Lone Star Realty & Property Management, Inc

Ref:*** *** *** and *** *** leased the property on 7-23-and provided a move out notice for 7-31-(the end of their lease term). Resident turned in keys to the property on 7-29-14. As with all residents, they were provided an inventory and condition
form to complete on the property upon move in. They were provided clear instructions to notate any damages to the property and be very thorough as the same form is used on the move out inspection and if there is damage not reported upon move in that is present at move out- they will be charged for those damages. They were also provided the cleaning guidelines at the beginning of their lease and AGAIN at the time they gave notice to vacate. These notices are provided so we can have smooth move outs-this means residents getting their deposits back and the property ready for a new resident to take occupancyThe residents moved out and were provided a security deposit resolution with the results of the inspection. This letter also included the process for review should the resident find any errors with the findings. The residents disputed some of the findings in writing, the file was reviewed at length, an adjustment was made for utilities in the amount of $as the invoices from utility companies were now available. Also provided was a detailed explanation, along with pictures, to show the charges that stoodResident was not charged for a roof repair but for a panel on the patio that was coming down. The resident's said they had attempted to fix themselves and had not reported the issue to management. No explanation was provided as to what had happened to the panel in the first placeThere seems to be no evidence of a water issue with the panel. There was a charge of $to screw the panel back in A carpet receipt was provided and in fact showed on the receipt to have, "very heavy soil". The receipt was dated more than a month prior to move out. At the inspection there were red stains in the living room and another stain in front of a closet. Carpet cleaning was ordered by management and the stains were removed by the new company. The charge stoodThe resident was also charged for a shower door handle in the amount of $25, touch up paint to a bedroom wall that had pink stains in the amount of $15. The garage floor was stained with oil and was not like this when the resident moved in. Resident claims they hired someone to clean it and paint it prior to moving out- the pictures show that this was not a freshly painted garage floor. (Nor would this have been a requirement of a resident unless there had been bad stains over and above wear.) There are before and after pictures and the charge of $will stand. Resident was also charged $for patching nail and screw holes on the side of the window The vendor charges a service call for his time and gas to conduct work- this is standard for the industry. It was also provided at the lease signing, and again at notification of intent to vacate, that there will be a re-inspection fee of $50 if the property is not cleared correctly. Residents are provided all they need to clear properly if that is their intent to do so. It is always the goal for leaving residents to have successful move outs as often the properties are preleased with families waiting to move in. When a resident does not clear properly additional time and trips are required by management staff to coordinate and verify the property is ready for the incoming resident. This is not just monetary value in staff time but also actual costs in travel. We understand that many people have different standards as to what is clean and what is major or minor with regard to repairs. We go to considerable length to explain the standards we will hold residents to and provide notices in writing so they have it at their fingertips. We also provide them names and phone numbers of vendors who know the standards and provide services at very reasonable rates. It's up to the residents to follow through on those guidelines and choose vendors who do good workUnfortunately, when you deal with residents, the security deposit reconciliations can very often be a point of contention for management companies We strive to do all we can to help residents get their full deposits back. We do however represent owners that have entrusted their homes to us, they expect their properties to be maintained and cleared properly by residents that have been permitted to live in their homes. Many of our owners are military homeowners and cannot afford to pay for damages that are the responsibility of the residents. We are fair to all parties but our job is to protect the homes of those families that have entrusted these homes to our care. This means that if a resident causes repairs outside of "wear and tear" they must be charged to correct those deficienciesPictures have been provided, more are available on request. Pictures are being sent in two batches due to size limitations of email to Revdex.com. Warmly, *** *** Lone Star Realty & Property Management, Inc.*** ** *** ***
*** *** *** Phone ###-###-#### Ext*** Cell ###-###-#### Fax ###-###-#### E-Mail *** Website *** Texas law requires all real estate licensees to give the following information about brokerage services to prospective buyers, tenants, sellers and landlordshttp://www.trec.state.tx.us/pdf/contracts/op-k.pdf

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:I have provided my electric and waterbill to lonestar reality, If they did not know the exact cut off date they should have asked or called meI have tried to contact them many of times about this, In the end I wish to no longer keep disputing with them as I do not have the time or energy with their unfair business practices.How in the world they have an A+ rating is beyond me, they are good at what they do I suppose
Regards,
*** ***

