While we understand the frustration Ms*** is experiencing, the money she placed down on the property is not refundable per the holding fee agreement she agreed to in writingOn November 15th we called Ms*** and let her know that we did still need her vet records but and that we would need
a higher than deposit to approve her applicationShe said that was fine and we gathered her move in date and let her know with a deposit down we would hold the property for her over the other applications we had on the property She stated that the higher deposit was fine and she would be bringing the deposit inOn November 17th Ms*** brought the funds in needed to hold the propertyOn November 20th we sent Ms*** a final approval email that is attached The approval email on the 20th went over the fact that the funds she placed down to hold the property were at that time no longer refundable, what the move in costs for December 8th would be and we would be sending out the lease agreement in the next few days We removed the listing from our website and were no longer marketing the property to any other prospective residentsOn November 22nd the lease agreement was sent out On November 30th Ms*** called and let us know that she was not interested in the property any longer and had tried to put a stop payment on the money order she had put down but was not able to so she wanted a check from us We explained that the money was not refundable and she asked to speak to a supervisor There was a glitch in the phone system and it did not transfer the call like it should have and did got to holdMs*** did hold for minutes but did not call back The supervisor when she did not get the transferred call did call Ms*** back and left a message on her voicemailWe are very sorry for the glitch and that the hold time was long but that does not void the written holding fee agreementMs*** has stated that she has been calling us for weeks trying to get in touch with us We went through all of the calls with Ms*** and this is the timeline below: Nov 15th - We called her with the information on the higher deposit and to get a move in date( minutes) Nov 17th - Ms*** called us and was in the call que waiting for an available person but hung up ( mins) Nov 17th - Ms*** called back went to our leasing agents ext but hung up without leaving a messageNov 17th - Ms*** called back and left a voicemail to call her( mins) Nov 17th - We called Ms*** back and spoke to her again about getting us vet records which she said she would bring personallyNov 22nd - Ms*** called but we were closed - she hung up without leaving a messageNov 28th - Ms*** called but hung up after seconds in the queNov 29th - We called Ms*** and left a message to call usNov 30th - Ms*** called us back and at that point in time told us she was not interested in the home and asked for a refundThere are no messages that Ms*** left that were not returned We held the house for her for days The holding fee agreement was explained at the time she put in an application both in the Before You Begin page and in the terms of the application agreed to in writing twice during that process It was also explained again when she received the approval email This agreement is not something we try to hide or trick applicants withWe go as far as to ask them if they agree to that agreement as one of the questions on the application. That agreement is there to protect the owners of the property in situations where the home is held for an applicant, where they turn down other applicants, they no longer look for other applicants and then the approved person changes their mindAgain we are sorry for the long hold time and the frustration that Ms*** is experiencing but we are holding her to the signed and agreed to holding fee agreement
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/06/28) */
At Home had complaints on a daily basis about residents not being able to park at the apartment complex in questionTo resolve the issues with limited parking we leased the parking lot to Springfield Parking Company and provided all residents
a parking permit for their carWe notified all residents on multiple occasions of the need for the parking permit and informed them that all cars without a permit would be towedGuest parking is available on the street for cars without permitsAdditionally, the lot is posted with signs that states any cars without permits will be towedBecause At Home leases the lot to Springfield Parking Company (for $a year) they handle all monitoring and towing of cars from the lot and we have no control, say, or financial interest in the towing of cars from this complex
In this situation the residents called our emergency after hours number to let us know that their cars had been towed and asked for us to help themThey stated in that call that they knew they needed the permits but had not put them in the cars they were using"HER VEHICLES & MOTHER-IN-LAWS VEHICLE WERE TOWED-HAD PARKING PASSES BUT HADN'T PUT THEM IN VEHICLES YET."
These permits are cling and peel so are easy to move from car to car if needed
Even though we do not control the enforcement of parking violations we spent from 9:pm to 11:pm Friday evening talking with SPC trying to see if anything could be worked outUnfortunately, the final say is RPM Recovery's and like all towing companies they are not willing to refund for a tow once it has been done
While we completely understand the frustration that comes when your car(s) are towed, the cars were in violation of a posted lot, the residents were aware of the need for the permits, (as evident in their call to the emergency line) and neither At Home nor the towing company did anything suspicious or illegalAdditionally if you are in violation, it does not matter if it is for minutes, hours, or days, cars without permits are subject to being towed per the posted signs
Other than having the lot posted to control a lot with limited parking, At Home had nothing to do with the cars being towed, At Home received no money for the towing and we are not willing to refund these fees out of our pockets since the cars were parked illegally
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/04/14) */
We are very sorry that there was an issue with the hot water heater in the rental home we manage for his daughter and we are very glad that no problems or damages came about from the issue with the water heaterAt Home had no knowledge of the
problem until we were notified of the issue on the morning of March 29th, We immediately called a plumber to the home to fixed the water heaterHe started the repairs that same morning
At Home is a management company and not home inspectorsIf we had any knowledge that there was an issue with the water heater we would have immediately fixed itWe have responded to all maintenance requests that the residents have been submitted in a timely manner
Again we are very sorry there was an issue and we are very happy nothing negative resulted from this but as the resident did occupy the home and had use of the home for the last months we are not able to refund the rent for that period of time
Our attorney has also relayed this information to the complainant
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2017/04/18) */
Code violations have still not be resolved fullyBarrier to protect water heater has not been installed as requested by the City of SpringfieldProperty remains out of complianceAt Home and their attorney are aware of this, but remain non-compliant with code and city ordinances
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2017/04/27) */
The main issue of the water heater was resolved asapThe parking lot brick to ensure that a car did not accidently run into the water heater did take some additional time but unless they hit the water heater with their car there was not a safety issueIt was ordered, has come in, and is installed at this point
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
I understand the reasoning of the businessBut the house was off the market for literally days which was a weekendTherefore re-posting the house Monday would have made them loss nothing at allI feel that no business should have rights to anyone's money (especially when the sum is 600$) for (in this case) literally no reasonI believe that this method is just a "easy money-maker" and should not be used by anyoneOtherwise people would all be cheated of their moneyPlease understand my situation and refund my depositThank You
Sincerely,
*** ***
We want to start by saying we are very sorry this resident had issues with a leak. We never want anyone to have maintenance issues and go to great lengths to respond promptly when there is an issueOn 8-the leak was originally reported. We had a plumber there to address the issue that same day and the plumber reported that it was fixed at 9:pm on that same day. On 8-the resident reported that the ceiling was leaking again at 7:16pm. They did not call the emergency line so we received that message on the morning of 8-31. We immediately sent the plumber back out and he went that same morningWe called the resident on afternoon of the 31st to follow up and see if the leak was fixed or if it was still leaking and did not hear anything back from the residentOn 9-the resident called again and said that part of the ceiling had fallen down. We sent workers out to cut out the sheetrock and treat the area with antimicrobial Also on 9-we sent a request to a sheetrock repair subcontractor to put the sheetrock repair on their schedule (We do not have any control of their schedule) On 9-The plumber went again to check on the leak to make sure the leak was completely fixed and found that it wasThe sheetrock vendor was scheduled to repair the sheetrock on September 5th but did not make it. The resident let us know that they did not come. We contacted the vendor and set the work up again for the 8th. They started the work on the 8th with additional visits on the 11th, 12th and 13th for all of the finish workWe wish that sheetrock was a faster process but it does require several visits to hang, tape, sand, mud, skim cut, and texture. At no time did we ignore the problem and the home was never uninhabitableDue to this we are not willing to refund any of the rentAgain we are very sorry for any inconvenience caused by the leak and the repair of that leak. We also apologize that one of the appointments set up a subcontractor was missedWe have addressed that with the subcontractor
We want to start by saying we are very sorry this resident had issues with a leak. We never want anyone to have maintenance issues and go to great lengths to respond promptly when there is an issue. On 8-28 the leak was originally reported. We had a plumber there to address the issue...
