Revdex.com of W Georgia-E. Alabama
&SW Georgia
500 12th Street
Columbus, GA 31901-2**7
RE: Revdex.com Case#[redacted] and
Case #[redacted]
Mrs [redacted]
I have reviewed both of the
Revdex.com complaints (Case # [redacted] and Case # [redacted])
regarding the same issue. Please review my rebuttal and resolution below.
[redacted] Condominiums were
built in 1998 and are located one block from Auburn University’s main campus.
The rental units at [redacted] include all of the utilities in the rent rate
(Garbage, Monthly Pest Control, Water/Sewer, Cable, Internet and Electricity). For the Leasing Season of August 2015-2016,
the 5 four bedroom units that are managed by Auburn Realty on our Rental Program
are being advertised for $2400/month (plus City Rent Tax). The other four units have been spoken for and
will be rented at the $2400 rate.
A comparable property in the
Auburn area is [redacted] Condos. They were built in 1999 and are located one
block from Auburn University’s main campus as well. The average rent for [redacted] is $2200/month. However, four main utilities are not included in the
$2200 rent rate (Electricity, Water/Sewer, Cable and Internet) as is with [redacted]. In addition; there are older one bedroom units within the same area that
rent for $750/month without power and water being included. With this market
analysis, property owners along with Auburn Realty set the rates at $2400/month
to closer match comparable properties and to stay competitive in the growing
market.
Ms. [redacted], along
with three roommates, currently leases [redacted] #** for $2000/month (plus
City Rent Tax) with all utilities (listed above) included. The other 4 units
lease for $2100 and $2200 for this current year. Each unit at [redacted] is
separately owned. Therefore, the prices for each unit will vary. However, all 5
units’ rates were set by the owners at the same rate of $2400/month for
2015-2016.
The first week of December we
posted on our company Facebook page and on our website that lease renewals
would be sent very soon! Ms [redacted]
[redacted] was emailed the Lease Renewal Notice on December 21st along
with a Winter Notice and Show Unit Notice. (These documents are included for
your review). On the Winter Notice it states, “We will be closed for business
on Monday, December 22nd, 2014 and will re-open Tuesday, January 6th,
2015 at 8:30am unless otherwise notified. The body of the email stated as
follows:
Current
Residents,
Please review
the notices attached to this email. We understand that most of you will be out
of town for the Christmas Holidays and are unable to visit our office to renew
your lease before the deadline on the attached notice. If you are planning on
renewing your lease and will not be able to visit the office before January
14th, 2015, please send an email to the Auburn Realty Leasing Manager, [redacted] We will begin
emailing renewal lease agreements on January 6th to those who have contacted
us.
We hope that all
of you have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2015!
As
Mr. [redacted] states in his complaint, the Lease Renewal notice does state, “No new
application fees, security deposits or transfer fees for utilities”. Mr. [redacted]
was not charged a new security deposit as the $2000.00 that was paid last year
is still in the account. Auburn Realty’s policy is for the amount of the
security deposit to match the rate of the rent. Considering the rent for [redacted]
[redacted] #** was increasing by $400.00, the security deposit on the renewal lease also
had to be increased by $400.00. The security deposit is completely refundable
to Mr. [redacted] at the end of the lease term and will be processed in accordance
with Alabama State Law.
When
signing a lease with Auburn Realty for [redacted] #** on January 24th,
2014, the policy of the security deposit matching the rent rate was disclosed
at that time. According to the lease agreement, the rent was $2000/month and
the security deposit was $2000.00. This amount was paid by Ms. [redacted].
In addition, our Leasing Process instructions that are available on our front
counter or on our website states, “The security deposit is equal to the rent
rate of the property that you choose. However, this is not considered as a rent
payment.” (A copy of the leasing process is included for your review).
Considering
our offices were closed from December 22nd, 2014 to January 6th,
2015, no one was at the office to answer the phones. However, Ms [redacted] did send the following
email on December 21st, 2014:
To whom it may
concern,
I just received
the lease renewal letter and attachment and our rent rate is going to increase
by $400 a month if we choose to renew. We love living in [redacted] and would
like to stay but cannot afford the increased rent. I wanted to call the office
and discuss this and see if there are any less expensive units available.
Unfortunately, you office is closed today and will be until January 6th
and the deadline to renew in January 14th so we are in a time
crunch. It is pretty late in the year to be looking at other apartments and
availability is limited so we fell kid of backed into a corner and wanted to
see if we could work something out with either Auburn Realty or the owner of
the apartment. Thank you for your time.
