Four Star Realty & Property Management, Inc.

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:I am extremely busy with work and have requested detail as to why the business thinks I should pay for anything in the particular invoice from *** *** ***I don't have time to readdress everything currently on their form that I already wrote in my complaint hereI would prefer to mediate on this platformAdditionally, I would like a reduction in the cleaning fees charged because of the mice infestation that was still active upon my move-outI cleaned as best as I could given the situation, the fridge, oven, and microwave were deep cleaned. I could not deep clean as deeply as I normally would have because it was a threat to my personal health and overall unsanitary and uninhabitable. I have the invoice from the Pest Control which shows how Four Star negligently failed to secure the property under the house in the laundry room and kitchen sink, from which the mice likely entered (drawn from their own/my neighbor's negligence in failing to remove trash/extreme overgrown lawn) Four Star offered no apologies or rent abatement despite the fact that I could not stay in the property during that timeInstead, they charge me a cleaning feeI would like Four Star to start with addressing the charges for the *** *** *** and why it thinks I should pay for a glass window when I did not damage the glassThere was no glass in the window opening, it was an opening for a swamp cooler, which Four Star removed at my request because it did not workTemps reached 90+ degrees in the unit and I placed a removable window A/C in its placeI should not have to pay for a glass replacement to secure the property
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I
have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meHowever, after looking into our payment history further, my roommates and I have discovered why we have not received the money we thought we were owedThere appear to be two violation charges from October totaling $When we were notified that we had not yet paid the $for the maintenance fee in December, our account balance was $167.00, which reflects only the maintenance charge, not the violation chargesNone of us were aware or made any payments for the violation charges, and in fact, both charges seem to have been applied retroactivelyThe money we paid for the maintenance charge was accredited to these violation charges without our knowledge, and this was all done with no communication from FourstarWe plan to file a new, more detailed complaint in the coming days.Note: the original "problem" with complaint ID *** was actually due to our confusion about what happened to our money, and this issue has been resolved
Sincerely,
*** ***

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 15, 2015/08/28) */
This tenant is not a tenant with ***, IncA family friend used a lease that referenced *** for a property in MinnesotaI have been advised that this issue has been resolved and deposit has been
returned to the tenant
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 18, 2015/09/01) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
The majority of the deposit was returnedThe Leasing Company, I was told, assisted in managing the property, NOT merely referencing it

In efforts to ensure Mr*** daughter was comfortable in her unit I reached out to the other residents renting the apartment on two separate occasions and both times was reassured that while the girls had paraphernalia in the apartment, that the smoking took place outside of the unit. When I asked *** *** if she wanted me to schedule a meeting between the three girls residing in the apartment she declined stating she did not want to make things awkward between the group. One of the risks our renters encounter when leasing a shared housing apartment on an individual lease basis is difference in lifestyles. It seems the other two girls in the apartment were more inclined to take part in the social scene than Mr***'s daughter, however, roommate conflict and or life style is not grounds for terminating the lease agreement.When it was brought to my attention that *** *** would be more comfortable with roommates who did not smoke I looked at all vacancy portfolio wide in efforts to find a more comfortable living situation for her. This, in my opinion was something that went above our obligation as property management but since there was other vacancy, if possible we try to ensure our tenants comfort within their own homes. When I walked the other units with vacancy there was noticeable paraphernalia in each one which is extremely common in our student portfolio here in Boulder, Colorado. I relayed to *** that this would likely be the case across the board and that the unit she was in was likely the best fit. Even thought they were not smoking in the unit please consider the followingUnlike cigarette smoke which will permeate the walls and flooring of a unit, marijuana smoke does not so it is hard for us to tell when tenants are actually smoking in their unit unless we were to catch them in the act. In this case I spoke with the other roommates on two occasions and did a walk of the apartment and there was no evidence they had been smoking in their unit.It is our job as property management to limit the ***'s financial obligation once they moved out and we were able to do so by re-leasing their unit for the month of July( it is extremly hard to release student housing due to the Calendar year) Our position is that we are owed rent through June, totaling $4,460. We are willing to waive all late fees, which would be extensive as well as the $lease transfer fee if this amount is paid

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meI have emailed them that $is acceptable but have not heard anything back in over a weekIf this is truly their resolution, I would like some confirmation from them.
Sincerely,
*** ***