We met with *** *** on April at our office to review and discuss her complaint about the security deposit reconcilation. After this discussion, *** *** said she was satified with our explaination and presentation of the details she had asked for in this complaint. Based on
this meeting, both parties consider this action resolved.Thank you

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.
Regards,
[redacted]

Ref:  [redacted] and [redacted] 
[redacted]    1.  [redacted] and [redacted] (residents) entered into a one year lease beginning on October 5, 2013 that was to run through September 30, 2014.2.  Residents...

were provided and signed a ”Move Out Cleaning & Procedures Addendum”. This is provided to all residents to help ensure successful move outs.  (Copy is provided as an attachment along with the intent to vacate notice where resident initialed in the upper right corner as having received another copy of this form.  Items pertaining to their move out issues have been notated for quick reference.)3. Residents moved out of the property and turned in keys on May 29, 2014. As notated on the Notice of Intent to Move Out (provided in attachments) 30 May 2014 was the date they provided for movingout. 4.  June 19, 2014 residents were sent a security deposit resolution statement explaining the charges to the residents.  It also explained the dispute process if the resident found errors upon review and notification that “Disputing a charge should not be considered, by you, as a delay or postponement in our collection efforts.  Disputed accounts will still be turned over to a collection agency after 30 days.” (Copy of the office letter has been provided.)5.  Resident sent a letter disputing the deposit resolution statement.6.  July 10, 2014 the office reviewed and responded to the specific items the resident had issue with and provided pictures.        a.  Landscaping was charged because the grass needed to be mowed and weeded along the a/c unit, house and fence line.   Pictures have been attached to this response, the same pictures that were provided tothe resident. He then admits in his Revdex.com complaint that these items were not done and offers up his explanation as to why.      b.  Carpet cleaning was required by his lease and the “Move Out Cleaning and Procedures Addendum”.  Resident acknowledges this was a requirement and admits he did not clean the carpets as required.      c.  Resident was charged a depreciated value for fraying not indicated on his move in condition form and a tear in the kitchen floor vinyl, also not noted as being preexisting upon move in.  Pictures were also provided for this charge in that response.     d.  The “Move Out Cleaning and Procedures Addendum” also states the requirement for utilities to be on for the inspection and for 5 business days after the inspection. It further states, “If utilities have to be reconnected to complete inspection, conduct repairs or cleaning, tenant will be charged for utility connection and usage charges.  Resident claims he had them on and was asked to provide his electric bill. If there was no notification as to when they would be turned off, the company will put them in our name to ensure that vendors who have scheduled their work can get work done with needed utilities, otherwise we run the risk of a team going to the property, not able to work for lack of utilities and the delays this would cause in getting the property up and ready for the next resident.  Utilities are billed in arrears and often received after the 30 day requirement to supply residents an accounting oftheir security deposit.  Once those bills are received, adjustments can be made on actual usage- without the actual bills residents are told in their lease what the water and electric estimate will be.  Residents often get confused that 5 days is the only requirement but this is not the case.  If a resident does not clear properly, vendors must be hired to complete the work and we have to work on their schedule.  If a resident didn’t clean his unit, for example, and the cleaning can’t get done before the five days, the resident is responsible for utilities past the five days- a cost incurred in correcting deficiencies that would not have been an issue if the resident had cleared properly.  An adjustment was made to utilities when resident supplied his bill and the office reviewed theirs. e.  Resident also questions the reinspection fee of $50.  Here too, the “Move Out Cleaning and Procedures Addendum” explains, “You will be charged a re-inspection fee if you fail any part of the inspection that requires a contractor/vendor to come out to perform a service you were responsible for, if you are not ready at the time of your scheduled inspection or if utilities are not on a the time of the inspection which would required the inspectors toreturn to the property at a later date”. Resident is confused and linking the charge to the utilities having been on for the required 5 days.  Anytime outside vendors have to be hired to complete work the tenant was responsiblefor, the reinspection fee is incurred to cover the additional time and expense of coordinating and verifying work has been completed. This is one $50 charge per property. (This has been notated on the Move out form for quick reference.)f.  Resident seems to be questioning the amounts for the items that he readily admits he failed to take care of.  For example he writes, “I see no reason to be charged $40 for a 2 minutes job of edging”. It is explained to every resident at lease signing that we do not have in-house maintenance so there is no potential conflict of interest between Lone Star Realty, owners and residents.  It is also explained that the exact cost of any repair is what is charged to the appropriate party whether that be an owner or a resident.  A lawn care professional was hired to take care of the needed areas of this lawn that the resident failed to take care of upon move out, that vendor charged $40 for his time and gas to complete the job.  The same applied for the cleaner, carpet cleaning company and the general contractor we hired.  Aside from accelerated depreciation, the exact charge of that private vendor is what is charged to the resident or the owner.  There is no up-charge to Lone Star Realty on any repair (although the industry standard is to add one). Copies of all invoices have been attached to this response- 5 pages.  Pictures have also been provided)It is always our desire to have successful move outs and we do all within our power to give residents the guidelines for doing so.  The “Move Out Cleaning & Procedures Addendum” is very detailed and explains what they need to do in order to receive a full refund of their security deposit. It even includes names of independent contractors who know what the standards are and offer reasonable rates for their services.   We often have properties preleased andproperties that are not cleared correctly by current residents cause a lot of issues for management and new families moving in.  Just as important, there is no benefit to Lone Star Realty for failed move outs, only loss of resources in staff time and effort to get the properties back to where they were supposed to be.  Both management and owners lose in this scenario, Lone Star Realty in the additional work to take care of deficiencies and owners who have to pay and wait for funds to be collected from the residents, and the loss of income for the days the property stays off the market while needed repairs are completed.There is a dispute process and review to ensure all the charges are correct, verification is accepted and adjustments made if warranted.  We will also give the resident the benefit of the doubt if there is a question.  However in this case, staff spent a lot of time reviewing and responding to resident, also sent pictures. He finally admits to the specific items once he realizes we have pictures to document our findings.  The question that seems to remain for [redacted] now seems to come down to the amounts charged for the work that was needed.  Outside vendors were hired to complete the needed work and they charged reasonable fees for their work- all in line with industry standards. In fact, had the resident tried to hire his own independent contractors to complete the needed repairs, he would likely have paid higher prices than what we have been able to secure from  these businesses because of the volume ofwork we do. These charges were only incurred because the resident did not take care to do things correctly in preparation for his move out.  Furthermore, the owner has had to send in the money to cover these expenses until the balance is collected from the resident.In closing, I am not presenting any new information here that hasn’t already been supplied or explained to the resident. I am supplying a number of attachments and pictures to add to this response, although limited on how many this format allows me to upload.   I, and my staff, have spent a considerable amount of time explaining and documenting this again and again  and see no reason to expend anymore time on this dispute.  Warmly,[redacted]Lone Star Realty & Property Management Inc.

