The Point at Park Station

June 9th, 2016Revdex.com Complaint ResponseDear Representative of the Revdex.com:In regards to recent complaint from a previous resident of the community, we would like to provide the following response.After receiving her renewal offer letter on September 30th, 2015 the...

resident turned in her 60 Notice to Vacate on October 3rd, 2015. The resident emailed the property manager on November 5th, 2015 requesting that we renew her at her current rate, or she would move forward with signing a lease at a different community. At that point and time, her apartment had already been re-rented and was not available for her to renew. Because there was nothing more we could do for her at that time, the resident vacated the apartment on December 9th, 2015.The property manager received an email from the resident on January 4th, 2016 inquiring about her Final Account Statement, which provides a breakdown of the security deposit reconciliation. We received invoices from our contractors who assist in the turnover process of each apartment on January 4th, 2016. The apartment was left in poor condition with damage to kitchen and bathroom cabinets, doors and carpet.  The resident also left a large amount of trash and abandoned items. All of which is documented with photographs taken by our maintenance staff during the move-out inspection. When the resident submitted her 60 written notice, she was sent confirmation of receipt, which broke down all final prorated rent charges, as well as all move-out procedures. The document provided a comprehensive list of what is inspected during the final walkthrough and what would constitute us charging any additional fees. We feel the fees charged to the resident are fair and consistent with our documents.The confirmation of receipt also explained to the resident that her final water bill would be deducted from her security deposit because the charges are calculated once a resident is officially moved out of our management system. The water and trash is billed in arrears of about two months, so residents are paying for previous usage from two months prior when they pay their monthly rent. A copy of the resident ledger is provided showing the billing periods for all previously paid water/trash charges showing that billing is in fact, set up in arrears. At move-out, the charges are calculated from the final day of the last billing period up to the resident’s individual move-out date (dates are listed on the ledger and Final Account Statement). Unless a resident has a credit on their account, it is not possible for them to move-out with a zero balance. The final water/trash billing ($83.30) and damage charges ($460.00) were reconciled with the security deposit ($200.00), which left a balance of $343.30 owed by the resident to the property. Once completed, the Final Account Statement was sent to the resident in two forms of correspondence. One copy was sent to the forwarding address she provided directly from our leasing office on January 5th, 2016. It included a letter explaining the Final Account Statement and the due date for the balance to be paid, in order to avoid being sent to collections. The other copy was sent from our corporate office on the same day. After not receiving payment by the due date, her account was sent to our collection agency, Fair Collections Outsourcing, on February 26th, 2016.In regards to her missing items, we are not responsible for the retrieval of anything left in the apartment once keys and possession are turned over. The only documentation we have of her request to retrieve her items was an email sent to the property manager on December 15th, 2015. The resident received a response from the manager within an hour that we no longer had any items that were left in her apartment. The move-out documents state all items must be removed from the apartment prior to handing in keys and before the end of the official move-out date. Furthermore, the condition of the apartment would have made it difficult to determine that any items were left behind by mistake. Maintenance is under a strict timeline to turn apartments and any request to inspect the left over items, particularly in an apartment where so many items and trash were left behind, would delay that process. At this time, we feel there is no further action needed to be taken by our community. We were within our right to charge the final water/trash billing, as well as the fees for damages and trash removal. The Final Account Statement was sent to the forwarding address of the resident within the 45 day limit that is required by the Commonwealth of Virginia through two means of correspondence. All necessary documentation has been provided. Her account will remain active with our collection’s agency.Respectfully,The Point at Park Station Management