept...I moved to move into a low income housing development being a single mother and on a disability due to a car accident. I never even unpacked or hung anything on the walls...I only unpacked what I needed for me and my daughter. The building manager quit just before I moved out...Now the "PROPERTY MANAGER" is taking me to court for over $1100 in repairs needed to the suite...She is claiming paint..which like I said never hung anything...to a dining room light fixture...which worked fine...to the carpets being ruined which they were probably as old as the building...and I even shampooed them with my mother's Bissel and they came cleaner than when I moved in...The "Property Witch" I will call her took pictures and is blaming me...SHE said she seen the suite before I moved in...and it was not in the state before me...I'm extremely pissed off and very disgusted! I think a LAW SUITE against them is definitly called for! I would appreciate it if anyone who thinks they may be able to help and help back me up against these people to please contact me via email dixie1lou@hotmail.com. There was also with a problem with the neighbors smoking weed...I generally don't care what other people do but it was coming through my babies bedroom window and under the front door from the hallways which always stunk! The Property Which did nothing about it and the neighbor said he had a licence to smoke it?! Nice to know these people care about children! These are just some of the issues I experience...there are many more...but if anyone out there think they may be of any help or if we can all work together that would be great! Again please contact me via the email address above.

Thanks :0)

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Maggie20100000
Toronto, CA
Jul 09, 2010 11:37 am EDT

I lived in an Nacel building and would never rent from them in the future and based on my experience I would advise no one to rent from them.

I lived at 2145 York and I do not share the opinion that the manager is just trying to do her job. She and her husband look after several buildings for Nacel.

The manager would rent to anyone who was breathing. She never dealt with complaints. She didn't appreciate good tenants and I do not feel sorry for her.

The amount of times she said things would be fixed and then nothing happened were limitless.

I think a class action lawsuite against Nacel is warranted.

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vanbarman
, CA
Jun 11, 2010 12:23 pm EDT
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I also live in 2145 York, a Nacel property. While this apartment has great location, that is basically all it can boast. I fell in love with the apartment at first, but now that I have seen the 'guts' of the place, I'm ready to slap Nacel in the face.

The patio construction Maria refers to scott2145, has been going on since LAST YEAR. May 01/2009 to be exact. These monkeys come here whenever they feel like it, sometimes 5 days a week, sometimes none. They do not give any warning that they will be arriving, and at 8am stand outside and talk very loudly, swearing and telling stories about how loaded they got the night before.

You can hear them from down the block and they've been asked before to stop swearing as there are many children in the building and neighbourhood, but still, the unintelligent foul-ness wears on.

I also asked for a rental decrease for the pain and trauma of having these dudes on my balcony for two months in June/July. Maria said "oh, no...they won't do it. not a chance"

Not to mention the work they've done on the balcony resembles that of a first time wood-working student in grade 5. My deck now has an off-coloured railing, that is not even the same colour as the other wood. It has not been stained, weather treated or painted. LoL. It does have some nice cream coloured paint streaks on it though. Real nice.

My unit is on the 3rd floor and there is nobody above us, so that is where the construction monkeys keep all their building supplies and it's so nice to have them stomping around and tossing heavy wood and equipment on the roof. It sounds like they're going to break through my ceiling at any given time.

I asked the monkeys when they'd be done on June 5th, 2010 after more than a year to repair 20 small balconies...they said the original job was slated for ten days. IT'S BEEN A FRIGGIN' YEAR. The material on the balconies was so rotten that they had to completely re-do most of them (minus the painting, staining, treating of course...so not COMPLETELY). Some people are now more afraid to stand on their balconies since they've been "fixed" because the work is so shoddy.

They also leave every door in the building open during the day, the front/back/2 side doors/and underground parking gate. Anyone can walk in at any time...really secure.

Ok, that part is done, now you can read about how our ten year old carpets, left horribly stained by the previous tenants haven't been replaced or even cleaned since I moved in two years ago.

I asked for the carpets to be cleaned as they are gross, discoloured, and stained. My roommate has lived there a year longer than myself, and he said the carpets weren't cleaned before he moved in.

So our carpets have not been cleaned from tenant to tenant. Would Nacel pay for ME to go hire a carpet cleaner on my own time? NO!

To enjoy a room that doesn't smell like the pirates-of-the-caribbean ride in disneyland (musty and stinky), I had to either pay out of pocket for a cleaning service, or rent a Do-it-Yourself machine...Amazing.

And lastly, last summer the parking gate key slot had been tampered with to the point it was falling off the wall. In one week there were 3 break-ins in the underground parking garage...it took over a month to fix this problem and add extra lighting.

