Business ProfileforHome Locators
Real Estate
At-a-glance
Related Categories
Products & Services
Business Details
- Location of This Business
- 211 Crystal Grove Blvd STE 101, Lutz, FL 33548-6455
- BBB File Opened:
- 9/1/2006
- Years in Business:
- 26
- Business Started:
- 1/1/1998
- Business Incorporated:
- 8/27/2004
- Type of Entity:
- Corporation
- Alternate Business Name
- Apartment Locators Inc
- Home Locators Rentals and Property Management
- Contact Information
Principal
- Ms. Carolyn Rilling, Broker
Customer Contact
- Ms. Carolyn Rilling, Broker
- Mr. David Kinkade, Manager
- Mr. Mark Hartl, Office Manager
- Robert Kinkade
- Additional Contact Information
Fax Numbers
- (813) 962-4054Primary Fax
Phone Numbers
- (813) 908-8555Other Phone
- (813) 962-4054
Customer Complaints
1 Customer Complaints
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File a ComplaintMost Recent Customer Complaint
02/26/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Date of transaction:12/30/2020
The amount of said transaction:$2790
I was suppose to get a partial amount of my security deposit. I received a "Claim on my secuirty deposit" on 2/1/22 via email. I went ahead and disputed this as my legal right. Once Home Locators receieved my letter via Certfied mail, it has been one big mess. I asked for 1031.50 of my security deposit and also proof of invoices for said charges that were being deducted from my deposit. I recieved three invoices for cleaning,carpet replacement and carpet cleaning. All amounts I feel were truly miscalculated. While there I encounter a leaking ceiling over seven times and no A/C. I was charged for both repairs. The leaking ceiling was not due to my neglience. I fixed the A/C prior to a technican coming out. I contacted Home Locators and left a voicemail stating it was fixed. I also contacted the repairmen, who still insisted on coming out. Mark sent me numerous of emails standing firm with their decision the claim. He even contradicted himself. With all of the evidence from the lies from Anna, Mark and a google review response, I feel as though majority of the claim is fabricated. I initally asked for 1031.50 but am now seeking 2140 because of all the lies. He charged me one repair as "Rent" but I had two repairs so how was only one charged as rent. They charged me $1450 for carpet replacment of the entire unit. The entire unit did not need carpet replacement. I was charged $350 for cleaning but received a invoice for $270. A google review response stated the"carpet couldnt be cleaned",yet I was charged for carpet cleaning. I was charged $400 for painting. Mark sent me some pictures of said wall. Chipped paint and a small pen drawing from my 5 year old that could of easily been wiped clean. This condo was built in 1998. I was charged 256.50 for a leaking ceiling. I was also charged $225 for an A/C that was already fixed.
Read MoreCustomer Reviews
1 Customer Reviews
What do you think? Share your review.
Most Recent Customer Review
Sanjay A
1 star
04/04/2022
Home Locator is simply terrible service. Somehow they operate as 3 business (Tampa Locators, Home Locators, and Apartment Locators). I have been their landlord customer for almost 9 years (not by choice, but since they acquired a company I loved doing business with). They never paid attention to the matters, lied one time when they spent $900 on a AC fix because they somehow thought they had got my pre-approval, but they finally acknowledged they had failed to (and I had to get it fixed myself, after they insisted their AC guy would "remove" the part since I refused to pay), and in the last 5 years, their property manager has never returned my calls (emails only), and upon my final tenant leaving recently - I finally dropped them as my property manager, so they refused to take care of things after walk-through, even though they know I am out of state. And when I forced the issue. they sent their guy conveniently after 2 weeks post-move out and fixed things like replace light bulbs, etc. yet failed to noticed severe cleaning related issues, which through pictures I proved they should have attributed to the tenant. Oh well. I am out of $300 now...terrible company to do business with. Every discussion with them turns into an argument, and it almost feels like they are paying me to manage my own property and they simply collect 10%.
Home Locators Response
04/13/2022
Over the course of Home Locators 25-year history our market focus has changed, and therefore we changed the name in the form of a dba to reflect this. The use of DBAs is quite common.
When your previous tenants notified us that they were moving out, we notified you of the same as per our procedure. You emailed our office stating you were considering selling the property. We advised you that should you decide to sell, your listing agent would prepare the property to their standards, which is part of their job as your agent.
After several email exchanges, in which you had not yet decided on whether you were going to sell or re-rent the property, Home Locators emailed you a Notice of Management Termination as we were no longer interested in managing the property. You continued to insist that Home Locators perform the 'make ready' repairs, which we did. You did not authorize a full "detail cleaning" of the property, nor did we order one, as we could not assume that the vendor would be paid. However, we did charge the tenants security deposit for the portion of the cleaning that we felt they are responsible for, and your account was credited for that amount.
When your previous tenants notified us that they were moving out, we notified you of the same as per our procedure. You emailed our office stating you were considering selling the property. We advised you that should you decide to sell, your listing agent would prepare the property to their standards, which is part of their job as your agent.
After several email exchanges, in which you had not yet decided on whether you were going to sell or re-rent the property, Home Locators emailed you a Notice of Management Termination as we were no longer interested in managing the property. You continued to insist that Home Locators perform the 'make ready' repairs, which we did. You did not authorize a full "detail cleaning" of the property, nor did we order one, as we could not assume that the vendor would be paid. However, we did charge the tenants security deposit for the portion of the cleaning that we felt they are responsible for, and your account was credited for that amount.
Customer Response
04/28/2022
It's none of Tampa Locator's business to advise me on who should prepare the property for selling. Their job was to do walk-through, and fix any issues out of the deposit which was out of tenant's responsibility since TL held the deposit and not me. There was no discussion about taking money out of my rent to fix any owner-related issues. It's been 60 days now, and as of April 28th, and I have yet to see my rent they collected on March 1st. TL flat-out denied fixing anything in their final walk-through, which is their responsibility since they put the tenant in there had an obligation to ensure my property was returned in good shape (minus normal wear) with any tenant obligations taken care of which TL would then bill to the tenant. I had given the property with professional deep cleaning, and TL in their walk-through missed reporting on all such issues (paint spilled in garage, window sills with dark residue, dirty bathrooms), which was TL's obligation to get cleaned and bill my tenant out of their deposit. Despite their claim they got the property back in "make ready" condition, I have pictures and solid proof that they missed out on many key cleaning/repair issues which cost me $300 to fix, and they are charging me $280 for things I never even asked them to take care of. I have called and left message for my Mark H numerous times on his voice, and he has never returned my call in last 3 months. TL is an unethical company and completely unfriendly company that doesn't care about its customers. My tenants echoed the same concerns that whenever they reached out to TL, they were unresponsive.
Home Locators Response
05/17/2022
The process for deducting amounts (with a reimbursement to you) from the tenant's security deposit was explained multiple times. Your March payment indicates as "cleared into your account" on April 28th. Even though by contract we are authorized to spend up to $150 without additional authorization, we have chosen to cover the amounts spent for repairing the screen door, pneumatic closer, a door stopper, fan pull chain, and toilet bolt caps as we did not have explicit authorization from you for those minor repairs to your property. This as well as the amounts deducted from the tenant's security deposit was issued as a direct deposit to you on May 13th. We explained to you via email that we were not going to order the cleaning of the property. Based on previous interactions, we couldn't be certain we would be reimbursed for the portion not covered by the amounts deducted from your tenant's security deposit. This uncertainty for reimbursement for repairs is why we refused to order any additional repairs for the make ready, and the reason we emailed the Property Management Termination Notice to you on March 8th, 2022. Other owner investors communicate with us in any manner of their choosing. It's time to move forward from this.
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