Realtor Hallas Real Estate and Investments

Review: [redacted] was my Landlord and he did terrible things. Upon moving into the property, he was informed of problems that he agreed to resolve. Those problems included mice, broken appliances, such as dishwasher and dryer and a refrigerator with missing parts. In addition, there was a large gaping hole at the top of the ceiling in the closet. The house also came without blinds on the windows which he agreed to repair but never did. My roommate and I always paid the rent on time and we begged him to fix the problems. On more than several separate occasions in one day via text message he stated, "I will come and fix the dishwasher at 11a.m.", .30 minutes later, he stated he couldn't make it, for another hour. Once the hour arrived for his arrival, he again had another excuse as to why he couldn't come and fix the appliances. This type of behavior went on for more than 3 months. Other times, he simply refused to reply to emails or text messages. He advertised that the property had working appliances, but upon arrival, he tells the tenants he'll make the repairs within a week, but never does what he says he'll do. We moved out with an agreement with [redacted] that he would refund the deposit. He didn't refund the deposit and the day we were to make the transaction of handing over the keys for exchange of our deposit, he was no where to be found and all texts, calls and emails went unanswered. He then advertised 306 Homedale st for a higher rent of $1695.00. Before that, we were paying $1400.00 to rent the address. The next door tenants are also having problems with [redacted], as they have moved in with broken appliances that he neglects to fix. This is a pattern, where he takes tenants money thru false advertising and does not deliver what he advertises.Desired Settlement: Refund of $1400.00 which is the cost of the deposit upon signing the lease. The house was returned in a better condition then when we signed the lease agreement.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have been contacted directly by Realtor [redacted] Real Estate and Investments regarding complaint ID [redacted], however my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[redacted] sent a letter stating that he will not refund the deposit stating that we broke the lease. This is not true at all. We have a phone conversation in which we recorded, where he acknowledges we were to call him and perform the walk through of the property so that he could refund our deposit. On the day of, [redacted] was unreachable. All texts, calls and emails went unanswered. In the letter he sent, he stated that he would sue for back month's rent if we tried to obtain the deposit.

Sincerely,

Review: [redacted] is my former landlord. He has refused to return my security deposit due to alleged "damage: to the unit. We were in settlement negotiations in an attempt to amicably resolve the settlement dispute up until three weeks ago. I sent him my last offer for settlement on October 15, 2013. Since then, he has failed to respond to any of my emails, text messages or phone calls to discuss how to resolve this matter. In my last correspondence, I requested documentation to support his claim of alleged "damage" to the rental unit. He has failed to provide any documentation supporting his claim. He has been completely unresponsive for the past three weeks.Desired Settlement: I would like to work with Mr. [redacted] to negotiate a return of my security deposit without having to go to court. My last option would be to file suit against him, however I would prefer to resolve this matter without involving the court system.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have been contacted directly by Realtor [redacted] Real Estate and Investments regarding complaint ID 9792963, however my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

When Mr. [redacted] found out I filed this complaint, he stated: "I do not negotiate with people who make complaints against me or my company." Since filing this complaint, Mr. [redacted] has refused to respond to my requests to resolve this matter. It is evident Mr. [redacted] would prefer I sue him rather than respond to a simple phone call or email regarding negotiating a return of my security deposit. This is the most frustrating person I have ever dealt with in my life and I am simply fed up. How he can operate a business in this manner is beyond me. I would STRONGLY advise that no one do business with this man in the future, as he refuses to be reasonable, respond to emails or phone calls, and conduct business in a timely fashion.

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Sincerely,

Leigh Gilchrist

Review: The realtor and landlord [redacted] has unlawfully withheld our security deposit. Living in one of [redacted]'s Mid-City properties for two years, my roommate and I tolerated numerous incidents in which [redacted] failed to respond to our routine tenant requests. Issues such as major leaks, a broken sink, and a broken bathtub were reported and not addressed until we threatened to withhold rent. Our complaints and issues with [redacted] match those reported online on other websites, namely ratemylandlordnola.com. In fact, speaking with the founder of RateMyLandlordNOLA, he reported having founded the website after a bad experience with [redacted] of [redacted] Real Estate. Upon move-out, [redacted] requested that I paint the walls on the inside of the house, a job that normally falls on the landlord because of the routine wear-and-tear clause of any standard lease. I complied with this request, even though not compelled to do so by law, in order to demonstrate good faith and in hopes of ensuring that we receive our security deposit back. Yet after several months and several requests for our deposit, [redacted] was unresponsive. It was only until I began reviewing him negatively on Craigslist and on RateMyLandlordNOLA that [redacted] responded, saying that he would send us the deposit once we removed the negative reviews. After removing those reviews -- by contacting the server master in some cases -- we still never received our security deposit. Both my then-roommate and I moved away the next year to Chicago and Philadelphia respectively, and I believe [redacted] withheld our security deposit because he knew this information and knew how costly it would be for us to file a suit against him from out of town.Desired Settlement: [redacted] should refund us our security deposit for a total of $1400.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Realtor Hallas Real Estate and Investments regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Regards,