I have never dealt with a company so ignorant and pompous to their tenants. I feel bad for Maria because she is a nice person who has to channel the idiocy of her superiors. She hates doing it. But her hands are truly tied because she's just a puppet in Nacel's game. She could ask and ask and ask for new carpets, repairs, etc. but they will NEVER say yes.

Nacel...two thumbs down. I hope someday you have to experience this kind of poor humanity. What goes around comes around.

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scott2145
Vancouver, CA
May 25, 2010 10:20 pm EDT
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I moved into 2145 york ave in Kitsilano on April 15 2010. When doing the walk through it looked like a normal cozzy apartment. After we moved in we soon learnd that only half of the apartments electrical worked and when I asked the Landlord Maria she told me she had forgot to tell me and would not be fixing it. May 10th rolled around and we woke up to our patio being renoed with out being warned and our garden that we had put had time and money into was destroyed. When we asked Maria the Landlord why we were not informed there would be costruction of our patio, she told us that she had forgot and told us that the construction would last 2-3 months for all the front patios. It has disrupted our sleep and takin away the use of our patio for the summer months. When I asked maria for a rent reduction due to the false pertenses thast we signed the lease under, she told me it was not her problem and that there was nothing she could do. I am ready to stap and need help, what should I do?

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Mirza Celo
Vancouver, CA
Apr 27, 2010 5:14 pm EDT

I have lived in a building owned and managed by Nacel Properties in the past and despite my better judgemen decided to move in to a town house complex owned by Nacel. One of the main reasons for doing so is that the complex is full of famillies with children and being a father of two that meant alot to me. It was apperent that Nacel was desperate for rentals shortly after we moved in because the rented out the suite next to me to 3 people sharing rent and that right away means they are not a fammily. A week after they moved in POLICE stormed the place in search of a car thief residing on the premisses. That was today April 27 2010.

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Nacel
Surrey, CA
Feb 22, 2010 2:58 pm EST

I have had a horrible experience with renting for Nacel Properties as well. I moved into their apartments almost 1 year ago. I had not heard the bad reputation they had until after I moved in. Before even going to look at the apartments, I emailed them (from their link on Craigslist) to ask if they had a problem with people smoking pot as I am severely allergic to it and get sick just from the smell of it. I had to be taken out of my apartment in Victoria by my landlord one time when my neighbors decided to hot box one time. They were promptly evicted.

I recevied an email saying it was not an issue. I looked at the apartment and it was nice as it had just had brand new carpet installed and a brand new fridge and a paint job. Also, the Craigslist ad and the actual website for Shannon Gardens states no pets allowed.

I moved in with my teenage daughter and at first things were okay. Then, low and behold, we say our neighbors leaving one day with a gigantic dog? Very nice neighbors but I was surprised to see that they had a dog. As it turns out, more tenants have dogs than don't have dogs. Go figure. And since I have moved in, almost 1 year ago, many, many new tenants have moved in with a dog, or more than one dog.

On top of this, there was a huge issue with pot smoking in the building. Someone of the first floor smoked pot every single day of the week. You could smell it as soon as you came in the main door to the building and the laundry room is right at the entrance as well. It reeked 24/7. I was not able to do laundry or use the front door so always had to leave through the underground by taking the elevator from the third floor down to the underground. To check my mail I have to wear a scarf over my mouth as the mailboxes are also on the main floor at the entrance.

I complained and complained and complained but to no avail. I was told they can't regulate people smoking pot.

Not too long after we moved in, we realized that we had mice in our unit. I freaked. I spoke to the cleaning lady and asked her if they had issues with mic in the past and she told me they they did and that I needed to go to the office to request steel wool to plug the holes around the pipes (hot water heating pipes). I went to the office and was told they were out of steel wool but was given some mouse sticky traps. These did not work at all and I woke up one night to a noise and turned on my lamp to see a mouse on the floor by my bed. I freaked out and the next day went to the office and told them this needed to be addressed immediately. I was told that they were working on filling in the holes and would get to my unit. They never did. I ended up taking teatowels and stuffing them in all the holes myself.

I ended up moving to another unit; a bigger unit as I needed more space. I moved in in February and moved to the bigger unit in July. Upon moving to this unit I was told they would replace the linolium in the washroom as the until had new carpet as well and the linolium was ancient. I was told it would be replaced before I moved in. I got my keys and upon entering the unit, saw that the linolium had not been replaced at all.

The person who lives below me had two dogs and they are on the patio barking all day. I spoke to him about it and he just looked at me, said nothing, and continued to let them bark; all day long. I tape recorded it. I will be playing that in court to give Nacel and the judge an idea of what a rucus this is. Barking, for hours on end. And howling.

