ComplaintsforReal Property Management Bakersfield

• Initial Complaint

  03/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  RPM managed my property for 7 years. In the last year 2022 I am very dissatisfied with their service. I requested in writing on 6/27/22 that I was going to take back the property in October 2022 giving the tenants 3 months worth of notice. RPM responded that our contract would end on 9/29/22. The tenants moved out in July 2022 but didn't turn in the keys until August 2022. The keys turned in by the tenants didn't open the property per ***** in maintenance dept. Repairs were done in August-September 2022. RPM decided to terminate my contract on 9/13/22 when the last repair was completed. Not all the repairs were completed. There was a broken window to one of the bedrooms that was found on a semi-annual inspection in which the outer window pane was removed and not replaced. My window now has one pane. This was overlooked in the following inspections. My sister picked up the keys to the property from RPM's office on 9/22/22 no ID was asked of her, the keys were just handed to her without verification. My sister went to the property on 9/24/22 and realized that the keys given to her did not open the door. And she found people (squatters) living in my property which they did not have keys to the property. The property had drywall damage, a hole in the backyard to build a jacuzzi. RPM won't accept responsibility for the damages done while they still had the property keys in their hands. They also did not collect the garage remote control for the contracted tenant. RPM didn't notify me my contract ended in writing per the management agreement. They were to notify me in writing when the contract ended. I was informed on 10/2/22 of the date the contract ended. They don't respond back they don't follow their own procedures rules. It is unfair for this company to get away with things like this. The lack of professionalism on their behalf. Because of property owners is why they are in business they should support and treat their customers professionally and within the law.

  Business response

  03/22/2023

  Good Morning, 

  As a response for the complaint, we advised the property owner that we would only be conducting tenant repairs due to the owner terminating management with us. The broken dual pane window that the owner is claiming was not fixed but was fully replaced in the master bedroom on September 13, 2022. The Property Manager spoke to the owner on June 17, 2022 regarding the termination of management as the owners were wanting to move back into the home sometime in November of 2022. The property owner sent us an email on June 27, 2022 asking us to provide the tenants with a 90 day notice to vacate. The 90 day notice to vacate should have ended on September 29, 2022, but the tenants vacated early on August 15, 2022. Our Turn Coordinator reached out to the property owner within 24-48 hours after the tenant turned in keys to start the move out process and to reiterate the make ready process with the property owner that we will only be conducting tenant repairs. 

  
  

  The items conducted were:

  
  

  1. Missing screen in the living room

  2. Broke screen in the living room

  3. Light bulbs missing throughout- replace all that are burnt out

  4. Remove stickers on the bathroom floor and toilet

  5. Re-attach closet door for the bedrooms that were located in the garage

  6. Replace light switch cover in the back right bedroom

  7. Remove boards from the window in the back right bedroom

  8. Replace 3 outlet covers missing in the second bedroom

  9. Re-secure the back fence gate

  10. Conduct a trash haul of all items in the garage and backyard except the closet doors

  11. Replaced broken dual pane window in the master bedroom

  
  

  Once the work was complete, we advised the owner on September 13th that they can come collect the keys and we will terminate management earlier than the anticipated November date. We did not hear back from them until September 26th. We advised the owner we would be checking her sisters ID to ensure it was the appropriate person collecting keys. Unfortunately, we failed to do so when the owners sister came into the office. We had a new staff member up front training and it was an oversight on our end. 

  
  

  The owner collected keys and took back possession of the property. The owner called our office, advised us there was squatters, and asked what we were going to do about it. We advised the owner that we were unaware of any squatter situation, and that unfortunately since we no longer manage the property, there is nothing we can do on our end. We did recommend calling the police department to file a report and to see if an officer can get there asap in order to help them remove the squatters. We also suggested to board the property if they will not be occupying it right away. 

  
  

  After conducting an audit of all communication with this owner, every email or text message was attended to within 24 business hours. 

  
  

  We did everything on our end according to California Law as well as our company policies. The owner was communicated with every step of the way. 

  
  

  Thank you.

