Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/24/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I moved into Villa's at Midtown on 1/27/2024. I had requested a 2 bedroom 2 bath townhome. I was not told I would be downsized to a 2 bed 1.5 bath. I found out when I opened my door to move in on 1/27/2024. When I was being handed my keys for move-in I was told at that time that the townhome they provided for me smelled of pet urine and there was nothing they could do about it and proceded to hand my keys to me. It smelled bad, it was dirty, had roaches, the air conditioner did not work, the sink fell out of the granit in the kitchen, the dishwasher had water sitting in it, the clothes washer did not work, there were incense sticks, stuck in the walls and appliances, the a/c units (split units) had 2 inches of dirt caked on them, and I had no choice but to move in. It took them three weeks to fix the a/c, took them two months to shock vac the standing water (which also began to really stink) in my dishwasher, they have not addressed the urine smells, there is an infestation of roaches in the entire complex, and the management doesn't seem to care to really address all my issues. I have time/date stamped photos and video's backing up my issues as well as all my maitenance requests (some of which they marked as complete even though it clearly wasn't fixed). There is what looks like blood fingerprints on some of the walls and cabinet. There is a shelf that was supposed to be fixed in the kitchen that is still not fixed. There are multiple issue, the urine smell, roaches, and dirtiness are just the ones that are too much to live with. I pay rent on time and have zero complaints as a tenant. I have decided to break my lease since the townhome still smells like urine, has roaches, and I have no clothes washer (I did not budget money nor time for laundry mat's since I was promised a washer and dryer in my unit). They refuse to fix the smell, refuse to fix my clothes washer, and honestly don't care about the tenants.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/26/2024

  They are now trying to charge me for breaking my lease.  It was unlivable with the smell and all the issues I had from day one without any resolution is the reason I had to move.  ************** provided a urine soaked, dirty apartment to a new tenant and then wants to charge me extra for moving out after three months of not fixing the issue as well as all the additional issues I had. Not once did they offer any solution for the stench.  They also deleted all the maintenance request off of my profile on line but I saved a copy of every single one of them.  It costs a lot to come up with the money to find a new place and move.  They should be held accountable for treating a paying tenant so poorly.  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/29/2024

  I inspected unit 1929 TH 5 with my assistant manager today 4/26/24. We checked the entire upstairs and downstairs and smelled no urine smell. There was no damage, smell, or staining to the vinyl or carpet. The carpet and pad were replaced before the residents moved into this unit. No work orders have been deleted out of the system, all work orders stay in our system even after the resident has vacated.  The AC is functioning, and there was no evidence of roaches anywhere in the unit. Upon entering the unit, we noticed the resident had vacated without returning the keys to the leasing office. Since there is no urine smell within the apartment, which was the primary reason this tenant vacated, we have charged a lease break fee of 2x the rent as well as an insufficient notice fee of 1x the rent amount.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/29/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   

