The Courtyards at Buckley Apartment Homes

Speaking broadly as to how all accounts on our property are billed - The utility bill that the residents receive is a reimbursement for actual usage an it is billed in arrears monthly and it is part of their lease There is one meter per building and one boiler Some of the fees, such as the pest control fee, are static and do not change Billed amounts such as water, sewer, trash, and gas will fluctuate based on actual usage for the building and the number of people residing in the unit For instance, if the water bill for the building was $and apartments were occupied with resident in apartment A and residents in apartment B - Apartment A would reimburse $and apartment B would reimburse $75.We have a billing company that handles all utility billing and does so in accordance with law that regulates rebilling practices, they are Utility Billing IncUtility Billing Incmade a calculation error in the billing of gas for the January, February, and March reimbursement bills and under billed our residents for specifically gas They, instead of adding the under billed amount for the months to April's bill have divided the amount over the next bills, April, May and June We sent a notification to every resident on or about the 3rd of April informing them that this would take placeSpeaking for the amount the residents are billed for gas, unfortunately it is just the high cost of unities are billed by the gas company Our buildings are on a central boiler system which is heated by gas The boilers provide the residents with hot water and heat Unfortunately the billing cycles are for the winter months when not only do the residents use more gas by heating their homes but rates are higher in the winter Speaking from experience in both apartments and with homes a bill of under $a month for water, sewer, trash, gas, pest control and tax is actually quite low The residents receive a bill with a itemized breakdown monthly weeks in advance of their rent due date This billing practice is detailed and sufficient and we are not going to adjust our billing practices being that we are in compliance with regulationsThank you, Erica Schummer, Senior Community Manager

Good afternoon, Buildings here at the [redacted] at [redacted] are on a system that is one boiler per building The boiler in the CC building was replaced in February of this year Over the last weeks we have had the vendor out to make some adjustments to the system to address and issue where the burner would shut down The boiler has been immediately brought up and running each time Water may be cooler for a few hours after the event as the water has had to heat back up Additionally, during peak hours water can be cooler due to high use It is the same effect as if several people were to try to take a shower in a house at the same time or one right after the other Every time a work order has been called in it has been addressed immediately and it has been addressed after hours as an emergency call.The floor in the residents unit was inspected by our National Maintenance Manager in a visit to the property in late May The work order was entered on May 17th A vendor was scheduled to estimate The vendor did not feel that there was a structural issue, it was surface damage caused when the old vinyl flooring was pulled up The adhesive backing pulled off some of the gypsum subfloor leaving some unevenness when the new flooring was laid over the imperfections the vinyl lays flat and does not follow the contour causing it to give the appearance of being "soft" The National Manager inspected the floor on May 25th and closed the work order leaving the following closing note: it isn't a danger to the resident but they are requesting itthe vinyl guys wouldn't have laid new vinyl if it wasn't okThank you, The [redacted] at [redacted]

Good afternoon, The apartment that was applied for is still held for the applicant The applicant initiated the application online and paid the fees and the deposit and consented to the transaction on her own accord We sent an email on August 9, at 4:pm, pasted below, that she never replied to We are sorry that the applicant did not follow through and respond to our attempts to continue with the application process [redacted] @jrk.comto [redacted] ***August 9th (days ago)We have an application update for you!Upon review of your application it is noted that you do not qualify based on income However, all is not lost! In your case a Guarantor can take the place of income.A Guarantor is a person who has good credit (a FICO score above 600) and makes times or more your monthly rent.If you have someone that can apply to be your guarantor please let us know and we can send them an invitation to apply Their application fee would be $and they would be added right to your account Send end us the following information and we will send them their invitation:Name:Email:Birthdate:Address:Phone number:Please make sure we have ALL of the above information or we will not be able to send the invitationWe need you to send us their information in the next hours along, we will hold your apartment for that timeFor your convenience we have attached a document listing income qualifications and a list of acceptable proof of income Please make sure you provide one of the forms of proof of income that is on the list Please reply to this email with your proof of income to upload it to your application.Should you not supply any requested information to complete your application within the next hours we will cancel your application Please remember that your application and admin fee are non-refundable.If you have any questions we are here to help!To make sure that your application process goes smoothly, I ask that you communicate directly with me if you have any questions or if you are responding to something I have requested from you We have a very large and busy office and I am the only one that is totally familiar with your file The best method of communication is via email, specifically replying to this email It will come directly to me and be attached to your file to keep an ongoing record of our communication I want to make sure you get all of your questions answered thoroughly and I cannot always be available to answer or come to the phone Email will allow me to respond or call you back and spend the time with you that you need Just a note: we are closed Sundays!I am looking forward to making your move in a great one!Thank you!***