We have attached pictures to depict all cleaning charges assessed to the previous resident's account. In addition, there's an attachment of the move out cleaning addendum which outlines reasons a resident can be charged for specific items e.g. pest control, utility charges, reinspection fees, etc....

The reletting fee was charged because the tenants defaulted on their final rent payment per their lease agreement and notice to vacate. We encourage all tenants to refer to paragraph 10 and 36 of their lease to ensure a full understanding of any and all penalties assessed regarding rent or reletting charges. We trust the documentation provided justifies all charges assessed.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:It is FALSE that I never submitted my receipts. They WERE submitted with my paperwork, and I mailed copies later! I know Lone Star Realty will never admit that an error was made on their part. I used vendors that were APPROVED by Lone Star Realty. Receipts were submitted! Copies of the receipts were left at the house. The fact that I was unable to be present during the inspection, should NOT be reason enough to rip me off! Then ripping me off even further by charging me a reinspect fee is beyond insulting! I work, I have a job, and was unable to be present because I was nearly 300 miles away at a new employer. I know this matter will never be resolved, I do NOT accept the response from Lone Star Realty, they have done this to many, many others as well. Read the on-line complaints! Unethical management agency. I have rented from other agencies before, and ALWAYS received most of my deposit back. I was told if there is anything wrong, the approved cleaning vendor would be brought in to remedy it. That didn't happen! I was charged double!Even during my mid-term inspection I received a satisfactory inspection, I followed all of THOSE requirements, and even submitted my copy of the carpet cleaning THEN as required! Why would I have gone through the extra expense of having Lone Star Realty's own authorized vendors to do the work, and ensuring that I followed all of the move-out instructions (with the exception of being present during the move-out inspection), and then not follow through? Does Lone Star actually believe their own garbage? The fact is, Lone Star Realty is an unethical management agency that will do whatever they can do to keep their tenants deposits. Their online complaints fully back my claim!Furthermore, TAKE ME OFF OF LONE STARS RENT PAYMENT REMINDER, as I STILL receive those every month as if I still owe rent, and I haven't rented since MAY!  
Regards,
[redacted]

