Business ProfileforBozzuto & Associates Inc

We lived at **** *********** *** from July 2018 until August 2023 I am filing a complaint because we are disappointed to learn that our security deposit will not be refunded. This came as a shock to us because, for over three years, we lived without the use of our oven, giving up hope that Mr. Terence would investigate why our oven kept shutting off. Despite multiple attempts to fix it, there was a major problem that they ignored, but they kept blaming us for breaking it. We asked Grace to bring someone from, Bosch, but she declined. Other incidents, fixing our dryer. Machines break, but I was highly offended when Terence made false claims about the behavior of our children, which never occurred. He claimed he fixed the dryer 4 times and my wife kept breaking it, but in reality, he never did. My wife invited his helper to observe the dryer, and he knew that the heating elements weren't working. I couldn’t believe Terence would lie about my family, so I told him to focus on his job and never say anything about my family. After that, he held a grudge against us. We bought a countertop oven, to never invite Terence over. Several months before moving out, we informed Bozzuto General Manager, James D****, in writing about all the issues in our apartment. James offered to fix everything, but we felt it would be easier to wait until after we moved out. James and Bahareh said our home insurance would pay for the countertop. It was shocking to learn that we would be charged over $4,000 for that crack. We spoke with our insurance agent, and he said he never heard of something like this before. When tenants live for 5+ years, things will crack or get chipped and usually the property insurance covers it as it’s not the tenant's belongings. Grace insisted that we pay for the crack. As good tenants I find this unacceptable living there over 5 years and paid over $150,000 in rent without a working oven. we believe Bozzuto insurance is responsible for covering that expense.

Hello - The Insely family were amazing residents at 5333, the team at 5333 came to know them well with the mutual respect of landlord - tenant. It is very disappointing to see this complaint because this matter was managed appropriately per lease terms. The residents lived at 5333 from July 2018 to August 2023. During their residency we took care of any issue they experienced in their home. Bozzuto has a 24-hour promise to all residents, meaning we will respond to any maintenance issue within 24 hours. The biggest issue they shared with us was the breaking of the glass top for the electric stove. We visited the home numerous times to replace the glass top and eventually had a meeting with one of the leaseholders to show her how to place items on the glass stove top to avoid breakage. Her pots were very heavy, and she used too much force when putting the pots on the glass stove top. We took pictures of all incidents in this apartment that included two fires started by the resident, breakage of the glass and display boards of the stove and pouring of gravy on the stove to the extent that it travels to the electricals of the stove. We exchanged the stove in the home twice during their residency in apartment 811. I can provide all the service requests the residents had in the home and show they were repaired to resident satisfaction. The residents did see the Resident Manager, to explain that they would have some damage in the home. The Resident Manager asked them to enter a maintenance/service ticket so that we could address the issues for them, and they did not enter any service requests. We also have pictures of the move out inspection if they are needed to show that we conducted an inspection as required. We communicated the withholding of the security deposit to the residents with pictures and proposed charges from the vendor that would repair the quartz in writing to both leasholders; as required by DC law. When the residents reached out to the office with concerns regarding the security deposit we sent them the following email - “Hi - I will address the concerns with the security deposit on file. We conducted a move out inspection of your home with the understanding of what normal wear & tear would be after a period of 5 years. We did not charge any cleaning or floor replacements (both wood and carpet) to your account with the understanding that normal wear and tear over a period of 5-years is expected. I will try to reach you shortly for a call to discuss what was charged at move out on your ledger. As a team we responded to all service requests for the stove and we also replaced your stove as well as numerous display boards. We also met with the resident in the home and advised her to be careful when placing heavy cookware on the glass top stove and also make sure that if she was cooking a meal with sauce in it to make sure the cookware had a lid that would prevent spillage - this was mutually agreed upon (see attached email). Additionally, a new stove was installed in the home after the fire that was caused by the leaseholder in the home. I am really sad to know that you had additional issues with your stove and never informed me so that I could be of assistance. You also mentioned that we had a leak in apartment 911 that affected the electricals in your home. I checked all the service requests for your home and there is no mention of any leak in the home for the past few years or any reports of leaks in the hallways near 811. I have spoken to our Regional Manager, and she has agreed to waive some damage fees that are on your move out statement, due to the fact you lived in your home for 5-years. However, the quartz countertop needs to be addressed by the leaseholder. We looked at the incident report from the fire in your home and the fire department did not enter your home with any heavy materials because they noticed that it was smoke in the home not an actual fire. They opened up the windows in the home to get the smoke out. We inspected the home after the fire department left and replaced the stove and did not see any crack on the quartz. I am sorry that this is not good news – but you are responsible for the replacement cost of the quartz countertop. Your rental insurance should be able to assist with this expense. I spoke to the Resident Manager, and he informed both of you to enter any service requests before moving out. Please note that service requests are always addressed, and those that are beyond normal wear and tear are always charged to the leaseholder, per the lease. The security deposit on your account was $1,996.00 and it was applied to the balance due on the account. With permission from our Regional Manager, I have credited your account $522.32. The balance on your account that needs to be paid is $1,462.04. If the payment is not received we will have to report the amount as unpaid to a collection agency. I truly hope that my email has provided some understanding to the reason for security deposit getting held back to pay a balance due. The Regional Manager, also hopes that any issues/concerns have been addressed with this email. If you have any further questions, I am available.” In conclusion, the charge is correct. Sincerely, General Manager, 5333