ComplaintsforBalboa Property Management

• Initial Complaint

  09/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We rented a home and Balboa Property management managed the property. At the time of the rental, our agent, Harmony S*****, negotiated the terms on the lease that included my husband and I asking approval to install a pool fence as we had a 18 month old son at the time and were nervouse having a pool. We received approval from Harmony and the landlord and even had an appt at the house with the agent prior to the installation to measure. When we were required to move out in 2022 because our landlord needed to move back into the house, the landlord charged us 4050 to repour her patio around her pool because she claimed she never gave her permissio to install the fence. I have many emails and the owne of the property management company says that we had permission, they neglected to get a signed document saying as much from the landlord and us. Therefore, we assumed all responsibility despite the fact that balboa property managment was hired to negotiate and accurately reflect the terms of the lease. they failed to do so costing my family thousands of dollars without assumnig any responsiblity or negligence on their part.

  Business response

  09/25/2022

  To whom it may concern at BBB,

  
  

  This letter is in response to the aforementioned complaint # ********.  We were the property managers for the home previously occupied by the Tenant, **** *****.  As you stated in your letter to us, there are two sides to every story.  We will outline the time of events and present the facts of the tenancy from our point of view, remaining as impartial as possible.  

  
  

  Background into the status and quality of the rental home may aid somewhat in understanding the whole picture, but we are going to forego those details and focus on just the complaint itself.  Suffice to say that the home in question was a very nicely appointed home, having been completely remodeled approximately 10 years prior and inhabited during that time by only husband and wife.  The high rent paid by the last tenant of over $8k per month reflected the market, location and quality of the property.  With that in mind, let's address the first claim of the tenant.

  
  

  It is true that the installation of a pool fence was approved by the owner and/or realtor at the Lease signing.  However, according to the signed and executed Lease Agreement dated 3/22/21, this approval does not negate the obligations of the Tenant to return the property back to its original state or inhibit the owner of charging to return the property to its original state prior to move-in.  See excerpt from paragraph 25(B) of the Signed Lease below:

  
  

  25. TENANT’S OBLIGATIONS UPON VACATING PREMISES: 

  
  

  B. All alterations/improvements made by or caused to be made by Tenant, with or without Landlord’s consent, become the property of Landlord upon termination. Landlord may charge Tenant for restoration of the Premises to the condition it was in prior to any alterations/improvements. 

  
  

  The realtor was under the impression that the tenant had a general understanding that the property must be returned as close to their previous state as possible, excluding normal wear and tear, and that the tenant had read and understood the Lease, which they signed, which outlines clearly in paragraph 25B, the Tenant's obligations upon vacating the premises.  
  

  
  

  To be clear, the installation of the pool fence involved the drilling of over 20 holes with a rough diameter of 1.5" through the pool deck surrounding the pool.  This left very unsightly holes, which the homeowner, who is an elderly widow, did not want to live with upon moving back into her home.  Balboa Realty worked extensively with the homeowner and the Tenant to try to appease both sides, first starting with bids to "cover the holes" by means of caps or patches to the concrete.  Unfortunately, the concrete pool deck was a stained and mottled color and after speaking with several vendors who assured us that the patches would stick out like a sore thumb from the surrounding concrete and finding caps insufficient, the next step was to get bids on resurfacing and replacing the concrete.  It was determined that full replacement of the pool deck was prohibitively expensive and in order to be more just and agreeable, the process of resurfacing the existing concrete was settled upon to return the pool deck to its previous impervious state.  However, due to the color fading that had occurred and in an attempt to be fair to the outgoing Tenant, Balboa Realty convinced the owner to split the cost of the resurfacing with the Tenant. The process involved the grinding down of the old surface, priming the newly ground surface to aid in adhesion of the overpour, and the pouring of a new top layer to cover the old.  This process is not guaranteed to last as long as a freshly poured concrete slab but it looked good, fixed the damage in a less costly manner, and was a compromise that the owner ultimately accepted.  The total cost for this repair was $8,103.50.  The tenant was charged exactly half.

  
  

  That is our side of the story as the property manager/middle man in this often contentious and unpleasant security deposit return process.  We try to empathize and do right by both parties using the Lease as the legal binding contract to guide the outcome.  We were accused of not accurately reflecting the terms of the Lease but as shown above, we interpreted the Lease correctly and were as fair as possible.   See attached for a copy of the Concrete repair invoice.  

  
  

  Best Regards,

  
  

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