McBride Construction and Illegal Immigrants

The troubles with McBride Construction began with the hiring of a crew of illegal immigrants, which barely spoke English and caused damage to personal property due to gross negligence. Hiring illegals isn't something I truly care about, so long as they are able to communicate with their customers and do the job properly.

However that was merely the beginning of the problems with McBride, betraying a problem with Seattle in general. The biggest problem is their lack of communication and an inability to stick to a schedule.

I was informed that my apartment would be ready on a specific date, that day is today and McBride is nowhere to be found to verify this. Aside from the fact that their hired help have been nothing but destructive, the people in higher positions there are now nowhere to be found.

Seeing as how they refuse to comment, it is safe to say that they are simply being irresponsible. Likely off on a golf trip or some other self indulgence while they should be at work earning their huge salaries.

During their mini-vacations people remain homeless, without access to basic necessities, and without any word as to when they can return to their lives. This is what corporate America is, and to deny that my experience is the standard is to deny the nose on one's face.

When I discover what precisely is going on, I will release a video explaining it in more detail. Whether the video is a reveal of great work done by McBride or an example of their incompetence, time will tell.

The Real Problem With Housing

So I live in subsidized housing, I have been in this one apartment for over a decade now. I pay my rent on time every month, I never complain about anything, and I maintained the apartment in perfect working order.

If this was a regular apartment building I would have had no problem getting the repairs done when a neighbor above me flooded the apartments below him. But this is not a regular building, it's subsidized by Seattle Housing Authority.

So how does that change things? It changes a lot of things. For one, housing authorities actually reward building owners of subsidized housing for cutting corners and ignoring resident complaints.

This resulted in the whirlwind of events that have happened recently. First they delayed repairs for 5 months, leaving me with no kitchen and no closet during that time. This means microwave food only, except for the few times I could afford to eat at a restaurant. Around here the restaurants are expensive.

Then when they finally get the repair crew in here, they actually hire some contractor who is unlisted. Their electrician's license is registered at an apartment over in eastern Seattle, http://www.towncontractors.com/shanco-restoration-services-electricians-seattle-wa and no contact information is offered.

So the one hanging the drywall was screwing things in and suddenly the main circuit breaker was tripped. I investigated and said that something shorted out the wiring, and reset the breaker to see because it also effected the lights. Then he went right back to work.

No hesitation, no calling for an electrician, he just went back to work and shorted it out again. This time it damaged my computer and he laughed about that. They rarely spoke English during this whole process, and were obviously joking around about it all.

Ultimately I finally got it through their thick skulls to call the electrician. The next week the electrician showed up and we discovered that the only way it could have been tripped was if the drywall hanger was messing with some wires that were exposed because they powered the oven's vent.

So he was either a complete moron and unqualified or did it on purpose. Neither bodes well for them, or the city in general. For the last 6 months I have been very tolerant of the situation, but now with the housing authority threatening to cut their funding I'm very angry.

Rhodey (my youngest cat) now suffers PTSD because of the cleanup, those high powered fans running and strange people coming into the apartment have scared him almost to death. Every time someone knocks or even walks too close our front door he freaks out, scared.

My health is declining in general, and I find my violent tendencies to be resurfacing. Luckily I am only violent toward humans.

Microsoft donates large amounts of money to Compass, your tax dollars also fund both Compass and SHA, yet they are both taking that money and doing nothing with it. This is the way of things in Seattle, ironically all the drug addicts get a bunch of free resources and housing.

Which leads me to why it's completely backwards here. The drug addicts cannot be arrested by the cops unless they harm people, they can sit on the sidewalks here and do their drugs while harassing people for money.

Compass gives these addicts free laundry and showers, while the working poor, disabled, and elderly are given the finger instead. Every organization in this city endorses and even encourages this kind of behavior.

So what do we do about it? Nothing. Those of us stuck in this situation can do literally nothing, but you can. You can stop electing morons like Trump into office, you can help out your friends, and you can make sure your friends have what they need.

If you can't trust someone, then don't give them your money, don't give them anything. Most of the money you give to strangers is wasted, the way Compass Housing Alliance is wasting everyone's money, the way Seattle Housing Authority is wasting everyone's money, these are not exceptions to the rule.

Trouble at the Karlstrom

I live in a subsidized housing property, which is in itself not bad most of the time. Lately things are changing for the worse though.

The new manager for the building is a bit of a slumlord, as he has reduced what the maintenance are allowed to repair. For this reason my apartment has been flooded four times, the source being above my apartment.

Each time the maintenance says they "think" they fixed the problem, yet it keeps happening. The business that operates the building, I call them a business because that's how they now operate, is Compass Housing Alliance.

Recently many of the staff there retired, and the replacements for them keep getting less compitent. Now they offer more to the homeless people who use the shelters than they do to those of us who pay rent.

I would normally not care so much, except that I was blamed for the damage caused by the flooding. For this reason I am sending them this letter:

I know you care more about your homeless than those of us who pay rent, however I find you in violation of the lease at this time. The plumbing problem has not been resolved after three complaints; which has resulted in damage to me, my property, and my companion animals. Over $100 of medical supplies have been ruined by this issue now. My male companion animal continues to perceive the encroaching water as a threat and thus sprays that area routinely forcing me to spend $30 a month in cleaning supplies to remove the odor, and when the human has incontinence issues it is difficult to train a cat not to do that. This is now the fourth occurrence of the issue. If this forces me to move apartments Compass Housing Alliance will be responsible for all fees and costs during the transition as well as any costs related to emotional stress, cleaning, and medical supplies lost.

I'm very patient and extremely easy to negotiate with, however this issue has also resulted in the manager threatening to evict me in a way that he can profit. His actions may force me to utilize the legal system, I would prefer to discuss this with his employers and come to a compromise that will not harm anyone who is in need. In short, resolving this matter without a lawsuit would be my preference, however since Compass has eliminated communication channels I may be forced to have my lawyer contact those in charge through the courts.