that same day and the plumber reported that it was fixed at 9:02 pm on that same day. On 8-30 the resident reported that the ceiling was leaking again at 7:16pm. They did not call the emergency line so we received that message on the morning of 8-31. We immediately sent the plumber back out and he went that same morning. We called the resident on afternoon of the 31st to follow up and see if the leak was fixed or if it was still leaking and did not hear anything back from the resident. On 9-1 the resident called again and said that part of the ceiling had fallen down. We sent workers out to cut out the sheetrock and treat the area with antimicrobial. Also on 9-1 we sent a request to a sheetrock repair subcontractor to put the sheetrock repair on their schedule. (We do not have any control of their schedule) On 9-2 The plumber went again to check on the leak to make sure the leak was completely fixed and found that it was. The sheetrock vendor was scheduled to repair the sheetrock on September 5th but did not make it. The resident let us know that they did not come. We contacted the vendor and set the work up again for the 8th. They started the work on the 8th with additional visits on the 11th, 12th and 13th for all of the finish work. We wish that sheetrock was a faster process but it does require several visits to hang, tape, sand, mud, skim cut, and texture. At no time did we ignore the problem and the home was never uninhabitable. Due to this we are not willing to refund any of the rent. Again we are very sorry for any inconvenience caused by the leak and the repair of that leak. We also apologize that one of the appointments set up a subcontractor was missed. We have addressed that with the subcontractor.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, [redacted]/
We are very sorry that there is a bedbug problem in this resident's apartment.
The statements that we will not treat the problem, and have not contacted the resident are completely inaccurate. We have been in contact with her. Pest Control...
has been in contact with her. They have discussed what is needed for the treatment of her apartment and have set the time for the treatment with her. Also the hallways have already been treated.
When ownership of this property changed hands at the beginning of 2016 it was discovered that multiple units in the apartment complex had bedbugs. This was a surprise to the new owner and we spent a great deal of time and expense [redacted] to treat and rid the apartments of bedbugs. The apartments were given certification that they were free of bedbugs mid 2016. This is a new problem and not something that is ongoing.
We also notified all of the residents in this complex that we were making renter's insurance available to everyone that would cover their contents and bedbug treatments should they become necessary past that date. This resident chose not to take that coverage.
We worked hard to find this coverage and set up this option for all of our residents because we do not provide coverage for resident's contents and bedbug treatments are at the resident's expense.
We are very sorry that she did not opt to get renter's insurance.
We have also been in contact with this resident on what we could do to try to help her with this situation. Even though she was notified in writing that the cost of bedbug treatments are the responsibility of the resident we have waived that cost. [redacted] Additionally we have waived one month's rent for the resident. [redacted] So in total we have waived [redacted] for this resident. SO it is also inaccurate to say we would not help compensate any of her expenses.
We feel that this [redacted] is more than fair as she had the option to take the insurance that would have covered her costs in this situation.
Again I am very sorry that this issue has presented itself and we will continue to work with the pest control company and the resident until the problem is resolved.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, [redacted]) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
There was no notification of apartments being bug free. In fact the only reason I am aware of the prior units being infested in the first place was through other than At Home Real Estate. I have lived hear [redacted] and never had a bug problem. The infestation is mainly in hallway. They never responded to complaint until I contacted accounting department. The pest control didn't even hear from them. It was my taking action and calling an associate that owns a pest control company and he contacted [redacted], the owner of the pest control company over this building. He also contacted AT Home Real Estate Services. This infestation did not come from the apartments. The expert witness saw and I took video of the bedbugs crawling in hallway and entering apartment doors. It is not a new infestation. It is caused from the remodeling of prior infested units. If the units were bug free, then why would someone be concerned with insurance for bedbugs? This offer was only three months before these clean units showed sign of any kind infestation. I have expert licensed pest control tell me that they were in the walls and spread from the remodeling. He also stated that it wasn't any of these units that started the infestation. The tenant next to me has been to Dr. over bed bug bites. Even after knowledge and after they contacted me, there has not been anyone from the company investigate the problem and I have asked tentant's in the building if At Home even made them aware that the building was infested and not a single person was aware. It is law for landlord to make it aware to tenants if there is an infestation. The only person that has let me know that he will be spraying is the owner of the pest company himself, not At Home Real Estate.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, [redacted]) */
At home has written documentation of our contact with the resident. Also the contact from the Pest Control Company is because we hired and sent the Pest Control Company to assess and treat the problem. We are a property management company and are not able to treat the problem ourselves. When a maintenance problem comes in we sent out the request to the proper maintenance providers and they contact the resident to set up a time to come address the problem. That has happened.
When the original problem was found, every unit in the complex was checked and every unit with an issue treated. The Pest Control company was at the complex daily and weekly working on the issue until it was completely resolved. They gave At Home the certification that all units were bedbug free. T resident was not involved in the process that took us extensive time and effort and expense, neither was anyone else she has had look at the issue that is currently present.
Unfortunately there is a problem again. The resident has let us know and we have Pest Control working with the resident to resolve the issue.