  I am rejecting this response because:   They are lying I have matenance request about it!  I have emails discussing it to management company and apartment managers.  I was handed the keys by the manager and verbally told at the time I was handed keys that the apartment smelled like pet urine and there was nothing they could do about it.  I have an estimate from Kwik Dry to try and get rid of the smell and was told it was in the subflooring.  I have photos and videos of roaches even in the fridge WITH time stamps proving it was when I moved in.  I have multiple emails and maintenance request about the smell, the water sitting in the dishwasher for a month and nobody would even shock vac the water out until I had to beg for it.  The A/C did not work for over two weeks see time stamp of maintenance request and notification of when they were completed. I have from day one complained about the urine smell, I have complained about the washer and dryer not working, I have complained about the dirty, smelly, and broken apartment from day one.  See the photographs of the dirty apartment with timestampls proving it was the day I moved in.  ************** is lying and it took every ***** I had to move out of there as quickly as I could.  I have zero reason to move into an apartment commit to a years lease, pay my rent on time, and then move out just shy living there only 3 months if there wasn't a terrible issue.  I had to come up with added cost to move, why would I do that unless there were major issues!!!!  That is not even logical.  I have reattached the maintenance request on 2/5 and others regarding the smell and other issues which was within 7 days of me moving in (which was not my first complaint).  With the tone of the maintenance request you can see I am beyond frustrated and complaining about the smell and other issues at that time.  These people should not be allowed to get away with terrible treatment of their tenants.  Also, yes every maintenance request is missing from my account on my end so I am able to see any past or completed maintence requests, but I kept a copy of each one I submitted and any and all emails between the management at the Villas & the Vesta Realty.  I have attached more maitenance request proving I had been complaining about the smell from day 1 and it was never addressed until April 18 by Destiny discussing getting a carpet cleaning company for the smell via email which by then it was too late! See ALL the requests complaining about smell. See photos of dirt and roaches.  The originals are on my phone along with TIME STAMPED VIDEO OF MOVE IN.  I will update with the estimate from **************** (they also acknowledged smell in Estimate).  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/16/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Billed on Dec 6th 2023. They are charging me for carpeting replacement when the carpeting was not damaged by me. That unit floods from the kitchen into the smaller bedroom when it rains. I moved in Oct 2021 and moved out on Dec 1st 2023. That problem had been a constant issue the entire time living there and they are fully aware that. It is my understanding that the flooding issue was going on even with the tenant who lived there before me. It is unfair that I am being bullied into paying something that was not my fault. Plus we agreed on a discounted move out fee because of the work I did on repairing and modifying the kitchen cabinets. I gave them a reduce cost for the materials that were used in the repair/remodel. So a loss of money out of my pocket. II emailed them the receipts as well for that project. I did not charge for labor of the remodel. I even fully repainted the apartment as well before moving. I had contacted ****************, (property owners) and nothing had been resolved. The rest of the billing is fair as far as I know. The charges for $1925.44 for carpet replacement is completely unfair considering the neglect on their part to correct the problem. I had several items that had to be disposed of due to the water all over the kitchen. Also, I would like no further contact of any kind including phone and email contact from anyone connected to Villas at Midtown or **************** . Not all persons, but some employees of this apt complex made me feel intimidated by the varied levels of "bullying" tactics, aggressive actions and verbal manipulation that was directed toward me/about me during the time I lived there. This includes intentional neglect of repair to the unit. For example, things were not repaired at all because it was my unit. I was told by other employees that certain persons who were asked to do repairs to my unit would skip my name on the list or come up with some excuse why they did not get to it because it was my unit,

  Business Response

  Date: 02/02/2024

  I (***********************-Regional Supervisor) joined the team in early November 2023. Per our system, on 10/24/23 notice was given by ***** that he would be moving out on 11/27/23 resulting in breaking his lease which expired Dec 31, 2023. ***** notified us he may need to push his move-out date due to some issues with him getting into his new unit. On 11/18 we still had no infinite move-out date making it difficult for us to know when we could prelease his unit but remained patient. After reaching out to him he confirmed he would be able to move out on 11/27/23. On 11/27/23 we were notified by ***** that he is not able to move out because he is still having issues getting access to his new unit. I instructed the staff at this time that ***** needed to take care of his balance that was owed if he was planning to continue living in the unit. At that time he made me aware that he had a previous agreement with the owners/managers that he would do some remodel work in exchange for a rental discount. I asked the owners (who have never changed) and the current managers and no one was aware of this. There was no proof of a conversation or a signed contract. Anything like this is always completed at a corporate level and would have a contract drafted. With no contract, it was difficult for me to make a decision here. However, ***** provided receipts for materials purchased for the alleged remodel. He asked if we would be willing to work with him and he said it would be more than fair if he was only responsible for $516 of the rent owed. I felt as though this was a reasonable offer and with me not being present during that time and him having receipts I did go ahead and honor his request because I wanted to honor this just in case something was in place that I was not aware of even though there was no confirmation from anyone on my team.
  On 11/29/23 ***** paid the agreed amount of $516. I removed the remaining $426.14 from his account leaving him with an account balance of $0. 
  During this conversation, ***** notified us he would be moving out on December 3rd at the latest. **** were returned and his move-out was processed on December 2nd. The account is past due, due to last month's utility bills that were never paid (11/1-12/2) as well as damage to the unit (flooring had to be replaced due to extensive damage as well as blinds being replaced due to damage). We even take extra precautions when it comes to flooring replacement in our company as we know this is a large expense. Our onsite team must submit a ticket and it has to be reviewed by myself as well as members of an audit team at our corporate office to make sure we are not replacing flooring unnecessarily. The team must send in a statement with pictures before the flooring is approved to be replaced. Once approved they are given a verification code which they must give to the flooring company before they will come to replace anything. We do have proof of this ticket as well picture of the unit which was also unloaded on the resident portal for the resident's review at any time. 
  
