Mercantile Properties

October 3, 2017*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** ***Complaint ID: *** ***Dear Ms***We have received your letter dated 09/26/regarding the above complaint. We do apologize that your previous attempt to contact us was
unsuccessful for some reason. We would have gladly replied as we always strive to resolve issues with unsatisfied tenants to the best of our ability.We have researched our records on maintenance requests and correspondence with the tenants at this residence to respond to their complaint. These tenants were in fact assigned to a different unit, as allowed within the terms of the lease, rather than the one originally chosen at the time of signing their lease. Several units in this complex were being remodeled over the summer months and due to circumstances beyond our control, the unit for their original move in was not ready for their move in date. All of the units in this complex have the same floor plan. Although remodel work was completed for this unit, there was in fact a need for it to be cleaned. When this was brought to our attention, we sent a cleaning lady on 07/07/17, the very next day from the first tenant’s move in dateThere was never any intention to leave the unit in this conditionThe other tenants did not move in until 07/28/and 08/01/We have no record of the tenant calling back, even as of today, being unsatisfactory with the cleaning that was done. If this had been brought to our attention, we would have gladly arranged to correct the issue.Our leasing department encourages all of our tenants to complete their “Inventory and Condition forms” and return them to the office for their lease file. If the forms were somehow omitted from the tenant’s lease packet, they are readily available in our office anytime during regular business hours. A re-key of locks on the unit had in fact been done after prior tenants moved out. However, when checking out a key to a worker on 08/09/to examine and repair the latch on the sliding door, we noticed that there was one key that was not returned. Although positive that this was just an oversight from the cleaning lady, we decided to be certain by having the locks re-keyed once again. The locks were re-keyed at our cost on 08/10/17.On two occasions, the tenants called in a maintenance request for the latch on the sliding glass door. Each request was addressed. On 08/09/the latch was removed, oiled, re-installed, and seemed to be working okay at that time. Maintenance verified that the door did in fact have a security bar installed in addition to the latch.Again on 08/28/maintenance checked the door latch as the tenants reported it was still not closing properly. The latch was adjusted and tightened to allow the door latch tighter. This worker also noted that there was a working security bar on the sliding door and that he showed the tenant how to use the bar.On 09/08/tenant called reporting a smell of gas in the unit. Maintenance responded immediately by sending a worker to examine the unit. During this visit all connections and lines were checked. Connections were retightened and checked with soapy water which is a universal process of checking gas connections for leaks. No leaks were indicated at this time.Between 09/08/and 09/12/there is no record of any additional calls or emails to our office regarding a continued issue of a suspected gas leak.09/12/17, the leasing department notified maintenance that the tenants called the fire department because they were smelling gas. We were told the fire department stated the dryer to be the cause of the smell. We immediately sent a maintenance worker to remove the dryer to the garage and make sure the gas was turned off to the dryer connection. We returned on 09/18/to examine the dryer and re-connect it in the unit. All lines and connections were tested with soapy water again and no leaks were found. The dryer was turned on and allowed to run for a while then maintenance returned to check it again. Although our worker reported that he could not locate any leaks, as an extra precaution, our appliance repairman, *** with Country Appliance, was sent to check the dryer. *** reported that the hoses and connections were all in good condition and verified that there were no leaks indicated. However, he also advised that the dryer was old and could possibly have a small internal leak that was causing gas to accumulate inside the dryer when it was not in use which would then be smelled once the door was opened. Because the appliance repairman stated that there is no way to pressure test the dryer to rule out internal leaks, I notified the owner and explained the situation to him. The owner then approved for us to discard the gas dryer and install a new electric dryer in the unit. We have no record of receiving complaints or issues from the tenants other than the occasions above nor were we ever contacted about any of our workers being rude to the tenants. The worker referred to in the letter is the same worker who we received a call on last week about being extremely polite and helpful while working on another unit that we manage.We do not feel that the tenants at this location have made diligent efforts to contact our office to express their concerns. We can be contacted by phone (***) hours a day as we have an answering service which is able to contact an on-call person. In addition, there is an email form available on our web site (***) which links directly to the email of the maintenance department(***)Mercantile Properties always strives to work diligently with our clients to ensure their happiness in their residence. We would encourage these tenants to contact us and work with us directly as we are certain we can come to a resolution.Sincerely,Mercantile Properties