As to the insurance, we offer it to everyone in apartment complexes as bedbugs are a growing problem in this area. As our lease reads that Residents are responsible to pay for the bedbug treatments and we do not cover any expenses for lost furniture or belongings due to an infestation we went out and found an insurance company that would cover bedbug treatments and the resident's contents. That is not offered by all insurance companies and also took a great deal of time and effort on our part to get this in place. This was offered to this resident in September and she decided not to get this renter's insurance.
We have waived $950 for her in an attempt to help her in this situation.
Again we feel this is a fair attempt to resolve her complaint.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/13) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX x204
Contact Email: [redacted]@athomehere.com
At Home moves forward with all applications received on a house until there is an approved application with a deposit in place. ...
When there are multiple applications that come in the home goes to first applicants with an approved application and a paid deposit. We never take application fees in a malicious manner, nor are we trying to rent a house out from under someone. If someone is approved with a deposit down the home is held for that person and no longer shown and any other applicants are made aware of the situation.
In this situation the [redacted]'s looked at the home on June 26th in the midst of 4 appointments at the same home between 3pm and 4pm. Ms. [redacted] put her application in on June 26th but Mr. [redacted] did not turn his application in until June 30th. Later that day, on the 30th, another set of applications were approved and they turned their deposit in. We then called and spoke with Ms. [redacted] letting her know that the property was held for someone else but to keep an eye on our website as we get new properties all the time and that we would also look for anything that would work for them. Additionally we followed up with Mr. [redacted] last week to see if they had found anything else that would work for them. In all of the contact we have had with the [redacted]'s the application fee was never discussed and they did not request a refund.
We charge an application fee to cover the costs associated with processing the applications. The [redacted]'s applications were processed and costs were incurred. Despite this we are willing to refund their application fee.
We do wish they had taken a moment to ask us before submitting a Revdex.com complaint as we would have been willing to refund the fee for them without this step being taken.
This has already been resolved and a settlement signed and agreed to with the resident and her cosigners. I have attached the signed and agreed to arrangement. Also here are the emails sent to them on this matter. August 23rd 2017- Good Afternoon, Thank you for...
emailing me your concerns. We want everyone to have a great home to live in so I spent some time this afternoon checking into this. I have broken my reply into sections below. Pest Control The first request we have on pest control from [redacted] was on Friday 8-18-17. We sent that request out to the pest control company and they were there that same day. He treated the kitchen, the hallway and the bathroom. I checked all of the work orders on the apartments around R5 back to the beginning of June and there are no other reported roach issues. I also know that pest control was scheduled to go back today. We do not control their schedule as it is a company we subcontract the work out to. We do this to ensure that a professional company is treating the issue and it is not just one of our maintenance people with an over the counter spray. This is what I have from his report from today. Hi [redacted],She said that she has seen about 5-8 roaches in total. Today we saw one on a glue board & one dead one on the baseboard. She has put her own chemical down and we explained that will counteract our chemical. I asked her to cleaned her chemical up and let me know when that was done. I let her know what we would be back within 24 hours of her call. We didn't see any other signs other than what is noted in this e-mail.Thank youIf you would like more information from the pest control company you can reach him directly at 417-XXXXXXX. We do treat the apartments for pest control quarterly and the pest control company will come back for call backs anytime there is a problem between treatments in case there are any issues going forward.The LeakThe leak was reported on 8-22 and was immediately sent out to a maintenance person who called [redacted], and she set the time for him to come out for 2:30pm today. When I got your email I sent our director of maintenance to the apartment today to check on everything and he found that it is wax ring on the toilet. He tightened the toilet while he was there and scheduled a new person to go tomorrow to pull the toilet and get a new wax ring installed as that was more than he could do himself today. These items do not make the apartment unlivable and we are not ignoring these issues, we are also not refusing to repair these issues. We are sorry that you are upset, but we are doing everything we possibly can to resolve the issues that have been reported in a very timely manner.Lease BreakThe lease does give the following option if you are wanting to break the lease. __X__B. (Everyone Moving Early - Buyout) In the event that Tenant wishes to vacate the leased premises before the expiration of the term provided herein, Tenant must give Landlord thirty (30) days advance written notice and pay a FEE equal to two (2) month’s rent plus retention of the damage deposit in advance. Landlord may, at its option, release Tenant from further liability for future rent here under by acceptance of the payment of a FEE equal to two (2) month’s rent plus retention of the damage deposit. This shall constitute a reasonable sum as and for liquidated damages, it being further agreed that the Landlord's damages in such event would be difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain. Landlord shall be deemed to have exercised its option in this regard only by accepting the payment and tendering a proper release form to Tenant. This clause is contingent upon Tenant surrendering the premises in a timely manner and in good condition, ordinary wear and tear accepted.Hopefully this information is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you. [redacted]Additionally on August 23rd when the apartment was checked again there were no bugs found dead or alive. At Home responded to all maintenance requests in a very timely manner, resolved the issues, and waived a portion of the lease break to resolve this matter and that resolution was signed and agreed to. Thank you. At Home
The resident signed and agreed to the holding fee agreement that states: Holding Fee Agreement: Any Consideration tendered by the Applicant, security deposit or otherwise (excluding the application fee), will be construed as a "holding fee" for this and or any address available with At Home...
Real Estate Services until the applicant signs a lease and takes possession of the designated rental unit. This "holding fee" may not be refunded should an Applicant be approved and decide not to move in. In this case the resident was approved the deposit put down and the home held as of Friday August 11th. Because of this approval we turned away other qualified applicants and no longer had the home listed. The resident's move in date was set to be August 14th. On August 14th the resident decided not to take the home and requested a refund. We explained that per the holding fee agreement that it was not refundable. We are working to see if we are able to find new residents for the home but we do not have anyone else to move in today. The owner had a reasonable expectation of the home being rented and receiving rental income as of August 14th and that is no longer the case. The holding fee agreement helps protect owners against losses such as these. We are very sorry about the death in the family and we are more than willing to see if we can refund a portion of the holding fee but we will not know if that will be possible until we see what date a new resident moves into this property and what the owner's final loss totals. We are very sorry
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2016/04/08) */
We want to say we are very sorry that you were not approved for the home that you applied for through At Home. We have written instructions before the online application that goes over the facts that we require a separate application from all...
