Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  06/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  July 27, 2020 I bought a new house from *** and David A Klein Real Estate declared as HOA manager. David A Klein will be written as DAK. My purchase agreement names DAK as the sole entity responsible for property management of the development containing my house. I pay my HOA monthly payment to ****** ****** care/of DAK.DAK hired/controlled services for my property that have destroyed my property, beginning with weed whacking my house siding in May 2021. Only my attorney could get DAK to fix/pay the siding damage without my participation or presence during repair. November 2021, DAK’s snow removal service scraped off my brand new driveway seal coat paid for by me. $100. DAK offered no repayment for my damages or repair of curbing. May 2022 I followed DAK’s instructions for no lawn treatment. A liquid tractor squeezed up against my house wall spreading round-up near my furnace intake. DAK's lawn service repeatedly: 1. Tears up my yard with tractor wheelies 2. Blows rocky dirt at my painted concrete foundation and pitted it 3. Drives mower so fast at my house that shakes my glasses/dishes/wall/A/C. Sept 2022. We seeded our yard to fill bare spots made by DAK’s service. $45. DAK did not respond. I said no to next service applied by DAK, burned our lawn. I then took money off of my next month’s HOA payment $37 for my second re-seed after burning. DAK harassed my husband for a year for $11. DAK added late $300, additional over the $11 without substantiation from bylaws or proper letter. May 2021 I began reporting my house structure safety concerns to DAK's *** ******. Cracks formed in my foundation. 2022-23 reported to ****** ***** of DAK. These are exterior cracks penetrating into basement sealed for radon. $4800 by me to prevent falling frame.

  Business response

  07/28/2023

  Please know I have had no direct dealings with the ********.  *** was the association manager at the time and she had the most dealings with her.  I believe ******, our Accounts Receivable Manager, has also had discussions with her.  We have since parted with *** as of 1/23.

  My understanding is that **************** withheld $11.99 because the Trash Contractor could not supply her a trash container in a timely matter following settlement.  During the interim, *************************, President of the Association, was picking up her trash and putting it in his own containers.  I am told she told him to stop, then back-charged the Association.

  We informed her that we can do nothing about the fact that the trash company was waiting for more containers and we have no control over the situation.  She cannot withhold funds from the Association for any reason.  Any payment of less than the full amount could result in late charges in the amount of $25 per month as levied by the Executive Board.

  According to Section 5302 of the PA Uniform Planned Community Act (UPCA) entitled, "Power of Unit Owner's Association, Subsection  (A)(11), the Association can "Impose charges for the late payment of assessments..."

  According to Section 5513(I) of UPCA, entitled "Application of Payments",  "Any payment received by an association in connection with the lien under this section shall be applied first to any interest accrued by the association, then to any late fee, then to any costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred by the association in collection or enforcement and then to the delinquent assessment."

  The $11.99 was withheld in June of 2022.  No late fees were charged until April of 2023.  We were informed by *************************, President of the Association on April 21 that the Board has affirmed that, "anyone deliberately holding back any Association Fees should get late fees".  We were subsequently informed that the ******** should be charged late fees for every month going back to the month following the withholding.  This was also affirmed at a Board Meeting I attended on July 12.

  A few other points regarding ********************* complaint:

     1.  **************** wrote the the word "Thieves" on every check she sent us after the withholding.

     2.  We make no decisions relevant to any Association.  We merely recommend and implement decisions made by the Board.  We are the "messenger".

     3.  The groundskeeping and snow removal contractor are coordinated and directed by *************************, not our firm.  We have no control over them.

     4.  **************** was advised that we have no authority to direct the builder - ***; **** Homes.  They must deal directly with their Customer Care Center as directed at settlement and affirmed in their paperwork.

     5.  **************** has abused a number of the Board members and alienated many other members within the Association.  She told ***** she wants to receive no correspondence, written or email, from anyone within the Association.

     6.  She placed her home on the market a few months ago to the pleasure of many.  She recently withdrew it to their chagrin.

  All I have responded with herein can be affirmed by *************************, Board President. I am happy to provide his contact information if desired.