Our office has issued a formal response to Ms. [redacted] via certified mail and we have attached the response in question. We provided pictures to document all charges assessed to her account for validity purposes. We filed a formal eviction on Ms. [redacted] for non-payment of rent as a result of...

defaulting due to not satisfying a past due balance for damages assessed to her account. We have gone into detail regarding this matter in the attached document as well.

Mr. [redacted] and Ms. [redacted] moved out on July 22, 2015. The move out inspection was completed on July 24, 2015 and the utilities were being shut off on 7/28/2015. Per the move out addendum that the tenants are given at the time they move in and when they put in their notice to vacate, it states all of...

the requirements for a move out and annotates that the utilities are required to be on for 5 business days starting the day after the tenants turn in their keys, not to include weekends or holidays. Their deposit reconciliation was mailed to them on August 19, 2015 with a balance due of $548.10 after the deposit of $500 and pet deposit of $300 was applied towards some of the charges. Mr. [redacted] and Ms. [redacted] disputed the charges on September 2, 2015, in which the inspector responded to the dispute and adjusted the water bill, due to them providing proof that the water was on for 5 business days.  The electric bill that they provided in their dispute letter stated it was on for only 4 days, so this charge was not adjusted. The inspector explained, in detail, each induvial charge, why it was charged to them, and provided pictures justifying each charge assessed. The inspector also explained that it is against company policy to provide a 3rd party vendor’s pricing. The carpet that was replaced in the living room, was replaced due to excessive dirtiness and not due to the water leak next door, pictures were provided. The carpet cleaning was done on the remaining carpet that was not replaced which was the stairs, hallway, and bedrooms. Per their move out requirements, tenants are required to have the carpets professionally cleaned before move out providing a receipt that it was completed. The tenants are also required to have a pet enzyme treatment done whenever there is a pet on the property. A re-inspection fee is charged when the tenants fail any part of the move out inspection, whether the tenants are present or not. This information is provided to every tenant that puts in their written notice to vacate on the move out addendum and was explained in the dispute response.  Mr. [redacted] and Ms. [redacted] disputed again on October 9, 2015 with the same complaints as their original dispute. The inspector again explained all the charge in detail and provided a copy of the invoice of the work that was completed and explained that the vendors do not charge labor and that they only charge a service call fee. The inspector sent the response certified mail on 10/23/2015 and the letter was returned back to the office on 11/21/2015 stating it was refused by the recipient. Our office feels we have provided sufficient supporting documentation to justify all charges assessed to their account.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:the stains were on the carpets when we moved in and it is in the paper work. The shower handle was missing when we moved in and we bought one, it was not on so they charged us for it. We vacated the property Way before July 31 and they knew that since in May they got notice to vacate and said we still had to pay rent through July so we turned the keys in when we were done paying for the rent. The carpets were cleaned they were dirty when we had them cleaned, yes, heavy soil so what we lived there, they went over them twice they were cleaner then they were when we moved in.The roof was apparently missing a nail, which is was not three days before inspection when we had the lady there to clean, we looked at everything and there was nothing wrong with the roof inside the porch. The garage was disgusting food and mmold, dirt, grease, paint on the floors, it was disgusting, we cleaned it painted it had it pressure washed and they still charged. They take advantage of people in the military because they leave town when they move out and do not do anything about it when they get ripped off. I want all of my money back.  Regards,[redacted]

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.
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I feel that Mr. [redacted] has not lived up to his end of the agreement when we signed with Lone Star. He wants to make a it a point to say that the addendum doesn't have any weight to it. An addendum is two fold. 1. It releases liability in the event of an injury. 2. It protects the owners in the event that it is damaged. Mr. [redacted]'s employee [redacted], said that one will be included, that never happened. Furthermore, if an addendum has no meaning to it, why include it. Property Managers are supposed to take care of the owners property while under their care. Mr. [redacted] has failed to do this and should be held liable.
Regards,
[redacted]

