An advertisement for University of Wisconsin junior Karley Gifford’s apartment might read: “For only $665 a month, you can have your very own molding walls, broken windows, frequent break-ins and pet rodents! (Internet, cable and oven not included.)”
According to the University of Wisconsin Student Tenant Union, the apartment, which is this year’s winner of the organization’s Worst House in Madison Contest, gained its attention right away.
The STU sponsors the competition, which features prizes of gift certificates and a building inspection to raise awareness and put public pressure on landlords to keep up their properties.
Jason Wargolet, a member of the Student Tenant Union, said he was taken aback when he read Gifford’s description of her living situation at the five-unit house at 617 Mendota Court, managed by landlord Patrick Corcoran of Patrick Properties.
“My first reaction was ‘Wow, I feel bad for her,'” Wargolet said. “Her landlord obviously has no concern for her health or safety.”
The junior from Wisconsin Rapids said she couldn’t say what the worst part about living in the apartment building was.
“When I have friends over they just leave beer cans lying around and treat my place like trash,” Gifford said. “I love my friends and cannot get mad because this place is trash.”
Pests are one of her many worries, she said. Gifford, who claims she won’t even touch a spider, is terrified when rodents decide to feast on her food.
“I’ve had to move everything off the counter,” she said. “I’ve learned I can’t keep any food out.”
Another major problem in the kitchen are her appliances: Gifford said she is forced to avoid making meals that require heating up the oven because it is broken.
Gifford’s apartment was also broken into twice in the past week, she said, by an intruder who was able to reach through a broken door pane and unlatch the door. Gifford was not at home on either instance.
“I don’t think he stole anything. He just rearranged a few things,” Gifford said. “But having this happen right after the Doty incident makes me wonder why he was really breaking in,” she added, referring to UW junior Brittany Zimmermann, who was found slain in her home earlier this April.
Gifford said she was unable to contact her landlord about the broken door pane and that he only responded when the police called him.
Wargolet said when the Student Tenant Union called the housing inspectors to set up an appointment for them to confirm that Gifford’s house was in bad shape, they learned that the police had already put in an immediate request for the inspectors to come by.
After Gifford called the cops, she said her landlord sloppily boarded up the door pane with a slab of wood.
Looking back, Gifford admits she did not know what to look for when picking her first apartment but swears she has learned her lesson.
“Next time I am looking for a place to live, I will only rent from a landlord with a good reputation,” Gifford said.
Gifford said she cannot estimate how much time and money she has put into various renovations to her apartment in order to make it somewhat livable. According to Gifford, she had to recruit friends and family to help her clean the place when she moved in.
Despite her efforts, Gifford said there is always something either broken or breaking.
“For a while, I had to shower at friends’ houses because the shower water was so hard and unfiltered that my hair was falling out in clumps,” Gifford said.
Gifford also said she has spent lots of money on hair treatments to try to reverse the damage the water caused.
Gifford cringed when she recalled the two weeks during winter when the front door was continuously getting stuck and she couldn’t get into her home.
“Everyone in the apartment building would just ring each other’s door bells over and over to get in,” Gifford, “That was the worst, because I hate the cold.”
The building inspector who surveyed Gifford’s apartment Tuesday morning gave a long list of improvements that needed to be made by Corcoran. Among the suggestions was new drywall and flooring.
“Patrick was very nice at first,” Gifford said. “He said he would fix all the problems I saw in the apartment.”
But on the first day of her lease, Gifford said, she asked her landlord to replace a small patch of wallpaper by the front door and he refused to do so.
“[Corcoran] does the bare minimum,” Gifford said. “Just enough to get by.”
For winning the contest, Gifford received four gift certificates to Hawk’s Bar & Grill along with the opportunity to expose her landlord’s negligent behavior.
Charles Keycastl, STU member, said the objective of the contest was to highlight some of the serious problems student renters have on campus.
“Although it is limited to one person and one winner, it tells people that there is a problem here on campus that shouldn’t be tolerated,” he said.
Gifford said she hopes sharing her story will keep students from going through what she has been dealing with since her lease began last August.
“What this is really about is that UW students should not be taken advantage of,” Gifford said. “It feels really good to get somewhere with this contest.”
Correction: Due to a reporting error, this article erroneously said Corcoran did not return several phone calls seeking comment. The Herald did not make a sufficient attempt to interview the landlord and verify some of the complaints made by the tenant. We regret the error.