My neighbors play their music so loud my picture fell off the wall. I had phoned to complain several times late at night, on week nights, because my walls were vibrating, my floor was vibrating, and we could hear the music and the pounding all the way to the opposite end of our apartment. Nothing was done at all.

Finally one day, (the music is all hours; moring, noon, night), I had enough and called the landlord and told him that he can either come deal with it or I was calling the police. He finally talked to them. So now, rather than blaring their music, they put their speakers up to my wall and play it just loud enough that all I hear all day long is a vibration.

Tenants (including my neighbors), do not even keep their dogs on a leash. They walk up and down the hallways, in the elevator, with their dogs running loose. One day my teenage daughter was coming up the elevator and a tenant got on with his dogs and his one dog was going to the bathroom in the elevator (and not urinating).

We have a pool that we were told about before moving in but have not once used it. We are not given keys, and no one runs it half the time. If you work (as I do), you are ### outta luck. Now they have a sign in the elevator that if you want to use the pool at night (between some hours) you have to go to a different building, buzz some random guy, he'll come get you to sign in, then he'll let you in the pool.

In their ads they boast about it being a parklike setting but all the dogs use it for their bathroom. You wouldn't want to actually sit on the grass or let your child run around on it.

I went to the office today as someone on my floor is smoking pot, and I also wanted to complain about this dog barking all weekend long, and I asked if they have an actual list of rules or are there really no rules at all. I let them know that tons of people moved in here since I did and that they moved in with dogs but yet their website specifically states no pets allowed. I asked if this was the case or not. I was told that if they found out who it was they would gibve them a notice to either move or get rid of their pet. It doesn't take a brain rocket scientist to see who has the pets. They are outside walking them and taking them to the bathroom all the time. I love animals, but the ad states no pets, so you gotta think that it actually means, no pets.

We live in a three building complex so there's always a dog barking or crapping somewhere. I've had two different dogs, owened by two different tenants, leap at me in the hallway because they were not on a leash.

This is my experience with Nacal Properties. But I am not going to simply settle for walking away. I'm going to court. They will pay for my move. MY ADVICE: take pictures, tape record dogs barking, video tape dogs crapping, not on leases, and have the media visit you at your unit and walk them through the buidling to smell the pot themselves. And print off the website where it states no pets allowed. They will pay for my move simply because their website states this and when my lawyer requests the list of all he tenants who have moved in since I did, we will be able to prove many people moved im after me with a dog or dogs.

What a rucus.

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Alice Tahity
Vancouver, CA
Dec 16, 2009 8:18 pm EST

I used to manage more than Nacel buildings - and all the buildings are the same - builders use cheap materials to make big profits, after that a company is buying the building and deal with leaking buildings. There are buildings around which are not making any profits for the owners. I tought I should let you know about the real tragedy about buildings - crap material used by the builder, and the new owners trying to solve the problems... most of the buildings that I know have tanants which don't pay the rent as much as over $10 000
per month . You get the picture there are no money to fix it because some of you make a free living.
Also price for buildings materials increased by 4 times in the last 10 years, the electricty went up, the water bill too, the elevatoor maintenance too, the fee to city went up...I wish you will get a building one day to see all the crap you will get financially, repairs and tenants...
Merry Christmas to you all and enjoy the winter season
Love is the key to all your problems

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Flood Tech
Lower mainland, CA
Jun 09, 2009 1:20 pm EDT

I am a flood tech for a restoration company and I also rent from Nacel. Companies like Nacel have to have structure insurance, therefore it is up to them to contact their insurance adjuster to get the ball rolling per say. But they probably don’t want to pay the deductible and have their premiums increase. I am sure if this happened where they eat, sleep and live, they wouldn’t have a problem seeking professional help immediately.

If the toilet was the cause of the flooding, it is up to Nacel to repair any damage, for it is structure. Whereas it was a toilet flood, this is considered "black water" and can be very toxic. If they did not put the proper equipment in the unit, such as blowers and dehumidifiers, chances are there is a great deal of wood rot and black mold occurring which can cause several health problems.

I would strongly suggest taking many photos of the damage and document everything with the date and time. Weather is a phone call or talking in person to the resident manager, document everything! I would also go to my family doctor for a check up at the beginning of the flood, get your doctor to do blood work to make sure you are healthy. By doing this, if the damage, especially from an untreated flood caused you health problems you can prove it from your doctor’s records. If your health begins to fall short, you can then prove it and hold Nacel accountable.

