Note: On September 1st, 2016, I checked the apartment to make sure it the apartment was clean and in the condition our landlord Lea Papanicolaou turned it over in. I am remaining as objective as possible in this report and only wish to share the actual experiences with Mrs. Papanicolaou. I've rented several apartments in the past and never experienced anything like this before.
In August 2015, after signing a year long lease and handing over $3900 (first, last and security deposit), Lea Papanicolaou handed my roommate and I keys to our apartment on the 2nd floor of 605 Chelmsford Street in Lowell, MA. Mrs. Papanicolaou gave us a receipt for that amount and we moved in. Weeks went by and we received no information on an escrow account in our names for our security deposit, let alone a document stating pre-existing damage in the apt, which are requirements in MA. I made sure the day we moved in to take as many photos as possible of the pre-exiting damages.
Every month, Lea Papanicolaou would hound us both via text and phone call, asking that we pay rent a day or more before it was due. She would use reasons like "i'm going to be away" or "i'm going to be in the area", which was very strange to us as she lives in the next town over. Mrs. Papanicolaou was very difficult to deal with, so we made sure she had her money upon demand, even if it meant giving it to her the day before the 1st of the month. I have screenshots from text requests on 12/30, 01/28 and 04/30.
As time went on, I spoke with Lea Papanicolaou over the phone about the possibility of subleasing my room, as I was spending a lot of time with my partner who lived right down the street from 605 Chelmsford Street. During our first conversation, Lea said over the phone, "I do not care about who's living there, just as long as I get my money." A few months went by and I finally arranged for a friend of mine to sublease my room. Mrs. Papanicolaou and I remained in contact about this and I asked her if there were documents I needed to have this person sign (I have screenshots proving this request), to which she said no. Mrs. Papanicolaou followed up with a phone call where we discussed the "Possibility" of removing me from the lease, but nothing was ever followed up with and I never received any documents for a sublease, let alone anything official about me exiting the lease. I remained on the lease and continued to pay my part of the rent to Lea, as there was no in person or document exchange saying otherwise with Mrs. Papanicolaou.
Dealing with Lea Papanicolaou became more and more difficult, as she claimed to be out of the country a lot so both my roommate and I began searching for apartments for September 1st, 2016, which was when our lease was terminating. At the end of July, a potential landlord for my roommate contacted Lea, requesting information that MA law requires Lea to disclose. According to the new landlord, Lea was very confrontational on the phone and refused to disclose any information regarding our rental to this individual, as if to lock us into staying at 605 Chelmsford St. The new landlord informed my roommate that what Lea was doing was illegal and immediately offered my roommate the apartment. The same night, Lea banged on the door for almost ten minutes straight. My roommate, who suffers from PTSD, was terrified and contacted me. By the time my boyfriend and I could get there, Lea was gone.
Two weeks went by and my roommate reached out to Lea about when to give her the keys and get our security deposit back, to which Lea Papanicolaou informed my roommate that she was out of the country for a few weeks, so we would just have to wait until she got back to complete the process. This was extremely unprofessional as she waited until two weeks until the lease was up to pull off this stunt. This also seemed odd, because of her lack of contact about our deposit.
Finally, towards the end of September 2016, I contacted Lea Papanicolaou about our security deposit after she sent a nasty message to my roommate refusing to turn it over. Mrs. Papanicolaou claimed that the apartment was left a mess (I have photos proving otherwise) and that it took her 6 hours to clean the apartment, which I found strange given that every closet and cabinet was cleaned out and emaculately scrubbed down, as well as the bathroom, bedroom and living, all of which had no furniture left behind. After requesting photos to defend this claim, Mrs. Papanicolaou then changed the story from just 6 hours of cleaning to 6 hours of cleaning and furniture removal for furniture that she claimed was ours, but we had left nothing behind. In fact, it had been over 2 weeks since we had moved out and all of a sudden furniture was left behind? So I requested photos of this as well and she was unable to produce anything.
For days, I messaged Lea Papanicolaou, requesting evidence of damage, furniture that she supposively had to haul, proof of an escrow account with our money in it (security deposit), and a document signed by myself saying that I had exited the lease and she could not produce any of these things! We attempted to negotiate with her, even offering to reimburse her for the 6 hours of cleaning she initially quoted us for and she still refused to turn over our money! Mrs. Papanicolaou then attempted to intimidate me by threatening to sue me for slander (facts are not slander) if I tried to report her and/or leave an online review of our rental experience! I am left no choice but to accept the fact that Lea Papanicolaou has scammed my roommate and I on $1300 and that I must follow through with legal action.
