Bear Granville Corporation

Review: I rented a property from Bear Granville for 3years. The property was [redacted]. My son lived here by himself while he attended VCU. I stayed in the extra bedroom when visiting.

The lease was recently terminated and my sons deposit of $650 was not returned, he was actually sent a bill for 45 dollars. Included with the bill was an itemized list of charges and a detail of the condition of each room.

Neither my son or myself were present for the inspection as he had graduated in August and then moved out in September. Bear Granville would not release me from the lease until it's completion in December. We both cleaned the house.

The house was left in decent shape, there was nothing wrong other than the usual need that would come about after living in a place that had not been painted in 3years. However Bear Granville is charging me for painting and nail holes, things that were not specified in the lease and are considered normal wear to be born by the leasing company.

I will attempt provide a synopsis of what I received from Bear Granville called the Interior Building Inspection.

Entry- Dirty.

Kitchen-Very dirty, paint chipped, nail holes in walls, fridge and freezer dirty.

Living Area-Dirty, nail holes, blinds broken.

Bedroom 1- Dirty, nail holes, broken blinds.

Bedroom 2- Dirty, nail holes, broken blinds.

Bathroom- Dirty, broken blinds, nail holes/chipped paint. ------

Charge for painting 9 walls: $270,

Charge to replace 5 Blinds: $125,

Charge for Cleaning carpets: $150,

Charge for cleaning property:$150,

=

$695-650=45,

I have provided word for word what is on the Inspection. You can clearly see they are charging me for normal use. They are also claiming falsely blinds were broken in every room, blinds I could have had them replace at no charge while I was leasing and would have if they were needed.Desired Settlement: I want my sons $650 deposit returned to him with a note on Bear Granville Stationary that says "paid in full" If I am unsuccessful through this avenue I will be taking this company to small claims court in Richmond Va.

Thank you for your consideration

Business

Response:

[redacted] rented from us 1.2.13 - 12.31.15. His father, J[redacted], was his co-signer. Move out charges were justified for a two year occupancy based on the condition in which the property was returned. In the “Damage Price List” (initialed by the tenant) within the lease, it states “repair excessive nail holes, $45 per room”. It also states “paint avg. sized room in antique white paint with semi-gloss trim, $250”. Based on these costs, the tenant could’ve been charged $885 for the nail hole repair and painting of the living room and both bedrooms. However, the charge was only $270. There are photographs of these holes throughout the property, along with much larger holes, to back up this claim. The carpet had many surface stains, and it was obvious that it had not been vacuumed. The “Damage Price List” states that the charge for steam cleaning carpets (should it be necessary) is $0.40 per sq. ft. Spot removal is another $25 per spot. Based on this, the charges could’ve been $280, plus $25 per spot. We charged $150. However, we have since received the invoice from the contractor, which only totaled $135, and will be adjusted for the damages to the tenant, resulting in a $15 refund. There are before and after photos of the carpet (before the carpet cleaning and after we had it cleaned) to support this claim. In the “Damages Price List”, cleaning a two bedroom is $160. There is additional charges for the refrigerator ($35), stove/oven ($35), cabinets ($5/each) and change air filter ($35). Based on this, the cleaning charge could’ve been $300 or better, but the tenant was only charged $150. There are multiple photographs to show that this property was not cleaned upon vacating. Five blinds were broken. There are photographs to prove this claim. Fair amount that could’ve been charged: $1,590. Actual charges: $695.There is also a move in report, signed by the tenant, for a comparison. Keys were mailed to our office. There was no request made by either tenant or co-signer to be present for an inspection.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.] I read with some amusement Bear Granville's response to my complaint. It is humorous at best to suggest they are doing me a favor.There were at total of 11 nail holes, there were no large holes as stated. There is no reference in the lease to the tenants responsibility to fill nail holes or buy paint and paint the walls. There is a picture of a stain on the carpet. This is a wine stain that was on the carpet prior to moving in. The leasing agent Ken O[redacted] pointed it out as pre-existing and that was noted on the lease. The carpet was dirty and shabby prior to moving in and that was also noted, no amount of vacuuming would have corrected that, the carpet was vacuumed. The blinds are the responsibility of Bear Granville. They are required to replace broken blinds.3 Extra filters were left next to the gas furnace. Bear Granville is incorrect is stating it was a 2 year lease, it was a 3year lease and the house showed responsible wear after 3years. The rent was always paid early. The house was left in reasonable shape for 3years of use. I demand $650 dollars be returned to my son ASAP. I am ready to pursue this in court if I necessary.

