ComplaintsforERA Old South Properties, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  12/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I recently rented a house from this company. From day 1 their customer service was horrendous. It took over a month for them to have somebody come and fix minor things that should have been done before I even moved in. Example: light bulbs burned out, water disconnected from the fridge, broken drawer in the fridge. After I moved out I had not heard anything regarding my security deposit being refunded so I reached out to them and was told the property manager, Beverly, had 30 days to return the security deposit. On day 30 I again still had not heard anything from anybody at Old South Properties. After I reached out I was told the refund had been sent via certified mail the day prior, meaning I would in fact NOT have the refund by day 30 from the time I moved out. Upon receiving the refund, I was charged for the letter and check being sent via certified mail even though I did not request that. I would have happily gone to their office and picked them up had it been communicated to me that it was ready. I was also charged for damages in the house that were present when I moved in along with them saying it was not clean enough to their standards, but when I left it was cleaner than it was when I moved in. The customer service I have been given from this company is appalling.

  Business response

  12/19/2022

  Ms. ****** is correct.  There were a few maintenance issues she reported upon her move-in which included the water disconnected at the refrigerator, which turned out to be a turned off water valve because the ice maker did not work as was not to be repaired. The light bulbs she mentioned along with a couple other minor maintenance issues had to be addressed.  Unfortunately, we do not control the vendor's schedule as they are independent contractors.  

  The claim against the security/damage deposit was made within the guidelines for making a claim.  According to the fee addendum signed by Ms. ****** as part of her lease, there is a $6 certified mail fee if a claim has to be made against the deposit.

  Review of photos taken prior to the tenant's move-in does not show the patch/touch that was needed in the middle bedroom and there were some minor cleaning items that were missed.  The actual cleaning invoice came in $15 less that was claimed so that will be refunded to Ms. ******.  I have reached out to the owner about the other items the tenant is contesting and am currently waiting for a response.  If the owner agrees, then the $50 claim for the touch-up painting and the remaining $85 charged for the cleaning will be refunded as well.

• Initial Complaint

  02/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Property Manager/Broker Scott ****** was notified of a Tenant that his company placed in my Property *** Valley ****** Pensacola XXXXX. The tenant and the property manager negeted to care for my property which ended us with a large amount of damage. Which they were notified by their contracted staff that damage was occurring, however tenant was allowed to stay and continue. I had notified Scott ****** about the problems asked that the tenant be removed early on. He said he contacted Beverly ******** and she would take care of things however this never happened and I'm left with a huge mess warped floors, water stained and caved in ceilings, Many things as I have replaced the AC/ Heating unit at a cost to me of $2800 and have asked scott about the tenants responsibility however he advised me that there are provisions but I have not been contacted for any resolution. The Move out inspection 39 pages addresses many of the problems but no contact except from the maintenance Dept asking about some sheet rock repair. The problem is much larger than that. I have asked for some compensation so that I could get my house repaired however no communication. I have hired another property manager and have been paying for repairs.

  Business response

  03/08/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/02/15) */ Mr. *****, We were dealing with two different issues - The A/C repiar and Your request to remove the tenants from the house. The first issue is the A/C concern. The tenant's contacted us the first time in June 2021 to report the A/C was not working. A vendor was sent in June to service the unit, and because there was a dirty filter, the $65 charge was invoiced back to the tenant. In July, the tenant contacted our office again and stressed some concern that the A/C duct work was leaking or even possibly the roof leaking. We assigned a repair request and MD Heating and Air stated the duct work was causing the water spots. The duct work is the old metal duct type because the house was built in 1958. I'm not sure if it was original but more than likely it is. The vendor stated that the duct was uninsulated in many areas and damaged and that the metal trunk line was sweating because of the low temperature 66 degrees) that the tenant was keeping in the home. It is my understanding that you did not want to repair/replace the duct work. The low temperature, 66 degrees, was also causing the flooring to buckle because the home is built offgrade. There were also a couple of leaks found at the home that American Leak checked into and resolved. This possibly contributed to the damage of the floor. I do regret that there were water stains on the ceiling from the sweating ducts. We did make a claim on the tenant's deposit because the A/C companies did state that becauese the tenant was keeping the temperature low, they were contributing to it. We ended up making a claim on the tenant's deposit for $2450 (you have the inspection report which shows the items noted). The tenant did have a $1095 deposit so the entire deposit was claimed on your behalf. The bulk of the claim was the ceiling, and cleaning of the A/C coils. Per your reqeust, our staff did give the tenant a notice to vacate at the end of their lease which was in October. That notice to vacate was given when you requested it and was sent out August 26th. The tenant did move, and you hired another management company to take over. In closing, I had mentioned to you in one of the previous emails that if a tenant causes damages to a property, they are responsible for any of those damages. You do have the right to pursue legal action against them; however, our company cannot sue on your behalf. Only the owner or an attorney can pursue the tenant for damages relating to your property. We can supply supporting documentation that we have. One last item that I would like to address is that you indicated that you had asked me for compensation for the damage to the home. You never asked me to compensate you, and I asked our property manager if you ever asked her for compensation. She states that you did not. We did make a claim against the tenant's deposit as outlined above. Sincerely, Scott ******

• Initial Complaint

  12/03/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I moved in to 687 ***** Lane on Saturday 11/20/2021. Upon move in I noticed numerous issues such as a not working ice and water maker in the fridge, lights not working on the garage door opener, smoke detector had dead batteries in it, hot water does not work in one of the master bathroom sinks, light out in the fridge, broken drawer in the fridge and one of the light covers in the kitchen appears to have a large burn mark on it. After filing numerous maintenance requests I have been told three times that maintenance will contact me to schedule a time to come do the repairs and I have yet to hear from anybody. 2 of my maintenance requests have since been canceled.

  Business response

  01/10/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/12/10) */ Upon Move in, it is correct that the the ice maker was not working in the refridgerator. This was disclosed to the tenant upfront. Page 8 # 36 of the lease agreement is underlined and specifically states the following: "Tenant understands and agrees that ice maker does not work and is considered "As Is" and will not be repaired. If the better business bureau would like a copy of the lease agreement to verify what was disclosed and agreed upon, it is available to do so. The other concerns that the tenant mentioned were assigned to a repairman who has already been to the property and resolved the issues. One of the reasons that a workorder was canceled is because a vendor became available that could address more than one item......much better to have one person address as much as possible as compared to having multiple vendors set appointments.

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