Despite the fact that most Notre Dame Students live in the dorms, there are a surprising number of off-campus options that seniors (as well as some of the more badass juniors) have to choose from. Some students choose to live at apartment complexes such as Turtle Creek, Clover Ridge, or Castle Point, but many Notre Dame Students that live off-campus choose to live south of campus in the ever-dangerous northeast neighborhood; in houses and apartments that are almost singularly owned by one Mark Kramer.
While Kramer began his student housing empire with houses on streets like Washington and Corby, recent years have seen him take control of student housing complexes such as Lafayette Apartments, Notre Dame Apartments, and East Race Townhomes. Because his empire has become so large, most Notre Dame Students who live off-campus encounter Kramer at one point or another and for those who choose to live in one of his properties, most students love to bitch about his service.
Notre Dame Students bitch about Kramer for any number of things. They bitch about things that are broken in their houses, they bitch when the people who come to fix said things arrive at inopportune times, they bitch because they don’t get their security deposit back, and they bitch because of the manner in which they pay rent. While some of these complaints are valid, for the most part they just amount to Notre Dame Students bitching.
One notorious Kramer act that caused many students to bitch was a rent payment reminder at the end of the first semester. Students are encouraged by Kramer to pay their rent by the semester (even though they know this is not the ideal payment method) and many use this method. Kramer provided these students with the perfect opportunity to bitch when his secretary sent rent payment reminders several days after the payment was due. While this act, which included assessment of late fees, was hardly polite (but also far from unethical), tenants saw it as Kramer being Kramer. Many students bitched about it, and some even refused to pay said late fees.
Have no fear, however, because Kramer will be certain to take everything he can out of the student’s security deposits (namely, everything); because with such a domination of the off-campus housing market, does he really need to worry about bad publicity?
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how has no one commented on this?? i hated that man. he was the slum lord of south bend!! he weaseled every penny from every tenant.
ReplyDeleteRenters beware. Kramer’s whole act is meant to seduce you into believing he’s the true Messiah of rental properties in South Bend. His act starts with an overly decorated office done in Notre Dame memorabilia, ending with his constant references to the mutual love shared by him and his tenants.
ReplyDeleteIn fact his only love is the money and he controls his tenants through intimidation.
He’s not unlike a shady used car salesman. He knows how to dress a place up just enough to disguise the property’s discrepancies. The well water has a foul smell, keep the prospective tenant away from the bathrooms and kitchen. If the septic system is faulty, plant some grass to hid the damage. As for disclosure of obvious flaws, for get it!! Kramer knows by the time those concerns arise it’s too late; you signed the lease.
If you want to see the true Kramer, just complain. First he’ll try to convince you, you’re the only one that ever complained. If that doesn’t work he’ll threaten to sue you. This is his bully side. What the heck he’s dealing with student’s right?
Kramer’s success is not a result of the great care and love he provides his tenants, he’s successful because he owns the majority of South Bend’s rental units. As such he’s advertised the fact he IS the man to see. Perception is a funny thing. What you want the public to perceive can be realized, that's what public relations firms do. After all perception is reality, Right? Not!!
Blah blah blah poor me I trashed my house and the bad landlord made me take responsibility for my actions. Your kidding me right. It's funny that their were only two comments, he must not be that bad of a guy, right. My experience was nothing short of great worth Kramer, in fact three members of my family rented from and also had a great experience. This is the other side of the story.
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