I was in this situation years ago, I lived in a basement suit (not Nacel) which at that time I had no knowledge that it use to be a sauna. After about a month of living there, I thought I was getting the flu. I went to my doctor and was told it was viral. This “viral flu” went on for another month. I went back repeatedly and I am not one to go to the doctor; finally he tired putting me on antibiotics, which didn’t work. After six months of trying to figure out what was going on with me, he sent me for extensive blood work. The results showed that I had black mold in my blood, which caused an H-pylori infection in my stomach and was eating my stomach lining. I moved immediately and was on 8 antibiotics a day for 2 months. Every 3 months I had to do back for blood work and it took 2 years for the black mold to be cleaned out of my blood. This and whereas I now work for a restoration company I know just how very serious untreated floods causing black mold can be.

Helpful hint: Remember it is your responsibility of have content insurance. I strongly suggest that if you have replacement content insurance, that you double or triple the replacement values. Many people insure their contents and don’t think of the whole picture. If your contents are worth say $30, 000 to replace, then get insured for $70, 000 or more. Although the structure is up to the owner to insure, but if you accidentally leave the bath running and have a flood cause by you, then the owner can make you pay for it. This can get very costly, by the time you have a restoration company come in, pack up all your contents, take your contents to a warehouse to be processed, get blowers and dehumidifiers in, then you have all the trades people, from carpet guys, drywalls, painters, and cleaners, your initial $30, 000 content insurance wont be enough to cover everything. That’s not even including if you can’t remain at your home and the insurance company has to find you a temporary residence until your home is being repaired. I hope this information helps, I see people everyday that do not have enough coverage and its very devastating with disaster occurs.

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mabas1965
Maple Ridge, CA
May 05, 2009 6:40 pm EDT

I had a maintenance problems with Nacel Properties too, it was a problem with mice invasion in the townhouse, they did not deal with it professionally, I moved out then.

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Ezrea
Coquitlam, CA
Feb 13, 2009 9:44 pm EST

I have had problems with Nacel as well. When we moved in to our unit, the second day we were here we noticed a horrible smell of sewage coming from our main bathroom which was making our bedrooms, and clothes smell of sewage. Especially the master bedroom which has a door going from the bedroom to the bathroom. We asked SEVERAL times for someone to come and take a look at the problem. After 2 MONTHS of requesting this our resident manager finally came and took a look and told us it smells because we need to empty our garbage and then handed us a glade plugin. (for the record I change my garbage and clean my bathroom very regularly) Long story short, we fought with her for another 2 months and when a plumber came in to investigate they told us it might be a dead rodent under our cabinets but further investigation was needed. It was never done.

We are also blamed for a crack in the outside pane of the window which we noticed soon after our walk through when we first moved in, and requested that that be added to the walk through. which again was never done. (I should have made sure it was)

The list goes on for other issues that we are having or have had. I can honestly say I have never ever had so much trouble with getting problems looked after. Trying to get a call back or someone to pick up a phone from their head office is impossible. But they expect their tentants to hold up their end and without complaint. I would not recommend renting from Nacel.

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Sharon
Vancouver, CA
Feb 05, 2009 11:02 pm EST

I rented from them twice as well. First time wasn't too bad - I had just moved here from Ontario and had not heard about them yet! Second time was around 2002/2003. Long story short. . . .as soon as my lease was up I gave notice and moved out. There were cockroaches, drunks sleeping in the stairwell, broken storage lockers that were eventually trashed and property stolen. The building managers tried to get me to sign over my security deposit for "painting, carpet cleaning, drapery cleaning plus supplies". I'd heard about this tactic from previous tenants and refused. They took me to arbitration where they lost immediately. They were ordered to return my deposit - which they didn't. I filed a small claims action against them and when I asked that Norman Cressey, the owner, show up in court and produce his tax records from the past 5 years and his list of assets over the past five years (which I was legally allowed to do!), I suddenly got my deposit cheque in the mail. They're all hot air. They intimidate tenants and steal their money. It's the people who stand up to them and take them to court - and 9 times out of 10 win their case - that they're afraid of. The building managers are all idiots and that's who they count on to do their dirty work. Nacel should be shut down. They have no business renting their slums to decent people. And by the way, at the time this was going on, Norman Cressey was living the high life in his $18 million dollar compound in West Vancouver!

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Zoey
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Dec 04, 2008 5:42 pm EST

Although this is one of the worse case scenarios I've heard about, Nacel has had a bad reputation for as long as I can remember. I rented from them twice in the 1990s. The first time wasn't to bad, since I didn't have any maintenance issues to deal with. However, the screening process of tenants was non-existent. The second building wasn't much better, and several of the tenants there had maintenance issues that often went without being dealt with. The company is pretty bad for withholding deposits when you move out.