Lea Papanicolaou Reviews
Note: On September 1st, 2016, I checked the apartment to make sure it the apartment was clean and in the condition our landlord Lea Papanicolaou turned it over in. I am remaining as objective as possible in this report and only wish to share the actual experiences with Mrs. Papanicolaou. I've rented several apartments in the past and never experienced anything like this before.
In August 2015, after signing a year long lease and handing over $3900 (first, last and security deposit), Lea Papanicolaou handed my roommate and I keys to our apartment on the 2nd floor of 605 Chelmsford Street in Lowell, MA. Mrs. Papanicolaou gave us a receipt for that amount and we moved in. Weeks went by and we received no information on an escrow account in our names for our security deposit, let alone a document stating pre-existing damage in the apt, which are requirements in MA. I made sure the day we moved in to take as many photos as possible of the pre-exiting damages.
Every month, Lea Papanicolaou would hound us both via text and phone call, asking that we pay rent a day or more before it was due. She would use reasons like "i'm going to be away" or "i'm going to be in the area", which was very strange to us as she lives in the next town over. Mrs. Papanicolaou was very difficult to deal with, so we made sure she had her money upon demand, even if it meant giving it to her the day before the 1st of the month. I have screenshots from text requests on 12/30, 01/28 and 04/30.
As time went on, I spoke with Lea Papanicolaou over the phone about the possibility of subleasing my room, as I was spending a lot of time with my partner who lived right down the street from 605 Chelmsford Street. During our first conversation, Lea said over the phone, "I do not care about who's living there, just as long as I get my money." A few months went by and I finally arranged for a friend of mine to sublease my room. Mrs. Papanicolaou and I remained in contact about this and I asked her if there were documents I needed to have this person sign (I have screenshots proving this request), to which she said no. Mrs. Papanicolaou followed up with a phone call where we discussed the "Possibility" of removing me from the lease, but nothing was ever followed up with and I never received any documents for a sublease, let alone anything official about me exiting the lease. I remained on the lease and continued to pay my part of the rent to Lea, as there was no in person or document exchange saying otherwise with Mrs. Papanicolaou.
Dealing with Lea Papanicolaou became more and more difficult, as she claimed to be out of the country a lot so both my roommate and I began searching for apartments for September 1st, 2016, which was when our lease was terminating. At the end of July, a potential landlord for my roommate contacted Lea, requesting information that MA law requires Lea to disclose. According to the new landlord, Lea was very confrontational on the phone and refused to disclose any information regarding our rental to this individual, as if to lock us into staying at 605 Chelmsford St. The new landlord informed my roommate that what Lea was doing was illegal and immediately offered my roommate the apartment. The same night, Lea banged on the door for almost ten minutes straight. My roommate, who suffers from PTSD, was terrified and contacted me. By the time my boyfriend and I could get there, Lea was gone.
Two weeks went by and my roommate reached out to Lea about when to give her the keys and get our security deposit back, to which Lea Papanicolaou informed my roommate that she was out of the country for a few weeks, so we would just have to wait until she got back to complete the process. This was extremely unprofessional as she waited until two weeks until the lease was up to pull off this stunt. This also seemed odd, because of her lack of contact about our deposit.
Finally, towards the end of September 2016, I contacted Lea Papanicolaou about our security deposit after she sent a nasty message to my roommate refusing to turn it over. Mrs. Papanicolaou claimed that the apartment was left a mess (I have photos proving otherwise) and that it took her 6 hours to clean the apartment, which I found strange given that every closet and cabinet was cleaned out and emaculately scrubbed down, as well as the bathroom, bedroom and living, all of which had no furniture left behind. After requesting photos to defend this claim, Mrs. Papanicolaou then changed the story from just 6 hours of cleaning to 6 hours of cleaning and furniture removal for furniture that she claimed was ours, but we had left nothing behind. In fact, it had been over 2 weeks since we had moved out and all of a sudden furniture was left behind? So I requested photos of this as well and she was unable to produce anything.
For days, I messaged Lea Papanicolaou, requesting evidence of damage, furniture that she supposively had to haul, proof of an escrow account with our money in it (security deposit), and a document signed by myself saying that I had exited the lease and she could not produce any of these things! We attempted to negotiate with her, even offering to reimburse her for the 6 hours of cleaning she initially quoted us for and she still refused to turn over our money! Mrs. Papanicolaou then attempted to intimidate me by threatening to sue me for slander (facts are not slander) if I tried to report her and/or leave an online review of our rental experience! I am left no choice but to accept the fact that Lea Papanicolaou has scammed my roommate and I on $1300 and that I must follow through with legal action.