A Houston, Texas woman rents a first-floor apartment with a fenced balcony. However, she quickly regrets her decision when someone breaks in.
In a video with over 62,000 views, TikToker Benita (@benitaapplebomb) shows the door to her patio. The glass is smashed and collected in a trash bag. An industrial vacuum sits on her porch.
On-screen text reads, “Never get a 1st floor apartment in Houston.”
Are first-floor apartments more dangerous?
She writes in the caption, “Had to learn the hard way. They broke in through the patio door.” In a comment, she says the break-in occurred while she was “out of town.”
One commenter suggests that the robbers likely kept tabs on Benita before breaking in.
“Baby girl, whoever did that know who you are or it was watching you and has been watching you. No one just breaks into a Randm apartment. They’ve been watching you & KNO you had something in there,” they write.
According to Rent.com, first-floor apartments are more prone to break-ins due to the easy access and a lack of downstairs neighbors who will be alerted by the noise.
Since the TikToker’s patio door was entirely glass, it may have been easier for thieves to quickly smash through and gain access to her apartment. She shares in a comment that she moved after the break-in.
In the comments, renters suggest that first-floor apartments should be avoided for various reasons, including noisy upstairs neighbors, flooding, pests, and ceiling leaks. Some suggest requesting that solid doors be installed on patios to make it harder to gain access.
Do other renters avoid ground-level units?
In the comments, others say they avoid first-floor apartments for the same reasons.
“You definitely shouldn’t ever rent a 1st floor apartment in Houston but that’s not why. You don’t rent 1st floor apartments in Houston because you might flood,” one writes.
“I live on a 3rd floor no elevator, it’s too much work to try and rob me,” another says.
“And this is why i’m on the 19th floor. unless you’re spider man or superman good luck,” a third jokes.
However, others say they still experience break-ins on higher floors.
“I was on the THIRD FLOOR and it happened to me…it dont matter its HOUSTON dear,” a commenter says.
“I lived on the second floor above the leasing office, middle of the day… don’t matter which floor,” another shares.
@benitaapplebomb Had to learn the hard way ?? They broke in through the patio door.
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The Mary Sue reached out to Benita via Instagram direct message for further comment.
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