[redacted]
[redacted] #**
Our
offices re-opened on January 6th, 2015. Ms [redacted] lives in the same
complex as our office, yet we did not receive any further communication from
her when we re-opened until January 14th, 2015 (which was the renewal
deadline). In the Auburn rental market, January is the beginning of leasing
season for the majority of the Auburn area for student rentals. Leasing for
Fall 2015 (to the public) did not start until January 19th for
Auburn Realty and January 21st for another realty company in town. I
understand that one of our competitors signs contingency leases, but they are
the only company that I know of. I have worked for Auburn Realty for almost 7
years now and every year, January is the beginning of the leasing season. This
fact conflicts with Ms [redacted]’ statement, “It is pretty late in the year to be
looking at other apartments and availability is limited so we fell kid of
backed into a corner. . .”
On
January 14th, 2015, [redacted] along with her four roommates
(all over the age of 19) came into the Auburn Realty office and signed the
lease for [redacted] #** (2015-2016) and paid the $400.00 Security Deposit
increase. This lease is a binding contract as it has been processed and
executed. Please note that we have not received any complaints from Ms [redacted]’
three other roommates or their parents.
After
speaking with the owner of the property, he has given Auburn Realty the full
authority to do what is needed in this situation on his behalf. In order to
resolve this matter, Auburn Realty is willing to offer two resolutions:
1.
Keep
the lease as is. The rent will stay at $2400.00 as stated in the lease
agreement for the duration of the 2015-2016 lease.
2.
Terminate
the lease entirely and refund the $400.00 Security Deposit Increase payment. Ms
[redacted] and her roommates would move out of [redacted] #** at the end of their
current lease on August 3, 2015. They would have until January 30th,
2015 at 5:00pm to notify us if this is the option they choose.
Due
to the demand for [redacted] that we are currently experiencing, we feel as
though $2400/month is a fair price for Unit #** in this market and we have
several groups on the waiting list who would rent this unit the next day after we
contact them. Please let me know if you have any further questions regarding
this matter.
[redacted]
Property
Manager
Auburn
Realty
[redacted]Documentation was sent to [redacted]
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and we have decided to stay in the lease that we signed.
Regards,[redacted]
January 21, 2015
Revdex.com of W Georgia-E. Alabama
&SW Georgia
500 12th Street
Columbus, GA 31901-2**7
RE: Revdex.com Case#[redacted] and
Case #[redacted]
Mrs [redacted]
I have reviewed both of the
Revdex.com complaints (Case # [redacted] and Case # [redacted])
regarding the same issue. Please review my rebuttal and resolution below.
[redacted] Condominiums were
built in 1998 and are located one block from Auburn University’s main campus.
The rental units at [redacted] include all of the utilities in the rent rate
(Garbage, Monthly Pest Control, Water/Sewer, Cable, Internet and Electricity). For the Leasing Season of August 2015-2016,
the 5 four bedroom units that are managed by Auburn Realty on our Rental Program
are being advertised for $2400/month (plus City Rent Tax). The other four units have been spoken for and
will be rented at the $2400 rate.
A comparable property in the
Auburn area is [redacted] Condos. They were built in 1999 and are located one
block from Auburn University’s main campus as well. The average rent for [redacted] is $2200/month. However, four main utilities are not included in the
$2200 rent rate (Electricity, Water/Sewer, Cable and Internet) as is with [redacted]. In addition; there are older one bedroom units within the same area that
rent for $750/month without power and water being included. With this market
analysis, property owners along with Auburn Realty set the rates at $2400/month
to closer match comparable properties and to stay competitive in the growing
market.
Ms. [redacted], along
with three roommates, currently leases [redacted] #** for $2000/month (plus
City Rent Tax) with all utilities (listed above) included. The other 4 units
lease for $2100 and $2200 for this current year. Each unit at [redacted] is
separately owned. Therefore, the prices for each unit will vary. However, all 5
units’ rates were set by the owners at the same rate of $2400/month for
2015-2016.
The first week of December we
posted on our company Facebook page and on our website that lease renewals
would be sent very soon! Ms [redacted]
[redacted] was emailed the Lease Renewal Notice on December 21st along
with a Winter Notice and Show Unit Notice. (These documents are included for
your review). On the Winter Notice it states, “We will be closed for business
on Monday, December 22nd, 2014 and will re-open Tuesday, January 6th,
2015 at 8:30am unless otherwise notified. The body of the email stated as
follows:
Current
Residents,
Please review
the notices attached to this email. We understand that most of you will be out
of town for the Christmas Holidays and are unable to visit our office to renew
your lease before the deadline on the attached notice. If you are planning on
renewing your lease and will not be able to visit the office before January
14th, 2015, please send an email to the Auburn Realty Leasing Manager, [redacted] We will begin
emailing renewal lease agreements on January 6th to those who have contacted
us.
