Bob Leigh & Associates Realtors

The Army stationed my husband in ** State.I personally trusted the associates of Bob Leigh to make sound decisions about the care of our home.A relative called and told me that my home was bring destroyed. The tenants received their notice on 11/1/13. By 11/8 the tenants no longer responded to my neighbors calls or text in regards to cleaning and returning the keys. I flew to the [redacted] airport on 11/16 and arrived at the home for the first time on 11/17. The the associate did not have key to my home and I was told that the office did not as well. I personally, handed them 3 keys. After having the home opened by a locksmith and spending over $200 on having all door locks replaced I found the home in the worst condition. The photos from my relative did not justify what had been done. Inside the home (numerous holes in the walls, 2 wood doors painted white, a glass storm door pulled off from the hinges, several of my electrical outlets were not working, 13 doors inside the home had to be replaced because they were either punched or kicked in, I had to bag 12 large bags of cloths, clean poop that was stuck in the toilet and it would not flushing because a tremendous about of paper was inside it, the garage door is splitting in two, restroom cabinets have been dismantle, kitchen cabinet wont properly close, paint on the hardwood floors from someone doing a horrible paint job, a hole in the restroom sink pipe that is not normal wear-and-tear, crack restroom floor tile upstairs and downstairs, the wood trimming on the inside of the home was painted over in white paint, and half of the stair case was painted white as well and is pealing (was told it cannot be restored), 3 bedrooms were filled with large amounts of crayons and marker markings on the walls, tons of sticky candy with ants crawling around in several spots on the hardwood floors, the refrigerator was filled with several boxes of unopened pizza and other molded food items that it filled up 4 large Glad trash bags(the refrigerator held a distinctive smell and the mold was more than a month or two old), 3 areas of torn floor tile in the kitchen, our gas fireplace had real firewood in it with cigarette butts inside and around the fireplace, cigarette smoke stains on the ceiling (the ceilings were repainted when we had the roof completely repaired in Dec. 2010), the front end of our oven was dismantled (a new flattop oven was put in the home while the tenants were there in Jan. 2012), dishwasher will not properly close and it was replaced April of 2012. Outside front of the home: window string hanging from upstairs window, dents in the garage door (was told by a witness that a 4-wheelers backed into it several times), one gutter completely down in the front of the yard, several tire tracks on the backyard lawn, window frame on the outside kids room is lose (was told that children were possibly going in and out of the window downstairs), broken window, a busted glass window, a busted glass windowpane, (concerning the windows Allstate told us that they will drop our property insurance if we do not show proof that the window has been replaced by mid Jan, 2014), hedges in the front of the home that are 2 yards high and touching the glass windows (I can't even see in or out of long windows). Backyard: construction supplies spread throughout the backyard (e.g., wood, asphalt, 2 tables, about 30 florescent light bulbs) a dresser, our electoral system on the outside of the home was tampered with/modified (not according to code per representative who completed my service claim from the warranty company), there was a detached pole taken down from our backyard patio (including our white decorative fence that was attached to the pole), another pole has been hit somehow and about to fall under the backyard patio, large dog cage, a child's toy house, dismantled mattress pieces and springs, several piles of dog poop, broken glass, broken patio fan, other trash spread around the whole yard. We have just begun to handle all of the construction on our own after traveling 4 days in a travel trailer from [redacted]Desired SettlementBob Leigh and Associates received about 10% of the monthly rent of $1200 for 30 months. This estimates to around $3300 (110*30= $3300). I would like a settlement from the business in the amount of $3300 or even half that amount. We would even settle for just the fuel cost that we accrued (1700) for our 4 day drive up and down mountains and snow to get here from ** State with a travel trailer. We experience some of the most awful situations traveling during an ice storm. This is one of the worst hardships for us, we need financial help. Taking the tenants to court will actually cost us around $60 to file a case. Then the time off work and plane tickets for my husband will only cause more financial hardship for us. We hired Bob Leigh and Associates so that we could save on time and aggravation. On Christmas Day I was informed by a neighbor that the tenants that Bob Leigh and Team allowed to rent our home only moved from two blocks away in our neighborhood and no one cared to go around the corner and check where they moved from. May 29, 2011 and agreed to allow the tenants additional days to get adjusted before their contract began in June. We are very polite people and will do anything to help anyone. We just asked that they take care of our home. The home was in a tidy and in a sound condition when we departed (I will provide pictures if requested). While showing Mr. Bob Leigh the home his listened and repeated that we should go after the tenants by taking them to court. We had a plumber completing a service call at our home at the time Mr. [redacted] was there and told him that he has seen our home before these tenants moved in and everything was always nice and neat tidy. He also told him that he notice that our home got progressively worse when the tenants were there. He also told Mr. [redacted] that he personally had to walk over a transmission