Regards,

Great Experience, I have rented a house from them in Texas Beach for the past 3 years. Maintenance calls are handled quickly and they offer paying your rent online. Anytime I need service the office staff are quick to respond, I wish all landlord were like this.

Review: My husband contacted a Bear Granville representative yesterday, Wed, 4/20 to view a duplex at [redacted] in Richmond, VA. The Bear Graville representative told my husband to meet at the duplex at 1pm because she was showing it to another couple. We both showed up at 12:55pm and knocked on both doors of the duplex several times. Both my husband and I also called and left several voice mail messages with Bear Granville during our 45-50 minute wait at the duplex.. We used the following phone numbers- [redacted] and [redacted]. Only one person repsesenting Bear Granville answered and said someone would get back with us. Another couple dropped by the duplex around 1:30pm and said they called a Bear Granville rep only about several minutes before and were told they can drop by the duplex for a showing because a representative, "Ken" would be there. The couple left after 5 minutes. My husband and I waited till 1:50pm and left. A Bear Granville representative never returned our calls. I left my workplace which is 30 minutes away from the duplex and had to take annual leave for no good reason. It was a waste of my time and gas for my car.Desired Settlement: To be contacted by the business explaining why no one was there when a Bear Granville rep said someone would be there. To return calls to clients promptly explaining the situation.

Business

Response:

Hi [redacted] Unfortunately, the agent missed the notification of this showing. Ken O[redacted] spoke with you on the phone in regards to this, and we sincerely apologize that you were not able to see this property. We are happy to show it to you at another time, but I believe you stated you have already found a place. Thank you so much for reaching out, and we are sorry we missed you yesterday.

Consumer

Response:

In reference to my complaint - ID #[redacted] - Bear Granville Corporation. The property manager or Bear Granville Corporation, Ken O[redacted], did call me to apologize. Mr. O[redacted] said something came up so he could not show the apartment at the scheduled time. I was satisfied with Mr. O[redacted]'s apology.Thanks,[redacted]In reference to my complaint - ID #11403617 - Bear Granville Corporation. The property manager or Bear Granville Corporation, Ken O[redacted], did call me to apologize. Mr. O[redacted] said something came up so he could not show the apartment at the scheduled time. I was satisfied with Mr. O[redacted]'s apology.Thanks,

This company will not answer emails or requests until you have emailed them and called them several times. They also haven't sent us anything about our lease renewal, which is coming up in 2 weeks. They also haven't responded to our inquiry about our lease renewal. This company is very, very frustrating!

We began our lease with another leading company, which was unfortunately bought out by Bear Granville. Ever since then the service has been terrible in every aspect. The company tried to get us to pay not only a lease change fee but also a new application fee when taking one person off of the lease, after we had paid on time for two years. Now they still contact the old tenant about maintenance, when they decide to respond to our requests at all. We had one maintenance request that was not resolved for 7 months, and was only repaired after three requests. Our latest maintenance request has also been closed out without anyone trying to contact us to schedule the repair. We are now trying to get information about the expiration of our lease and have not received a response for days. This is the most awful leasing company I have ever rented from, and it is a shame because the previous company gave us excellent service. We would not have rented from Bear Granville if we had not been forced to with the buyout.