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/08/24) */
Thank you to the ***'s for addressing this situationI am happy to provide a response in this forum, and have also followed up with them directly
The owner of the property has been coordinating the work to be done at the homeThe
owner lined up a painting contractor as well as landscapersI was not involved in the process whatsoever, other than to notify the ***'s of the fact that there would be contractors on-site looking at the various items (paint, shrubbery)Unfortunately, because I was out of the loop, I didn't have any information to share with the ***'sThe owner of the home did not notify me with any specifics as she was handling all of the paint/landscaping items
I have contacted the owner about this and will communicate with the ***'s and address their concerns immediately
Rest assured, this is not a situation whereby FourStar is refusing to communicate, but rather we simply didn't have any information to provideWe were informed the matters were being addressed, and this seemed to be the case as contractors were being hired
Again, we appreciate the comments and concerns of the ***'s and we have, and will continue to, take steps to ensure this is resolved
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 8, 2015/08/27) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
We just want Four Star Realty to begin communicating with us regarding this property in a timely manner and not after we submit a Revdex.com complaintWe still have unresolved issues and invite a phone call from Four Star Realty to resolve
Four Star realty should have followed up with the owner of the property on a continuous basis knowing that work needed to be done
Notifying us once to expect contractors on-site is not proper notificationContractors showed up one day with no notice and then painters showed up another and refused to talk with us because we were not the owners
We live here and would appreciate some common courtesies

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 11, 2015/12/17) */
Four Star Realty does not profit on security deposits, all charges are either billed to the owner of the property or the residentAdditionally, all vendors are third party/privately owned and invoices are 100% pass through, with no mark ups
Our lease is very clear about the check in process and what charges could be deducted from the security deposit at the time of move outThe importance of the check in sheet and taking photos at the time of move in is also reiterated on the move in dateThe resident(s) are provided a move in packet that includes important information regarding their move in and instructions/recommendations on filing out the check in sheet they receiveThe check in sheet reiterates the important of taking pictures in multiple areas
It took us longer then expected to respond to ***'s questions on the security deposit initiallyThe owner lived at the property prior to *** and we wanted to get confirmation on the work that we believe they contracted prior to ***'s move inOur office works very hard to make sure that all security deposits are reconciled fairly and are always wiling to clarify why a resident was billed for a chargeIf *** would like to reach out to Four Star with a specified list of specific things she believe she believes she was not responsible foron we would be more than happy to go over them

*** - It is disappointing that you feel you had to submit a second complaint as *** in our customer service department has called you times including two voicemails that went unanswered to try and further discuss your concernsAdditionally, the first complaint issued was closed and settled
amicably for all partiesA significant monetary concession was given for your grievances addressed in the previous complaint and all parties were satisfied and moving toward a positive pathTo bring up these issues again after agreeing to a resolution is unfair and not a true representation of the situationTo address some of the alternate items you mentioned most recently, 1&2) We provide residents with reasonable notice of entry which is not always a full hours but prior day notification at a minimumAdditionally, in your maintenance request, you have the option to select if you would like to be present during the workWe never want any visit either leasing or maintenance to be unexpected3) Our customer service department talked to you at length about this error on the renewal and you seemed very understanding at the timeThe renewal was not fully executed and the office took full responsibility for this typoIt was not intentional but human error does happen and it was brought to your attention immediatelyUnfortunately the correct rate was not in the range that worked for you and your familyHowever, I think it is important to note that the fact that you did go through such lengths to try and renew in your current home should speak to some of the adjectives you used to describe our companyWe work diligently to have a positive landlord/tenant relationship and given the fact that you did want to renew for another term with us implies that you must have felt that on some levelI understand your largest frustrations stem from communication and maintenance issuesThis is something we take pride in and will use as a training moment with your specific managerCommunication is important and invaluable in such situations, if this is an area that needs improvement I will be sure to use your experiences as a reference moving forwardThe settlement you have requested is not a representation of a resolution for the mentioned issuesIt is, again, monetary, which was offered and agreed upon in the previous complaint resolutionUnfortunately withholding July rent for frustrations regarding maintenance and communication is a violation of the lease and such issues are not grounds to not pay rentWe would like the opportunity to further discuss your tenancy and have you walk away with a better understanding if you are still open and willingWe do feel the previous concession issued was a sign of good faith that your opinions and relationship is important to us and an additional concession is excessiveWe look forward to resolving your issues in a similar, positive manner to last time, and all move forward for the remainder of your tenancy

***, I understand you've been communicating directly with a representative from our Hill office and have reached a resolutionPlease let us know directly if there's anything else we can do to resolve your dispute