Our office received a certified letter from Ms. [redacted] regarding her deposit reconciliation. Our inspections department immediately responded via mail, to the forwarding address on file, on 9/27/16 disclosing the name and address of the person now in possession of any funds she was charged for and is...

now disputing. Typically, our office would conduct the research on an owner's behalf; however, this property was a management termination and is no longer in our inventory of homes. Ms. [redacted] is correct in stating she signed a lease in our office; however, her lease agreement is not with Lone Star Realty as we are the intermediary. On page 1, paragraph 1 of her lease, it states her contract is between herself and the property owner, not Lone Star Realty. Although Ms. [redacted] states she left the home in pristine condition, there was indeed a stale cigarette smoke smell during the time of the move out inspection. Also, Ms. [redacted] admitted to the property owner during a personal visit to their home earlier in the year that she smoked inside their home. Smoking is not considered normal wear and tear and any fees associated with the cost of ridding the smell or any other damages are strictly the responsibility of the tenant.  On September 28, 2016 Ms. [redacted] called into our office and spoke with our Office Manager, who provided her again with all information she requested regarding who she would be disputing any charges with so we find it disheartening that she would fabricate an untrue complaint to your office. She then stated she was working out of state and hasn't been home so she wasn't entirely sure if she'd received the packet we mailed to her with the information she states we never provided.  She was never advised to pursue legal action by anyone in our office; however, she stated she would be suing whomever was responsible for her security deposit if she didn't receive it back in full. She began asking if she could sue for the $400.00 a day loss in wages she would incur if she decided to take the homeowner to small claims court and was advised that we cannot offer legal advice and to seek counsel for clarification. Lastly, as previously stated Ms. [redacted] was not only provided all requested information in writing, but via phone as well. Our office stands firm in all statements made.

Mr. [redacted] submitted a dispute regarding charges to his account the same day he initiated his compliant with the Revdex.com. Immediately, our Tenant Liaison started researching his account immediately. There was email traffic between the two indicating she was working on it the same day the dispute was...

received. As mentioned in the correspondence with him, he was asked to provide documentation for certain items related to his move out in order for our office to make adjustments to his account. As a company, we never deny a current or former resident copies of their statement of charges if they request it. We do require all communication related to disputes in writing to protect not only the company, but the resident as well. During the investigative stage and upon the proper documentation being provided by the former resident, our office gave him a credit in the amount of $412.50 towards his account which left him with a balance due of $47.50 of which he paid on 8/15/16 as shown on the statement attached to this response. We are not in the habit of overcharging a tenant unjustly and if we have made an error we always rectify it. In reviewing all of the correspondence between Mr. [redacted] and the staff, it appears all of his concerns were addressed the moment they arose and adjustments where necessary were made. In regards to him stating we never tried contacting him prior to the account being prepared for collections is inaccurate. A member of our staff not only emailed him regarding his outstanding balance on 6/13/16, but a phone call was made as well. He didn’t respond until he received the final demand email a few days prior to being prepared for collections. I have attached all documents to support our response. Very Respectfully, [redacted] Office ManagerLone Star Realty & Property Management, Inc.[redacted] [redacted]Phone: [redacted] Ext. [redacted] | Fax: ([redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I don't feel it is fair and I don't feel I owe the full amount. 
Regards,
[redacted]

As previously stated, accelerated depreciation is charged to a tenant and the funds are released to the owner if all funds are available in the event they want the work performed. In the supporting documentation attached to the original complaint response, it clearly indicates the tenant has unpaid balance of which depicts the satellite dish removal, along with several other charges, remaining unpaid; therefore, funds weren't allocated to the owner's ledger for payout. Thus stating, there aren't funds available to dispatch a vendor to render services.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I am rejecting this response because we provided multiple dates that we would be available prior to leaving the rental property. Each time we were told each time that we were not allowed to be at the final inspection. Lone Star knew in advance that we were leaving and that it is a busy season. If they only have three inspectors then priority should be given to move outs over the required inspections. Some of the pictures they sent us were not of our rental, as our fridge was not white. This issue was not addressed and they did not include that picture to the Revdex.com. The inspection was a week or more after we left. It was raining a lot at that time and things grow, especially weeds. A week is plenty of time for them to grow. They state that they try and have the property clean and ready for the next tenants, but it was not for us. When we moved in, it was not clean. There was mold in the dishwasher and bugs in the refrigerator. We brought the issue up when we moved in but it was not addressed. Regards, [redacted] 
Regards,
[redacted]