  In regards to the damage to the floors being caused due to leak/flood issues, I have looked through all work orders that were submitted. The only water-related work order was for
   "Description - Ceiling above bathtub wet from upstairs. "   and "************* goes down drain it seems to be draininging out of disposal unit into bottom of cabinet. Not just a smal amount of water, appears to be most of the water."
  Both were completed and no damage was reported by the resident at the time of move-in or after any alleged leak or flood. There are no work orders regarding any floods for the entire time on the property. I can assure you that no one "skipped" your unit. Work orders were always addressed and completed by anyone on our team but emergencies do take priority. No inventory and condition formed was returned to us with any damage listed. I have attached a snapshot of the lease agreement regarding this.
  
  
  I strongly feel as though my team went above and beyond to remedy this situation. Due to having no proof of work being completed by ************** or any agreement in writing I took his word and honored his request. At the end of the day, there was damage to the unit and per the contract, the resident on the lease agreement is liable for those damages. 
  
  I would be happy to discuss this further but I do stand by the decision myself and team have made in this situation. Please let me know if you have any questions. We are happy to provide pictures of the damage, a receipt of the flooring replacement cost we paid to make the unit rent-ready after the move-out, and anything else that is needed.
  
  Thank you, 
  ***********************
  Regional Manager
  
  Direct Contact
  **************
  
  Corporate Contact
  ***************************************************************
  www.vestarealproperty.com
  
  **************

  Business Response

  Date: 02/02/2024

  I (***********************-Regional Supervisor) joined the team in early November 2023. Per our system, on 10/24/23 notice was given by ***** that he would be moving out on 11/27/23 resulting in breaking his lease which expired Dec 31, 2023. ***** notified us he may need to push his move-out date due to some issues with him getting into his new unit. On 11/18 we still had no infinite move-out date making it difficult for us to know when we could prelease his unit but remained patient. After reaching out to him he confirmed he would be able to move out on 11/27/23. On 11/27/23 we were notified by ***** that he is not able to move out because he is still having issues getting access to his new unit. I instructed the staff at this time that ***** needed to take care of his balance that was owed if he was planning to continue living in the unit. At that time he made me aware that he had a previous agreement with the owners/managers that he would do some remodel work in exchange for a rental discount. I asked the owners (who have never changed) and the current managers and no one was aware of this. There was no proof of a conversation or a signed contract. Anything like this is always completed at a corporate level and would have a contract drafted. With no contract, it was difficult for me to make a decision here. However, ***** provided receipts for materials purchased for the alleged remodel. He asked if we would be willing to work with him and he said it would be more than fair if he was only responsible for $516 of the rent owed. I felt as though this was a reasonable offer and with me not being present during that time and him having receipts I did go ahead and honor his request because I wanted to honor this just in case something was in place that I was not aware of even though there was no confirmation from anyone on my team.
  On 11/29/23 ***** paid the agreed amount of $516. I removed the remaining $426.14 from his account leaving him with an account balance of $0. 
  During this conversation, ***** notified us he would be moving out on December 3rd at the latest. **** were returned and his move-out was processed on December 2nd. The account is past due, due to last month's utility bills that were never paid (11/1-12/2) as well as damage to the unit (flooring had to be replaced due to extensive damage as well as blinds being replaced due to damage). We even take extra precautions when it comes to flooring replacement in our company as we know this is a large expense. Our onsite team must submit a ticket and it has to be reviewed by myself as well as members of an audit team at our corporate office to make sure we are not replacing flooring unnecessarily. The team must send in a statement with pictures before the flooring is approved to be replaced. Once approved they are given a verification code which they must give to the flooring company before they will come to replace anything. We do have proof of this ticket as well picture of the unit which was also unloaded on the resident portal for the resident's review at any time. 
  