Good morning, The applicant applied for an apartment that would not be available at the time requested and she was notified by email She did not respond to that email A couple of days later the leasing agent sent the applicant an email informing them that after review of her application it was found that her income was not sufficient to qualify and a Guarantor was needed The email asked for information on a guarantor if one is availableThe email stated that we have a large office and to only contact the specific agent that sent the email and it also stated: "The best method of communication is via email, specifically replying to this email It will come directly to me and be attached to your file to keep an ongoing record of our communication I want to make sure you get all of your questions answered thoroughly and I cannot always be available to answer or come to the phone Email will allow me to respond or call you back and spend the time with you that you need." We never received a reply and I do not see a call directly to the office it is possible that our answering service picked up a call The applicant is still applied to the apartment and has not been canceled We still would like to process the application with cooperation from the applicant At this time if she were to cancel the deposit is nonrefundable and will be held as liquidated damages as consideration for holding the apartment off the market Thank you, Courtyards at Buckley

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:I sent an email to [redacted] last Friday the 12th to tell him I found something elseI have a copy of that emailI also followed up on Saturday thee 13th and told the girl who answered the phone I was not taking the apartment because no one could tell me which apartment it wasShe was very rude when she told me they keep the full deposit and reluctantly gave me the name of [redacted] to call on MondayI didn't call this [redacted] because I knew once again no was going to help meSo I listed complaint with Revdex.com and left complaint with the company that owns CourtyardsAs of now, no one still has not helped meI believe you need to refund my monies back minus your app fee because [redacted] wrote in his first email to me that the unit wanted wasn't available, so again, why am I paying for a non available unit and to top it off, you say I don't qualifyAnd as of yet I still don't know which apartment I was supposed to getI believe this has been a huge circus of error, so please just refund my money and I will rent elsewhere Sincerely, [redacted] ***

Good afternoon, The complaint is not accurate The applicants applied for a bedroom apartment online, we do not have bedroom apartments They paid two $fees to process the credit and background check, a $administrative application fee (both nonrefundable), and a $ holding deposit The application was denied as the applicants did not meet the preset rental criteria The $holding deposit is being refunded to them We do not have a checkbook onsite and the refund has to be processed and mailed from out of state The decline took place on 8/1/and it has been less than days contrary the months that the applicant states in the complaint.Thank you, Courtyards at Buckley

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: no one responded to me regarding whether I had an apartment they told me I was not qualified, so thus I assumed I no longer had an apartmentRegardless, they never contacted me to tell me which apartment and told me they would pick ana partment for meI do have copies of their email and my posistion is still that they never told me if I had an apartment, so how can they hold something for me and I don;t know about it? And how can they hold my monies without my onsentThe person who never responded to my question of which apartment is *** and I also called and talked to a *** or *** and a *** I think her name was and they could give me no information except to say I was approved then later that day I get an email back saying I'm not approvedSo f no approval how can I have an apartmentThis is really petty on their part and very unprofessionalI really don't know why they are allowed to practice business with all this he said she said stuffAnyway, noThey owe me back my $admin fee and the $deposit feeAgain, I have the emails and I did contact the office three times
Sincerely,
*** ***

Good afternoon, Our response will not change. When they signed the application and submitted payment they agreed the fee's being nonrefundable. The deposit however will be refunded

Good morning, Ms*** called the office yesterday to get the actual total of pro-rated rent for July. She stated that she was given the amount by one of the office employees. I looked up her account and saw that she was not on notice to vacate. I relayed to her that she had not
put in a written notice to vacate and per her lease agreement days written notice is required. Ms*** became upset and asked why nobody told her while she was in the office weeks ago that she had to do that. I agreed with her and told her that the employee was on one of her first days of employment and overlooked that information. I told her that she needed to still put in a written day notice but as a concession for the oversight I would back date it weeks since I know she was in and not given that information. Ms*** came to the office and stated that she spoke with *** in march and told her that she would not be renewing. She stated that *** told her that she did not have to do anything else. This is inconsistent with ***'s correspondence with residents and our lease requirements. I told Ms*** that March was way earlier than days and we would not have taken a day notice at that time.At several points during the conversation I asked Ms*** to lower her voice and refrain from using rude and demeaning remarks about myself and staff and she refused. I repeated myself that we would backdate the notice weeks. I finally said that I would no longer to speak to her due to her unprofessional demeanor. She asked for corporates number and I told her that she could search that information out as I was not going to continue the conversation.I sent her information to the corporate office for further contact. Thank you, ***Property Manager

