Albany Management Inc

I am writing to you in response to your letter for the above file numberMr*** paid his outstanding balance in full on July 30, (copy of check enclosed)The matter was amicably resolved by both partiesVery truly yours, Albany Management Lori C

I have reviewed the response made by
the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
The response submitted by Albany Management does not contain any offer merely seeks to voice their opinion and in doing so they cite several items as being factual in error
In reviewing the documents submitted by Albany Management there are several inconsistencies between their statement and the actual events and facts of the matterIt should be noted that Albany Management and *** Apartments state that my family has dogsThis is incorrect, we do own dog who has been housebroken since the day we adopted her as a year old dogSecondly the statement prepared by Joan Zstates that they perfomed the initial walk through on 06/01/which is also incorrectJoan performed the initial walk through of the apartment on 05/28/the day after the carpets had been professionally cleanedWhen she contacted me regarding some issues she noticed she did not mention any odor only saying there was a stain in the carpetShe could not provide a description of the stain or a location for the stainWhen I returned to the apartment to address the issues I crawled over every inch of the carpet for approximately hours and did not find any stains, there definitely was no odor at that time and there was no action that I needed to take for the carpetI did vacuum the carpet however just to ensure that they were not possibly seeing discoloring as a result of the fibers of the carpet laying in a different directionWe then had a Final Walk through on 06/01/at which time I did not dispute the need to prime the wall in the left bedroom (listed at that time as $45.00) and no other charges were listed on their inspection checklist. In the statement Joan states they have attached an invoice from *** Flooring dated 05/23/showing it was new carpet when we began our leaseI do not see any such invoice attached in their response and the only invoices they have provided to me were for an incorrect apartment dated 09/27/and one for the correct apartment but after had already taken the security deposit and balance billed me based on the incorrect invoice.
Joan mentions I offered to replace the carpet for themThis offer was made in the effort to continue to have a good relationship with the company, to mitigate both my own as well as their expenses and was contingent upon them providing proof of the need to replace such carpet (including a valid estimate for replacement and statement explaining the rationale of why it needed to be replaced and what actions they took to avoid it needing to be replaced)They never agreed to have me replace the carpet nor have they provided the information and proof necessary to show the need to replace the carpet
The managment company quotes the pet agreement stating that all damages or cleanup is the sole responsibility of the residentThey do not refer to the last line that states a black light will be used to visualize any damage to the carpet or flooring which is a reasonable step to take during a review of carpet for any stains/odors or to determine the source of an odorDuring our final walkthrough no such action was taken nor discussedIn my discussions with Joan I had requested a statement from the person they had review the carpets stating what steps were taken to identify to cause of any odor (such as the use of a blacklight) that they were detecting or to remedy this odorThe statement they have provided does not provide any relevant information to this. They have not provided any rationale or proof that the carpet had to be replaced other than a one line statement saying they are damaged beyond repair by pet odorsThey don't list any locations or causes of any odors nor any actions to attempt to remedy an odor. As they mention my family does own a flooring company and have been in the business for approximately yearsThe extreme lack of actions or verifications provided is
One thing of particular interest to me is that approximately 2-weeks after our Final Walkthrough they sent me an inspection checklist that looks very different than what they completed when we did our walkthroughEven on the new inspection checklist there are no notes of any damage or issues with the floor/coverings in any of the rooms that had carpeting (living room and bedrooms)The only mention of carpet is under Other it lists new carpet, remove/dispose carpet and prime floors but does not list any reason for this and instead appears as though they are replacing due to business practice
During the tenure of my lease with *** Village Apartments several issues arose that myself and my family took in stride and never complained aboutThese include the investation of Citronella ants any time they sprayed their grass w/pesticides, a hornets nest that was built right into the only entrance to my apartment, as well as the periodic (at least time per month) backing up of sewage into our only bathtubThe issue with the sewage is apparently a known problem for them that they did not disclose to us as potential renters nor did they take any action to correct the plumbing issue that would cause it in the first placeInstead of filing a frivolous complaint or starting a conflict with them we endured through itWe truly did (despite those issues) enjoy the apartment and would have continued to rent from them or from another Complex owned by Albany ManagementWe even applied to another complex they owned and were denied despite being a great resident and paying our rent on time for years
It is my belief that Albany Management and *** Village make it a standard operating procedure to replace the carpet at the end of any lease for owners of a pet regardless of the length of the lease or any actual defects present in the carpeting at the end of the leaseThis belief is based upon the lack of any proof of odor or any defect, actions taken by the management company to remedy any such defect to mitigate expenses to the resident, the actions we took to correct any issues with the apartment, professionally cleaning the carpets, and not detecting any odors that they claimed were presentHaving a such a deceptive business practice is detrimental to the residents interest and is contrary to the spirit of the lease, which is meant to protect both the Leasor and the LesseeI have attached a few photos taken by myself prior to the initial walkthrough perfomed by Joan, their subsequent move out checklist which does not list any issues with the flooring in the living room or either bedroom, and their original response to this complaint
I do not dispute the need for a wall in the left bedroom to be primed nor the $listed on the inspection checklist for this itemAs such, I seek a refund of $from my Security Deposit, this amounts to the full $1,security deposit less the $to prime the wallIn addition I wish to have all remaining charges be dismissed and that no negative action be taken against myself, my wife (also named on the lease), or my guarantor *** *** either legally, or via a credit reporting agency.
Regards, *** **

