Bend apts. update: Still no hot water after two weeks

Residents at Greenwood Manor Apartments in northeast Bend have been without hot water for two weeks, and after plenty of complaints and lots of frustration, they are still waiting for it to come back on

“We pay our taxes and are in our senior years, and now we can’t even get hot water,” resident Patricia Moran said Thursday.

Most residents of the NE Fourth Street apartments are disabled and elderly, and many have caregivers.

“They can’t take hot showers or hot baths and can’t clean them right. The hygiene is bad,” caregiver Patty Collin said.

Some residents have been trying for weeks to get hold of someone in management, with no success.

“I got a voice mail that I left messages at, or no response or a mailbox full,” Moran said.

Now, many residents are feeling hopeless.

“I’m just frustrated, because nobody can help them,” Collin said.

Moran said,after complaining to management, she took issues into her own hands. She deducted $70 from her rent to make up for the lack of hot water.

“What happened is, they put a 72-hour notice of eviction on my door,” Moran said.

Many residents are scared to speak out, but they are also scared about conditions not improving.

“They’re just mostly frightened. They’re frightened, elderly people,” Moran said.

“Oh yeah, they’re frightened of the repercussions,” Collin said.

But after many complaints, and some residents even hired lawyers, things are finally in motion.

The Portland-based management company, Guardian Management LLC, posted a letter to residents, saying that they will fix the old boiler, but it needs parts, which could take up to five days to get installed.

They also stated, “We are sorry that the owner has put the residents through this situation and we look forward to getting this matter taken care of as soon as possible.”

In the meantime, they are offering to pay for residents’ lodging at a hotel.

But the confusion at Greenwood Manor does not stop there.

“Somebody says they’re going patch it up, somebody says there is going be a new boiler, somebody says there’s going be out-of-state parts,” Moran said.

Residents just want the nightmare to end.

“I am not sleeping,” Moran said. “I am frightened, I can’t sleep.”

There is even some confusion about who owns the apartment building.

The Portland management company gave NewsChannel 21 the name of the owner, but when we called him, he told us he’s not the owner.

On Friday, they told NewsChannel 21 they are working to get hot water going, but they are still waiting on a part needed to repair the boiler. The part was sent out on Friday, and they are hoping it will arrive on Saturday. If not, it won’t be fixed until Monday.

We’ll keep you updated.