  In regards to the damage to the floors being caused due to leak/flood issues, I have looked through all work orders that were submitted. The only water-related work order was for
   "Description - Ceiling above bathtub wet from upstairs. "   and "************* goes down drain it seems to be draininging out of disposal unit into bottom of cabinet. Not just a smal amount of water, appears to be most of the water."
  Both were completed and no damage was reported by the resident at the time of move-in or after any alleged leak or flood. There are no work orders regarding any floods for the entire time on the property. I can assure you that no one "skipped" your unit. Work orders were always addressed and completed by anyone on our team but emergencies do take priority. No inventory and condition formed was returned to us with any damage listed. I have attached a snapshot of the lease agreement regarding this.
  
  
  I strongly feel as though my team went above and beyond to remedy this situation. Due to having no proof of work being completed by ************** or any agreement in writing I took his word and honored his request. At the end of the day, there was damage to the unit and per the contract, the resident on the lease agreement is liable for those damages. 
  
  I would be happy to discuss this further but I do stand by the decision myself and team have made in this situation. Please let me know if you have any questions. We are happy to provide pictures of the damage, a receipt of the flooring replacement cost we paid to make the unit rent-ready after the move-out, and anything else that is needed.
  
  Thank you, 
  ***********************
  Regional Manager
  
  Direct Contact
  **************
  
  Corporate Contact
  ***************************************************************
  www.vestarealproperty.com
  
  **************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/12/2024

  The Villas website was changed 1-1-23. None of the work orders from the previous website were carried over to the new site. There was never any record of details sent to my email from those work orders. Only simple "Work order complete" emails were received. I sent several maintenance requests and made many phone calls regarding the flooding of the unit. It would get flooded from the rain water coming into the unit through the ac unit outside. Mine was not the only apartment this happened too. I know from ********, previous maintenance guy, that several of the units had the same issue. ******** also told me that the renter before me had the same issue for years. The area outside where the ** units are to that building needed the gravel/rocks redone so water did not flow into the units. He had changed it for several other buildings on that property. My building **** and one other were never taken care of. I also know that ************************* and his mother, who lived in the apt next to mine, his bedroom would get flooded from water. In 2022, after the rain, they sometimes would send guys to the units with fans. They would pull up the carpet in the smaller bedroom and put a fan on it for a few days. Then come back and put the carpet back in place. The flooding is a known fact that happened in my building. For me it was the smaller bedroom that connected to the kitchen and the kitchen/dining area that would get flooded with water. Plus I lived in that unit from Oct 2021 to Dec 2023. I should not be responsible for carpeting when it was damaged from water coming in from outside when it rained. This is also the reason that the entire bottom of the kitchen cabinet was ruined and needed repair as well. Clearly the wood was rotted from the water. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/08/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I live at the villas at midtown with my 4 year old son. We have been without hot water for 4 days and counting. For 2 weeks leading up to the current situation we only had warm water that was barely comfortable to take a shower. I called numerous times and no one ever answered the phone. I submitted multiple work orders that they would close out saying the work had been completed when nothing had been done. I have sent emails asking them to contact me and no one has responded. They sent an email out to everyone in the building saying the boiler was broke and that they were going to replace it 3 days ago. They said we could call for an appointment to shower in a vacant apartment but every time I call no one answers or returns my call. Hot water is a necessity that we shouldn't have to go without.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/13/2023

  This work order has been closed since 4/4/2023 their was a leak in the boiler, it was fixed. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/17/2023

  I am rejecting this response because:   the issue is not completely fixed. Some days we have hot water some days we don't. Just yesterday (4/16/23) I had to take a cold shower. It has been a well over a month since the hot water issue started. I have put in more then one work order for it. They close them out saying the issue has been fixed when it hasn't. 

  Business Response

  Date: 04/26/2023

  We appreciate her putting the work order back in if it is truly not fixed. 

  When we did the repair and tested it, it was working. We will return and try to find and resolve the issue.