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33
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
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Kevin Martin
Recent Posts
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 (Nov 25, 2009 | post #114)
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 (Nov 25, 2009 | post #113)
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 (Nov 16, 2009 | post #110)
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 (Nov 16, 2009 | post #109)
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 (Nov 16, 2009 | post #108)
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 (Nov 16, 2009 | post #107)
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.ne t. 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 (Nov 16, 2009 | post #106)
Dear "another pissed off tenant", In your earlier post you indicated you had problems with Prime Properties. Please send me an email to kmartin@primeprop. com. If you tell my your issues I can attempt to resolve them. (Sep 16, 2009 | post #99)
Dear "Take Action", Please email me at kmartin@primeprop. com. Please tell me who you are and what your issues are I will be very happy to address your issues. Each email will be answered and each issue will be addressed (Sep 10, 2009 | post #97)
Any Prime Properties tenant who is concerned about getting their security deposit back after they leave must read the information at this link: http://primedfw.co m/?page=moveout_in structions (Sep 9, 2009 | post #94)
To all readers of this blog. My name is Kevin Martin and I am one of the owners of Prime Properties. I read this blog and see some angry comments by some very angry people. I would like to assist anyone who has a problem or issue with any situation at Prime Properties. I cannot assist anyone until they send me an email and identify who they are and what is their issue. Prime Properties has been doing a superior job for Landlords and their tenants for over 20 years. There are some very determined people posting on this blog who are upset with Prime Properties, and of all the posts here the only one I know who it is and what was their issue was J Gray who posted on August 14. This gentleman had a problem with his dishwasher and it took almost two weeks to get it repaired. I discussed this issue in a response on this blog, including where Prime Properties fell short and what we need to improve. We are a very transparent company and I will share a response to any of the other posters if they would send me their specific issues so I can address them. We are also very transparent in that our role is to represent the landlord and assist them in recovering any expense they incur which the tenant is responsible for. I strongly urge all tenants to read their lease, all items which could cause you to have a deduction from your deposit are listed in the lease. We provide all tenants with instructions on what they can have the best chance to receive all of their deposit back. Most tenants who contest a deposit accounting deduction do not read their lease and/or fully understand their responsibility under the lease. Regardless, if you have an issue as a current tenant or a past tenant, if you send me an email at kmartin@primeprop.com, you will find every email will be replied to and every issue addressed. (Sep 9, 2009 | post #93)
Dear another pissed off tenant, Before you file a lawsuit, how about you send me an email with your issues. I would like to be able to address them but I cannot if I do not know who you are or what are your issues. Email me at kmartin@primeprop. com, each and every email will be answered and each issue will be addressed (Sep 9, 2009 | post #92)
Dear "another pissed off tenant", In your post you state that Prime Properties was deceitful and you will not get your deposit back. The fact is that most departing tenants get most or all of their security deposit back if they fulfill their obligations under the lease. If you would email me your other issues where you feel you were harmed I will be very happy to see if I can address your concerns. Email at kmartin@primeprop. com, I will respond to each email and every issue. Tenants are responsible for any damge caused by negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse, but you are not responsible for normal wear and tear. If a mistake is made in your deposit accounting there is a process to appeal any deductions. I hope you will follow the move out instructions so you can be one of the tenants who get their full deposit back after they leave (Sep 9, 2009 | post #91)
Go to this link for more information on how you can take actions to get your security deposit back. http://primedfw.co m/?page=moveout_in structions (Sep 9, 2009 | post #90)
Dear Take Action, If you would care to tell me your specific issue I can address your issue. Please send me an email to kmartin@primeprop. com and identify yourself and your issue. I will not claim to be able give you what you want, but I will address your issues and provide a clear response. As an example, I had a recent situation where someone wanted to break their lease without penalty because they had a job transfer. I presented the issue to their Landlord and their Landlord said no as the Landlord wanted to receive the compensation allowed in the lease to offset their damages from the broken lease. This person was not satisfied with the Landlord's response and was unhappy that I could not give them what they wanted. I was called names and I was yelled at because I could not provide what they desired. I do not think you could call this example situation "resolved ", but it was addressed. A portion of this tenants security deposit was used to reimburse the landlord for lost rent and re-leasing expenses as allowed in the lease. I did what I could for this tenant, but in the end they did not get what they wanted (Sep 1, 2009 | post #81)
Q & A with Kevin Martin
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Austin, TX
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