adults living in the property and that all application fees are nonrefundable. We are not able to approve someone by themselves if others will be living in the property so you could not qualify by yourself. The final application was turn into us on the evening of March 30th. We had an answer to you by March 31st. We do not pull properties or guaranty someone a house just because an application is put in. In this case two applications did come in on the property and the owner decided on the other applicants. To say that you suspect that we did not run your applications is a complete fabrication and is frankly offensive coming from someone who is in the same business. It does not benefit us in any way to not run applications in order to try to find residents to fill vacancies. We do understand your frustration with the situation though. It is always hard when two qualified applicants want a property but only one can be approved. Being in the same business you know that there are cost involved when an application is run, no matter if it is approved or denied, which is why our application fees are non refundable and why we have you agree to those terms in writing when you sign the application. Despite this in an effort to try to work with you we will refund the $50 in application fees that were paid online.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/10/27) */
To Whom It May Concern,
[redacted] and [redacted] had put a deposit down on a property in the form of a money order. After being approved they later came back to us to let us know that they were still in a lease and were not going to be...
able to take the home. The [redacted]'s had agreed in writing that once a house was held for them the deposit would become nonrefundable. But we worked with the [redacted]'s and let them know if we were able to rent the property out within a certain amount of time we would refund their deposit. We were able to rerent the property and we contacted the [redacted]'s to let them know we would be able to refund the deposit money order.
At that point they had two options which we explained to them.
1. They could take the filled out money order back and get it refunded from the money order company directly. It typically takes 2-4 weeks for a refund from the money order company.
2. They could let us deposit the money order and once the money order company had confirmed that the money order had cleared its bank we would then cut the [redacted]'s a check.
They choose the second option. It typically takes around 2 weeks for a check to clear and in this case it took that amount of time. We are sorry they felt that this was too long a period and that a Revdex.com complaint was necessary.
We worked with them to get the money back that the owner did not have to refund. We did as they requested and did the leg work of depositing the money order and checked on it every day to see if it had cleared. We cut them a check once it had and called them so they could pick it up. All of which had happened before we were ever notified of this complaint.
At this time we ask that this case be closed as they have already received their deposit back and it was never in question that they would.
Thank you.
[redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/14) */
I want to start off by saying we take all complaints very seriously and put a lot of time and effort into researching what happened so we can speak factually on what happened.
It is our job to rent houses to qualified individuals. If we are...
not renting homes out we are not making any money. So while we are human and we do make mistakes we are never willfully trying to not be truthful or dishonest.
That being said I we have recently grown the company and hired two new employees. We have gone to great lengths to give them the necessary training and we have bi weekly meetings on the applications to try to ensure that things are running smoothly. But in this case there were things that went wrong on both sides.
On Friday 8-21-15 at 12:50 pm and 1:10pm we received the applications for [redacted] and [redacted]. On Saturday 8-22-15 at 9:51 am we got a second application for Nona. This application should have been for [redacted] and this started the problems that followed. We did not get [redacted]'s application until Thursday 8-27 at 11:10am.
I am not able to check the calls that may have gone out via cell phones from the agents - and I know there were calls from the agents as it is mentioned in the calls that are recorded through the office. But with that being said I do not have any calls made from the office to [redacted] informing her that we got Nona's application twice. That is a fail on our side. Once [redacted] knew that we did not get her application she immediately submitted it. Also [redacted]'s application DID have the items attached that we needed. It is a fail on our part that we did not catch that and part of the employee being new.
I have listened to all the calls with [redacted] and Nona and we never stated that there were no other applications on the property. On Tuesday 9-1-15 another application did come in with everything it needed to present it to the owner and the agent - thinking we were still waiting on info for this application still - took the new application to the owner and it was approved on Wednesday 9-2-15.
We messed up in that we did not get back with [redacted] on the fact that we did not have her application in with the other two applications. We messed up in that we did not communicate what was going on well enough with [redacted] and in the fact that she was the one making contact with us. And we messed up that her application was not submitted with the other one that came in. I am very sorry for this and we will use this as a training tool for the new employees to try to help ensure that it does not happen again.
We are more than happy to refund all of the application fees and moreover we would like to send [redacted] and her family a $100 gift card to reimburse them for their gas and time and as attempt at a sincere apology that this did not work out the way it should have.
With all that being said I want to also state that I am very distraught that [redacted] would imply that we did anything based on the fact that she was a veteran. We treat everyone the same across the board but we greatly respect veterans and the service they provide our country. Not only is my husband an Army veteran of 8 years, he also spent two and a half years in Iraq and has 20 + years of police service under his belt. And Travis, one of our new employees, is a Marine veteran with 10 years of service given to our country, and was hired in part because of his service to our country. It is 100% not accurate to say that we would do anything untoward due to a person being a veteran.
Please let me know if I can answer any other questions or help in any way. Again I am very sorry for our failures in this situation.
Michelle [redacted] - Owner of At Home Real Estate Services.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/01/04) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@athomehere.com
I would like to start by saying we are very sorry that you are not happy with our services. We try very hard to make sure that as much...
information as possible is available for everyone before, throughout and after the application process.
I will start by addressing the holding fee. Before you fill out an application there is a page titled "Before You Begin" that outlines the application process, what you will need to complete the application, and the Holding Fee Agreement.
The Holding Fee Agreement reads as follows - Holding Fee Agreement: Any Consideration tendered by the Applicant, security deposit or otherwise (excluding the application fee), will be construed as a "holding fee" for this and or any address available with At Home Real Estate Services until the applicant signs a lease and takes possession of the designated rental unit. This "holding fee" may not be refunded should an Applicant be approved and decide not to move in.
When you fill out the application it asks you if you have read and if you agree with the Holding Fee Agreement. This was marked yes on your application.
We held the property for you from the 9th until the 18th excluding any other possible residents from seeing or applying for this property. Because the home was held for you and you agreed to the Holding Fee Agreement we are not able to refund the holding fee you placed on the home.
While we do understand your frustration, the reason we have this agreement and the reason we have every applicant agree to this agreement, is because it is difficult if not impossible to say exactly what would have happened if we had not held the property and we had continued to show it to other residents interested in this property. It is very possible that it would have rented and the owner would have income for January. As it stands the property has not leased again and the owner does not have income coming in for January. The holding fee will help offset this loss.
As to the ways we have for residents to pay. We take money orders, cashier's check and online echeck payments all for free.
As to the lease and renter's insurance being required. All of our listings can be found on our website Athomehere.com and all of our listings will state if renter's insurance is required. The website also has a sample lease for you to read through if desired. Also we are available via email and by phone to answer any questions you may have about the application process, renter's insurance, the lease, how we take payments etc.
Again I am sorry that things did not work out. We are still more than happy to rent the home on Nicholas to you and apply the $500 towards your security deposit.
Thank you.
[redacted]
Owner of At Home Real Estate Services.
