Eaton Properties

This is an initial complaint against Don Eaton Realty Inc, regarding their property at 6703 Sandy Hill Dr.. I am frustrated with the way that this property was managed. Since I moved in as a tenant I have called, texted, email and went to the company as a walk in to speak with the property manager about excessive late charges, outstanding balances and work orders that did not get filled. I did speak with an Andrea once, the bookkeeper, when this first begun and was advised that the charges would be waived but they did not get removed at all apparently. Chantelle who is listed as the property manager never return calls, texts, or emails. I have talked to Chantelle once in two years since I been at the property. My basement flooded at least 3 times and work orders were called in and they sent a plumber out who advised me to call back due to it was not a plumbing issue. The water would run down my basement walls all over the basement floors. I checked into the upper ceiling showing there was mode also. When I put in work orders to have this looked at I was always told no email from Chantelle has been sent. I paid the outstanding balance due to court order for reasons and was still placed under eviction. Never damaged the property, no other tenants lived there other than myself, kept the place up as when I moved in. The issue here is that Don Eaton Properties charged me for charges I knew was not accurate and may need to look into their bookkeeping employee for assurance that the records of payments and the numbers are both matching otherwise this will continue as Don Eaton Realty error not the tenant. I pulled my information off from the company website and there is error that can be found regarding late charges, sewer, and trash balances. Had to do a modification of my eviction and filing civil suit if Don Eaton Properties does not return any amount of funds due to me. Their management team is so very unprofessional.

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 7, 2015/06/30) */ First let me start by saying that we are only the management companyWe do not own the property and do our best to keep both the tenants and owners happyIn this case The tenant moved into the property in March knowing that the central air conditioning system had been stolen prior to her moving inThe owner agreed to replace the system, in the springWhen spring came, the owner did not have money to replace the systemWe did install a portable window unit to help until the system could be replacedWe also offered to let the tenant out of her lease,to which she responded, she did not want to moveThe system as since been replaced, and the tenant is happy, and the house passed the Section Complaint inspectionWe did everything we could do to get a new system put in as quickly as possible

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me at this time.? Sincerely, [redacted]

We came to an agreement The company has paid all of the deposit back, $

I would first like to apologize to MS [redacted] , and to let her know that in no way is this indicative of the way we do business.? I would like to say that there were some special circumstances that caused these issues.? But in fact it was a series of miscommunications between Eaton Properties and of our Contractors(Who, by the way, are no longer working for our company).? Apparently the roof leak was called in and we sent a roofer out to make the repair.? We had to let the ceiling dry out before we could make the inside repair.? When the contractor went out to make the inside repair, he discovered that the roof was still leaking, but this time in a different place, so he did not make the inside repair, because until we fix the roof problem, there is no sense in repairing the ceiling.? Unfortunately the contractor did not let us know that he had not made the repair, and that there was another leak, (we depend on our contractors to keep us apprised of problems as they arise.)? We were unaware that the ceiling had not been repaired or that there was another leakMS [redacted] called in again about the leak in her ceiling, We sent the same contractor out again, to make the situation right, and again he did not tell us that he did not make the repair.? When we received notice by the Revdex.com that this problem was still going on, we immediately sent a different contractor out and the ceiling repairs have been madeWe also contacted the roofer to go back and repair the leak, he informed us that he would be unable to fix it.? We also contacted another roofer, who said that it needed a new roofThe owner is still getting bids on having the roof replaced.? ? I do not know where the communication broke down between us and MS [redacted] .? We did have some staffing changes during this time, which may have led to her messages not getting to the proper person.? We are in contact with MS [redacted] and waiting for the owner to find the contractor who will replace the roof.? ?