[redacted] rented the unit at [redacted] in October 2013 and renewed for an additional six months at the end of the first year.  Her lease currently runs through March 31, 2015. During the past 16 months the owner of the property has gone over and above with meeting her requests to the...

tune of more than $2,000.  During her tenancy she has had 15 various work orders submitted.  Amongst these have been items a resident would typically be charged for; clogged toilets or charges for items she reported as not working correctly where the vendor arrived to find everything fine.  These were all things that the resident could have been charged for and were not.   [redacted] was told by the contractor that the doors and windows are working the way they were intended and are original to the building.  The building was built in 1984.  He also suggested that she use curtains if she was concerned about the windows feeling cold to the touch.  The owner is not going to replace all the windows and doors in the house, this is not needed and certainly the owner is not going to go to that expense unnecessarily.  This is an unreasonable request.    The owner and staff have gone over and above for this resident and there is nothing more we can do for her on this issue.  Her lease is ending next month, she is certainly within her rights to give proper notice and move to another unit with another company to something she feels is better suited to her needs.        Warmly, [redacted]
[redacted] Lone Star Realty & Property Management, Inc.[redacted]
[redacted] Phone ###-###-#### Ext. [redacted]  Cell ###-###-#### Fax     ###-###-#### E-Mail [redacted] Website [redacted] Texas law requires all real estate licensees to give the following information about brokerage services to prospective buyers, tenants, sellers and landlords. http://www.trec.state.tx.us/pdf/contracts/op-k.pdf

Over the course of a month and a half there were a few HVAC issues that took place at Ms. [redacted]’ s residence; to include, the specific incident she mentions regarding the evaporator coil (the other issues were unrelated to what she was charged for. Our office received notification from two...

separate licensed a/c technicians stating the coils were clogged with pet hair due to the unsanitary conditions of the property. The initial visit from the after-hours company sparked an inspection of the property because our office was informed the property wasn’t being taken care of, there were unsanitary living conditions, and the closet in bedroom couldn’t be accessed to give a proper diagnosis because of the amount of trash and boxes that were blocking his access.On July 20, our office conducted a surprise inspection to check on the property condition and much to our surprise it was not being taken care of. In light of this discovery, our Office Manager contacted Ms. [redacted] to notify her that the home would need to be cleaned up immediately and also informed her that the a/c coil cleaning would be a charge she is ultimately held accountable for. She begun to express her remorse for the condition of the home and stated she would have her kids clean it up for a re-inspection and for the vendor to be able to access the closet while she and her husband were on the road for his job. Ms. [redacted] also stated she would be able to file a claim with [redacted] because she has renter’s insurance. She was instructed to have the claim’s adjuster contact our office with any specific requests they made need to help her with the claim process. Although she was in the process of submitting a claim, she is solely responsible for remitting payment and would have to be reimbursed from her insurance company. As instructed, her insurance adjuster called and spoke with our Maintenance Manager regarding the repair in question. He was then informed the repair needed was caused by pet hair clogging the evaporator coil. During this time it was asked if they needed pictures of documentation and he stated, he had all the information he needed. Historically, it would be assumed they would deny the claim based on the information provided. Ms. [redacted] received emails and letters regarding the due date of her repair bill and she opted not to pay them timely based on the assumption [redacted] would be paying it for her which led to late fee accrual. As previously stated, any charges assessed to her account are her sole responsibility in assuring they are addressed per her lease agreement as the appropriated funds are refunded to the property owner, not Lone Star Realty. She refused to make a payment until we approached eviction status, at which point she threatened legal action on a repair that was deemed her responsibility and was not normal wear and tear.  Very Respectfully, [redacted], Office ManagerLone Star Realty & Property Management, Inc.[redacted], Texas [redacted]Phone: [redacted] Ext[redacted] | Fax: ([redacted]

I am very taken aback by this owner's complaint. Upon returning from out of town to this complaint I have met with my staff and reviewed email correspondence between him and our staff.   We have managed this property since October of 2014 and his property is rented at...