While we understand the frustration Ms*** is experiencing, the money she placed down on the property is not refundable per the holding fee agreement she agreed to in writingOn November 15th we called Ms*** and let her know that we did still need her vet records but and that we would need
a higher than deposit to approve her applicationShe said that was fine and we gathered her move in date and let her know with a deposit down we would hold the property for her over the other applications we had on the property She stated that the higher deposit was fine and she would be bringing the deposit inOn November 17th Ms*** brought the funds in needed to hold the propertyOn November 20th we sent Ms*** a final approval email that is attached The approval email on the 20th went over the fact that the funds she placed down to hold the property were at that time no longer refundable, what the move in costs for December 8th would be and we would be sending out the lease agreement in the next few days We removed the listing from our website and were no longer marketing the property to any other prospective residentsOn November 22nd the lease agreement was sent out On November 30th Ms*** called and let us know that she was not interested in the property any longer and had tried to put a stop payment on the money order she had put down but was not able to so she wanted a check from us We explained that the money was not refundable and she asked to speak to a supervisor There was a glitch in the phone system and it did not transfer the call like it should have and did got to holdMs*** did hold for minutes but did not call back The supervisor when she did not get the transferred call did call Ms*** back and left a message on her voicemailWe are very sorry for the glitch and that the hold time was long but that does not void the written holding fee agreementMs*** has stated that she has been calling us for weeks trying to get in touch with us We went through all of the calls with Ms*** and this is the timeline below: Nov 15th - We called her with the information on the higher deposit and to get a move in date( minutes) Nov 17th - Ms*** called us and was in the call que waiting for an available person but hung up ( mins) Nov 17th - Ms*** called back went to our leasing agents ext but hung up without leaving a messageNov 17th - Ms*** called back and left a voicemail to call her( mins) Nov 17th - We called Ms*** back and spoke to her again about getting us vet records which she said she would bring personallyNov 22nd - Ms*** called but we were closed - she hung up without leaving a messageNov 28th - Ms*** called but hung up after seconds in the queNov 29th - We called Ms*** and left a message to call usNov 30th - Ms*** called us back and at that point in time told us she was not interested in the home and asked for a refundThere are no messages that Ms*** left that were not returned We held the house for her for days The holding fee agreement was explained at the time she put in an application both in the Before You Begin page and in the terms of the application agreed to in writing twice during that process It was also explained again when she received the approval email This agreement is not something we try to hide or trick applicants withWe go as far as to ask them if they agree to that agreement as one of the questions on the application. That agreement is there to protect the owners of the property in situations where the home is held for an applicant, where they turn down other applicants, they no longer look for other applicants and then the approved person changes their mindAgain we are sorry for the long hold time and the frustration that Ms*** is experiencing but we are holding her to the signed and agreed to holding fee agreement
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/06/28) */
At Home had complaints on a daily basis about residents not being able to park at the apartment complex in questionTo resolve the issues with limited parking we leased the parking lot to Springfield Parking Company and provided all residents
a parking permit for their carWe notified all residents on multiple occasions of the need for the parking permit and informed them that all cars without a permit would be towedGuest parking is available on the street for cars without permitsAdditionally, the lot is posted with signs that states any cars without permits will be towedBecause At Home leases the lot to Springfield Parking Company (for $a year) they handle all monitoring and towing of cars from the lot and we have no control, say, or financial interest in the towing of cars from this complex
In this situation the residents called our emergency after hours number to let us know that their cars had been towed and asked for us to help themThey stated in that call that they knew they needed the permits but had not put them in the cars they were using"HER VEHICLES & MOTHER-IN-LAWS VEHICLE WERE TOWED-HAD PARKING PASSES BUT HADN'T PUT THEM IN VEHICLES YET."
These permits are cling and peel so are easy to move from car to car if needed
Even though we do not control the enforcement of parking violations we spent from 9:pm to 11:pm Friday evening talking with SPC trying to see if anything could be worked outUnfortunately, the final say is RPM Recovery's and like all towing companies they are not willing to refund for a tow once it has been done
While we completely understand the frustration that comes when your car(s) are towed, the cars were in violation of a posted lot, the residents were aware of the need for the permits, (as evident in their call to the emergency line) and neither At Home nor the towing company did anything suspicious or illegalAdditionally if you are in violation, it does not matter if it is for minutes, hours, or days, cars without permits are subject to being towed per the posted signs
Other than having the lot posted to control a lot with limited parking, At Home had nothing to do with the cars being towed, At Home received no money for the towing and we are not willing to refund these fees out of our pockets since the cars were parked illegally
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/04/14) */
We are very sorry that there was an issue with the hot water heater in the rental home we manage for his daughter and we are very glad that no problems or damages came about from the issue with the water heaterAt Home had no knowledge of the
problem until we were notified of the issue on the morning of March 29th, We immediately called a plumber to the home to fixed the water heaterHe started the repairs that same morning
At Home is a management company and not home inspectorsIf we had any knowledge that there was an issue with the water heater we would have immediately fixed itWe have responded to all maintenance requests that the residents have been submitted in a timely manner
Again we are very sorry there was an issue and we are very happy nothing negative resulted from this but as the resident did occupy the home and had use of the home for the last months we are not able to refund the rent for that period of time
Our attorney has also relayed this information to the complainant
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2017/04/18) */
Code violations have still not be resolved fullyBarrier to protect water heater has not been installed as requested by the City of SpringfieldProperty remains out of complianceAt Home and their attorney are aware of this, but remain non-compliant with code and city ordinances
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2017/04/27) */
The main issue of the water heater was resolved asapThe parking lot brick to ensure that a car did not accidently run into the water heater did take some additional time but unless they hit the water heater with their car there was not a safety issueIt was ordered, has come in, and is installed at this point
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
I understand the reasoning of the businessBut the house was off the market for literally days which was a weekendTherefore re-posting the house Monday would have made them loss nothing at allI feel that no business should have rights to anyone's money (especially when the sum is 600$) for (in this case) literally no reasonI believe that this method is just a "easy money-maker" and should not be used by anyoneOtherwise people would all be cheated of their moneyPlease understand my situation and refund my depositThank You
Sincerely,
*** ***
We want to start by saying we are very sorry this resident had issues with a leak. We never want anyone to have maintenance issues and go to great lengths to respond promptly when there is an issueOn 8-the leak was originally reported. We had a plumber there to address the issue that same day and the plumber reported that it was fixed at 9:pm on that same day. On 8-the resident reported that the ceiling was leaking again at 7:16pm. They did not call the emergency line so we received that message on the morning of 8-31. We immediately sent the plumber back out and he went that same morningWe called the resident on afternoon of the 31st to follow up and see if the leak was fixed or if it was still leaking and did not hear anything back from the residentOn 9-the resident called again and said that part of the ceiling had fallen down. We sent workers out to cut out the sheetrock and treat the area with antimicrobial Also on 9-we sent a request to a sheetrock repair subcontractor to put the sheetrock repair on their schedule (We do not have any control of their schedule) On 9-The plumber went again to check on the leak to make sure the leak was completely fixed and found that it wasThe sheetrock vendor was scheduled to repair the sheetrock on September 5th but did not make it. The resident let us know that they did not come. We contacted the vendor and set the work up again for the 8th. They started the work on the 8th with additional visits on the 11th, 12th and 13th for all of the finish workWe wish that sheetrock was a faster process but it does require several visits to hang, tape, sand, mud, skim cut, and texture. At no time did we ignore the problem and the home was never uninhabitableDue to this we are not willing to refund any of the rentAgain we are very sorry for any inconvenience caused by the leak and the repair of that leak. We also apologize that one of the appointments set up a subcontractor was missedWe have addressed that with the subcontractor
We want to start by saying we are very sorry this resident had issues with a leak. We never want anyone to have maintenance issues and go to great lengths to respond promptly when there is an issue. On 8-28 the leak was originally reported. We had a plumber there to address the issue...