The applicant making the complaint has been working on getting into this house for several months She is recieving a subsidy and there are additional inspections required beyond the municipality inspections Originally this applicant turned in an application, we filled out her section packet and began the process of getting inspections (the inspections are only good for a short period of time so we can't always have this done before we show the property) The inspectors will go through and if there is anything we need to do they give us a list and we do it, they re-inspect and if all looks good they pass the house Shortly after making application the tenant decided she did not want the house and we put it back on the market(we were also in no hurry to finish the inspections since we did not have an applicant for the property.) In early Octohber, the applicant applied for the same property again, at that time she give us holding money on the property to insure she would not back out on it a second time Our application clearly states that holding money is non-refundable If you are just going to give it back if she changes her mind, why collect it at all We again sent in all the section paperwork and began finishing up on the inspectionsThe unit passed its municipality inspections, next it had to go through its section inspections Section decided that the plumbing stack needed to be updated along with some other small itemsWhen they give us their list it "fails" the inspection, until we make the repairs The unit is awaiting its section re-inspection, and then the applicant will be able to move in The applicant has been looking at other properties and has now found one she wants instead If she goes ahead and moves into this house all of her holding money will be applied to her account for her security deposit and any rent or utilities due If the tenant had not withdrawn her first application, she would be in the house by now If there was a problem with the house that could not be resolved and she "had" to find another house, we would have refunded her holding money But because she has "changed her mind again", we do not feel that her holding money should be refunded We believe that she will end up moving into the property, and she will get her holding money back in the form of payment on her account

We understand the Tenant's frustration The Property Manager believed that all roofing repairs had been complete She drove by the property recently while driving to another property she manages and immediately noticed the tarp on the roof at the subject property She immediately contacted the subcontractor we use for roofing repairs and inquired as to why there was still tarp on the roofShe believes it simply slipped through the cracks and the contractors is now making the necessary repairs Materials have been ordered and delivered today Roofing repairs are estimated to be complete by end 8/26/2016.We do acknowledge the calls the Tenant made over the past several months; as a Property Management company, we are unable to contract with others to make repairs if there is insufficient funds in the owners account Now that funds are available, we are able to make the roofing repairs As for the issue with the window air conditioner - there has not been central air in the property for over five years and our leases do not guarantee central air conditioning The owner will not be making funds available to provide central air conditioning If the Tenant has received communications from Missouri American Water, she needs to forward documentation to us and we will be happy to respond to the issues raised

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 10, 2015/08/03) */ Since she has moved in this tenant has had more than the number of water issuesWhen the tenant has called in, we have in each case sent out plumbers to take care of the problemWe make every effort to stay on top of the contractors to make sure they are communicating with the tenant if there will be a delay, and we re-assign a job if the contractor does not attend to it in a timely mannerWe received a maintenance call that a pipe was leaking in the basementOur maintenance request did not state that it was water shooting everywhereThe tenant was smart to take a video of the problem, when we were able to see what was going on, we found that a back flow valve on the sump pump had broken and every time the sump pump kicked on water shot everywhere We sent out a plumber to fix the sump pumpWhen the sump pump is working correctly it will usually help with if not completely solve the basement wetness issuesThis sump pump was obviously not working correctly, now that it is, there should be little or no water in the basement from now onWe also sent out a contractor to look at the foundation, and he could find no significant cracks or anyplace that bugs or snakes could come in I really don't know how the tenant can think that we don't care when we have sent out contractors every time they have called in a problemWith the massive amount of water the entire area has experienced this summer, the plumber are overwhelmed with calls, and it is taking a little longer to get the jobs scheduled Regarding the loss of personal itemsI understand the frustration that this tenant has with the situation, however when the tenant signs their lease they are informed that we cannot guarantee that the basement will not leak, and if they store items in the basement they should store them off the ground or in plastic tubsAlso, they are highly encouraged to get renters insurance to cover their personal belongings Our property manager reports that he has had conversations with the tenant and the matter seems to have been resolved to her satisfaction