Hi ***, I understand your frustration with the appliances in your unit and I assure you this is never the foot we want to start off on during move-inUnfortunately, issues with these appliances were never reported by the previous resident and as soon as you brought it to our attention it
was immediately assignedUnfortunately, we must rely on our appliance vendors during situations such as this and multiple diagnosis have delayed the process with the needed parts on orderAt this time, we expect both issues to be fully resolved within the next days, which would be exactly days from your modateTherefore, the ownership is willing to honor a rent concession for the lack of use of these appliances as well as your inconvenienceI understand you and the property manager are discussing the details of this in a previous email correspondence, but the ownership will honor the $credit for the full days per your requestWe look forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible and moving forward in a positive direction for the remainder of your term. Thanks,

*** -I apologize that you have had a frustrating experience with our tenant portal, ***Please note, this is a third party software and often times have to rely on their technical support in order to resolve out of the ordinary issuesWe first see if our office is able to resolve the issue
quicker, however being an outside platform we do sometimes need to have it handled directly by their officesI assure you, late fees are assessed purely on late payments submit after 5:00pm on the 3rd and on an automated basisI reviewed your account and see that although you have renewed with us for another term, it appears auto-payments were just setup in October by you and your roommateThis could be where some of the confusion is stemming from, versus the one-time previous payments you have madeIf you are continuing to have issues we are happy to walk through the process or be the liaison with *** if needed to ease any frustrations on your endAgain, I want to assure you there is no correspondence between assessed late fees and your tenant portal, however I'm confident we can ease your concerns so that it doesn't remain an issue for the remainder of your leasePlease feel free to reach out to our customer service department if you'd like to discuss it further. Thanks,

Hi ***--I am sorry that there has been a lack of communication from Four StarWe understand that moving out of your current complex and into another property is an inconvenienceThe ownership group offered to cover moving costs and return the security deposit in full as long as the unit was
left empty and broom cleanedI can speak with our accounting department and have the security deposit refund + moving expenses check cut in hoursCan you let me know the costs for moving? Once I have this information, I can send out the addendum to the lease for electronic signature as well to you and KristenIf you prefer to communicate via email, you can reach me at [email protected] look forward to resolving your concerns shortly.Thanks,*** ***

I am rejecting Fourstar Realty and their response to my complaint (ID ***) regarding the non-smoking vs smoking issue in the apartment that was rented. I find it interesting that Fourstar does not deny smoking in the apartment does occur and even admits other non-smoking units in fact had renters who smoked in them. The very first day we moved in I had called Fourstar explaining the apartment we rented was advertised and marketed as non-smoking. We purposely looked for non-smoking apartments for the obvious health reasons as well as personal preference. I find it interesting *** *** acknowledged there was a problem and initially acted in ways to try to solve the problem. Once he found there was no solution communication came to a stop. On three different occasions I confirmed with *** if they could not find a non-smoking apartment I expect my deposit to be returned and lease to be terminated. I further asked if this was not the case please let me know asap. (you can see emails from previous responses confirming this) It was not until we moved out and I talked to Rebecca had she said that we would not be able to terminate our lease. She too had no idea why *** had not clarified this with me or why he had stopped communicating with me. My complaint is simple, we applied for and in good faith signed a lease with a non-smoking apartment. The lease states very clear, Reference Paragraph 14, “Residents agree that the leased Premises is a non-smoking Premise” I tried to work with Fourstar in finding a non-smoking apartment. Non-smoking is a material fact of the lease. They could not provide that. It’s a simple fact they could not provide what they advertised. I feel I am being generous with my offer to pay $to settle this dispute and hope that Fourstar will now too see too that they are responsible as well Thanks, ***

Attached is the accounting ledger which reflects the maintenance refund on 11/09/18. This has been refunded since December and that action was confirmed with the resident. I've reached out to the resident to see where there confusion is stemming from

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.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Our office has spent an incredible amount of time, energy, and resources working with this fraternity house to ensure they understand the lease terms and financial ledgers.  Unfortunately, our attempts at communication directed to the house as a whole have been unsuccessful.  We continue...

to answer all questions and concerns but feel that there needs to be internal communication between the residents on the joint and several lease.  We've also requested another in office meeting with all residents and/or guarantors to go over the accounts and ensure everyone is on the same page.

