ComplaintsforOak Forest Realty, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  11/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I would like to file a complaint against OAK FOREST REALTY and The Overlook St Gabriel's *********** First of all, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is ***********************, I am from ********, ***** and I am a student of ***************** class of ****. The name of the agent I rented the apartment from is *************************. She said this apartment is very convenient to go to ***************** and back, and I confirmed the room plan with her. Secondly, the monthly rent is $3509, which is the rate of all agents in ******. On August 27th of this year, we found out that **** was not the type of room we reserved at all. ******** said if we want to return the rent we have to pay 4 months of back rent. On the other hand, the agency insisted that it was an error in the apartment system and they had nothing to do with it. The agency fee plus the breach of contract amounted to ******* RMB, not including the loss of returning the furniture and the round trip bus fare. 1. We respectfully request that a complaint be filed against the agency for fraud and irresponsible malpractice.2. Please investigate this incident thoroughly and retrieve information and records of the correspondence between the agency and the apartment at that time.3. Please find out if the $3,500 agency fee we sent to the agency was filed and taxed.4. There is no room plan in the rental contract, only the room number 5. If it is an error in Overlook Apartments' system, then I don't think I should be responsible for the 4 months of compensation, I was forced to surrender the lease because of their error.6. If it is the error of Oak Grove Realty, then I think I should be refunded the full agent fee of **** for one month's rent and their company should be responsible for part of my compensation loss.Sincerely.7. I implore BBB to handle the case for us as soon as possible because the deadline for overlook to force us to pay the compensation within 60 days is coming up.***********************

  Business response

  11/01/2022

  Dear ******,
  This is to inform you that we have received your email complaint.
  After careful review of your complaint letter, we are here to kindly response your letter: 

  
  On the date of August 29th, 2022, Our agent  was informed by you that the unit you were assigned wasnt the floorpan that you preferred and would like a unit change. Therefore, we assisted you to communicate with the leasing office to see what options we have and if possible, to request a unit change. After finding a new available now floor plan at the similar rate to your assigned apartment unit, you agreed to switch to this unit since the floorplan is bigger. However, the leasing office required a $1000 one time fee for unit change since the lease was signed, but you have refused to pay this charge. 

  
  As we further discussed, our agent offered $500 out of good intention to cover 50% of this unit change fee. Yet, you refused this offer and considered settled at that time to continue living in this apartment (Unit ****). In addition, as you have consulted with our agent regarding the consequence of breaking a lease, our agent has informed you that a lease breaking is considered a personal behavior and therefore, you are responsible for the penalty following the leasing office policy. 

  
  We truly understand your frustration but it is not our agency who charges a break lease penalty and you shall discuss with the leasing team for further help.

  
  Once more, you are welcome to contact us at any time by WeChat or email: *****************.
  Thank you for choosing our company.
  Oak Forest Realty
  

  
  

  Customer response

  11/04/2022

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  Thank you so much, BBB!
  First of all, please note the wording, the room type I received on 8/29 was not just the one I didn't like, but it was completely inconsistent with the room type I had repeatedly confirmed with **** ********** agent in WeChat before, which caused a lot of problems and all the furniture I had booked in advance had to be overturned and couldn't be used. Secondly, I have the WeChat records to prove that Oak Forest Realty has never promised to bear the cost of the transfer fee. More importantly, I would like to ask BBB to help me investigate whether Oak Forest Realty or Overlook Apartments is at fault for my mismatch. It is important to note that the transfer fee mentioned by Oak Forest Realty in their response is completely off the ***** The transfer fee was incurred after I found out that there was a complete mismatch and without any commitment on their part, which does not negate their fault for their work.
  I'm willing to ask BBB to investigate, I have the WeChat logs as proof, if Oak Forest Realty says they made a $500 promise, please ask them to show proof. And even if they made a promise, it doesn't mean they didn't make mistakes and faults in their previous work.
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  Yuening

   

   

  Business response

  11/08/2022

  1. The client signed the Sight Unseen Rental Unit Agreement on June 26,2022. According to this agreement, The Applicants acknowledge and agree that none has viewed in-person the Sight Unseen Rental Unit prior to submitting an application. OakFR shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide the Applicant(s) with a representation of the Sight Unseen Rental Unit through photos and/or videos, floor plans and drawings, when available. The Applicant(s) acknowledge and agree that the Sight Unseen Rental Unit may appear different in-person than as presented in photos, videos, floor plans, or drawings and agrees. Please see attached on page 9. Thus, technically, the client should know the Oak do not have any responsible regarding the different floor plan.
  
  2. I tired multiple times to explain the contract with ******* and her mother. Unfortunately, they did not accept any of my words because they were not familiar with the real estate regulation in *************. They yelled at me beyond the usual agent-customer communication and threatened to do something to me. It scared me so much. It also caused so much mental torment to me that I was dealing with it all September and couldn't handle new clients. My manager was also very patient in communicating with customers and trying to help them deal with problems. However, they don't accept any solution as well.
  
  3. The respond of Yuening is also untrue. According to our previous conversation, we have offered ******* with a reasonable out of heart compensation and had assisted ******* to communicate with the leasing office throughout the whole event. I have attached the WeChat history with translate from our senior manager. He and I tried our best to solve clients problems, even though according to the contracts, its not our duty. Please see attached chat screen with the translate.
  
  4. After my manager offering the compensation, I do not receive any update and responses from the client. I have no idea that the client would like to move out and break the lease, which results in the break lease fees. My broker and I welcome customers to communicate with us in a timely and rational manner, instead of making unreasonable and illegal compensation claims.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