Apartment owner responds

To the editor:
I am the owner of Mount Ayr Apartments and Brick plex and this letter serves as a response to an article that was published approximately a month ago regarding existing leases on the premises and other issues.
The leases that were mentioned on the article were never approved by me and I had no idea they existed.
They were produced against my consent or approval.
Some of the leases had new expiration dates of December 2027 with no increases. Even the chronically delinquent tenants had new leases on hand with year extensions.
All this took place the day the change of management happened. I have been trying for months to correct this issue along with the new management company.
Vacating tenants have been leaving the apartments in disarray, e.g. removing sinks, door knobs and even floors at the time of moving.
The rents have been increased due to the significantly increase in insurance cost, snow removal is also a factor, the upkeep of the apartment and property taxes. In addition, tenants are not paying the water bills and I am forced to eventually pay.
It is hard to run a business and to make the apartments nice for everyone when I am taking a huge loss every month.
I keep hearing that the Mount Ayr is a very close community and everyone stands together when a problem occurs.
I have owned the property for almost 20 years and I am still not considered part of the community.
I have been falsely accused of breaking the law and have getting bad reviews on social media. When in reality the ones that broke the law were the people that changed the leases without my consent.

Marina Boubion
Country Ayr Apartments