Osborn Homes

We did keep $1062.50 from her security deposit due to us having to paint the entire unit. We ONLY charged her ½ of the estimated bill for the painting charge which was $2125.00 (which she was given a copy of such estimate). She moved in on 9/7/18 and moved out 11/1/19.

She states she has pictures showing soot marks starting at the carpet (which we did not bill for carpet damages) where the walls met and was dominate around the vents and outlined the pictures on the walls and furniture. We also have pictures showing this as well and not just around the vents, it is everywhere. This is not due from soot from the HVAC system. It is from excessive candle burning. She stated that she had an expert look at her unit (not pictures of the unit) and tell her that it was from the HVAC unit. She also stated that she had a video of smoke coming out of the electrical outlets. I told her to have her HVAC guy email me his professional assessment of the unit as well as her video and we would be more than happy to investigate this further and possibly reconsider.

We have held up the painting job on this unit if someone from the Revdex.com would like to take a look at it for their own review.

The flames from the furnace are contained in a heat exchanger and then goes out thru a flue. The only way the flumes from the HVAC system is distributed through the unit is if the fan motor burned up or the heat exchanger is broken. We can have the HVAC inspected for both if these to prove it wasn’t the HVAC system.

We also have pictures of her dirty air filter (residents are required to replace themselves) and in the back of this picture shows several candles.

Below is *** letter and I put our response in RED lettering:

I am rejecting this response because:they are charging 1/2 of the cost to paint a unit they are already doing for the next tenant? We believe this is a shut and close case. The unit did NOT look like this when the tenant moved in. This is not “normal wear and tear”, especially since she only rented the unit from 9/7/18 – 10/31/19. Most units just need the paint touched up and we don’t even charge people for that. We do not paint at all if the walls are not damaged. We are not even charging her the full amount to repair the unit, we are only charging ½ of what it is going to cost us. We are NOT charging her for the carpet. You can still smell the candle scent in the unit. It’s obvious where this smoke damage came from.
The estimate was from a company THEY hired. They stated “excessive candle burning” was the reason for the charge. This was ascertained by maintenance, not a professional? The paint company we use is a professional outside company, whom we sub out the painting to. He has seen smoke damage before and the paint company said it’s definitely something tenant was burning. The smell in the unit dictates that is candles. I did state I had an expert look at my unit. I did NOT specify they were pictures or not. I had already turned in my keys when these experts were contacted. I did state I had a picture of soot around the electric socket. I NEVER, and I mean NEVER, stated I had a video of smoke coming out of the outlets. That is a bold face lie. I was NEVER told to have the HVAC people email her. She DID tell me these things and I did tell her that if she had proof that we would be more than happy to take a look at and possibly reconsider. I was told for ME to email her pictures, which I did. And she would show them to her management and they would get back to me, which they did not. I haven’t seen any pictures, even to this day, so therefore that is why no one has gotten back to her until she filed this complaint. The dirty air filters were replaced monthly, the longest time was 6 weeks in between. A 3 month air filter was purchased. After the furnace was fixed, I was told the filter was the problem. That is when I said it was only 6 weeks old, and it was 3 month filter. I was billed 65 dollars for a new air filter. I called to state it was changed 6 weeks prior and it was a 3 month filter . I was told they prefer cheap ones that are like 20 dollars and changed monthly. I stated I could get 2 at Walmart for 21.84 so 65 dollars was ridiculous. There are plenty of cheap filter options, which under normal circumstances these filters last longer. When there is a lot of smoke going through the unit they get dirty sooner. The filters we get are about $1.00 a piece. Then I was told it was a service call fee. Again, I argued that was the benefit of paying rent, when something is broke, it gets fixed. Then they stated the fee would be waved. If I didn’t argue, is this how money is made? What about people who do not argue? Number 14(j) of the lease clearly states the following:” Lessee is responsible for changing the furnace and air conditioner filters during the entire term of the lease. We do have a picture of the dirty furnace filter that was taken out of this unit and that is why she was being charged a service fee. She called back and argued this point and it just wasn’t worth the effort for $65.00 so I ended up waiving the service fee, which I shouldn’t have done because the filter obviously needed to be replaced per the picture. We do not charge the tenant if the tenant didn’t cause the damage. The picture they have of my dirty filter with candles in the back of the picture? I have many candles that are decorative and have never been lit. That statement not only has no validity to it, it is presumptuous to assume something without actual proof. The proof is the walls themselves in which we still haven’t done anything to them. I would not object to having their HVAC inspected by someone of the Revdex.com choosing. In our first response we said that we could have the HVAC system inspected by a professional to prove it wasn’t the HVAC system. In addition, it would be interesting to know how many security deposits have been withheld due to “Excessive candle burning “. One other person besides myself, I have learned by coincidence. If an HVAC company comes and says it’s not from the furnace will tenant stop contending that she did not cause the damage?? I would suggest if it is a problem affecting people’s deposit, it should be placed in the lease as no burning candles. We don’t put in the lease to not stain the carpet either. It’s understood that if it is damaged a fee would be accessed yet we didn’t even charge her for the carpet. Unless that is the way they make all of their money, which I’m pretty sure it is. How are we making money paying ½ the bill to repaint and replace all the carpet ?? My rent was prepaid for one year, my one month I was on month to month payments I overpaid by 25 dollars. I did received a 12.54 dollar refund. If not for the overpayment of rent would I have owed? YES, you would have still owed us $12.46. A security deposit is just that, a deposit. If there was no intention of returning it, It is never our intention of NOT returning any security deposit. We would rather tenants leave the unit in good condition so that they do get their security deposit back. However, in situations as this, the security deposit is being used against the PARTIAL amount that we will have to pay to render the unit back to it’s original condition. Item 14( C ) on the lease states the following:” Do not destroy, deface or damage the premises.” then it should just be called an additional “fee”. It is a shame people are allowed to essentially keep hard earned money for reasons that are one sided and have no validity to them. A security deposit is to “Secure” money in the event if there is any damage. Sincerely