  Customer response

  03/23/2023

   I am rejecting this response because: 

  The broken window I am referring to is to bedroom #2. It  was damaged by the tenants during their stay. The damage was indicated in the semi-inspection on 03/11/2021. The window was never repaired. This window has a air draft it currently only has 1 window pane the tenants did not repair it they just removed the outer window pane that was broken. This broken window was overseen in the semi annual inspections that were done on 09/16/2021 and 03/10/2022 and the walk out inspection done on 8/16/22. I have all of the semiannual reports with pictures to show when the window was identified to be broken. What type of inspections do they conduct? I have attached pictures. 

  
  

  I could not physically do the walk out inspection as I was living in ******** at the time of the walk out inspection, therefore I trusted RPM to protect and care for my property. 

   From the items list RPM provided here is my reply. Highlighted items not done.

  1. Window screen replaced.

  2. Window screen still broken.

  3. Light bulbs replaced.

  4. Sticker from toilet not removed. I have a picture I took on 12/7/2022 that the sticker was still on the toilet. Picture can be compared to the walk out inspection picture that it is the same sticker. I have attached the pictures

  5.Closet doors were not reattached, they were in the garage.

  6.Light switch cover done.

  7. Boards removed from window.

  8. Outlet covers replaced.

  9. Side gate secured.

  10.Trash was hauled away.

  11. Window in master bedroom was replaced.

  I was not contacted on 9/13/2022 to pick up the keys nor be informed that the contract ended. I want to see the email from 9/13/22. I am the one emailing ***** from the maintenance department as she did not communicate with me. I emailed her on 9/9/2022 to check the status of the repairs. ***** indicated that all repairs were done except the replacement of the window in the master bedroom. I didn't hear from RPM, so I emailed ***** again on 9/16/22 asking the remaining repairs (broken window in master bedroom) were fixed. She replied back letting me know the window was replaced on 9/13/22. No one from their office called me to let me know I could have someone pick up the keys for me  because I was living in ******** in September 2022. I have the chain emails that shows I would initiate the communication. I had to reach out to RPM during the process. RPM saying that they didn't hear from me until 9/26/22 is incorrect. As I have the emails that there was communication during September. I also have two voicemails from Ashley the office manager from the dates 9/20/22.

  When my sister picked up the keys she said it was ***** from maintenance was the one that gave her the keys. 

  I want them to explain why the keys that were given to my sister weren't the ones for my property. The keys did not work!! 

  Why was someone from another department other than front office giving out keys? 

  
  

  Thank you for taking the time to review my response. 

  
  

  Regards, 

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

  Business response

  03/30/2023

  We are working directly with the property owner to resolve the issues outlined in the complaint. 

  
  

  Sincerely,

  
  

  Real Property Management Bakersfield 

  Customer response

  04/02/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  RPM representative ******* reached out to me and we agreed that she would contact me no later than Wednesday March 29, 2023 to coordinate a date of when they will be able to go out to my property and fix the repairs that were not done. I did not receive a phone call nor email by end of the business day of Wednesday. I had to email ******* on Friday March 31st. I got an email later on Friday March 31st. ******* informed me she was out of the office unexpectedly. If they are really trying to work with me someone from RPM could of let me know that ******* was out of the office. And I’m saying this as I have been having communication issues with RPM. Again I feel unheard I hope RPM improves their communication and keeps their word with their customers. I will wait to see if someone calls me to schedule the repairs. 

  Business response

  04/07/2023

  Our office has spoken with the owner of the property regarding the complaint, and we have agreed to take care of several repairs at the request of the owner. Repairs are scheduled for April 18th. 

  
  

  Sincerely, 

  
  

  Real Property Management Bakersfield

  Customer response

  04/09/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

• Initial Complaint

  07/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I moved out of my rental home with Real Property Management Bakersfield on May 2, 2022. Upon final inspection of the home, they sent invoices for repairs they completed to our deposit insurance company along with a pro-rated amount for our monthly fee's. We are charged a month-to-month and resident care plan fee each month in the amount of $100 and $37, respectively. There are two problems, the first being that we have many pictures from move-in of issues with the home that they charged us for repairs. Holes, painting, etc. I decided to let this go and not say anything because I only have pictures of some of the items that they did repairs on. The second issue being that the pro-rated amount for the monthly fee's ($137 altogether) was pro-rated for 28 days of the month instead of 2 days of the month since I moved out May 2. They charged us $127.87. They finalized these charges and sent them to me on May 27th. I responded May 27th that they made an error. I did not get a response and the charges were sent to the deposit insurance company. I then disputed the error with the deposit insurance company in which RPM Bakersfield responded to them that "The Resident Care Plan is not pro-rated as that is not rent and the month to month fee was not pro-rated either as that is also not rent." Even though it was definitely pro-rated for 28 days. I followed up with RPM Bakersfield on July 15th and July 25th and have not gotten any response via email or phone.