The residents made minimal efforts to properly move out of the home and there was significant painting, cleaning, and repairs needed to return the home to move in condition.  The attached pictures reflect that there was negligent damage done to the walls which required the extensive painting to...

be performed.  The owner covered $200 of the bill for normal wear & tear and the resident was held accountable for the remainder of the cost due to the condition they returned the home.  Our office has reached out to [redacted] on multiple occasions without receiving correspondence back.  It’s important for our residents to understand our security deposit reconciliation process and why invoices were allocated the way they were.  It’s equally important that we end all relationships on amicable terms and we are therefore proposing a good faith refund of $2000 from the painting bill.  While the documentation doesn’t warrant this action, we are still willing to absorb the cost in an effort to find a resolution.  We are hopeful to hear back from the resident soon to discuss the matter.  Finally, all vendors utilized throughout the year and during the turnover period are 3rd party and unaffiliated with our office.  We do not profit off assigned work and much prefer properties to be returned in great shape so there is less vendor management that requires invoice reconciliation.

The consumer is on a joint and several lease and our office does not have control over which rooms the respective roommates live in.  I've communicated further with Tina outside of Revdex.com and the cleanliness of the unit appears to be the primary deterrent to finding a replacement.  This is another aspect of the unit that my office does not have control over.  There also seems to be confusion on the lease terms as Savannah is not obligated to the lease beyond the original lease end date of 7/31/18, see attached lease addendum.  All the paperwork was signed under their own free will and our office has no motivation to pressure residents into signing renewals and/or lease transfers.  Our office will continue to communicate with Tina and work towards finding an amicable resolution.  However, I do think it should be noted that internal roommate conflict has played a significant role in the consumers frustrations and my office is being blamed for factors outside of our control.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:nothing was resolved. A customer service rep contacted me asked about my experience and I gave him about 5 points, he took no responsibility. Everything had an excuse. Even drug needles in the parking lot they left for weeks ( parking lot in from of office, they saw and walked by everyday), blamed on the tenants which yes I agree whichever tenant did that was wrong, but four star owns the property, insures the propert- anyone who would have got pked would have named four star in a suit, not an unknown tenant. They said providing a hotel for apartment not being ready was sufficient, I disagree. They should have recalculated the days the rent wasn't ready, refunded and provided a hotel for not just myself but for every tenant.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  As stated previously Four Star did take advantage of my daughter when they sent out the lease renewal.  On February 5, 2018 Savannah and I went into Four Star to let Bridget (her property manager) know that Savannah had moved out of [redacted] and that we had cleaned the room/bathroom and shampooed the carpet, etc.  Bridget informed us they would put a lock on the door which we already know they failed to do.  Bridget knew at that time Savannah was leaving the area and would not be interested in staying on the lease longer than the current July 31, 2018 lease end date.  On February 12, 2018 Savannah received an email stating the house was going to be shown to prospective renters for the new 2018/2019 lease term.  Then on February 14th she received another email that the house was going to be shown again.  Apparently one of the roommates (Michaela) was already interested in renewing the lease back in October/November 2017, and I'm not sure what happened or if she even communicated with Four Star about wanting to stay on, but on February 14, 2018 right after the 2nd showing email was sent we received the renew lease letter from Sarah (who is not their property manager) stating Michaela wants to continue on in the unit and to do so the other two roommates (my daughter Savannah and the other roommate John) would need to sign a new lease then sign another have their name removed from the lease.  I responded to Sarah letting her know Savannah was not interested in staying on the lease and it was up in July 2018.  Sarah's email requested them to sign and have it back to her by 5pm the next day.  In the meantime my daughter was already stressed out because of the situation and understood that the only way she would get her almost $1000.00 deposit back is to sign the document.  Little did she know in the print it says she is forfeiting her right to the deposit and she would have to make arrangements with Michaela for her to return her deposit to her.  In the meantime we believe Michaela contacted Four Star and Sarah rushed the lease out.  This is unacceptable and I don't understand how a company that works with teens (my daughter is 19 and not worldly by any means) would submit such a document and expect that quick of a turn around without seeking counsel.  My daughter was under too much stress because of the situation at the house and Four Star not communicating with us properly about her move out.  I do not see how is can be legal and I think it was very underhanded to present this in the first place.  Michaela should have had to sign a new lease ALL ON HER OWN and put down her OWN FULL DEPOSIT until she found roommates to pay her back.  My daughter should have been given her deposit back at the end the lease in July 2018.  This is one of the main reasons I am fighting for my daughter because she was taken advantage of.  I have since received an email from Aaron stating he is not happy with my scathing complaint with the Revdex.com.  I could care less at this point what Aaron thinks and I will keep this fight up until I know that my voice is heard.  I've heard from an attorney that there have been many issues with people coming to them about Four Star and taking advantage of the students.  I have attached copies of the emails and the lease removal of names showing where it says my daughter forfeits the deposit for review.
Sincerely,
Tina [redacted]