Village Green Management

I reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find the resolution is satisfactory to me. The regional manager, Jennifer B[redacted] has informed me that a partial return, specifically, the security deposit portion, is going to be returned and this is acceptable as we were told that this portion of the fees were indeed refundable.

I  just wanted to keep you in the loop that we are trying to work out a resolution.

I do not for a moment believe that there was ever any conversation about any apartment with a rental rate of $919 per month. The rate we always discussed was $829 per month, with the gas included. I would like it to be known that I do appreciate the effort to do something to resolve this situation as we have signed a lease, and I anticipate that the rent will be reduced by $200 for the September rent.  We felt compelled to sign the lease  as my son and his fiancé are getting married this week and they simply did not have time to look for a different residence.  I would like the management to know that when my son moved into the apartment, it was by no means ready for occupancy. A sliding door to a closet fell off, there was paint peeling from the bedroom ceiling, the ceiling in the bathroom had been spackled but not painted, and there was food in the freezer, apparently from the previous occupant. The ice trays in the freezer had hair in them. I expect much more from a management company than this, and I do not think my expectations are unreasonable.

I reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find the resolution is satisfactory to me.

Mr. [redacted] was offered an apartment that came available for a time frame 2 weeks earlier than his originally desired move-in date.  This is common industry practice when working with wait list applicants, as there is uncertainty surrounding what apartments will come available at any given time....

You want to make sure the wait list applicant isn't left without an apartment.  Taking possession of an apartment early would result in paying rent for those additional days.  Mr. [redacted] is referring to that as a fee, which it is not, it is rent.  When Mr. [redacted] contacted the leasing office to inquire about why he would have to pay that amount and take possession early, our sales consultant stated our 7 down days policy of how long we can hold an apartment off the market before having someone new move in.  We were receiving possession back in early April, yielding the offer of a mid-April move-in date.  After expressing concern about paying the additional amount, we offered to give Mr. [redacted] this apartment on May 1st, ultimately absorbing extra vacancy loss on our part to satisfy his original desired move-in date.  After we made this offer, Mr. [redacted] cancelled his reservation, resulting in a forfeited deposit.  I spoke with him about this on the phone, laying everything out clearly and informing him that there was no fee.  My impression is that Mr. [redacted] understands the mechanics of how everything happened.  After ten minutes of him acknowledging he understood what happened but just continuing to say we were deceptive, I told him that there was nothing left to discuss and that I would be hanging up the phone in a few moments, and I did so.  We were able to offer Mr. [redacted] an apartment that fit his needs, absorbing additional vacancy loss in the process, and he decided to cancel his application.

I met with Ms. [redacted] Monday afternoon to discuss rent delinquency and her upcoming move-out.  She understood that she is to move out at the conclusion of her lease on 6/30/16, and has started the process of finding new housing.  I told her we would attempt to accommodate...

a short extension and to contact me if she confirms that will be necessary. In terms of her April payments, I broke everything down again and explained what amount was still needed to avoid our court date.  I am working closely with Ms. [redacted] and other individuals (per her request) to secure that remaining balance, and all parties are aware of the upcoming timelines. At this time I feel I have addressed Ms. [redacted]'s concerns and provided answers and clarity to her questions following our Monday conversation.  We appreciate her tenancy and will continue our line of communication as needed.

Hello, We had a technician come out today (9/14/16) to repair the living room leak and re-attach the downspout to the building.  The new French doors for the living room have been ordered, and we have installed larger door sweeps on the current doors to protect from the elements until...

the new doors are installed.  The local USPS office handles the creation/distribution of new keys, but we can ask the courier to pull whatever mail has accumulated in the box and deliver to our leasing office in the meantime.  We need resident permission to do this, and we will gladly assist when that permission is given. As I mentioned this morning in my e-mail, I regret that your move-in experience has been anything but great, and we are going to work to regain your confidence and satisfaction.  Please don't hesitate to follow up with me regarding any other additional concerns. Thank you, Mike C[redacted] - Property Manager