We hope that all
of you have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2015!
As
Mr. [redacted] states in his complaint, the Lease Renewal notice does state, “No new
application fees, security deposits or transfer fees for utilities”. Mr. [redacted]
was not charged a new security deposit as the $2000.00 that was paid last year
is still in the account. Auburn Realty’s policy is for the amount of the
security deposit to match the rate of the rent. Considering the rent for [redacted]
[redacted] #** was increasing by $400.00, the security deposit on the renewal lease also
had to be increased by $400.00. The security deposit is completely refundable
to Mr. [redacted] at the end of the lease term and will be processed in accordance
with Alabama State Law.
When
signing a lease with Auburn Realty for [redacted] #** on January 24th,
2014, the policy of the security deposit matching the rent rate was disclosed
at that time. According to the lease agreement, the rent was $2000/month and
the security deposit was $2000.00. This amount was paid by Ms. [redacted].
In addition, our Leasing Process instructions that are available on our front
counter or on our website states, “The security deposit is equal to the rent
rate of the property that you choose. However, this is not considered as a rent
payment.” (A copy of the leasing process is included for your review).
Considering
our offices were closed from December 22nd, 2014 to January 6th,
2015, no one was at the office to answer the phones. However, Ms [redacted] did send the following
email on December 21st, 2014:
To whom it may
concern,
I just received
the lease renewal letter and attachment and our rent rate is going to increase
by $400 a month if we choose to renew. We love living in [redacted] and would
like to stay but cannot afford the increased rent. I wanted to call the office
and discuss this and see if there are any less expensive units available.
Unfortunately, you office is closed today and will be until January 6th
and the deadline to renew in January 14th so we are in a time
crunch. It is pretty late in the year to be looking at other apartments and
availability is limited so we fell kid of backed into a corner and wanted to
see if we could work something out with either Auburn Realty or the owner of
the apartment. Thank you for your time.
[redacted]
[redacted] #**
Our
offices re-opened on January 6th, 2015. Ms [redacted] lives in the same
complex as our office, yet we did not receive any further communication from
her when we re-opened until January 14th, 2015 (which was the renewal
deadline). In the Auburn rental market, January is the beginning of leasing
season for the majority of the Auburn area for student rentals. Leasing for
Fall 2015 (to the public) did not start until January 19th for
Auburn Realty and January 21st for another realty company in town. I
understand that one of our competitors signs contingency leases, but they are
the only company that I know of. I have worked for Auburn Realty for almost 7
years now and every year, January is the beginning of the leasing season. This
fact conflicts with Ms [redacted]’ statement, “It is pretty late in the year to be
looking at other apartments and availability is limited so we fell kid of
backed into a corner. . .”
On
January 14th, 2015, [redacted] along with her four roommates
(all over the age of 19) came into the Auburn Realty office and signed the
lease for [redacted] #** (2015-2016) and paid the $400.00 Security Deposit
increase. This lease is a binding contract as it has been processed and
executed. Please note that we have not received any complaints from Ms [redacted]’
three other roommates or their parents.
After
speaking with the owner of the property, he has given Auburn Realty the full
authority to do what is needed in this situation on his behalf. In order to
resolve this matter, Auburn Realty is willing to offer two resolutions:
1.
Keep
the lease as is. The rent will stay at $2400.00 as stated in the lease
agreement for the duration of the 2015-2016 lease.
2.
Terminate
the lease entirely and refund the $400.00 Security Deposit Increase payment. Ms
[redacted] and her roommates would move out of [redacted] #** at the end of their
current lease on August 3, 2015. They would have until January 30th,
2015 at 5:00pm to notify us if this is the option they choose.
Due
to the demand for [redacted] that we are currently experiencing, we feel as
though $2400/month is a fair price for Unit #** in this market and we have
several groups on the waiting list who would rent this unit the next day after we
contact them. Please let me know if you have any further questions regarding
this matter.
[redacted]
Property
Manager
Auburn
Realty
[redacted]Documentation was sent to [redacted]
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and we have decided to stay in the lease that we signed.
Regards,[redacted]
I am so thankful for the the Auburn Realty family. Keep up the good work. Thank you!!!