ComplaintsforA-List Realty LLC

• Initial Complaint

  08/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  A-List Realty - ***** **********/agent/realtor/ broker manages the rental property above mine. His managed unit has had a water leak into mine since April 2023. He. ****** ********property owner, and ***** *****/handyman have in several emails assured me that this leak and drywall damage will be repaired and it has not. After multiple email attempts from me and his property owner to get this replaced and repaired, nothing has been repaired back to the correct state. ***** only spray painted the on of many stains. Pictures attached. He may prefer substandard or no repairs, but I don’t. Not to mention the mold and mildew issues. My next steps are to hire this repair out and invoice him. If not paid, lawyer and report to the board of realtors will be the next step.

  

  Business response

  08/15/2023

  This letter is my response to the complaint filed by **** ****** regarding his rental at **** * ******** **. In just a few short sentences Mr. ****** has given you several inaccuracies and falsehoods that I would like to clear up.

  It is important to note starting out that Mr. ****** does not live in this unit or in central Ohio. It sounds as though he hasn’t even been to the unit to see its condition. The unit is tenant occupied.

  I’ll start with the second falsehood he has in his complaint: “nothing has been repaired” “***** only spray painted the on (sic) of many stains”. That bathroom has been repaired. It was not spray painted it was primed and painted with a brush and roller, more details on the process below. I don’t know what he is trying to pull but some of the pictures he sent in his complaint were from before the repair. Here is how it actually looks today: (photo #1)

  (The drywall mud work is from a previous repair)

  The first falsehood is he states that the unit I manage **** H “has had a water leak into (his unit) since April 2023”. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was contacted by Mr. ****** in April of this year and he stated that the toilet in my unit (that I manage) was leaking down into the bathroom ceiling of his unit. I said I would immediately check it out. I gave him my contact information and said I would be in touch. I immediately called the tenant of my unit and he said there was a slight drip from the tank but he had something there to collect it. I asked if at any time there was a bigger leak or water spilled and he said no. Fortunately I was able to get my handyman contractor ***** ***** (******* ***** *****. 40 years in the business and 25 years working at the *******) out there the same day. He said the tenant had shut off the water to the toilet and the toilet wobbled a little bit and he thought maybe it was a combination of the two. So he reset the toilet, reconnected the supply line, checked underneath the sink, tightened the supply lines and shutoffs there and checked the tub faucets for leaks. He contacted me and said he really couldn’t find anything significant. He said he asked if the tub or toilet overflowed and the tenant said no. So there was not much we can do but move forward. I contacted Mr. ****** and said that we had checked everything out and everything we had access to (outside the walls) was tightened was not leaking. I said to keep me posted if the water stains get bigger and we will shut off the water and call emergency maintenance. So, after a few days I checked in with Mr. ****** and thankfully nothing had gotten bigger or worse. I told him I would get ***** over there to assess the damage and see if it was a repair or replace situation. If it was a replace situation then I knew his insurance company would handle it and then be in touch with the insurance company of the owner of my unit. More on that later. I told him if it was simply a primer and paint situation I knew my owner would want to make it right and we would do that. Thankfully ***** got over there and said everything was intact. None of the ceiling was hanging down or cracked. So I called Mr. ****** and said we would get it on the schedule for primer and paint and he seemed appreciative at that time. I also reminded him that we have to let it thoroughly dry out before we do that and that would be about 2-3 weeks. He seemed to know that’s how it works. Well in the meantime as we waited for his tenant and ***** to coordinate their schedules Mr. ****** became very impatient and said he wanted a new ceiling. I reminded him that there was nothing wrong with the ceilings they just have a stain and we would take care of that. ***** began making trips over there applying two coats of an anti-microbial primer (Kilz) and then two coats of paint. I continued to get emails saying the job was not done, he wanted a new ceiling, threatening this threatening that. All I could do was remind him that as far as the damage went we took care of it.

  When I saw the BBB complaint I went back to ***** and started asking about the bathroom ceiling. I asked if there were stains in another room and he said the tenant only showed him the bathroom. So I asked ***** to go back to the property (this was Wednesday 8/9/23) and look around so we could put this thing to rest. He did. He went to the condo and asked the tenant if there were other water stains on any other ceilings. The tenant said yes and led him to the laundry room. This was *****’s fifth trip to the property, he said the door to the laundry room had been closed every time. The tenant opened the door and pointed to the upper right of the laundry room ceiling above the washer as pictured below. (photos 2 and 3) ***** said ok can you move that stuff so I can get a ladder in here and paint it. The tenant said no. ***** explained to him that his landlord, the owner of the property, wanted it painted. He said he didn’t want to move his stuff it could be painted after he moved out. So, ***** left him his business card and said if you hear from the owner and he wants it painted call me and I will come paint it. And he left. My contractor cannot fix something he didn’t know about. And that is the problem from nearly the beginning. Mr. ****** only wanted to complain and demand, not accept the other owners generosity. As I said earlier I don’t know what Mr. ****** is trying to pull or if he just does not communicate with his tenant or go to the property very much.

