ComplaintsforSovereign Realty & Management, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  06/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Myself and another individual rented a property for 3 years. We are in the move out process and they have refused to communicate in an efficient manner. This company is refusing to contact us regarding an incorrect move out inspection and instead of actually responding to our requests are sending comments like sweet to death and sorry with no other context. They are withholding security deposit and charging late fees while refusing to communicate with us. *************************** should be held responsible for the companys incompetence.

• Initial Complaint

  06/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Sovereign placed tenants in my home but deeply neglected the tenants and property for TWO YEARS. After months of unanswered emails, late rent payments and no solutions, I decided to investigate myself. I realized the tenants they placed in my home were running potentially illegal operations out of my home, had 3 other unauthorized occupants not on the lease, 2 dogs (which we did not permit), and caused $7000 worth of property damages. When I asked if the tenants had renters insurance, the could not confirm even though they confirmed When I reached out to discuss a strategy for proactive communication and timely rent, Sovereign was not interested in finding solutions. Instead they were adamant about not investigating and made excuses for the tenets lateness. Several months later, I even realized the agent who was once managing my property moved on to another position, however I was never notified. My issues went unanswered for weeks. I've since moved on to a new property management company and have had the exact opposite experience. They respond quickly, are critical thinkers and are helping me resolve the problem with these tenants that Sovereign neglected.Overall, whatever process Sovereign is using to vet their tenants and train their staff is incredibly questionable. Did they even run a background check? Why would they place tenants without renters insurance? I believe several years ago, Sovereign was a more professionally managed company, however in the past year or two, the company has become increasingly negligent and incompetent when dealing with property management challenges.I have now experienced $7000 in property damages and $22,000 in lost rent. I am looking to resolve this issue $7000 for repairs.

  

  Business response

  07/07/2023

  Hello,

  These statemenst are just untrue.  ****** did not listen to my recommendation so we terminated management and her inexperienced decision cost her in the long run.  Now, she is taking her frustration out on our company due to her bad decision.  Not only did ************************* not miss a rent payment from any of her tenants during covid when rental delinquency was high, her current tenant that was living there that ultimately resulted in our mutual agreement to terminate was also current on rent.  Please find copies of both ledgers from ******** original tenants and for the tenant that was living there when we terminated.  I am actually the one that recommended that we terminate due to ****** being unreasonable and not understanding how to work through issues, being very direspectful and unprofessional in communications with management.  

  Please find a copy of the approved original application screening, work order and conversation log that resulted in the final issue and termination. 

  The issue that resulted in our termination due to the tenant had a break in at the property on new years eve. She stated that a vehicle backed up into the garage.  She called the police and sent in footage of the break in.  Upon speaking with the Owner about the issue and how to resolve it, we asked the tenant to put a claim in on her renter's insurance.  The tenant signed an exhibit to her lease that she is requiered to maintain renters insurance. The tenant never responded to putting in a claim so we came to the conclusion that she may have let it expire.   I recommended to ****** that she replace the door and then we can negotiate with the tenant to recoup some funds in a payment plan.  ****** refused and demanded that the tenant replace it, became unprofessional and unable to communicte with so I recommended that we terminate.  She agreed and the property was transferred to a new property management company, occupied with the same tenant.  We facilitated the transfer, ensuring all keys, security deposits, contracts and documents were sent to the new management company.  I am unaware of what has transpired since then.

   But, based on this complaint, it appears the new management company has had difficulty managing the property.  Sovereign is not responsible for anything that occurred at the property once she transferred to another management company.  Sovereign had not managed this property since 1/1/2023.

   I have been practicing property management for almost 20 years.  The issues with the break in and the damage could have been resolved had ****** let us do our job.  However, she did not take our professional advice and expertise.  Her decision resulted in these alleged damages and complaint. 

  Sovereign was managing her property since 7/2020.  Not only were we able to secure a qualifed renter during covid, we also managed that year lease term, a turnover and re-lease to a new tenant.  If we were doing such a bad job, she would not have kept us on for two terms. Additionally, I was the one to request termination from ****** as a client as she does not follow processes and became unprofessional.  

