ComplaintsforReal Property Associates

• Initial Complaint

  01/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I moved in a property in April of 2020. I experienced leaks and electric problems as well as exposed insulation the entire time. The electric was somewhat resolved but the leak was always temporarily fixed. The owner of the property switched property management companies sometime in 2023 to my recollection. Upon this change the new property management company was supposed to redo the bathroom in the master bedroom where the leak was coming from, never happened. Like the first property management company they sent out their maintenance guy who did temp fixes after watching a stream pour from the upstairs to the storage area and just said call if it happens again. In August of 2023 I gave notice I was moving out of state. I thoroughly cleaned the home and did the yardwork before leaving. **** who works at Real Property Associates tried to show the house while I was in the process of moving out and I told her I would have to let anyone who was looking to rent this property what was going on with it. She said she had no idea what was going on so I showed her. She was in disbelief and unaware. She then went to her boss ***** who tried to put the house on the market for 3800 I believe, when I was only paying ***** because the landlord said how well I took care of the house and property. **** advised ***** that wasn't a good idea and filled him in on what was going on. They talked with the owner and decided to take it off the market and do ****** dollars in repairs. I asked **** to do the walkthrough before I left and she said she could not because she was busy. I got back ***** of my ***** dollar deposit plus there was another $690 added for rent over payment, so ***** was the total amount. I still to this day have not got the rest of my deposit or any receipts or pictures of what the money was used for. **** tried to say ***** was going towards yardwork and new carpet in the front and back areas I let her know we did the yardwork and I would only take responsibility for the back carpet because the front carpet was already pulling up when I moved in and provided pictures. I texted her twice and she said she had no receipts yet. Then I texted her again asking for an update and got no response. I'm looking to get the rest of my money back. It's been well over the 30 days provided by LAW.

  

  Business response

  01/30/2024

  *******,

  
  First, we have been in direct contact with you concerning this situation and believe this matter will be resolved soon. 
  
  We cannot respond to events that happened before our management took over in December 2022. We cannot account for what was communicated between you and the previous property management company. We were also left in the dark about the previous property management companys actions,and yes, there was some surprise on our behalf when working on the repairs within the unit.  As maintenance requests were submitted, we conducted repairs as required and with the approval of the property owner. We appreciated your communication when repairs were needed.
  
  You were provided a preliminary security deposit reconciliation and is not considered your final reconciliation. The preliminary security deposit includes estimates based on prior vendor invoices. We are required to submit a preliminary move-out report within 30 days of the end of the lease term and vacation of the premises, this was done. We are often left awaiting invoices and providing a final move-out report can take longer and this is legal within **************** law.
  
  We have been waiting for the final invoice to complete your final security deposit reconciliation, it has been received and we will be following up with your final move-out shortly.
  
  The other issues that you bring up, such as renovations and the rent getting up to market, are being handled directly by the property manager and property owner.
  
  We have appreciated your tenancy, your open communication,and your hard work in getting the property rent-ready. Your final move-out will reflect this minus the repairs due to tenant damage. We wish you well.

  
  

  Customer response

  02/05/2024

  This is in regards to the Real Property Associates response. They have since been in contact with me and have had conflicting stories. As, well as ***** admitting he confirmed with his legal counsel that it was *****' s opinion he did the move out process correctly. 
    Also, I spoke with ****** who is *****'s boss who said he saw a receipt for carpet that was under $800 which is about what I said I believe the cost should be, then when I spoke with him again it was notes. It wasn't until 2 days after I reported the business they magically got the receipts that did in fact charge me more than they should have for things under their admission were being taken off my original move out form, but never provided me with an updated copy.
     I believe legally and confirmed they owe me the remaining deposit amount of $1480. 
  However, if they can admit they did not follow proper procedure and allow the "NOTE" that was under the amount of (800) which  I believe to be the amount that should have been charged, I will expect it. If not I will pursue a small claim for failing to provide documentation and or receipts that showed why the money had not been returned in the legal 30 days per Washington law. 
      Do I need to do anything else, or submit this another way? Please let me know. Thank you for your time. 

  

  Business response

  02/16/2024

  We will not be refunding the remaining security deposit, $1004.00, or your previous estimate of $1480.00. 
   
  The move-out was processed correctly. You received your preliminary move-out reconciliation within 30 days, as required by **************** law. The ******************* allows additional time to get additional repair invoices or final utility bills, and this was noted on your preliminary move out.  We are often left waiting on invoices and make attempts to get the invoices in a timelier manner. 
   