that same day and the plumber reported that it was fixed at 9:02 pm on that same day. On 8-30 the resident reported that the ceiling was leaking again at 7:16pm. They did not call the emergency line so we received that message on the morning of 8-31. We immediately sent the plumber back out and he went that same morning. We called the resident on afternoon of the 31st to follow up and see if the leak was fixed or if it was still leaking and did not hear anything back from the resident. On 9-1 the resident called again and said that part of the ceiling had fallen down. We sent workers out to cut out the sheetrock and treat the area with antimicrobial. Also on 9-1 we sent a request to a sheetrock repair subcontractor to put the sheetrock repair on their schedule. (We do not have any control of their schedule) On 9-2 The plumber went again to check on the leak to make sure the leak was completely fixed and found that it was. The sheetrock vendor was scheduled to repair the sheetrock on September 5th but did not make it. The resident let us know that they did not come. We contacted the vendor and set the work up again for the 8th. They started the work on the 8th with additional visits on the 11th, 12th and 13th for all of the finish work. We wish that sheetrock was a faster process but it does require several visits to hang, tape, sand, mud, skim cut, and texture. At no time did we ignore the problem and the home was never uninhabitable. Due to this we are not willing to refund any of the rent. Again we are very sorry for any inconvenience caused by the leak and the repair of that leak. We also apologize that one of the appointments set up a subcontractor was missed. We have addressed that with the subcontractor.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, [redacted]/
We are very sorry that there is a bedbug problem in this resident's apartment.
The statements that we will not treat the problem, and have not contacted the resident are completely inaccurate. We have been in contact with her. Pest Control...
has been in contact with her. They have discussed what is needed for the treatment of her apartment and have set the time for the treatment with her. Also the hallways have already been treated.
When ownership of this property changed hands at the beginning of 2016 it was discovered that multiple units in the apartment complex had bedbugs. This was a surprise to the new owner and we spent a great deal of time and expense [redacted] to treat and rid the apartments of bedbugs. The apartments were given certification that they were free of bedbugs mid 2016. This is a new problem and not something that is ongoing.
We also notified all of the residents in this complex that we were making renter's insurance available to everyone that would cover their contents and bedbug treatments should they become necessary past that date. This resident chose not to take that coverage.
We worked hard to find this coverage and set up this option for all of our residents because we do not provide coverage for resident's contents and bedbug treatments are at the resident's expense.
We are very sorry that she did not opt to get renter's insurance.
We have also been in contact with this resident on what we could do to try to help her with this situation. Even though she was notified in writing that the cost of bedbug treatments are the responsibility of the resident we have waived that cost. [redacted] Additionally we have waived one month's rent for the resident. [redacted] So in total we have waived [redacted] for this resident. SO it is also inaccurate to say we would not help compensate any of her expenses.
We feel that this [redacted] is more than fair as she had the option to take the insurance that would have covered her costs in this situation.
Again I am very sorry that this issue has presented itself and we will continue to work with the pest control company and the resident until the problem is resolved.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, [redacted]) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
There was no notification of apartments being bug free. In fact the only reason I am aware of the prior units being infested in the first place was through other than At Home Real Estate. I have lived hear [redacted] and never had a bug problem. The infestation is mainly in hallway. They never responded to complaint until I contacted accounting department. The pest control didn't even hear from them. It was my taking action and calling an associate that owns a pest control company and he contacted [redacted], the owner of the pest control company over this building. He also contacted AT Home Real Estate Services. This infestation did not come from the apartments. The expert witness saw and I took video of the bedbugs crawling in hallway and entering apartment doors. It is not a new infestation. It is caused from the remodeling of prior infested units. If the units were bug free, then why would someone be concerned with insurance for bedbugs? This offer was only three months before these clean units showed sign of any kind infestation. I have expert licensed pest control tell me that they were in the walls and spread from the remodeling. He also stated that it wasn't any of these units that started the infestation. The tenant next to me has been to Dr. over bed bug bites. Even after knowledge and after they contacted me, there has not been anyone from the company investigate the problem and I have asked tentant's in the building if At Home even made them aware that the building was infested and not a single person was aware. It is law for landlord to make it aware to tenants if there is an infestation. The only person that has let me know that he will be spraying is the owner of the pest company himself, not At Home Real Estate.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, [redacted]) */
At home has written documentation of our contact with the resident. Also the contact from the Pest Control Company is because we hired and sent the Pest Control Company to assess and treat the problem. We are a property management company and are not able to treat the problem ourselves. When a maintenance problem comes in we sent out the request to the proper maintenance providers and they contact the resident to set up a time to come address the problem. That has happened.
When the original problem was found, every unit in the complex was checked and every unit with an issue treated. The Pest Control company was at the complex daily and weekly working on the issue until it was completely resolved. They gave At Home the certification that all units were bedbug free. T resident was not involved in the process that took us extensive time and effort and expense, neither was anyone else she has had look at the issue that is currently present.
Unfortunately there is a problem again. The resident has let us know and we have Pest Control working with the resident to resolve the issue.