  I can supply more documents if needed, I reached the limit on uploads. 

  Customer response

  07/10/2023

   
  Complaint: 20252197
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Owners explanation is an emotional second hand reaction that is irrelevant to my legal concern about the misconduct for handling the alleged "break in". The owner claims that there was a "break-in" in the home, however Sovereign has no evidence to prove this. According to multiple witness accounts, the tenants statements to police were untrue. I've received proof from neighbors that confirms the incident happened in the afternoon with a family friend (and thus seems as a domestic dispute) where as the police report states that the incident happened around 3AM with a random stranger. I also have evidence of several speculative witness accounts that claim the tenant was intentionally untruthful to police in order to cover several damages that occurred in the home (i.e. a broken window) prior to the police report. This among several other situations the tenants were untruthful about (i.e. they had 2 dogs even though the lease states no pets, had multiple occupants of which Sovereign Reality knew about and decided not to add them to the lease etc.) so thinking logically what gives the tenants probable cause to be truthful in their report?

  My primary concern is that Sovereign made a determination about who was financially responsible rather than proceeding with due process and/or a thorough and legal police-led investigation  to determine which party was responsible.  According to Article 7 in our Lease Agreement "Rent shall not ***** nor shall Tenant be entitled to terminate this Lease if the damage of destruction of Property is total or partial is the result of the negligence of Tenant or Tenants household or their invitees, licensees or guests". Given witness accounts, this situation was probably. However, Sovereigns disregarded this article and initially proposal to terminate the lease (out of their frustration with our concerns around this legal mismanagement) also prompting a breach of contract. Even though I understood and was happy to pay for the initial repair as in our lease agreement, my concern was why Article 7 was never followed. Sovereign never held the tenants accountable for repaying these damages, never held themself accountable for negligence from not requiring renters insurance and more importantly unprofessionally acted on a legal matter based on here-say accounts.

  Regarding the owner's previous emotional complains, I truly believe Sovereign Reality is a business that should be under serious investigation. Not only is their perspective second hand (as I worked with their agent and not ***** directly to manage the property), but my concerns about their operations are corroborated by recent reviews accusing the company of "fraud" and "scam".  There were multiple instances when I had to follow up with management asking for updates on my property and tenants to which no one replied. I had to email, call and text any contact I had in order to receive some type of response. Though the owner is correct in that I never missed a payment, there were over 3-5 times when we received late payments (28 days in fact) with no communication from them. I also have written proof that I wanted to evict the tenants after the continuous late payments, but the agents replied that they wanted to give the tenants the benefit of the doubt, and continuously advocated for their occupancy rather than act on my requests. The list continues but these complains are minor compared to the misconduct listed above. 

  For what it's worth, my current property managers are incredibly professional, proactive and communicative and we haven't had any issues. The only issues we're experiencing are trying to clean up the mess of negligence left in the company of Sovereign Management.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  

  Business response

  07/10/2023

  This is scattered site property management.  Sovereign does not manage the community, just the owners single family townhome.  We are only able to go off the work order report that the tenant placed in writing. The actual police report takes a few days to generate and has to be picked up at the police station.  Our relationship as property manager was terminated, therefore there was no requirement or need to conduct any further action by Sovereign regarding the break-in reported by the tenant. The break in was reported by the tenant to Sovereign on 12/31/2022, stating the break in happened at 330p, and our relationship as property manager terminated 12/31/2023.  Please see ******* acknowledgement and notice that her new PM company would handle this and everything going forward and asked us to forward all docs for them to handle it.   Please also see the Mutual Agreement to terminate that released Sovereign from any further obligations. 

  Again, this is single family scattered site management, Sovereign would not know a tenant had a pet or determine visiting guests from additional occupants unless we had a complaint from the **** Sovereign does not provide onsite property management services. All of these accusations are hearsay. The Tenant was thoroughly screened and qualified. Additionally, this all was taking place during covid where court systems were backed up, so yes, it was in the Owners best interest to work out a payment plan with the tenant versus filing for an eviction due to the ****** being severely delayed, over 1+ years and in her county of ******, that set out wouldve taken over a year at that time. Sovereign acted in the client's best interest. 