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me contingent on us being able to relocate by 3/1/Please understand that we have been trying to resolve this issue since 1/15/and since we were only notified that we could be released from our lease on 1/31/(giving us only days notice to relocate) we may not be able to secure an apartment by 3/1/ If we are unable to secure another apartment by the end of February we would pay rent to Albany Management for March and continue our searchHopefully that will not be the case though as we have submitted an application to another complex on 2/4/and will be providing them our security deposit pending approval of the applicationAt this time we believe that Albany Management is making a good faith effort to resolve this issue and we appreciate their cooperation.
Regards,
*** ***

In response to the letter written by Mr*** *** and Ms*** *** concerning their apartment at *** Village Apartments Appliances: The resident states there were no appliances in the apartment on their moday. This is true. The appliances were to be
delivered the day before Mr*** & Ms*** actually moved in, however, the company we purchase our appliances from had a scheduling difficulty and they could not deliver until the day after the move in. Our Superintendent offered to take brand new unused appliances from another apartment and install them in their apartment. Mr*** did not want that; he wanted to have his own appliances. They were then given the key to one of our furnished apartments so they could have access to appliances. The new appliances were installed the day after Mr*** and Ms*** moved in Tub Re-glaze: The Rental Manager told Mr*** & Ms*** at the time of showing the apartment that she would speak to the Superintendent about re-glazing the tub. The Superintendent did not think it was necessary, however, he sent over a maintenance technician to repair a few digs in the tub. This did not please the residents, therefore, a call was placed to the company that does the re-glazing and the work was scheduled to be done. This cannot be done while someone is in the apartment due to the fumes for at least hours. Mr*** was given a key to the furnished apartment to spend the nightThe tub was reglazed Curtain Hanging: Our staff does not hang curtains on company time as it is the responsibility of the residents to hang their own curtains. Occasionally someone on our staff will do work for a resident on their own time and will charge the resident. Air Conditioner: It is our policy to charge for the installation and removal of a resident's air conditioning unit. This is to cover the cost of the plexi-glass and our technician’s time. This fee is sometimes waived for new residents. Mr*** may have been told the fee would be waived but normally that is put into the lease. After checking the lease I did not see it listed. I do see from the tenant’s payment history the fee was waived for their benefit. It was never charged or never paid - we will officially waive it Drafty Doors: After a work order was placed in the Rental Office on December 15, about the drafty doors, our maintenance staff reinstalled new weather stripping on December 16, Mold on Carpet: The carpet and padding were brand new when the residents moved in. If there was mold on the carpet the maintenance staff would have notified the Rental Office to make arrangements to have our contractor carpet cleaner come in and extract the moisture from the carpet. We do not vacuum mold Drafty Doors: There was only one work order called in for drafty doors. If the weather stripping didn’t resolve the issue we have no record unless the residents make us aware of the issue A second work order was not found. We cannot fix what we do know is broken. Heater Fire: Superintendent indicated that over time a connection went bad and caused the heater to malfunction. Resident called and the breaker was then turned off until it was repaired Smoke Alarms: Smoke alarms will malfunction if they have gone beyond their expiration dateThe reason the alarms beep at various times is to notify you that they either need a battery replaced or to replace the entire alarmThe entire alarm was replaced with fresh batteries right away Tub Back Up: Resident called the emergency line to report his tub had backed up. Our “on call” maintenance was at their apartment within minutes of the call and repaired the line In Summary: Mr***'s and Ms***'s lease ends April 30, 2017. They have indicated in their correspondence they would like to be released from their lease obligation. Our lease breakage penalty is to pay two month’s rent, forfeit security and pay a $re-letting feeI have indicated to Mr*** that I will let them out of their lease on February 28, 2017. The security deposit will be refunded after the apartment has been inspected with the residents for damages (if any) after they move-out and there is no open balance on the account Our staff have been very responsive to their requestsWe regret that we have been unable to satisfy Mr***'s concerns to his satisfaction. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me Very truly yours, Albany Management Lori CProperty Manager