I would first like to apologize to MS [redacted] , and to let her know that in no way is this indicative of the way we do business I would like to say that there were some special circumstances that caused these issues But in fact it was a series of miscommunications between Eaton Properties and of our Contractors(Who, by the way, are no longer working for our company) Apparently the roof leak was called in and we sent a roofer out to make the repair We had to let the ceiling dry out before we could make the inside repair When the contractor went out to make the inside repair, he discovered that the roof was still leaking, but this time in a different place, so he did not make the inside repair, because until we fix the roof problem, there is no sense in repairing the ceiling Unfortunately the contractor did not let us know that he had not made the repair, and that there was another leak, (we depend on our contractors to keep us apprised of problems as they arise.) We were unaware that the ceiling had not been repaired or that there was another leakMS [redacted] called in again about the leak in her ceiling, We sent the same contractor out again, to make the situation right, and again he did not tell us that he did not make the repair When we received notice by the Revdex.com that this problem was still going on, we immediately sent a different contractor out and the ceiling repairs have been madeWe also contacted the roofer to go back and repair the leak, he informed us that he would be unable to fix it We also contacted another roofer, who said that it needed a new roofThe owner is still getting bids on having the roof replaced I do not know where the communication broke down between us and MS [redacted] We did have some staffing changes during this time, which may have led to her messages not getting to the proper person We are in contact with MS [redacted] and waiting for the owner to find the contractor who will replace the roof

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 7, 2015/07/10) */ In response to the tenant complaint let me first say that we are a property management company and we do not own the properties that we manageWe are limited to what we can do by what our owners will authorizeIn this particular case, the tenants viewed the property and noticed a wall that needed to be repaired and some other minor issues, however the inspector did not feel that these items posed a health or safety problem and the unit passed inspection [redacted] notified the owner about the wall and the other items, and the owner decided that since it passed inspection they were not going to make the repairThe tenant was made aware of the owner's decisionWe do not always agree with the decision of our ownersThe tenant next states that several months later they notified maintenance and [redacted] that the ceiling in the basement was starting to fallOne of the services we provide for our tenants is an independent hour answering service where a tenant can call in a maintenance requestTheir request is dated, logged and either sent to a contractor, or the owner is notified if the owner wishes to handle his own repairsWe have audited our maintenance call line and have found no maintenance call from the tenant about a ceiling starting to fall [redacted] also does not remember any conversations with the tenants regarding this issue prior to the reported incidentThe first we were notified of the problem was when the tenant called the office to tell us that the ceiling had fallenThis call was noted in our office software systemImmediately after getting off the phone with the tenant [redacted] called the owner to apprise them of the situationThe owner wanted to use his own contractor to make the repair, and that contractor dealt directly with the owner and the tenantApparently the contractor did not clean up after making the repair and we received a maintenance call to send someone to clean upWe contacted the owner and he would not authorize us to send anyone [redacted] contacted the owner to request his insurance information, they did not provide it to us This owner's management agreement ended in April and was not renewedSo we no longer manage for this owner and the tenant should be contacting the owner directly at this point with payment and maintenance requests and for the insurance information Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (1500, 9, 2015/07/10) */

We have tried to make repairs to address the issue? There were some repairs made, which unfortunately, did not correct the entire problem; we have addresses the issue several times and contractors have tried to rectify the problem? We replaced a portion of the ceiling and also provided a new shower curtain to retain the water? The air conditioner is situated so that, when hot air meets cold air, condensation was occurring; this is the problem not an upstairs tenant using their bathroom? The upstairs neighbors did just move out and we did advise the Tenant that we would release her from her lease at end of August, however, this will not allow the Tenant to receive any monies she might otherwise be due back in the form of deposits?