  Concerning your reference to $800. Due to your many calls to our office, the situation was escalated to our Director of Operations, ***************************, to best assist with your situation at the time. The $800 you are referring to, was a part of the estimate that was part of the carpet cleaning, totaling $1,180.00 that was on your preliminary move-out security deposit reconciliation. The $800 was the estimate of the labor, which did not include the materials, under $400. Both invoices for the materials and the labor were provided in your final move-out reconciliation, which includes the date of receipt.
   
  All estimates on preliminary security deposit reconciliations are based on prior vendor invoices and are subject to change in the final move-out reconciliation. With the final invoices, you were charged less than the estimates that were provided and you received an additional check for $470.00. Ultimately, you received $1,886.00 of your security deposit and the overpayment of rent minus the cost of carpet materials and replacement due to bleach staining.  
   
  As always, we appreciate your tenancy, your open communication, and your hard work in getting the property rent-ready. We wish you well. 
   
  
  

  Customer response

  02/20/2024

  I have confirmed with many legal services that they did not follow proper procedure. While they did in fact give me $1,410 back before 30 days I was never provided updated documentation after providing them proof I was not responsible for 1 of the 2 carpets listed on the original paperwork on October 13th 2023, and according to ***** the owner said don't charge me for the yardwork that was done before we left. I should have immediately been provided that updated documentation. They had ample opportunity to find another contractor if that one was not adequately providing services like they were supposed to within the legal 30 days. I never received estimates from the actual company showing where my money was going, and if I was provided that maybe I could have let them know that they overcharged me like they later found out after "further probing" according to ***** after him and **** swore up and down everything that they had done was accurate. And, according to their OWN attorney they did not follow proper procedure, it was in fact their opinion they did per *****'s email. At this point I feel like I'm just going to reach out for more legal assistance to proceed with getting the rest of my money back. There is still too many inconsistent stories with the 3 party's involved ****** ***** and now ****** the supervisor.  
  

  And to be clear I called ****** twice once because ***** was incorrect with his information so I wanted to go around him and talk to his supervisor, and a second time he all the sudden had a different story so I stopped reaching out to him.
  

  Also, for the record I still have not received the $476 instead of asking for my updated address to send a check especially knowing I moved to another state they sent it to my P.O Box in Washington. I did wonder why they would send a check when last time they did direct deposit. They said they would direct deposit it and then days later told me someone turned off access to the direct deposit and to turn it back on and provide my routing and account # again but at this point I don't trust these people. I sent **** a message to send a check today 2/16/2024. 
  

  The law says if there is ANY reason you are not returning ALL of a deposit by 30 days it is your responsibility to provide documentation of why. Which did not happen. Not say we don't have receipts yet then ignore the person. They could have sent the professional company estimates and did not. The reason why is because the services hadn't even been done by the legal 30 days. It wasn't until December 20th after me contacting **** for the 3rd time. Originally by phone on October 13th 2023. Then in text messages on November 6th 2023 where she stated they hadn't got receipts yet, which is clearly inaccurate if they didn't even get the materials until December 20th 2023. She never said the work hasn't been started yet if the law gives them more than 30 days like they're saying, which I've never seen the *** code saying any of this like I've provided them with *** codes. So, the fact that she lied and provided deceiving information let's me know that this is inaccurate as well. I contacted **** again on December 12th 2023 and was ignored. Then the materials were bought 8 days later. I feel it was their intention to keep the $1,480 regardless of work or proper charging of work and it wasn't until my persistence and pursuant of what was really going on that all this has been "taken care of" according to them. I can't help but wonder how many other people have they done this to and I will definitely be putting a review for this particular property management company along with names to let people know they really need to investigate and watch how these people are doing things when it comes to returning deposits. 
  

  Bottom line is all this could have been avoided if I did the walkthrough that I requested and **** denied. And, if they would have communicated with proper paperwork after I provided photos of not being responsible for one of the two carpets and any business estimates showing where the money was supposed to be going after the 30 days, if they needed more time and they failed to do so.
  

  I also want to be clear that the carpet was still in good condition it was just stains on the carpet not the carpet was destroyed. So in my opinion they could have just been pocketing all this money and not actually redoing the carpet like they said or even having it cleaned and not redone and then to save face for their inconsistent stories had it redone in December who knows what they did at this point.

*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. ↩