Prime Properties Dallas

Take Action wrote:

To everyone on this blog. I just got word that another complaint has been filed against Prime Properties with the BBB. I think they may set a world record!

OMG... Charles... He is the worst then the rest he is just more polished...

I have been with prime prop since Feb. In the beginning I felt it was a perfect fit until the 2nd came and I was bombarred with eviction notice and I have until the 3rd to pay. Secondly. My frige went out and they refuse to fix it. Also, when I called to see if it was covered under my lease. Jeff King refuse to look because he said I owe a balance. Third, A brick was thrown threw my window at 2:00 am this morning. It is not covered. Texas tenant rights clearly states.
Under Texas law, regardless of what the lease says the landlord is required to repair problems that affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant and are not caused by the tenant, occupant, or a guest.(If the problem developed from normal use of the premises by the tenant, occupant or guest, the landlord is still responsible for repair.) For example, leaking plumbing, rodents, broken air-conditioning in extremely hot temperatures, sewage leaks, shattered sliding glass doors or caved ceilings all affect health and safety. Although a non-working garbage disposal or a leaky faucet is inconvenient, it may not materially affect health or safety.

I feel and know that the safety of my kids and I were compromissed.... I will contact somebay about this company and any organization that I can find. To say that you care about you renters then to treat them this way is unheard of to me.

This company S U C K S !!!!!!!!!!
I guess changing their name to "OneProp" was supposed to save their reputation. They are a bunch of money hungry, cocky ass jerks !!
Tell everyone you KNOW if they want good customer service or a company to treat you like a human not to get involed with them. I need to sue them for pain and suffering for all the stress they have caused me and my family. I can't wait until my lease is up.

Angie,

Thank you for taking time to write out your concerns, these are all valid issues which every tenant should have an interest in understanding so I will speak to all these issues right here in this public forum. If you want an immediate, personal response you can contact Jeff King's manager, Charles Riska, at criska@oneprop.net or myself at kmartin@oneprop.net. When I read your note I see you are upset for these three reasons 1) you received an eviction noticed which was sent out on the second day of the month but you believe your rent is not due until the third, 2) your landlord will not repair a refrigerator which came with the home and 3) your landlord will not repair a window which was broken due to vandalism. As I said above I will respond to each issue right here because the issues are relevant to anyone renting a home and all tenants should have a good understanding of these issues. There is a limit on how many characters I can put in a response so I will answer in multiple responses.

angie wrote:

I have been with prime prop since Feb. In the beginning I felt it was a perfect fit until the 2nd came and I was bombarred with eviction notice and I have until the 3rd to pay. Secondly. My frige went out and they refuse to fix it. Also, when I called to see if it was covered under my lease. Jeff King refuse to look because he said I owe a balance. Third, A brick was thrown threw my window at 2:00 am this morning. It is not covered. Texas tenant rights clearly states.
Under Texas law, regardless of what the lease says the landlord is required to repair problems that affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant and are not caused by the tenant, occupant, or a guest.(If the problem developed from normal use of the premises by the tenant, occupant or guest, the landlord is still responsible for repair.) For example, leaking plumbing, rodents, broken air-conditioning in extremely hot temperatures, sewage leaks, shattered sliding glass doors or caved ceilings all affect health and safety. Although a non-working garbage disposal or a leaky faucet is inconvenient, it may not materially affect health or safety.
I feel and know that the safety of my kids and I were compromissed.... I will contact somebay about this company and any organization that I can find. To say that you care about you renters then to treat them this way is unheard of to me.

Issue #1: It is a fact that all tenants are sent out an eviction notice at the same time each month. The notice is sent to all tenants who still owe some or all of their rent after the due date. In your lease you agreed that you would pay your rent "on or before the first" day of each month. As a result of this due date, eviction notices are generally sent out on the second. Separately, in your lease, you and your landlord agree that late charges will not be assessed until after the third day of the month, but that does not mean you do not have to pay until the third, you agreed you would pay "on or before the first". There is another issue at play here and that is the type of note you receive. The type of note is dictated by Texas law and if your landlord had a tenant who was actually trying to avoid paying their rent the law states that the letter must be an simple demand for possession. When we send out the notices we don't know if your non-payment is late, lost or simply overlooked or if we are going to have to evict you, so everyone gets the same notice. I would prefer if I could send out a letter which said "We have not received your rent, please send the money or contact us if you feel there is an error in order to avoid any eviction actions". I like that much better, but our state legislator needs to change the rules, otherwise the landlord cannot take action to remove people who are actually trying to avoid paying their rent. If you want a different letter, then please write your legislator and ask them to change the rules. Or, if you do not want to receive the letter at all then try to make sure your rent is received in our office before it is due, on or before the first.