  In closing, to the best of my knowledge in the 42 years we have been in this business this is the first complaint filed with the BBB. 

  Respectfully,

  David Klein,President

  David A Klein Real Estate, Ltd.

  Customer response

  07/28/2023

  *************** to the response to my request of David A Klein as the property manager for ******************* by virtue of the purchase agreements for the ****** ****** homeowners that they restore to me the damage their actions have caused, to my driveway, foundation, curb, walkway.  Their assigns burned our lawn in 2022 by fertilizing over top of the white flags which DAK provided to mark our property for no fertilizer. $11 does not even begin to compensate my 60 year old husband for the health risk of him fixing the damage caused by David A. Klein's contractors.

  The comments in David A. Klein Real Estate's response to my refund were ludicrous and childish.  ****************** is a home owner and not responsible for David A Klein's purchase of contractors.  I have the same size waste containers as other homeowners and David A. Klein cannot produce any evidence of my doing any of the actions he fabricated in his response to my complaint.  I think the time would be better spent if DAK did their job.

  I have duplicate checks so a judge can see if David A Klein's remarks are substantiated.  However, I do believe that taking our community reserves without homeowner knowledge and consent is thievery and that was done by David A. Klein Real Estate.  In 2022 ******************* had lawn mowing service continuing to Thanksgiving week in November of 2022.  ******************* community homeowners in Dec 2022, including myself, raised their own HOA dues because of the disappearing reserves.  David A. Klein conveniently did not mention that.

  I have only made one comment in any of the community meetings and that was about the driveway seal coat in 2021, which the board mocked me for.  Since posting my home for sale in 2023, I have been included in no homeowner association activities even though I am still here and still paying for services I barely get.  So, yes.  I do hate being here in a house which was presented to me as meeting code and I had to pay for David A.Klein's damages to make the home sellable. My foundation is not repaired for the damage by David A. Klein's lawn wrecking contractor, walls are weakened and susceptible to more cracking.  The foundation was painted(photographed) at purchase so please don't act like an idiot and say it was always that way.  I have said many times that DAK needs to grow up and do the job they are paid to do, as David A. Klein spent a year threatening my husband for the $11. 

  My personal feelings about David A. Klein are apparent but that has no influence on the fact that David A. Klein accepted the job as property manager of ******************* and I am a property owner with damages due to DAK's choices.  I do not associate with persons or businesses who lack integrity, hence my trying to sell this home.  A week ago, David A. Klein Real Estate sent a gulag type threat addressed to this house (my husband) concerning a violation plan for us to add to my existing contract.  I don't have to be ********* & **** to know that one party cannot change an active contract with terms to to suit themselves without the other party having something in return.  Ludicrous.  I do not accept David A. Klein's behavior towards myself and I want to know why they appear to have such a racist attitude toward only the occupants of this house.  I have never met them and yet they mocked the first words out of my mouth and fabricate such lies about me without substantiation.  I have paid for my house and I pay for my husband and myself to repair damages caused by David A. Klein's inability or unwillingness to manage this association.

  Customer response

  08/21/2023

  After my last correspondence, my husband received another email from the defendant saying that the property manager at the time the defendant's contractor burned my lawn had accepted my deduction but David A. Kelin now says that he says she should not have done that.  David A. Kelin also told my husband to call him and he and my husband could solve my problem.  Now David A Klein has sent me a paper letter with a threat to pay the fake late fees, the deduction which I do not owe and that if I send any money it will not be applied for the monthly fee.  This is extortion in addition to being a racist and mysogenist, David A Klein is going to be a defendant.  I mailed my August HOA fee check (duplicate) on August 1, 2023 and David A. Klein now says he did not receive it.  I will inform my bank but I believe he is lying in addition to all his other offenses and I have no other choice but to escalate.  I did not see how you aided my situation by allowing a clearly illegal person to continue to create hate about me, harrasss my family for un-owed fees and make me want to leave my legitimate purchase here which is now unsellable because David A. Kelin is not performing his contractual obligation to maintain my property's exterior.

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

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