To Whom lt May Concern:Dear Sir / MadamRe: Exorbitant Moving out charges - The Estates At New Albanv - [redacted]I am writing to put it on record and voice my displeasure with the uncanny business practices of TheEstates At New Albany, part of the national chain Village Green Apartment Communities who came upwith all sorts of charges when I moved out before the end of my 12 month lease.I moved out of one of their units on July 31, 2015 ([redacted] Court, Columbus, OH 43230) with 3months remaining on the lease after I bought a house in Blacklick, OH. I gave them the required 60 days'notice and I was told I would have to pay $2,378.00 lease abandonment fee, which is almost 2 months'worth of rentals. I asked why this fee was so high and chances are the unit will be immediately occupiedsince there is always a waiting list of residents waiting to get in at any given paint in time (I was on theirwaiting list for 5 months before I moved in). I was told this was the company policy, which at that time Icould not argue much about.When I moved at the end of July, I cleaned this unit including all the appliances in the kitchen and to mysurprise I was charged $1,068.12 to replace the carpet. This carpet was not new when I moved in. Iargued that there has to be provision for ordinary wear and tear, but my argument fell on deaf ears. Assuch, I was charged in excess of $3,400 at the time of moving out and I am not amused by thesepredatory business practices.I have done some research on Ohio Housing laws to get an understanding on why their leaseabandonment fee is so high (the equivalent of 2 months' rent) and 1 have gathered that Ohio law doesnot set a specific limit to be charged as lease abandonment fee. The only limit is whether the amount is"unconscionable", the term used in RC 5321.14.What I fail to understand is why did I have to pay $2,378 (equivalent of 2 months' rent) when theapartment was occupied / leased to another tenant within 14 days of moving out? This technicallymeans they were collecting rental payments on a single unit from two tenants in the disguise of callingone payment "lease abandonment fee" and the other payment from the new tenant. I am sure theCourts would frown upon the windfall of paying rent in the form of a fee ($2,378).Instead, if the fee was charged to turn over the unit to a new next tenant, I also do nor understand why Ihad to pay another $1,068.12 to replace a carpet that was not new when I moved in. I believe they cancollect a fee based on the time the unit was vacant, marketing costs if any (remember they always havea waiting list) and any cleaning costs due to making the unit ready for another tenant. However, askingme to pay both, the $2,378.00 lease abandonment fee and $1,058.00 carpet replacement fee tastes liketaking advantage of the ordinary consumer in the marketplace.I have paid close to 75% of these move out charges but I am working on seeking recourse as I feel this isan unfair and predatory company policy. I am bringing this to your attention in the hope that this canstart a conversation elsewhere on how to protect the consumer from these unscrupulous businesspractices.

Hi [redacted],I apologize that you feel as if we were collecting double rent. I have attached a copy of the lease agreement addendum where you signed electronically agreeing to the lease abandonment fee should you vacate the apartment before the end of your lease. This page clearly states that it is a fee, not rent. With that being said, unfortunately there is nothing else we are able to do.Thank you,

The criteria to receive a deposit refund was not met.  We're sorry to hear you chose other accommodations, and we wish you the best.

Please see attached images and note that Constance R[redacted] and Nicholas C[redacted] are or were recent employees of Village Green working at the Flats building.  Regardless of their personal or other experience with the building, Village Green allowing them to review the building online (and moreover, encouraging the behavior and publicly thanking them for the reviews) demonstrates this management group's poor business ethics.

Hi [redacted],
Thank you for taking the time to express your concerns. A clause of the lease allows residents to break their lease early by paying a lease abandonment fee equal to two times the market rent of their apartment. This is fee is considered a penalty fee not considered rent. The carpet...

was replaced on 10/24/2014, and you took possession of the apartment on 10/29/2014. The carpet had multiple different colored stains which were beyond normal wear and tear that required us to replace it. We prorated out the carpet charges, so you were not charged for the time you were living on the carpet. The charge was for the remaining time of the 5 years that we did not get out of the carpet. I would be happy to discuss this in more detail with you. Please contact me at ###-###-#### or [redacted]@villagegreen.com.
Thank you,

To whom it may concern:   Thank you for taking the time to contact Flats at East Bank Apartments to explain the issues that have occurred recently. We regret any inconvenience you have experienced and your issues you are having.   In regards to your concerns we have been in continuous...

communication with you during the time you moved into your apartment via phone and email to discuss your concerns you are having.  You have been in communication with Village Green and the appropriate associates with the company regularly with the issues at hand.    To address the items in the complaint that are pertinent to [redacted]’s apartment;   We emailed pictures and a video prior to move in showing the views from the apartment.  [redacted] did not come to Cleveland to tour prior to move in which is why we sent the photos and video. We have the emails we sent showing the photos and video.Blinds are only offered in bedrooms but we ordered some for her apartment living room but since they are custom they take a few weeks to come in.The apartment is located in the courtyard of the building which is not above any of the restaurants or clubs and is generally the quieter part of the community.We put the clause in the lease as the property is in an entertainment district with nightlife and residents need to be aware of that prior to move in.  All the clubs and restaurants are also listed on our website. The concierge team and the management team addressed the specific noise complaints regarding other residents as soon as they were turned in. The maintenance team was sent in to address the maintenance needs later than we would want as we did not believe we had permission to enter due to [redacted]’s schedule.We clean the hallways multiple times per week by both vacuuming and steam cleaning spots as needed.    We added a parking sticker program so that residents’ cars must have the sticker visible to park in the garage.  This has helped the parking situation since we put that into place.   We do not feel that we misrepresented the apartment or the atmosphere at the Flats at East Bank and we sent [redacted] all the documents requested to help with her decision to lease without touring the community. We recommended that [redacted] post a Craig’s List ad to see if there is someone to take over the lease.   We do apologize for the experience you had during the time frame you have been here.  As always we want to resolve any concerns or issues that we can. Please let us know if you would like to set up a meeting.   Thank you for giving us the opportunity to assist you further with this matter.  Please contact the office so we can coordinate a day and time if you would like to meet.     Sincerely,   Flats at East Bank Apartments   216-487-7002   [redacted]@villagegreen.com