COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Buckets under leaks, damaged clothes and furniture, no running water and flooded apartments -- Beacon Ridge Apartment renters said they're beyond frustrated after 10 days of living in these conditions.
Donald Pickard says it all started on Christmas Eve.
"It frustrates me," he said. "Mentally as well as physically because I have heart disease. My wife has severe asthma. We are on medication and I’m on a CPAP machine and I am not able to clean my machine properly. I have no water and it flooded and humidity, change of weather has really affected my wife."
Pickard said living this way is making matters worse for his heart disease and his wife's asthma.
"My wife’s side of her ribs – her ribs are swollen right now. I’m in pain. I’m taking strong medication -- I have no choice. My daughter is in pain from lifting the buckets up these steps and up the other steps," he said.
For 10 days, he's relied on mops to keep water out and buckets to bring drinkable water in.
"Everything is soaking wet: my winter jackets, my shoes, everything. My laptop – my daughter accidentally left it down there, she didn’t realize it and that’s destroyed. It’s just really frustrating because I’m home from work at 1 in the morning and I come home to this," Pickard said.
Pickard said he’s emailed the management office three times a day since walking into a flooded apartment and says he could not get a response in person, either.
He said they won't even tell him where the water is coming from.
“The manager was here and he told me, 'What do you want me to do? Other people in Georgia have this issue.' But other people in Georgia are not paying them rent," he said.
For two days, 11Alive tried reaching the office multiple times through phone calls, leaving voicemails, emails, and even Facebook messages.
Just before 4 p.m. Tuesday, management responded to say they have contractors on-site working on repairs, but could not specify which units they are servicing or when all repairs may be completed.
“These things happen," Pickard said. "I understand that. But this? No water. My neighbors bringing water for me to bathe and flush my toilets?”
Pickard's rent is due Wednesday. He says he will still be paying on time, but also plans on finding professional help to deal with these issues.