As to the insurance, we offer it to everyone in apartment complexes as bedbugs are a growing problem in this area. As our lease reads that Residents are responsible to pay for the bedbug treatments and we do not cover any expenses for lost furniture or belongings due to an infestation we went out and found an insurance company that would cover bedbug treatments and the resident's contents. That is not offered by all insurance companies and also took a great deal of time and effort on our part to get this in place. This was offered to this resident in September and she decided not to get this renter's insurance.
We have waived $950 for her in an attempt to help her in this situation.
Again we feel this is a fair attempt to resolve her complaint.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/13) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX x204
Contact Email: [redacted]@athomehere.com
At Home moves forward with all applications received on a house until there is an approved application with a deposit in place. ...
When there are multiple applications that come in the home goes to first applicants with an approved application and a paid deposit. We never take application fees in a malicious manner, nor are we trying to rent a house out from under someone. If someone is approved with a deposit down the home is held for that person and no longer shown and any other applicants are made aware of the situation.
In this situation the [redacted]'s looked at the home on June 26th in the midst of 4 appointments at the same home between 3pm and 4pm. Ms. [redacted] put her application in on June 26th but Mr. [redacted] did not turn his application in until June 30th. Later that day, on the 30th, another set of applications were approved and they turned their deposit in. We then called and spoke with Ms. [redacted] letting her know that the property was held for someone else but to keep an eye on our website as we get new properties all the time and that we would also look for anything that would work for them. Additionally we followed up with Mr. [redacted] last week to see if they had found anything else that would work for them. In all of the contact we have had with the [redacted]'s the application fee was never discussed and they did not request a refund.
We charge an application fee to cover the costs associated with processing the applications. The [redacted]'s applications were processed and costs were incurred. Despite this we are willing to refund their application fee.
We do wish they had taken a moment to ask us before submitting a Revdex.com complaint as we would have been willing to refund the fee for them without this step being taken.
This has already been resolved and a settlement signed and agreed to with the resident and her cosigners. I have attached the signed and agreed to arrangement. Also here are the emails sent to them on this matter. August 23rd 2017- Good Afternoon, Thank you for...
emailing me your concerns. We want everyone to have a great home to live in so I spent some time this afternoon checking into this. I have broken my reply into sections below. Pest Control The first request we have on pest control from [redacted] was on Friday 8-18-17. We sent that request out to the pest control company and they were there that same day. He treated the kitchen, the hallway and the bathroom. I checked all of the work orders on the apartments around R5 back to the beginning of June and there are no other reported roach issues. I also know that pest control was scheduled to go back today. We do not control their schedule as it is a company we subcontract the work out to. We do this to ensure that a professional company is treating the issue and it is not just one of our maintenance people with an over the counter spray. This is what I have from his report from today. Hi [redacted],She said that she has seen about 5-8 roaches in total. Today we saw one on a glue board & one dead one on the baseboard. She has put her own chemical down and we explained that will counteract our chemical. I asked her to cleaned her chemical up and let me know when that was done. I let her know what we would be back within 24 hours of her call. We didn't see any other signs other than what is noted in this e-mail.Thank youIf you would like more information from the pest control company you can reach him directly at 417-XXXXXXX. We do treat the apartments for pest control quarterly and the pest control company will come back for call backs anytime there is a problem between treatments in case there are any issues going forward.The LeakThe leak was reported on 8-22 and was immediately sent out to a maintenance person who called [redacted], and she set the time for him to come out for 2:30pm today. When I got your email I sent our director of maintenance to the apartment today to check on everything and he found that it is wax ring on the toilet. He tightened the toilet while he was there and scheduled a new person to go tomorrow to pull the toilet and get a new wax ring installed as that was more than he could do himself today. These items do not make the apartment unlivable and we are not ignoring these issues, we are also not refusing to repair these issues. We are sorry that you are upset, but we are doing everything we possibly can to resolve the issues that have been reported in a very timely manner.Lease BreakThe lease does give the following option if you are wanting to break the lease. __X__B. (Everyone Moving Early - Buyout) In the event that Tenant wishes to vacate the leased premises before the expiration of the term provided herein, Tenant must give Landlord thirty (30) days advance written notice and pay a FEE equal to two (2) month’s rent plus retention of the damage deposit in advance. Landlord may, at its option, release Tenant from further liability for future rent here under by acceptance of the payment of a FEE equal to two (2) month’s rent plus retention of the damage deposit. This shall constitute a reasonable sum as and for liquidated damages, it being further agreed that the Landlord's damages in such event would be difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain. Landlord shall be deemed to have exercised its option in this regard only by accepting the payment and tendering a proper release form to Tenant. This clause is contingent upon Tenant surrendering the premises in a timely manner and in good condition, ordinary wear and tear accepted.Hopefully this information is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you. [redacted]Additionally on August 23rd when the apartment was checked again there were no bugs found dead or alive. At Home responded to all maintenance requests in a very timely manner, resolved the issues, and waived a portion of the lease break to resolve this matter and that resolution was signed and agreed to. Thank you. At Home
The resident signed and agreed to the holding fee agreement that states: Holding Fee Agreement: Any Consideration tendered by the Applicant, security deposit or otherwise (excluding the application fee), will be construed as a "holding fee" for this and or any address available with At Home...
Real Estate Services until the applicant signs a lease and takes possession of the designated rental unit. This "holding fee" may not be refunded should an Applicant be approved and decide not to move in. In this case the resident was approved the deposit put down and the home held as of Friday August 11th. Because of this approval we turned away other qualified applicants and no longer had the home listed. The resident's move in date was set to be August 14th. On August 14th the resident decided not to take the home and requested a refund. We explained that per the holding fee agreement that it was not refundable. We are working to see if we are able to find new residents for the home but we do not have anyone else to move in today. The owner had a reasonable expectation of the home being rented and receiving rental income as of August 14th and that is no longer the case. The holding fee agreement helps protect owners against losses such as these. We are very sorry about the death in the family and we are more than willing to see if we can refund a portion of the holding fee but we will not know if that will be possible until we see what date a new resident moves into this property and what the owner's final loss totals. We are very sorry
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2016/04/08) */
We want to say we are very sorry that you were not approved for the home that you applied for through At Home. We have written instructions before the online application that goes over the facts that we require a separate application from all...