  On a last note, I have been familiar with The ******* for many years. How I have always known it to work between owners of units that have an issue like this is what I said above. The owner with the damage calls his insurance company they have it repaired and seek reimbursement from the owner’s insurance company of the unit that caused the damage. I am told that there is language in the Decs and By-laws and/or Rules and Regs that addresses that but I did not see it specifically. I have attached those two documents for your review. My client could have simply done that but we chose to do the neighborly thing only to be met by someone who wanted to take advantage of it. Despite what Mr. ****** has to say, an owner, a property manager and a contractor have addressed the repairs as far as we are able at this time. I have been managing multiple rentals in the ******* since 2007 without a single complaint by The *******, a tenant, an owner or a neighbor. I have been licensed as a real estate agent and Broker since 1997 and have zero complaints with the Ohio Division of Real Estate.

  If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to me.

  Thank you.

  Sincerely,

  Customer response

  08/17/2023

  That’s quite a long winded reply for a simple fix that your handyman and your property management company still hasn’t repaired properly since April. If you’d like, I will file an insurance claim for my insurance to go after your property owner’s insurance which will cost your owner a lot more. I also don’t appreciate your assumptions that I don’t know real estate, rentals, and/or property management  I too have been in the business for several years, have rentals, and have also lived and rented in The ******* for several years in the past. The fact that I don’t live there now, doesn’t change the fact that your handyman and your company didn’t repair this leak properly. Also, not having any BBB complaints on your end, doesn’t mean that your processes are up to par, and these pictures prove it. I sent you pictures of all of these stains in April, you were aware and should have instructed your handyman to fix all of these specific issues/stains. It’s really simple, your tenant had a leak that damaged and stained several sections of my units drywall under your unit. You, as the property manager must find a com****nt handyman//painter to replace and fix this issue satisfactorily to me/the below unit owner. Your people caused this issue and your handyman is expecting my tenant to move a box off the top shelf to repair this? The laziness is amazing. Please find another handyman/painter to repair these stains properly and to my/the owner’s level of acceptance. I have asked you to do this several times with no response. If you manage several units, surely you have a team of repairmen. It’s also not my tenants decision to make or decline repairs. Also, if I lose a tenant due to your client’s negligence, you and your client will have larger issues. 
  

  Again, please repair ALL of these leak/water stains and send me proof that this has been completely repaired. Or like I stated in past emails/texts, I will have someone else repair this and will bill your owner or file an insurance claim, which will cost your team more 

  

  Business response

  08/21/2023

   

  As I said before there is nothing more to say on this. The facts are pretty simple despite Mr. ******' falsehoods. The leak was repaired, the ceilings were structurally sound with no cracking so the bathroom ceiling was primed and painted and looked good. When the contractor asked the tenant to move his things in the laundry room so he could paint the tenant said no and he said he didn't want the contractor to move them. He said it can be painted when he moves out. The contractor said ok and left a business card to notify him if anything changes. I think it is obvious that a contractor cannot move a persons personal belongings against the persons wishes.

  I think it is fairly simple. We have made the repair as far as we CAN and are ABLE to. That's why I won't be addressing this issue any further. If Mr. ****** tells us that the tenant has moved his stuff out of the way so we can paint I don't see why we wouldn't complete the job. But we simply can't move someone's stuff when they tell us not to touch it.

  
  ***** **********

  Customer response

  08/23/2023

  BBB, 

  
  

  As you can see from this email chain, ***** claimed this was repair was done, and it never was... he confirmed that in this case. He then later claimed there was another “emergency” elsewhere and he was going to send the handyman back again... but apparently never did because the stains are still in the ceiling. Even his property owner replied back asking if this was ever resolved. No reply from *****. 

  
  

  He apparently doesn’t know if anything was done… Which is it??!! He states it was done, then it wasn’t. He is contradicting him self once again. 

  
  

  How hard is this?! There was a leak… he’s the property manager for this above unit. He dispatches a repair man to repair this. It was never done, he claimed it was done in writing, my tenant said it wasn’t and sent a picture. I reached back out to ***** as well as ******/above unit owner and still nothing. We are now on near 5 months and nothing. I’ve repeatedly asked asked him to find another com****nt repair man and still nothing. He left me no choice but to file a claim against his business. How many other tenants does he poorly manage and have less than stellar repairs done. 

  
  

  I own clean rentals and provide clean places for my tenants to live in and rent. His and his staff’s quality of work is well below average. Please fix this leak, drywall, stains, and any other issues that may have been related to this leak. ***** had also “repaired” and covered up the poor bathroom ceiling spackle job a few year back and it leaked again. This is the second time the same repairman has now fixed what he said he did. Please find another repairman since ***** cannot handle this simple repair. 

  
  

  This has been leaking for years from his poor job on the first repair. If the ceiling and/or drywall collapses - drywall can only be spackled so many times… If I lose a tenant due to this negligence… *****, his real estate/property management business, ****** *******, The *******, ***** ***** and any others will be hearing from my attorney. 

  
  

  Thanks, 

  ****

  
  

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