and other items when called for a service call. One of the associates that came by our home with Bob Leigh stated that 6 inspections had been documented and the other associate stated that at least 3 walk-through had been done. The only pictures that I can recall receiving were of some outdoor work and two restroom that we paid contractors to complete. At the close of the conversation I asked if Bob Leigh could help us with the bill for repairs being that his company collected money and the home was in no way how we left it. His response was that he did not make much off of our home. Since he had no funds to give to assist us, he offered to help by filing the initial claim to take the tenants to court. My husband told Bob that neither he nor I have time to go to court. I teach 28 1st grade students and we have three children of our own. I do not make it home from work until the sun is down. My husband is going back to [redacted] on Jan 5, 2014 and is expected to redeploy again to [redacted] of April or May 2014. The tenants only had a 1 year contract and went on a month to month lease for the remainder of the time. I feel that this much damage did not happen from the time the tenants received the notice on Nov 1st until I came on Nov 16th. Bob said that he will have his associate file the initial court summons for us and we need to have pictures and receipts ready when needed. Yet, I feel ashamed, pitiful, and embarrassed to have trusted Bob Leigh and Associates. We have had 4 different neighbors come over to our home thanking us for moving back into the neighborhood. We are glad to be home too but certainly not under these conditions. I personally, trusted the associates of Bob Leigh to make sound decisions about the care of the home including inspecting the property, and managing renovations and other projects. My husband trusted me and I feel terrible that I let him down and jeopardized my daughter who is now a student where the tenants send their children to school. I really thought that choosing Bob Leigh was a great way to maintain our home. Never would we have dreamed that this would happen.Business Response [redacted]; We are sorry that Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] are unhappy with the management services that we provided for the property located at 7705 Greenbrook Parkway during the time period of June 1, 2011 - November 1, 2013. Bob Leigh & Associates manages approximately 375 rentals; and we always strive to provide a high level of service for each property that we manage. In response to the consumer complaint, we would like to make the following statements: Our primary responsibilities include procuring and qualifying a tenant, collecting deposits and monthly rent, and taking care of property maintenance at a level that the landlord prefers. In this case, the landlord had to approve all repairs and actions against the tenant. About 6 months into the lease, we received one neighbor complaint regarding the storing of at least two trailers and a work truck in the driveway. We told the tenant that they were in violation of their lease and that they must move the trailers and truck to a work location. They complied with our request at that time and there were no visible signs of damage to the property. At approximately the one year mark, [redacted] and I did inspect the interior of the property and found no visible damage. The exterior of the property was inspected every day, as [redacted] lives next door. Except for having to give a few reminders about keeping the grass cut and the hedges trimmed, there were never any signs of negligence or damage to the exterior of the home. At about the same time, [redacted] noticed an extra dog for which we had no pet deposit. At move-in, we did collect a $100 non-refundable pet deposit for one dog, which was sent directly to the [redacted]'s. [redacted] determined that there was also an extra tenant, their brother, who had moved in with his dog. [redacted] told the tenants that the brother and the second dog must move out; and they did. In early October 2013, the tenants called and complained about a horrible odor. I went to the house to inspect and try to determine the best course of action. During the inspection, I did notice some damage but did not smell the odor. However, I did contact a pest control professional, who went to the property and did an inspection. He determined that the cause of the odor was a skunk that had been living in the hedges in the front of the home. At the same time, I asked him to inspect some damage to the interior of the home, particularly at the back door, that was suspected termite damage. He determined that it was either previous termite damage or possible water damage, because there was no active termite infestation. At this time, I noted that a window pane was broken on the garage door. This had previously been obstructed by the hedges. I also noticed damage to the window frame on the north side. Inside, we noticed two damaged doors and some crayon markings on the playroom walls. A few days later, I went with [redacted] and a contractor to get a bid for repairing the damages. The tenant was present at the inspection and was told that he would be responsible for the damages to the window pane and window frame. At this time, we also noticed construction materials on the back porch and told the tenant that they had to remove these materials and take them to his business address. We took pictures of all the damages, including the termite damage, which was NOT tenant responsibility, and sent them to the [redacted]'s. However, before anything was done about any of these problems, the [redacted]'s told us to give notice to the tenants on November 1, 2013 to move out by November 30, 2013 and the tenants did leave around November 10, 2013. We tried to enter the property with Mrs. [redacted] after the tenants left; but the keys that we were given would not work and she had to call a locksmith. The tenants had apparently changed the locks without our