Good afternoon, I have had several correspondence with Ms*** and have explained her lease and billing. She states that the explanation given was not true when in fact it was right out of her lease. She has accused me of lying when in fact I am reciting what is in her signed lease
agreementUtilities; water, sewer, garbage, gas, pest control and real estate tax are billed back to the residents per their lease through Utility Billing Inc. The buildings are on one meter and the apartments are not individually metered. In the lease agreement's utility addendum there is a formula that is used to bill back the residents. It is very transparent and the formula has been used in her case.In January, February and March of this year Utility Billing Incmade a calculation error where they only charged 10% of the actual gas usage to the residents. When it was discovered the made the billing correction and added the amount that was not billed to the months of April, May and June. The residents were given a notice in April explaining the amount was under billed and it would be added. I understand that Ms*** experienced inconvenience at her move in and for that I apologize. We however did accommodate her and she accepted the apartment she moved in to and signed the lease. She is being billed correctly per the lease she agreed to. Thank you, Courtyards at Buckley

Good morning, The applicant initiated the application on their own accord and paid the application fee and application administration fee. Application and Administration fees are "fee's" and are not deposits, they are nonrefundable. They are paid to complete a service, which we
did. Application fees are paid to the actual cost of pulling a credit report and running a background check. Administration fees are paid to cover the cost of administrating the application process. We have a strict criteria that is in place for application qualification. Because we adhere to the qualification standards to be in compliance with Fair Housing standards there is no flexibility. The applicant was screened and her co-applicant was not, this is correct. However, it is irrelevant. The error in not screening her co-applicant saved them $50. The applicant was denied based on extremely poor credit. Our application standards dictate that any credit score over will pass with no additional deposit. Credit scores between and will require a deposit of up to months rent additional deposit. Credit scores at or below are an automatic decline. If at any time it is found that an applicant does not make the required times the monthly rent income we contact them and ask them to obtain a guarantor if they qualify on all other standardsI'm sorry that the application did not work out in the favor of the applicant and regret that it was not possible for them to move in. The issues that lead to the decision are not the fault of Courtyards at Buckley and there was no mishandling of the situation. Thank you, Courtyards at Buckley

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:My position does not change either. If there are inconsistencies between what we are being told at the leasing office by the employees and what is occurring online, this creates a problem. It is not logical to pay the additional amount of $if it is non-refundable online, when it would have not been required if we would have applied in person. We would have applied for the apartment at the leasing office instead. I am very confused on how it seems to be ok for a company to take $to apply for an apartment and deem it to be non-refundable if you are not approved. I have stated that I am fully aware and agree that the $per person application fee along with the online charge of $is non-refundable totaling $and that the remaining $should be refunded
Sincerely,
*** ***

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/04/30) */
We have received one work order for this problem, reported on 4/We are in the process of correcting any issue this resident might have

Good afternoon, Buildings here at the [redacted] at [redacted] are on a system that is one boiler per building.  The boiler in the CC building was replaced in February of this year.  Over the last 2 weeks we have had the vendor out to make some adjustments to the system to address and issue...

where the burner would shut down.  The boiler has been immediately brought up and running each time.   Water may be cooler for a few hours after the event as the water has had to heat back up.  Additionally, during peak hours water can be cooler due to high use.  It is the same effect as if several people were to try to take a shower in a house at the same time or one right after the other.  Every time a work order has been called in it has been addressed immediately and it has been addressed after hours as an emergency call.The floor in the residents unit was inspected by our National Maintenance Manager in a visit to the property in late May.  The work order was entered on May 17th.  A vendor was scheduled to estimate.  The vendor did not feel that there was a structural issue, it was surface damage caused when the old vinyl flooring was pulled up.  The adhesive backing pulled off some of the gypsum subfloor leaving some unevenness.  when the new flooring was laid over the imperfections the vinyl lays flat and does not follow the contour causing it to give the appearance of being "soft".  The National Manager inspected the floor on May 25th and closed the work order leaving the following closing note: it isn't a danger to the resident but they are requesting it. the vinyl guys wouldn't have laid new vinyl if it wasn't ok. Thank you, The [redacted] at [redacted]

Speaking broadly as to how all 688 accounts on our property are billed - The utility bill that the residents receive is a reimbursement for actual usage an it is billed in arrears monthly and it is part of their lease.  There is one meter per building and one boiler.  Some of the fees,...