angie wrote:

I have been with prime prop since Feb. In the beginning I felt it was a perfect fit until the 2nd came and I was bombarred with eviction notice and I have until the 3rd to pay. Secondly. My frige went out and they refuse to fix it. Also, when I called to see if it was covered under my lease. Jeff King refuse to look because he said I owe a balance. Third, A brick was thrown threw my window at 2:00 am this morning. It is not covered. Texas tenant rights clearly states.
Under Texas law, regardless of what the lease says the landlord is required to repair problems that affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant and are not caused by the tenant, occupant, or a guest.(If the problem developed from normal use of the premises by the tenant, occupant or guest, the landlord is still responsible for repair.) For example, leaking plumbing, rodents, broken air-conditioning in extremely hot temperatures, sewage leaks, shattered sliding glass doors or caved ceilings all affect health and safety. Although a non-working garbage disposal or a leaky faucet is inconvenient, it may not materially affect health or safety.
I feel and know that the safety of my kids and I were compromissed.... I will contact somebay about this company and any organization that I can find. To say that you care about you renters then to treat them this way is unheard of to me.

Issue #2: Based on what you said I am guessing your lease lists the refrigerator as an "As Is" item. THis means the landlord is not going to warranty or repair your fridge, and noted this in your contract. Since I do not know who your are or your address I cannot look at your lease to verify this fact. Why would a landlord have a fridge and not repair it? The fact is that in 95% of the single family homes we manage a fridge is not included because most people who rent single family homes supply their own fridge. Of the homes with fridges most of the leases provide no obligation to the landlord to repair the fridge, because the fridge is an abnormal addition and expense for the landlord which most tenants do not want included. There is a different answer to your concern which I will discuss in my summation at the end.

angie wrote:

I have been with prime prop since Feb. In the beginning I felt it was a perfect fit until the 2nd came and I was bombarred with eviction notice and I have until the 3rd to pay. Secondly. My frige went out and they refuse to fix it. Also, when I called to see if it was covered under my lease. Jeff King refuse to look because he said I owe a balance. Third, A brick was thrown threw my window at 2:00 am this morning. It is not covered. Texas tenant rights clearly states.
Under Texas law, regardless of what the lease says the landlord is required to repair problems that affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant and are not caused by the tenant, occupant, or a guest.(If the problem developed from normal use of the premises by the tenant, occupant or guest, the landlord is still responsible for repair.) For example, leaking plumbing, rodents, broken air-conditioning in extremely hot temperatures, sewage leaks, shattered sliding glass doors or caved ceilings all affect health and safety. Although a non-working garbage disposal or a leaky faucet is inconvenient, it may not materially affect health or safety.
I feel and know that the safety of my kids and I were compromissed.... I will contact somebay about this company and any organization that I can find. To say that you care about you renters then to treat them this way is unheard of to me.

Issue #3: You state that you were told the landlord will not repair the broken window at your home. I did not hear the conversation, but I am guessing you were told that the landlord is not responsible for the cost of repairing the window. I am sorry for this communication, but let me go into more detail. Your landlord will, as required by law, affect the repair if at any time your property becomes insecure because a door or window can be violated. However, the landlord is not responsible for the cost of the repair if the reason for the repair is for anything other than normal wear and tear. This means the cost of the repair is your responsibility. How does this make sense and why should you be responsible because you did not throw the brick through the window? The best way for me to explain it is to use the analogy of renting a car. If you rented a car and it was dented in a parking lot while you were in a store shopping, you would be responsible for the expense to repair. Hertz or Avis may make the repair, but the cost will be charged back to you. In your lease you committed to buying renters insurance. I do not know if your policy would cover this expense, but you should call your insurance agent and ask.

angie wrote:

I have been with prime prop since Feb. In the beginning I felt it was a perfect fit until the 2nd came and I was bombarred with eviction notice and I have until the 3rd to pay. Secondly. My frige went out and they refuse to fix it. Also, when I called to see if it was covered under my lease. Jeff King refuse to look because he said I owe a balance. Third, A brick was thrown threw my window at 2:00 am this morning. It is not covered. Texas tenant rights clearly states.
Under Texas law, regardless of what the lease says the landlord is required to repair problems that affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant and are not caused by the tenant, occupant, or a guest.(If the problem developed from normal use of the premises by the tenant, occupant or guest, the landlord is still responsible for repair.) For example, leaking plumbing, rodents, broken air-conditioning in extremely hot temperatures, sewage leaks, shattered sliding glass doors or caved ceilings all affect health and safety. Although a non-working garbage disposal or a leaky faucet is inconvenient, it may not materially affect health or safety.
I feel and know that the safety of my kids and I were compromissed.... I will contact somebay about this company and any organization that I can find. To say that you care about you renters then to treat them this way is unheard of to me.

Summation: I spent a lot of time referring to your lease. The reason is the lease is the contract which sets out the rules for who is responsible for what. ONEprop is hired by your landlord to assist them in understanding and enforcing the lease. If you or the landlord want a different set of rules than that is possible simply by changing the lease. You can also get an exception if both parties agree. For instance, you could write a letter to ONEprop, and ask if the landlord would repair the window at their expense in consideration of your being a good tenant or because of something extra nice you did to the property. We represent over 1,500 different landlords, and most are people (not corporations) like me and you. I cannot promise your landlord will accommodate your issue, but we will present your issue to them and provide them the opportunity to make the decision.

Again, I invite you to bring your concerns directly to Charles Riska or myself with the details of your name and address so we can assist with the knowledge of your specific lease.

angie wrote:

I have been with prime prop since Feb. In the beginning I felt it was a perfect fit until the 2nd came and I was bombarred with eviction notice and I have until the 3rd to pay. Secondly. My frige went out and they refuse to fix it. Also, when I called to see if it was covered under my lease. Jeff King refuse to look because he said I owe a balance. Third, A brick was thrown threw my window at 2:00 am this morning. It is not covered. Texas tenant rights clearly states.
Under Texas law, regardless of what the lease says the landlord is required to repair problems that affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant and are not caused by the tenant, occupant, or a guest.(If the problem developed from normal use of the premises by the tenant, occupant or guest, the landlord is still responsible for repair.) For example, leaking plumbing, rodents, broken air-conditioning in extremely hot temperatures, sewage leaks, shattered sliding glass doors or caved ceilings all affect health and safety. Although a non-working garbage disposal or a leaky faucet is inconvenient, it may not materially affect health or safety.
I feel and know that the safety of my kids and I were compromissed.... I will contact somebay about this company and any organization that I can find. To say that you care about you renters then to treat them this way is unheard of to me.

Kevin Martin wrote:

Please send me a note direct to kmartin@primeprop.com. I will be happy to research to see if anything can be done about your issue. Unfortunately your issue with the air conditioning is correct. An AC failure does not require the landlord to compensate you, because that is what was agreed, by you, when you signed the lease. If you want compensation in the event of an AC failure you would have needed to pre-negotiate that when you signed the lease. Some of our landlords may do this for tenants even though they do not have the obligation, your landlord did not. Your landlord provided you a very nice home at a very competitive price, and part of the deal is that when something broke he wanted time to be able to repair it in a cost effective manner. This was what was agreed to in the lease. It is unfair of you to be upset when the landlord took advantage of the time allowed to him. In the end the tenant benefits because the costs of rent are lower.<quoted text>

Kevin our rent was not any lower than what was standard for the area. In fact when we leased our next property we leased a lake front home in a much nicer neighborhood that was over a thousand square feet larger for an additional $150.00 per month.

The fact is that in this time of economic recession I hope your company closes its doors as soon as possible. Other families do not deserve to be mistreated by you or people you "represent". By the way you can blame your clents all you would like, but when we spoke over the phone you yourself agreed that your client used a list of your preferred vendors. In essence you tell your clients who they should use to repair their properties. My suggestion would be to add a few more reputable vendors to your list.