$1400 per month and has been so since we took management. He takes issues and claims he has been charged "exorbitant charges for simple fixes" to his property and this statement could not be more false. In October 2014 owner contacted us for management services and the property was leased the same month.  He was charged the required expenses of rekeying the property as outlined by the Texas Property Code.  All exterior locks must be rekeyed between tenancy, and keyless deadbolts installed on all exterior doors and peep holes in all exterior doors that do not have a window.  This was explained at management signing, with pictures and estimates for what each of those items would cost.  The amount of hisrekey was $192.14 with services provided by a local locksmith with charges that run below those to the general public as we are able to secure good prices forour owners with the volume of rekeying we are required by the state to do.  The exact amount of that bill was what our owner was charged and this expense was reflected in his monthly statement as are all charges.  An example of what the statement looked like and how descriptions would be notated on the owner statement were included in the new management presentation. He also had not cleaned the property or shampooed the carpets as required and asked that we take care of that on his behalf.  We were happy to do that for him so that he could focus on his move.  In May 2015 the Residents turned in a work order stating that the toilet was constantly running and the kitchen sprayer was not operating.  A local plumbing company was contacted to address the two issues within the same service call and the exact amount of that bill was charged to this owner in the amount of $86.39.  Again, this cost would be less than the general consumer would have paid.   The lease does require that these types of repairs be completed. This expense was recorded on his monthly statement.Later in May 2015 after a storm the residents placed a work order that the gate to the backyard had been damaged by the wind.  Contractor was sent to repair at a cost of $80.This was included in his owner statement. In July 2015 there was a resident after hour’s call that the a/c was not nworking in their home.  Vendor was sent to assess and charged $128.04 to replace the thermostat (after hours) providing air for this family and relief from the heat.  July in Texas, we all know, is extremely hot.  We secure good rates for our after hour calls and both owners and residents reap the benefits of that. If this owner had been paying $1400 a month in rent and his a/c went out, he would not have been happy to be told he’d have to suffer through it until regular business hours. As shared with this owner,  this amount is only slightly higher than what it would have been during normal business hours -a credit to our efforts to secure the best possible rates for our owners.So in the past year not only have the residents requests been reasonable, the costs to address those issues has also been very reasonable and below what the owner, or the general public,  would likely have been able to secure as an independent consumer.  Again, the exact amount of the repair is what the owner is charged.  The management agreement outlines when the owner must be contacted for an individual repair- in this case when it is $250 or more for a single repair.  Furthermore, owner statements are available online for our owners and available 24/7.  While we do not send original invoices during the year ( they are all packaged at the end of the year and included in an end of year packet along with a 12 month role up review and all the required tax documents that owners simply need to provide to their accountants), invoices are sent when requested. This owner has been provided excellent management services, had a paying tenant within two weeks of his vacating the property, and shortly after signing his management agreement.  He was well informed to the processes involved in management services.  His residents have paid $1400 per month, on time throughout their tenancy and he has had a total of three repairs to the home in 10 months for a total of $294.43. I would not call that “exorbitant”. Yes, he is correct that the leasing agent made a typo on his street number, an honest mistake, easily fixed and not something that demanded such intense anger that it still lingers in each interaction with him, nor does it warrant a description of "gross negligence".  While it is always our goal to be timely with responses to all owners, we are a very large management company and we are in a heavy PCS Cyclle.  It is unrealistic to expect we will be able to provide him an immediate response at all times for a general inquiry. Again, expenses on his account were documented on his monthly statement and they were minimal expenses. He has been provided a copy of the invoices he requested and, at the moment, seems satisfied.  We certainly understand that it is sometimes difficult for owners to be so far away.  We also understand there are those that have a lot of stress they are dealing with in their own lives that unfortunately makes everything intense and magnified in their relationships and dealings with others. The steps this owner has taken has been extreme and unreasonable, having not only placed a Revdex.com complaint but an unfavorable review online in an effort to damage our company reputation. Had he not been able to get a satisfactory answer from our staff he needed only to contact one of the owners who has dealt with him in the past.  He has continued to be in contact with our staff since posting this complaint and has sent an email that he appreciated their actions and looked forward to working with them in the future. We regret that our owner felt he needed, or was justified, to take such extreme actions over this.  We have always tried to provide him very good service and feelwe have honored our commitments to him and done him a very good job in taking care of his home.