Azalea Realty

NEGATIVE STARSMy husband and I finally found a rental. We contacted this company asking to view it, we were told we must fill out the application and pay the fee first. When we were called and told that we were approved we were also told that the Owner decided to go up on the rent from the advertised $1225 to $1400. I asked her if this was even legal? and told her that was fine to let the owner know that if she wants proceed with the original agreed upon and advertised rent to call me back and we would consider it. Red flag number one! Not long after we hung up she called back to tell me that the owner was not aware of an application being in already and that she would agree on the $1225 but that we could not view the property for another two to two and a half weeks! Okay fine, even though we are in the process of selling our home and a needed to secure this much sooner. My husband and I followed up with Dawn almost every day to check on the status. I finally got the call 8 days later saying it was ready from Renae. As soon as I hung up with Renae, Mary ( I think) calls me and says I know she just told you it is ready but there are also two other applicants and whoever gets the key and goes to look at it and comes back with the deposit first gets it. Okay fine, my husband drops everything in the middle of work drives to their office and gets the key. He then picked up the deposit to take over to them, when he gets back over there to give them the deposit the front desk lady was processing his transaction and someone in the back said no he has to see the INSIDE of the home first. So again we drop everything drive 20 minutes to look at INSIDE, are there maybe 3 minutes and then come straight back to their office. We even called them on the way to let them know we were on the way with the money and they said okay. They called us back 1 minute before we are pulling in their drive way and say that someone else had just dropped off a deposit for it. Now there are so many things wrong with this. First off when my husband picked up the key he was told that no one else had even been there to get a key yet. So I am not sure I even believe that someone else dropped off a deposit. This is terrible business practice! We were the very first application and followed up consistently with Dawn. I even offered to pay for them to hold it for us until it was ready to be viewed. This is a terrible rat race. I am not sure if the office staff enjoy playing this game with their potential customers or what but I definitely will not be one of them and I will not recommend this company to anyone! We don't appreciate being strung along just so your company could wait for other applicants to apply for the higher rent!

Dealing with them to rent a house, first to fill out application and be approved. They kept taking applications after I had been approved. It took 3 weeks for them to get the house ready and call and while that took place I was out of work in order to be there and move in when it was ready. They called this morning letting me know it was ready, telling me to meet them at the house to view it. They also called the other applicants. They then told me when I got to the office that I was supposed to come there instead of the house, as it wasn’t for sale and there wasn’t a reason for a realtor to go out there. I had the safety deposit since they told me what it was when they told me I was approved.
Because they told me to do the wrong thing and kept taking applications. I wasn’t the first one, since it was apparently a rate race, to get to the office with the safety deposit.
I’ve been having my mail sent there because I thought I had the house. I moved out of my previous residence for this house and have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on hotels these last few weeks.
Only to be told I couldn’t get the house.
That business system is terrible and their customer service in general is despicable.

In early July, twice I submitted a maintenance request regarding the upstairs leaking faucet at the residence I was renting. It took three weeks for someone to finally come to look at the leaky faucet and attempt to fix it. The repair was not properly done, which ultimately resulted in the nozzle popping off on the evening of Tuesday, August 21st, causing water to spray everywhere, not only flooding the upstairs bathroom and the hall area, but water also began to pour through the downstairs light fixture in the dining area onto my personal property (laptop, dinner placement, books, purse, etc). Since the water was running and I was unable to find access to the shut off valve upstairs, I immediately called the on-call maintenance line upon which the employee expressed a lack of concern about the flooding of the apartment and stated that someone could come the following day at the earliest. I further explained that the upstairs bathroom was not only flooding with water, but that it was now leaking through the downstairs light fixture. The representative then hesitantly agreed to come out and assess the situation. Prior to his arrival, my parents arrived, who were able to shut off the water source at the hot water heater.

While at the condo, the maintenance employee called his manager who he says stated that there was nothing that could be done until the water dries after a day and a half or so. He did not have a wet vac to assist with water clean up. He was able to fix the faucet and admitted that it didn't look like it was properly repaired that first time. I expressed my concern about possible mold from the water sitting as well as my concern about water in the electrical system. He stated that they would check all of these things upon their return in a couple of days.

On Thursday, August 23rd, no one had come to further assess the situation, so I called and spoke with Beth at Azalea who assured me that maintenance is aware of the issue and that someone would be coming out to further assess. I also expressed to her my concerns about possible mold and the electrical system since the water was pouring through the light fixture. As of Tuesday, August 28th, no one had come to further assess, so I called again and spoke with a staff member who stated she'd relay the message that no one had been out. The following day, Wednesday, August 29th, I came home to a note from Azalea Realty Maintenance stating, "8/29/18 Repaired stain on ceiling."

My concern is the negligence by Azalea Realty regarding the potential issues of mold and electrical issues from the water, which at a minimum should have been investigated by a professional to ensure that there are not issues. As a healthcare worker, I felt unsafe living there not knowing whether or not there is an underlying mold or electrical issue. As a result, I'd only been staying there off and on, which was a huge inconvenience for me.

According to state law, S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-640, and the South Carolina Bar, "The law requires the landlord to comply with building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety. The landlord must make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to put and keep the rental unit in a fit and livable condition." Since Azalea did not send a professional to assess for the aforementioned concerns, I was unsure whether or not the rental unit was in a "fit and livable condition." Their concern only seemed to be painting over the water stains, which was of no concern to me in comparison to the potential health risk of mold and the safety risk that water could have posed to the electrical system.

I wrote a letter requesting they make repairs or have a professional asaess the issue within 14 days or else I'd be moving.

At the time I was paying month to month and therefore put in a 30 day notice upon which I moved out and returned my key on September 30, 2018. I have yet to receive my $500 security deposit. My forwarding address was provided.

It was recently brought to my attention that I owe money to Azalea Realty. This information has to be false because businesses have 3 years to report that monies are owed. This NEVER happened. All of a sudden 4 years later, I owe monies?