We understand the Tenant's frustration? The Property Manager believed that all roofing repairs had been complete.? She drove by the property recently while driving to another property she manages and immediately noticed the tarp on the roof at the subject property.? She immediately contacted the subcontractor we use for roofing repairs and inquired as to why there was still tarp on the roofShe believes it simply slipped through the cracks and the contractors is now making the necessary repairs? Materials have been ordered and delivered today? Roofing repairs are estimated to be complete by end 8/26/2016.We do acknowledge the calls the Tenant made over the past several months; as a Property Management company, we are unable to contract with others to make repairs if there is insufficient funds in the owners account.? Now that funds are available, we are able to make the roofing repairs.? As for the issue with the window air conditioner - there has not been central air in the property for over five years and our leases do not guarantee central air conditioning.? The owner will not be making funds available to provide central air conditioning.? If the Tenant has received communications from Missouri American Water, she needs to forward documentation to us and we will be happy to respond to the issues raised

This is a situation whereby we took over management from another Management Company (***s Management) that is currently under investigation by the MO Real Estate Commission When we took over management (2014), we determined thatt he air conditioning unit at the subject property was in need of replacement; we contacted the owner who agreed to install a new unitWe have available an independent hour/day a week/day a year maintenance line our Tenants may call in to report maintenance issues We did receive a call complaining about mold in the bathroom; we sent a contractor to the property to assess the "mold" situation The contractor determined the fungi in the bathroom was from a buildup of soap sm which was tenant-caused from failing to properly clean The tenant received instructions from our staff on how to clean the fungi in the bathroom The contractor also reported to our office the home was so dirty that he had trouble performing his work He reported to us that there was a sewer backup in the basement for which the tenant had never submitted a maintenance request to our maintenance line In addition, the contractor stated there were numerous large black garbage bags all over the kitchen and basement which contained garbage Our office advised the Tenant (3/22/16) that he must immediately clean the home to an acceptable standard or we would be forced to report them to Child Services We worked with the tenant for several weeks until the situation was resolved and have not heard back from him until the air conditioner issue arose As previously mentioned, this unit was a newly installed unit in Again, after receiving the request regarding the issue with the unit, we sent our contractor over who reported the condensing unit was burned up because the tenant failed to contact us right away and it ran repeatedly for over five days In addition, he also noted the unit was running without a filter We reported the circumstances to the owner to replace the unit and, because the damage to the air conditioner was tenant-caused, we determined we would assess the tenant an additional $per month (spread over months) to cover the cost of repair We have further agreed to take the old unit back to the Supplier and, if there was a warranty, we would not assess the tenant any charges Regarding the sewer back (again not initially reported by the Tenant), we did snake out the drain and have never heard back from the Tenant that there are any issues related to any type of back up of water

I do apoligize if our agents did not keep in communications with you.? I assume you tried to call our office to inquire about your application statis? Since we are human their is always the possability for error, and for that I do apologize.? Regarding the application fee We charge per applicant for the credit and background chedk that is done.? We use an outside service that specializes in application processing.? There is a charge to us for this service.? We also pay the person who uses their gas and drives to the unit to open it up and show it.? Unfortunately we cannot provide these services for free.? I hope that you understand and will call our office to discuss this with us further if you still have questions.? [redacted]

We go through a hour maintenance line, where they only take their name, phone number, and address downThey may not be the friendliest, their sole job is to take messages and send the information to us, but I can have Mr*** talk to them about thatMost times, tenants want questions
answered, but they cannot do thatDepending it on what the issue is, we will contact a contractor, but the issues are handled by when they come in as well as importanceI am showing the last work order we have from Mr*** was about tree limbs on his roofAgain, we handle more important issues first, we had tenants without air conditioning in the heat of the summer, and since that is a safety issue, they were handled firstHe was upset over the speed the work orders were being done and we explained about priority and the tree limbs were taken care of, which were actually twigs