such as the pest control fee, are static and do not change.  Billed amounts such as water, sewer, trash, and gas will fluctuate based on actual usage for the building and the number of people residing in the unit.  For instance, if the water bill for the building was $100 and 2 apartments were occupied with 1 resident in apartment A and 3 residents in apartment B - Apartment A would reimburse $25 and apartment B would reimburse $75.We have a billing company that handles all utility billing and does so in accordance with law that regulates rebilling practices, they are Utility Billing Inc. Utility Billing Inc. made a calculation error in the billing of gas for the January, February, and March reimbursement bills and under billed our residents for specifically gas.  They, instead of adding the under billed amount for the 3 months to April's bill have divided the amount over the next 3 bills, April, May and June.  We sent a notification to every resident on or about the 3rd of April informing them that this would take place. Speaking for the amount the residents are billed for gas, unfortunately it is just the high cost of unities are billed by the gas company.  Our buildings are on a central boiler system which is heated by gas.  The boilers provide the residents with hot water and heat.  Unfortunately the billing cycles are for the winter months when not only do the residents use more gas by heating their homes but rates are higher in the winter.  Speaking from experience in both apartments and with homes a bill of under $200 a month for water, sewer, trash, gas, pest control and tax is actually quite low.  The residents receive a bill with a itemized breakdown monthly 2 weeks in advance of their rent due date.  This billing practice is detailed and sufficient and we are not going to adjust our billing practices being that we are in compliance with regulations. Thank you, Erica Schummer, Senior Community Manager

Good morning,  I'm sorry that there has not been an earlier response, the property was without a community manager from the 15th of April until the 5th of May. I will be contacting the resident to see if they received a rental verification from us after their complaint and I will resolve...

that issue.   As for the security deposit; it will be disposed of after their move out according to law.  The resident is responsible for any "damage" the unit that is above normal wear and tear.  Any inconveniences that they encountered after their move in will be a separate issue from the security deposit and the two are not related.  Also, they will not be charged for any preexisting conditions in the unit. Thank you, Erica SchummerSenior Community Manager

I wish Ms.[redacted] was only telling the truth. Not only was she rude before I even opend my monuth but she did not do anything to help solve this problem. So yes I did raise my voice out of anger like anyone else would do if they were in my shoes. I called their "corporate office" I left two voice mails, and I still haven't gotten a return call. Courtyards at Buckley care nothing about The people that lives there. And they never did. Since ive been living there I came across 3 property managers, and New staff and they are all the same. Rude and just don't care...

Good afternoon,  The complaint is not accurate.  The applicants applied for a 3 bedroom apartment online, we do not have 4 bedroom apartments.  They paid two $50 fees to process the credit and background check, a $150 administrative application fee (both nonrefundable), and a $99...

holding deposit.  The application was denied as the applicants did not meet the preset rental criteria.  The $99 holding deposit is being refunded to them.  We do not have a checkbook onsite and the refund has to be processed and mailed from out of state.  The decline took place on 8/1/2016 and it has been less than 30 days contrary the 2 months that the applicant states in the complaint.Thank you, Courtyards at Buckley

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I sent an email to [redacted] last Friday the 12th to tell him I found something else. I have a copy of that email. I also followed up on Saturday thee 13th and told the girl who answered the phone I was not taking the apartment because no one could tell me which apartment it was. She was very rude when she told me they keep the full deposit and reluctantly gave me the name of [redacted] to call on Monday. I didn't call this [redacted] because I knew once again no was going to help me. So I listed complaint with Revdex.com and left complaint with the company that owns Courtyards. As of now, no one still has not helped me. I believe you need to refund my monies back minus your app fee because [redacted] wrote in his first email to me that the unit wanted wasn't available, so again, why am I paying for a non available unit and to top it off, you say I don't qualify. And as of yet I still don't know which apartment I was supposed to get. I believe this has been a huge circus of error, so please just refund my money and I will rent elsewhere.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Good morning,  The applicant applied for an apartment that would not be available at the time requested and she was notified by email.  She did not respond to that email.   A couple of days later the leasing agent sent the applicant an email informing them that after review of...

her application it was found that her income was not sufficient to qualify and a Guarantor was needed.  The email asked for information on a guarantor if one is available. The email stated that we have a large office and to only contact the specific agent that sent the email and it also stated: "The best method of communication is via email, specifically replying to this email.  It will come directly to me and be attached to your file to keep an ongoing record of our communication.  I want to make sure you get all of your questions answered thoroughly and I cannot always be available to answer or come to the phone.  Email will allow me to respond or call you back and spend the time with you that you need." We never received a reply and I do not see a call directly to the office.  it is possible that our answering service picked up a call.  The applicant is still applied to the apartment and has not been canceled.  We still would like to process the application with cooperation from the applicant.  At this time if she were to cancel the deposit is nonrefundable and will be held as liquidated damages as consideration for holding the apartment off the market.  Thank you, Courtyards at Buckley