Apartment Dumpster Headache

[Matthew Cope]

My wife and I bought our first apartment in Springfield, MO last winter and the biggest headache we've had with the property is the dumpster. It's turned into the community dumpster and people (non-residents) keep leaving furniture and trash around it. Every other month it seems I'm paying the property manager to send someone out to retrieve the furniture because the trash company won't take it. Unfortunately, the only place I can keep the dumpster is close to the road. There's not a fence around it so it's pretty visible when driving by. 

Any ideas on what I can do? I've considered having a private fence built around it, but I'm afraid people will just put their garbage around the fence.

, 

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

For a multi-family, you should invest in a quality security camera system to cover multiple common areas...laundry, parking, common hallways, and especially the trash area. Post appropriate signage; implement a system for violations that would incur fines; give proper notice to Tenants of the new  improvements; review recorded imagery to identify the culprits...either fine them if they are your Tenants, or file a police report if they are neighbors...with a color screen grab proving it.
Having cameras in other areas give you eyes 24/7/365 and will pay for themselves if you follow through and use them regularly. You will be amazed at what people do when you are not around...