  Regarding Point 2:  None of this applies. Sovereign never terminated the lease.  Sovereign and the Owner mutually terminated the property management agreement the same day of the break in.  The lease agreement was still in effect. Since Sovereign was no longer the property manager, Sovereign had no responsibility to conduct any further actions in relation to the break in.  The Owner also understood it and stated so in her response in the portal in our mutual termination agreement. Rent was never abated by Sovereign.  The tenant was current on rent when our property management relationship terminated 12/31/2022.  January rent was to be collected by your new property manager. 

  Sovereign did require renters insurance from the tenant as seen in Exhibit C of the Lease agreement of which the tenant initialed and signed.

  Regarding Paragraph 3:  All owners have full transparency into their rental portfolio in the Owner Portal.  Owners can access all rental property documents, reports, financials, real-time ledgers, have real-time conversations with management, access all work orders, invoices and bills.  In the property management agreement, all Owners agree to receiving all information via the Owner portal.  Owners can log in and see real-time when a tenant pays rent, and all fees charged.  Please see the property management agreement attached, Page 10, special stipulations, #6.
  

  Please note, that there are property owners who are still trying to evict tenants for not paying rent from when covid started.  Not only did we understand the economic conditions, but we worked with tenants to ensure they were caught up on rent payments during these difficult times which resulted in a win for the owner and higher rental income.  ****** does not live local and does not understand that the magistrate ****** were 6+ months to 1+ years behind on eviction hearings.  Receiving timely rent payments during a time when unemployment and economic uncertainty was high, was added value and a true sign that Sovereign did an outstanding job navigating rent collection and mitigating a lengthy eviction. Sovereign acted in the Landlords best interest. The tenant was current on rent when our relationship terminated. 
  

  Customer response

  07/18/2023

   
  Complaint: 20252197
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I reject the Business's response on these terms: 
  The business claims that "All of these accusations are hearsay" and that " Sovereign and the Owner mutually terminated the property management agreement the same day of the break in. The lease agreement was still in effect. Since Sovereign was no longer the property manager, Sovereign had no responsibility to conduct any further actions in relation to the break in". For clarity, the impetus for the contract being terminated was that the company refused to conduct an official legal investigation to objectively determine which party was financially responsible prior to the termination. Instead the company made a pre-judgement, insisting that the owner was responsible for damages since it was a "break-in" and therefore the tenants were not at fault. As Sovereign mentioned since "the lease agreement was still in effect" the day of the alleged break in, so why when they decline to move forward with the police investigation to determine financial responsibility? Because there was no intention from the company to proceed with waiting for police investigation, the company was also only going on hearsay as they were not there when the incident happened.  This misalignment and mishandling of the legal protocol is the core reason which led to the partnership being ultimately terminated. 
  The business claims that "The Tenant was thoroughly screened and qualified". If this is the case I would like the business to provide proof of the *************************** I've been asking for this information for 6+ months so my insurance can contact theirs, but have not received any information or proof from Sovereign. If these tenants were "thoroughly screened and qualified", a copy of their insurance and/or application should not be hard to obtain.   
  The business claims that I "do not understand magistrate ****** were 6+ months to 1+ years behind on eviction hearings''. One that does understand the eviction process understanding the information is only relevant to the processing, not the filing. My eviction request was to begin the process to file an eviction twice (with the second time in early December 2023 prior to the incident), understanding there may be a delay in processing. It was in the best interests of the business of my home to terminate the tenant due to delinquent payments, however the property manager continuously prioritized their personal and emotional attachment to the tenants on multiple occasions, and denied my requests. While the magistrate was behind on eviction hearings, I'm not sure how that connects to the process of agreeing to file an eviction notice. My current property management company was able to suggest this solution themselves and file an eviction within the first 30 days of our partnership after 2 missed payments. Why was Sovereign not able to do the same after a year? 
  All communication between myself and the company was required to be restricted to the company's secured portal. Therefore all proof of these interactions can be viewed in my portal - of which I no longer have access to. I've called previously to have access once again but have been told that it may not be possible to reactivate my account. I am requesting that my owners portal account be subpoenaed or reopened so that all documented interactions can be read and reviewed thoroughly. If my file has been destroyed since then and is not able to be re-opened, then I would consider that as tampering with evidence.  
  