This is a situation whereby we took over management from another Management Company (***s Management) that is currently under investigation by the MO Real Estate Commission When we took over management (2014), we determined thatt he air conditioning unit at the subject property was in need
of replacement; we contacted the owner who agreed to install a new unit. We have available an independent hour/day a week/day a year maintenance line our Tenants may call in to report maintenance issues We did receive a call complaining about mold in the bathroom; we sent a contractor to the property to assess the "mold" situation The contractor determined the fungi in the bathroom was from a buildup of soap sm which was tenant-caused from failing to properly clean The tenant received instructions from our staff on how to clean the fungi in the bathroom The contractor also reported to our office the home was so dirty that he had trouble performing his work He reported to us that there was a sewer backup in the basement for which the tenant had never submitted a maintenance request to our maintenance line In addition, the contractor stated there were numerous large black garbage bags all over the kitchen and basement which contained garbage Our office advised the Tenant (3/22/16) that he must immediately clean the home to an acceptable standard or we would be forced to report them to Child Services We worked with the tenant for several weeks until the situation was resolved and have not heard back from him until the air conditioner issue arose As previously mentioned, this unit was a newly installed unit in Again, after receiving the request regarding the issue with the unit, we sent our contractor over who reported the condensing unit was burned up because the tenant failed to contact us right away and it ran repeatedly for over five days In addition, he also noted the unit was running without a filter We reported the circumstances to the owner to replace the unit and, because the damage to the air conditioner was tenant-caused, we determined we would assess the tenant an additional $per month (spread over months) to cover the cost of repair We have further agreed to take the old unit back to the Supplier and, if there was a warranty, we would not assess the tenant any charges Regarding the sewer back (again not initially reported by the Tenant), we did snake out the drain and have never heard back from the Tenant that there are any issues related to any type of back up of water

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2015/09/03) */
All tenants are informed and required to call our maintenance line if they have maintenance items to be addressedThis tenant called and continued to call our office and the property manager's cell # of which each time had been instructed to
call this in to the maintenance lineOnce the tenant finally did call the maintenance line work orders were assigned to contractorsThe plumbing issues were addressed several times but the tenant continued to complain about the toilet not workingEaton Properties does not own these properties, they are owned by individual investorsWe cannot do repairs on behalf of the owner if the owner does not have appropriate funds in their escrow account to be able to pay the contractors invoicesThe owner delayed funding his escrow account but finally did and the plumbing repairs were resolved
The unit was inspected for occupancy by tenant's payee Places for People and passed inspection so tenant was given occupancy to move inPer our lease the tenant signs, any pest control is the responsibility of the tenants
The tenant called and stated the a/c wouldn't workWe assigned to our HVAC tech and he informed us that it's not working because the a/c unit had been stolenOwner purchased and paid contractor to install window a/c unitThe tenant wanted an additional a/c window unit which we allowed him to purchase with his own money and would reimburse him the cost when he submits a paid receiptTo date, tenant has not submitted that paid receipt
The tenant has no confirmed knowledge of the status of the unit below him
Tenant is wanting to be released from his lease and we are denying his request

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me at this time.
Sincerely,
*** ***

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2015/09/01) */
Contact Name and Title: *** ***
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: ***@eatonproperties.com
Our maintenance dept received a request for a/c repair on or around Thurs 7/30/approx 9pmThe call was dispatched to our HVAC
tech on Fri 7/31/approx 10:30amThe tenant called our office on Fri 7/and we gave her the HVAC tech's cell # to call and schedule repair apptAt that point it is between the tech and the tenant to schedule an appt togetherTenant called maintenance again on Fri 7/at 7:30pm instead of calling the HVAC tech's cell # that we provdided to herMaintenance dept notified our office Mon 8/a.mthat the tenant called againThe property manager got in touch with the HVAC techHe stated he tried setting an appt with tenant but she said she was not availableThe appt was then set on 8/and repair was complete
Our lease that the tenant signs and receives a copy of before move in states that bugs, spiders, etc treatment is the responsibility of the tenant
The tenant requested to leave the propertyHer lease ends on 9/30/After inspection of the unit it was found that the tenant has vacated the unit on or around 8/21/15, breaking her lease and leaving an unppaid balance of $which is her August rent

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me at this time.
Sincerely,
*** ***