knowledge in violation of the lease and had not given us a copy of the new key. Under ** tenant law, we must give 24 hours notice to enter the property. Every time that we did give notice and enter the property, the tenant was present to let us in; so we had no knowledge of the locks being changed. When Mrs. [redacted] entered the property, she did find trash, a moldy refrigerator with food that had been left behind, a dirty toilet, dog waste in the yard, and the construction materials we had told them to remove. She did find that none of the previous problems had been repaired; however, we feel that this is due to the quick time frame that the tenants were asked to move out. She also told me that her home warranty inspector told her that some electrical work that had been done on the exterior of the home was not up to code, so she could not include it in a claim. We were not aware that it was not a part of the home because it was done with conduit and weatherproof electrical boxes. In our experience, it is not uncommon for tenants to leave things behind or fail to clean properly when they are asked to leave on such a short time frame. In this case, they did leave unexpectedly, 20 days earlier than they had to. They did not leave the keys or let us know that they had turned off the utilities. However, we did have a $1200 deposit, plus a $100 pet deposit that we gave to the [redacted]'s to help offset the costs of cleanup and damages. Some of the things mentioned in Mrs. [redacted]'s complaint were normal wear and tear; others were tenant damages that the deposit is designed to help pay for. We suggested that the [redacted]'s sue the tenants for damages and Bob Leigh offered to pay for the court costs. I offered to file the complaint at Justice Court because the [redacted]'s said that they did not have time to do it. [redacted] asked them for information and photos in order to file the suit. We did not receive them. One week later, I asked for the information and they informed me that they had filed suit against Bob Leigh and Associates in Justice Court. We, at [redacted] and Associates, feel that we have provided good services and have done nothing wrong. We believe that damages should be recovered from the tenants. [redacted] and AssociatesXXX-XXX-XXXX [redacted] and AssociatesXXX-XXX-XXXXConsumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)We are disappointed that we chose to rent our home through Bob Leigh Rental Property Management. We were under the impression that the company could have held tenants to a higher standard being that they manage more than 375 properties and are the leading management company in Northern MS. Given this fact and that our property manager was our neighbor, this company failed at its primary responsibilities including, but not limited to, 1) procuring and qualifying a tenant; 2) collecting deposits and monthly rent; and 3) taking care of property maintenance at a level that the landlord prefers. In regards to procuring and qualifying a tenant Bob Leigh and Associates failed to research the tenant's rental history. After the tenants left our home, I personally asked about the process of qualifying the tenants. I was given the response that most rental companies do not release this information. I asked more specifically about my home. The question was brushed over. When I restated my question I was told that the company never attempted to request information from the tenant's previous landlord. In addition, the tenants occupied a home less than a ½ mile away. This home was in an awful condition as well. Bob Leigh and Associates could have simply driven that distance and saw that these tenants had a disturbing history and most of our issues could have been reasonably avoided.Secondly, regarding collecting deposits and monthly rent, the tenants payment history fell behind and progressingly worsened starting 2013. I personally, informed the property manager to enforce late payment fees being that the tenants were two or more weeks behind each month. At one point the tenants were one full month and two weeks behind. We never collected $10 for any day that the tenants were late even after asking repeatedly. On page three of the contract it states in all caps that, "At no time is tenant allowed to use the security deposit of any rent due." I informed the property manager that we needed to remove the tenants in early October and I was told that he could not give notice until November 1, 2013. I feel that the 30 days should have taken effect immediately given their reckless behavior. The contract does in fact state on page 2 that, "In the event of a default by a tenant, owner may elect to: At any time, terminate all the tenants' rights and remedies hereunder, and recover from tenant all damages he may incur by reason of the breach in the case. Also page 2, "Tenants shall be responsible for all damages caused by his neglect". This supports my worries with the damaged door, destroyed walls, and damaged appliances (e.g., fridge, stove, and dishwasher). There were so many areas that had been neglected (see initial complaint) that if a walk through was properly/routinely conducted the tenants should have been charged fees earlier. Management did not hold the tenants responsible and several areas were breached. Other areas of breach: Page 2, "Inspections: Owner/Lessor has the right to enter the premises to inspect how property is being maintained." I went to the [redacted] Polices [redacted] and was told that there were 11 calls beginning 6/8/2011 to 9/3/2013. These called were regarding telephone harassments, suspicious person, welfare check, larceny, disturbance, complaints-reckless driving thru neighborhood, welfare check - 4 wheelers, several disturbance calls, malicious mischief - garage door, and traffic stop - 4 wheeler. "Ordinances and statues: Tenants shall comply with all local and government ordinances pertaining to the use of the property." The tenants took both of my smoke alarms out. "Assignment and subletting: Under no circumstances can the property be reassigned or subleased". On 11/10/2011, according to the S.P.D., the brother's girlfriend was causing a disturbance and the brother was living in our home. "Tenants shall be responsible for all damages caused by his neglect." Apparently no one from Bob Leigh held the tenants accountable for this. "Tenants must report any repair problems within 48 hours or be held responsible for all damages." I was told in October that one window was damaged and the other completely broken out including one panel near the garage area - unacceptable. "Tenants shall not paint, paper, or redecorate any of the premises without written permission from the owner or his authorized agent." The tenants were only given permission to paint the kitchen. They chose to paint the kitchen, living room, and dining room. They even painted over wooden stairs (can no longer be restored). "Do not change locks (A copy of any key pertaining to the property is to stay in the office at all times." No one was held accountable. Regular inspections could have avoided this. Lastly, "Take care of property maintenance at a level that the landlord prefers." The level that we preferred was the same level mentioned in the contract, "It is the tenants responsibility to maintain the lawn, shrubbery, and or landscaping of said property." Page 3 of the contract, "Tenants will keep grass cut and shrubs trimmed. In all caps, "No Inside Pets." I have pictures to prove that this was repeatedly over looked by the management company. "Keep carport and yard free of debris." I was told by 3 of my neighbors and a regular plumber that that the carport and yard was often kept in an awful condition. The [redacted] records show that there were damages to the garage on 8/4/13. No one trimmed the hedges. There was months' worth of growth. Enough to reach the top of the window seal. I feel damages should have been considered being that the brother and his dog moved into the home. I returned on Nov. 17, 2013. The only odor that I smelled came from my unplugged fridge that I left in good condition for the tenants. The fridge was completely filled with molded food. The mold was so strong and thick it could not have built up in a short period of time. The smell left after removing the fridge and over time with proper cleaning. I have not seen a skunk or pulled a dead one from the hedges after having them removed. No hedges were located in front of the broken window near the garage. In 2010, those hedges were removed. Whoever looked for termite damage ruined my home's construction (the wall moves now, the sheet-rock had a whole in it, and the trimming was left detached. I was told by [redacted] on November 17, 2013 that he did not have the keys, not that the key he had did not work. [redacted] attempted to pick the lock with a credit card. This was a consistent behavior.In closing, my husband and I work hard. He is serving in the US military and I am a first grade educator and student. We have been living together since we were in our teens. We know what we want out of life and try to live as good productive citizens. Nothing was ever given to us - including our home. I feel that our home should have been treated just as equally as Mrs. [redacted], Mrs. [redacted], or Mrs. [redacted].If not at least as well as the other 375 properties that the company manages considering that our property manager was next door. The job that Bob Leigh did for us was unacceptable and they basically collected monies for themselves each month. We could have managed our own property from [redacted] or chose some company out of Memphis, TN. However, I pleaded with my husband for Bob Leigh. I am embarrassed that my neighbors know my business in this way. We live a quite life and renting properties is not a hobby/second job for us. This is our home (only home).Final Business Response

Mislead and lied to by the property management agent. Unprofessional and dishonest services experienced. We hired this property management company almost a year ago and have had nothing but stress and disappointment since. Per their legal contract it seems legit and honest. However, anytime a problem or issue would arise this agent would either ignore, pass off, or even lie via verbal or email/text. Not once has she made the tenants follow or honor the lease they signed and has never stood up for us when we were legally in the right. Contract with us stated there would be a walk through when tenants moved in, they didn't coordinate one until 2 1/2 months after they moved in. Negligence on the tenants part caused damage in the bathroom in October, it's is now February and found out the tenants merely "cleaned" the area and our property manager has NEVER viewed our property since the initial meeting between us and herself in January 2013. She plays both sides and in the end her commitment and promise to manage our property has been broken. Her ad in which we found her from stated that she took care of EVERYTHING and that has been far from the truth. She has never had us or our property in her best interest. This last year has been a nightmare. Both my husband and I have ended up on high blood pressure medicines due to her negligence and lack of interest in her duties as our property manager. Desired SettlementWe paid this company $140 a month to manage our property and the ONLY thing they have been consistent with is collecting the rent from the tenants. We were made to pay for repairs to our property when it was negligence on the tenants side. (Their contract stated the tenants were responsible for any repairs do to negligence.) Our start up fee to agree to them managing our property was $700 and not once have we felt they upheld their commitment to us. I believe due to their poor service, unprofessional behavior and lack of responsibility given towards us, their clients. I feel as if we deserve the $2380 for services paid for but never received. We have many emails that show this agents misleading words and false