He called and spoke to my husband and me for almost two hours. In that time he defended his company and shuffled the blame to the landlord and the vendors who made the repairs. We never pursued any further action because we quite honestly did not have any more of our time to give them. We ended up paying every dime of a very expensive water bill. I firmly believe this company should be out of business. They prey off of the fact that most people do not read their leases in their completely. They should lead with a statement such as We do not represent the tenant at all. Should you have any repair needs at the property hire an attorney as soon as possible. Then people would have a better understanding of what they are getting themselves into.

Take Action wrote:

Disappointed, Did Kevin Martin ever take care of your situation Prime Properties? Did he make an effort to work with you, or was he a more professional version of Charles Riska and Bob Melcher that just fed you the same BS? I'm just curious. I thought it would be great to post your experience with him here, as I'm using this forum for research.
<quoted text>

It is interesting that you state two things in your note below. 1) you say that we prey off of people who do not read their lease. The fact is that we ask, beg and plead with tenants to read their lease. This is repeated over and over again in all of our communication, it is all over our web site, and it is on the lease, on the line directly above where you sign your name, along with the instructions that you should seek legal advice if you do not understand the ramifications of what you are signing. The reason we ask people to read the lease is the lease are the rules which we follow and it makes it easier for everyone involved if they know the rules. 2) you state that we should lead with a statement that we do not represent the tenant. The fact is that we actually put this information in writing and hand it to all tenants. We never hide the fact that we are employed by the landlord, again, it makes it easier for people when they understand our role. It is unfortunate that in spite of these efforts we still have people who fail to recognize this relationship. I respond to all of these posts to do my best to educate all tenants on these issues.

Disappointed wrote:

He called and spoke to my husband and me for almost two hours. In that time he defended his company and shuffled the blame to the landlord and the vendors who made the repairs. We never pursued any further action because we quite honestly did not have any more of our time to give them. We ended up paying every dime of a very expensive water bill. I firmly believe this company should be out of business. They prey off of the fact that most people do not read their leases in their completely. They should lead with a statement such as We do not represent the tenant at all. Should you have any repair needs at the property hire an attorney as soon as possible. Then people would have a better understanding of what they are getting themselves into.
<quoted text>

Dear Disappointed, I am glad you found a home which was more to your liking and which you felt is a better value for you and your family. It is clear you do not like renting the home you rented, for many reason, including the price/value you felt you received and you did not feel you received the responsiveness you wanted from your landlord and ONEprop. The fact is that right now over 5,000 people live in homes managed by ONEprop, and overwhelmingly most of them are satisfied with the home they are renting, the value they receive and the responsiveness to their issues. ONEprop represents over 1,500 landlords, and again, almost all of these people are very satisfied with the service we provide to them and their tenants. The people who work at ONEprop take great pride in working with landlords and tenants to achieve a happy result. I wish we could satisfy everyone, all the time, but I have not yet been able to accomplish this task, though it is not for lack of trying. ONEprop manages about 50 homes/employee, a ratio which means that people at ONEprop are available to our clients and their tenants to assist in the landlord/tenant relationship and although the situation was not ideal for you, most people are well served by ONEprop.

Disappointed wrote:

<quoted text>
Kevin our rent was not any lower than what was standard for the area. In fact when we leased our next property we leased a lake front home in a much nicer neighborhood that was over a thousand square feet larger for an additional $150.00 per month.
The fact is that in this time of economic recession I hope your company closes its doors as soon as possible. Other families do not deserve to be mistreated by you or people you "represent". By the way you can blame your clents all you would like, but when we spoke over the phone you yourself agreed that your client used a list of your preferred vendors. In essence you tell your clients who they should use to repair their properties. My suggestion would be to add a few more reputable vendors to your list.

While I am not trying to excuse any perceived malicious acts somebody else may have experienced from this company, I do want to add one statement in their defense.

I owed $255 in late fees due to an error made by me and my lack of understanding of the lease agreement I signed. I was late on a rent payment and did not pay all fees due in full by the next month. The late fee penalties began accruing again after the first of the next month until it was quite substantial.

I approached Bob Melcher and Charles Riska via an email and requested leniency in the matter. I was honest and open in my explanation of the series of events which lead up to the request. They worked with my landlord and the entire balance of late fees still owed was forgiven.

Thanks
Jeremy