I rented from E&J Management for 2 years. The first year, I rented a studio apartment from. The experience wasn't horrible, and knowing that there aren't much better options in South Oakland, I decided to move into a bigger apartment upstairs with a friend the next year.
In the first lease, they said that the carpets would be clean and they would bring in professionals to clean the rest of the apartment. That did not happen. There was gravel on the window sills and a condom on the middle of the floor. After complaining, they cleaned the apartment again.
The second year was awful. When we moved in there were burn marks all over the carpets and giant holes in the walls. There was graffiti in the linen closet. All of the windows in the kitchen were taped to the wall to hold them up.
I think the landlord figured we wouldn't be renewing, so they treated us poorly. When we first moved in, the landlord called saying I never paid the first month's rent (due at lease signing 6 months prior). I sent her my bank's photocopy of the endorsed check, with her handwriting saying "first month's rent apt 4." She replied by saying she credited it to a different person with my obscure name. (The closest person with it lives in Sweden).
The heat in the building is controlled by her. She has taken off all of the knobs on the radiators "for safety concerns." During Pitt's winter break, she turned off the heat because she didn't think anyone was there. I stayed during break and suffered from the flu twice. When I called to ask that she turn on my heat, she called back and said she checked my room and that I "might want to move the bed away from the window."
A few months later, I came home to a burning smell and a vibrating noise coming from the hallway. I called and she accused me of doing something. When I said I just got home, she said it was probably the emergency lights because they sometimes make a funny noise when the power goes out. I told her that the power had not gone out in the past week because my alarm clock was still on. She had someone come and check it. Turns out it was an old door bell they had painted over and had short wired.
Other issues:
-dirty carpets that look as if they've never been clean
-toilet always backed up with water from the tub
-Bathroom sink always backed up with water and food from the kitchen sink
-tiling in bathroom falling off
-graffiti covers the building (including my bedroom window)
-loud pot smoking neighbors
-constant unannounced visits from management
There are much better landlord companies in Pittsburgh that care about both their tenants and properties. I would never recommend anyone leasing with E&J.