  Thank you!  
  

  
  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Customer response

  07/23/2023

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID .********, , and find that Mediation is necessary.

  Regards,

  *************************

  

  Business response

  08/16/2023

  Hi

  I am trying to understand why we even have to arbirtrate.  It would seem that the release language in the Termination Agreement that was signed with our former client and Sovereign would be enough for the BBB to refuse to accept this matter.  I am attaching it again so it did not get lost in the proceses. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Reported hot water issues on 11/26/2021 and **** suggested that I was using all the hot water doing other things before my showers. I had to tell him I wasnt even home before I was showering before plumbers were called.Reported leaky faucets on 12/6/2021 when the plumbers came to inspect my water heater.repair estimate sent for water heater and faucets; only water heater was approved Reported mold in sink and bathtub on 10/15/2022. ***** came up with several excuses as to why having mold growing in my porcelain sink and in my bathtub were normal and I just needed to clean more.prior to discovering the mold in the bathroom, I had to throw away several hats and pairs of shoes because they had mold growing on them. These hats and shoes sat on the floor in the same corner of my closet as the photo attached of ******************* directly below mine. My neighbors bathroom ceiling also had mold from my leak.*** the mold guy finally came on 12/20/2022, and told me I had regular shower mold from the grout staying moist and said the mold in my sink was due to the constant drip that was never fixed.again, I was traveling heavily at this time so the shower grout should not have been wet at all because I was not home using the shower.Told me to treat the grout and it would be fine.on 12/22/2022, the plumbers came to fix my leaky faucets and replace the seal on my toilet. When they cut into my shower wall to fix the leak, they refused to continue due to the presence of mold.While the toilet was detached, I saw mold growing on the wall behind it.from 12/22/2022 to 1/6/2022, I could not inhabit my apartment due to there being a hole in my wall exposing my asthmatic lungs to mold, AND I had no functional bathroom.*** returned to treat the mold on 1/2/2023.He neglected to go into the wall behind my toilet, and forgot to treat that spot completely.The contractors came to repair my wall on 1/6/2023. the shower is sealed very poorly, so i have yet to use it again.

  

  Business response

  01/17/2023

  This issue was never brought to managements attention prior to this resident going online and posting/slandering the company. 
  

  Upon the company management receipt of the issue, research into ********************************************************************************************** 2021. Upon further review, the Owner of the unit only approved a replacement of the water heater at that time due to the work order only being for lack of hot water. 
  

  Once the work order was received in 2022, we acted immediately on the issue dispatching third party vendors out to remediate and repair the issue.  A mold remediation company was sent out as well as a plumber. Both of the vendors are licensed and insured in their respective fields.  We rely on their expertise as we are just the facilitator as the property management company.  The tenant went out of town during this repair after the mold/mildew was completed which did not allow the next vendor to have access to the unit to repair the hole in the shower from the repair.  It is also documented that they reached out to the tenant multiple times and he stated that he was out of town and would not be back for an extended period of time.  As soon as the tenant was back in town, the repair was able to be completed. 
  

  This work order was acted on immediately and resolved as soon as the tenant cooperated with repairs. 
  

  Additionally, the Owner has agreed to refund the tenant their December rent and allow them to terminate their lease early with no early termination penalty. 
  

  I would say that we resolved this issue immediately with the challenges that were given and all of these negative reviews were unwarranted because he never asked to speak to a manager to answer any additional questions and the resident was not making themselves available to the repairs early on in the process.  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