adults living in the property and that all application fees are nonrefundable. We are not able to approve someone by themselves if others will be living in the property so you could not qualify by yourself. The final application was turn into us on the evening of March 30th. We had an answer to you by March 31st. We do not pull properties or guaranty someone a house just because an application is put in. In this case two applications did come in on the property and the owner decided on the other applicants. To say that you suspect that we did not run your applications is a complete fabrication and is frankly offensive coming from someone who is in the same business. It does not benefit us in any way to not run applications in order to try to find residents to fill vacancies. We do understand your frustration with the situation though. It is always hard when two qualified applicants want a property but only one can be approved. Being in the same business you know that there are cost involved when an application is run, no matter if it is approved or denied, which is why our application fees are non refundable and why we have you agree to those terms in writing when you sign the application. Despite this in an effort to try to work with you we will refund the $50 in application fees that were paid online.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/10/27) */
To Whom It May Concern,
[redacted] and [redacted] had put a deposit down on a property in the form of a money order. After being approved they later came back to us to let us know that they were still in a lease and were not going to be...
able to take the home. The [redacted]'s had agreed in writing that once a house was held for them the deposit would become nonrefundable. But we worked with the [redacted]'s and let them know if we were able to rent the property out within a certain amount of time we would refund their deposit. We were able to rerent the property and we contacted the [redacted]'s to let them know we would be able to refund the deposit money order.
At that point they had two options which we explained to them.
1. They could take the filled out money order back and get it refunded from the money order company directly. It typically takes 2-4 weeks for a refund from the money order company.
2. They could let us deposit the money order and once the money order company had confirmed that the money order had cleared its bank we would then cut the [redacted]'s a check.
They choose the second option. It typically takes around 2 weeks for a check to clear and in this case it took that amount of time. We are sorry they felt that this was too long a period and that a Revdex.com complaint was necessary.
We worked with them to get the money back that the owner did not have to refund. We did as they requested and did the leg work of depositing the money order and checked on it every day to see if it had cleared. We cut them a check once it had and called them so they could pick it up. All of which had happened before we were ever notified of this complaint.
At this time we ask that this case be closed as they have already received their deposit back and it was never in question that they would.
Thank you.
[redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/14) */
I want to start off by saying we take all complaints very seriously and put a lot of time and effort into researching what happened so we can speak factually on what happened.
It is our job to rent houses to qualified individuals. If we are...
not renting homes out we are not making any money. So while we are human and we do make mistakes we are never willfully trying to not be truthful or dishonest.
That being said I we have recently grown the company and hired two new employees. We have gone to great lengths to give them the necessary training and we have bi weekly meetings on the applications to try to ensure that things are running smoothly. But in this case there were things that went wrong on both sides.
On Friday 8-21-15 at 12:50 pm and 1:10pm we received the applications for [redacted] and [redacted]. On Saturday 8-22-15 at 9:51 am we got a second application for Nona. This application should have been for [redacted] and this started the problems that followed. We did not get [redacted]'s application until Thursday 8-27 at 11:10am.
I am not able to check the calls that may have gone out via cell phones from the agents - and I know there were calls from the agents as it is mentioned in the calls that are recorded through the office. But with that being said I do not have any calls made from the office to [redacted] informing her that we got Nona's application twice. That is a fail on our side. Once [redacted] knew that we did not get her application she immediately submitted it. Also [redacted]'s application DID have the items attached that we needed. It is a fail on our part that we did not catch that and part of the employee being new.
I have listened to all the calls with [redacted] and Nona and we never stated that there were no other applications on the property. On Tuesday 9-1-15 another application did come in with everything it needed to present it to the owner and the agent - thinking we were still waiting on info for this application still - took the new application to the owner and it was approved on Wednesday 9-2-15.
We messed up in that we did not get back with [redacted] on the fact that we did not have her application in with the other two applications. We messed up in that we did not communicate what was going on well enough with [redacted] and in the fact that she was the one making contact with us. And we messed up that her application was not submitted with the other one that came in. I am very sorry for this and we will use this as a training tool for the new employees to try to help ensure that it does not happen again.
We are more than happy to refund all of the application fees and moreover we would like to send [redacted] and her family a $100 gift card to reimburse them for their gas and time and as attempt at a sincere apology that this did not work out the way it should have.
With all that being said I want to also state that I am very distraught that [redacted] would imply that we did anything based on the fact that she was a veteran. We treat everyone the same across the board but we greatly respect veterans and the service they provide our country. Not only is my husband an Army veteran of 8 years, he also spent two and a half years in Iraq and has 20 + years of police service under his belt. And Travis, one of our new employees, is a Marine veteran with 10 years of service given to our country, and was hired in part because of his service to our country. It is 100% not accurate to say that we would do anything untoward due to a person being a veteran.
Please let me know if I can answer any other questions or help in any way. Again I am very sorry for our failures in this situation.
Michelle [redacted] - Owner of At Home Real Estate Services.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/01/04) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@athomehere.com
I would like to start by saying we are very sorry that you are not happy with our services. We try very hard to make sure that as much...
information as possible is available for everyone before, throughout and after the application process.
I will start by addressing the holding fee. Before you fill out an application there is a page titled "Before You Begin" that outlines the application process, what you will need to complete the application, and the Holding Fee Agreement.
The Holding Fee Agreement reads as follows - Holding Fee Agreement: Any Consideration tendered by the Applicant, security deposit or otherwise (excluding the application fee), will be construed as a "holding fee" for this and or any address available with At Home Real Estate Services until the applicant signs a lease and takes possession of the designated rental unit. This "holding fee" may not be refunded should an Applicant be approved and decide not to move in.
When you fill out the application it asks you if you have read and if you agree with the Holding Fee Agreement. This was marked yes on your application.
We held the property for you from the 9th until the 18th excluding any other possible residents from seeing or applying for this property. Because the home was held for you and you agreed to the Holding Fee Agreement we are not able to refund the holding fee you placed on the home.
While we do understand your frustration, the reason we have this agreement and the reason we have every applicant agree to this agreement, is because it is difficult if not impossible to say exactly what would have happened if we had not held the property and we had continued to show it to other residents interested in this property. It is very possible that it would have rented and the owner would have income for January. As it stands the property has not leased again and the owner does not have income coming in for January. The holding fee will help offset this loss.
As to the ways we have for residents to pay. We take money orders, cashier's check and online echeck payments all for free.
As to the lease and renter's insurance being required. All of our listings can be found on our website Athomehere.com and all of our listings will state if renter's insurance is required. The website also has a sample lease for you to read through if desired. Also we are available via email and by phone to answer any questions you may have about the application process, renter's insurance, the lease, how we take payments etc.
Again I am sorry that things did not work out. We are still more than happy to rent the home on Nicholas to you and apply the $500 towards your security deposit.
Thank you.
[redacted]
Owner of At Home Real Estate Services.