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Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2016/06/13) */
For almost five years I was property manager for this home. The same level of care was taken with every tenant the home had in it. There were 4 different families living in the home in 5 years. The owner received rent for every month the home...

was occupied. However only one rehab was performed by my company during the 5 years of management and that was in 2013. We were allowed to paint two walls, replace a kitchen sink with new faucet and do some minor repairs..at no time during the 5 years was any woodwork painted. There were scuffs on some walls and woodwork after four families moving in and out. As long as the same rent was maintained the owner (who walked the property) asked us to do nothing. I have a directive to my staff in 2014 that we are not to turn on water between tenants unless absolutely necessary per owners instructions. Each tenant, prior to getting keys, must watch a 12 minute video outlining the terms and conditions of their lease. We also outline, and give a copy to the tenants, the complete list of charges that they will incur should they not do as is stipulated in the lease. The last tenant in the home did watch the video and did have a list of the charges. The term "reasonable care" comes to the forefront of the owners complaint. During this last tenancy either myself or my staff was in the home several times during the one year lease. We look for unauthorized pets, unauthorized persons, damage to walls and doors, damage to flooring, damage to kitchen cabinets, landscaping being taken care of etc. The tenant was informed of stains on carpets and was aware of the cost involved in carpet cleaning and or replacement. The tenant gave a 30 day notice and the owner was notified. As soon as keys were returned to my office a walk thru was scheduled with the owner. Some tenants do have it cleaned and carpet cleaned prior to leaving a rental but some tenants do not and allow their security deposit to cover damages and in worse cases we sue for additional damages. However you only have a 45 day period to do so after move out according to indiana law. At the walk thru the owner had his real estate broker there to take over getting it ready to sell..which is a completely different avenue than getting it ready to rent. I told owner and broker at walk thru that my staff would be available for the cleaning and carpet cleaning and getting home ready and I was told that my services were done and the broker was taking over from there. However the broker did accept my offer of house cleaning services. My cleaners cleaned the home and used the plumbing and found no issues at that time. I charged exactly what the tenant knew they would be charged for cleaning from their sec deposit. As far as the carpet is concerned it is an off white and has been in the home for the entire five years..carpet cleaning being the only thing done to it during my management. My understanding is that the carpet was again cleaned and was not replaced in the process of selling it. The tenants were charged for carpet cleaning in their sec deposit. They were also charged for general cleaning, rescreening, garage remotes, some painting and removal of piano and grill along with the prorated rent to when they returned the keys. Had I not been released from management its entirely possible that the owner would not have had to make the trips or have the additional charges. Neither myself nor my management team cannot possibly be held responsible for charges from other companies or the amount of trips taken in order to get a home ready to sell when we had no involvement after the fact other than house cleaning. However, in the interest of resolving this issue in an amiable manner I am willing to reimburse the owner the prorated rent that was taken from the sec deposit of the last tenant with no fees attached at [redacted]
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2016/06/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We do not agree with the majority of the rental agent's reply and do not accept it in its entirety.
To iterate our earlier comments, the rental agent's (RA) advertisement states to the effect, they are in business to make your owning investment property a trouble free investment. With the last tenants the RA provided, this is anything but the truth. The RA states several visits were made by the RA or by her reps during the course of the lease year. Did they not see the filth and damage being done to the property? This was the time to correct the problems. What was done to improve the tenant's manner of caring for our property? What did the agent do to see that the tenants maintained the property in the manner it was when they first arrived? Here we see a complete dereliction of the RA's paid responsibilities to us. For [redacted] and at times with a [redacted] effective rate of commission we expected better service.
The RA states there is only a 45 day period to pursue the tenants after they move out. Why did the RA not pursue them? We understand the law also states the clock wouldn't start until a forwarding address was provided. The RA failed to mention to us either part of the law. We don't believe the RA was ever acting on our behalf with these tenants. We refuse to accept the RA's offer.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2016/06/23) */
While I am sorry that the owner is upset over the property management issue I can offer no other compensation at this time other than my original offer.