  Business response

  07/25/2022

  Good Afternoon,

  The tenant was aware when signing the lease agreement that the RCP and Month to Month fee is charged on the first of every month and is not pro-rated. The Month to Month fee is a fee charged for the tenant choosing to be on a month to month lease, which is in their lease agreement. The RCP is charged on the 1st of every month covering renters insurance, the Pinata program, access to their tenant portal (which they still have), etc. This is also in their lease agreement.  These fees are not rent. We pro-rated the tenants rent accordingly and a confirmation email was sent to the tenant on the pro-ration of rent on April 5th, 2022. We did explain to the tenant what her lease states and since she opted into Rhino (deposit coverage program), any dispute would have to be placed through them. That is their company policy and what she acknowledged when she signed the bond for deposit coverage. Rhino reached out to us regarding the tenants dispute. We responded with our statement and supplied the documentation items they had requested. They agreed that the charges placed are correct and moved forward with the claim that we submitted. 

  
  

  Thank you

  Customer response

  07/26/2022

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  The lease does not state that the Resident Care Plan and month-to-month fee's are or are not pro-rated. Please see attached Image 1. This is a bad excuse considering Real Property Management Bakersfield DID pro-rate them for 28 days, when it should've only been 2 days.  RPM Bakersfield stating that they explained to me what is or isn't in my lease is also a lie because RPM never responded to any of my emails when I was asking for clarification. Please see attached Image 2. This is the first response I've gotten from RPM Bakersfield since I submitted my notice to vacate back in April. Rhino themselves told me to reach out to RPM Bakersfield directly, so saying that I have to ONLY handle disputes through them is fabricated. Please see attached Image 3. I'd also like to point out that Real Property Management Bakersfield changed our lease agreement regarding deposit coverage without our consent or knowledge. Our lease states that we will enroll in Resident Care Plan PLUS, which includes enrollment in The Guarantors, another deposit coverage company. I never signed a new lease with Real Property Management Bakersfield stating that I have to enroll in Rhino. Please see attached Image 1. My lease does not clarify that the monthly fee's are or are not pro-rated at the termination of the lease (even though RPM did pro-rate it for 28 days vs the 2 days it should've been pro-rated for) nor does it say I even have to enroll in Rhino due to an error on their part.

  Business response

  07/27/2022

  Good Afternoon,

  The lease does go over the month to month fee and RCP fee being charged on the 1st of every month and that these charges are placed due to the tenant enrolling into these items. ***** is a deposit program the tenant chose to enroll, it was never mandatory. The tenant signed the bond with *****, not our office. Our company name is not on that bond as it is between ***** and the tenant directly, so any disputes would have been had with ***** directly. We do have email record from ***** advising us that if there are any disputes are with their company to reach our to them directly. Nevertheless, in order to come to a common ground, we will be issuing a refund back to the tenant in the amount of $137.00. This has been sent to our accounting department today 07/27/2022 at 3:03 PM for processing. 

  
  

  Thank you, 

• Initial Complaint

  07/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My name is ****** *****, real property management is charging a late fee after my money order got stuck in the drop box for the 2nd time. I wrote my exact time on my envelope and my money order was dated for June 5th. I have only ever been late one time and have lived at the house going on 6 or 7 year's. The owner of the house has called me to advise that RMP has been doing bad business with him and he will be terminating the contract they have. What can I do about this? The late fee is $200

  Business response

  07/13/2022

  Good Morning,

  We sent a 30 day termination notice to the property owner on Friday July 8th, 2022. In response to the termination notice sent, the property owner asked us to remove the tenants late fees from her account as he did not want them charged. The tenant had $180.00 in late fees, not $200.00 as claimed. We advised the property owner we would go ahead and remove the late fees that were charged, but it would take our accounting department 24-48 business hours for this to be reflected. As of Monday 07/11/2022, a credit of $180.00 was posted on the tenants ledger at 2:27 PM. The tenant currently has a $0.00 balance. 

  
  

  Thank you. 

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