statements to where she was merely running in circles. If we're paying for a service, that service should be upheld. Business Response Our Property Management Agreement shows our responsibility is for finding a qualified tenant and collecting each month's rent for the term of the lease. We found what we consider a very good tenant who paid the security deposit and monthly rent on time for most of the year's lease. Due to some health issues and death of a relative, the tenant was a few days late on occasion, but always paid the rent plus any late fees due.During the term of the lease, there were a few minor repairs necessary. Each time the owners were contacted regarding these repairs, they became very agitated. No matter what the problem was or how I attempted to have the repairs completed, they were not happy about the way I handled the problem. They always felt that I took the tenant's side. I've learned in my 30+ years experience in Property Management that one of the most important factors in keeping good tenants is to make repairs as soon as possible. When tenants are happy with the home they are leasing they are better tenants, take better care of the property and pay more promptly. Thus it is in the best interest of the property owner to keep the tenant satisfied with the manner in which repairs are handled.During the term of the lease, I realized the[redacted] were not happy with my services although I felt that I had gone the "extra mile" for them. Our fee is normally 15%, but we charged them only 10% of the monthly rent. When there was a problem with the refrigerator and could not reach the owner, I contacted a service man who was unable to make the repair because it was a [redacted] The owner refused to pay the repairman for the service call because he could not make the repair,so I paid him.It was obvious that the homeowner was not satisfied with our services and I was not happy with their verbal abuse. On more than one occasion, I suggested that the[redacted] find another manager for their property, but they insisted that I finish the term of the lease.As far as I know, the[redacted] have no previous experience in renting homes. They were unable to sell their home and were more or less forced to become rental property owners. I understand their inexperience, but in the scope of things, feel they have a good tenant with relatively small problems. In my opinion we have performed very well for the property owners. I am truly sorry that we were unable to please these clientswe pride ourselves in offering the very best Property Management services.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)Though the Property Manager did find someone to rent our home, (I would hope so considering we did pay $700 up front as part of their services) the only reason we were given a 5% discount on their fee was due to the fact that we were looking at two management companies and they merely met the other companies rate to get our business. That was the last time she ever walked through the rental property. (Their contract looks good, but nothing was ever upheld) The landscaping wasn't being taken care of per their contract and upon driving past, we had to bring this to the property manager's attention. Had she physically taken the time to check on the property, we wouldn't have had to make a point to bring it to her attention. We constantly found ourselves having to follow behind to make sure the commitment was being upheld. The walk through was required after the tenants moved in. After contacting her numerous times, it was finally completed months later. I don't feel as if when I'm paying someone for a service, I should have to follow up on their responsibilities.I have all emails saved throughout the year, including the one where we were told several different stories involving the refrigerator. I also have the proof that we were contacted and we did respond quickly. She is correct, we didn't pay for the first repairman because 1. We asked for an invoice and never got one and 2. We found out all he did was vacuum the underside of the unit to where no repair was completed. We were also told this was a friend of the tenant's father and in the next email it was a friend of the property manager who was doing her a favor. Nothing was ever consistent. We were the ones that found a certified repair company to fix the fridge. I do want to bring up that during this time, we were also told we would have to pay for food that had spoiled only to find out the tenants had their own working fridge in the garage. (In which the property manager would have known this had she done a complete walk through of the property) We were getting agitated because of the lies that were constantly thrown at us. (I will be more than happy to provide all copies of the emails proving my statements.)Considering I would only correspond with the property manager via email, I'm unsure how she was verbally abused. Yes, we could have found another property manager, but per our contract and the money we had already paid for her services, I felt as if she needed to uphold her responsibilities as an experienced property manager. We didn't have another $700 to start up a new contract with another company. Had she offered to pay for the change of services, we might have considered it. She is correct about one thing, we are not experienced in renting, but this was why we hired her to be our property manager. With the years of experience she had, I don't feel as if I should have had to deal with all the lies nor did I feel I should have to follow behind her to make sure she was doing her job. It was stressful when I'd get an email one day stating one thing and when questioned, she'd change the story. VERY unprofessional.Final Business Response Original response submitted on April 4, 2014 and is attached hereto with proof of Revdex.com receipt of same. Please contact me should require anything further. Sincerely,Jennine Ramage[redacted] & Associates, Realtors[redacted]@comcast.netXXX-XXX-XXXX