Thank you for your letter of August 2, 2017 which we received this past Wednesday. The situation deserves a full explanation. The Fairalls are a wonderful couple and we are so very sorry that they feel the way they do. It is our hope that, in time, they will recognize the actions we took to be...

correct and in their direct interests. We have tried to provide prompt information to all tenants affycted by our gas system being turned off. As with any "breaking story'' we could only report the facts, as we currently knew them, based upon information given by the respective suppliers and contractors. When the situation changed, we contacted each and every resident to keep them up to date. The gas was turned off by National Grid after our staff discovered multiple exterior leaks on the grounds of our apartment buildings. In all, 144 apartments were left without gas to heat hot water or to cook. As you can imagine, this was a serious problem for all of our tenants, particularly for many of our older residents.The experts are at a loss to explain the reason for the large number of sudden leaks which is still under study. It was determined that the most expedient lvay to serve our Tenants was to replace the complete system. The burden of repair and replace1nent costs was not a consideration. The completed work included more than 2000 linear feet of pipe and trenches together with ancillary equipment for each building. Some of the equ??pment had to be flown in after we were able to locate a supplier or manufacturer. This was no s??nall feat to assemble the required pipe and equipment and to find contractors who could immkdiately start and continuously prosecute the consh·uction. We appreciate their good w6rk and the effort they gave us. During this period, we have done everything possible to mitigate the situation for our residents. The principle actions taken were: 1. Maintenance of a daily stream of information to the residents so they could planaccordingly.2. Explaining the situation on an individual basis and ascertai, ing what we could do to help.3. Making available Microwaves for cooking for those who did not have any.4. Delivery of a total of 1000 free dinners from take-out restaurhnts.5. Provision of vacant aparhnents for showering.6. Reduction of the rent for all 144 involved resident's by 50% for September.We are thankful to all of our Tenants for their suggestions, patience and support during a very difficult time. They are truly a most resilient community of people able to handle a trying situation. Our thanks also to the Fairalls as they, as were all others, were subject to unexpected conditions. It is hoped the information submitted will be satisfactory for your purposes. If we can be of further help, please call upon us.

Revdex.com spoke to Lori at the business and the following was relayed: The guarantor on the lease has called the office and is paying the balance on the account. Attached is a copy of the invoice for the carpet replacement.