ComplaintsforPerimeter Realty, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  04/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My boyfriend and I recently moved out of an apartment at Ocean Park after 5 years. Upon move out, we received a bill including a charge for ~$2k to replace the all of the vinyl floor in the apartment (584 square ft). We acknowledged that we caused damage to two of the flooring planks in the dining room; due to Covid we had to pivot to working from home and did not use the proper casters on one of our desk chairs, causing damage. We agree with paying for this damage, but feel as though we are not responsible for replacing the entire floor, which has 5 years of normal wear and tear. Additionally, we believe the property manager should only bill us based on the remaining usable life of the floor. We have asked the manager to provide the original cost of the flooring and depreciation schedule on multiple occasions and she would not. Because the manager could not provide this, we did a great deal of research to approximate the lifespan of the flooring and calculate the depreciation rate ourselves (please see attached screenshot). We sent this to the property manager on 3/27/2022 with pictures showing that our furniture had protective pads, stating that unless she was able to provide information contrary to our depreciation estimate, we would pay $435.18 of the flooring bill in addition to our other move out fees by 3/30 per her deadline. We did not hear back from the property manager on 3/30 and paid a total of $3,477.93 (see screenshot). On 4/4 we received an email offering to reduce the cost of the flooring to $1,018.74 as we had used the "wrong type of furniture pads" (no specification was outlined in our contract) along with a threat to send our account to collections on 4/11 for the remaining $583.56. We have tried to resolve the situation informally, but the property manager continuously fails to provide the requested documentation and explanations. We feel this is predatory behavior designed to take advantage of tenants and "double dip" on depreciation costs.

  Business response

  04/07/2022

  April 7th, 2022

  
  This letter is in response to the resident complaint from ****** ********* at Ocean Park.

  
  ****** was a valued resident and we enjoyed having her as a resident in our community.  We fully respect the opinion given regarding the flooring within her apartment home.  Upon move-out, a representative from our company will complete a thorough inspection of our apartments.  We do expect normal wear and tear within all of our homes and only ever bill back anything that is beyond normal wear and tear, which is typically evident.  When we are unsure of the condition of something, in this case, the flooring, we bring third party vendors that are professionals in their field.  We utilized House of Floors, which is a very reputable company and very well known in the apartment industry. 

  
  A representative from House of Floors inspected the floor and notated on the quote that the damage was caused by dog urine that sat on the floor and delaminated the planks in addition to too many dents in the planks to be repaired.  This is not a conclusion that was provided by any of our team members but was provided by a professional flooring company. 

  
  It is fair to state that our documents do not fully sate what type of chair pads are required, so after additional discussions, we made the decision to half the cost of the flooring, which would also cover the damage notated on the quote regarding pet urine, which we feel is fair.  The original cost of the flooring that was $2,037.49 and we have adjusted the amount due to $1,018.75
  

  We would also like to notate that *** ********* did reside in the apartment home for five years but Ocean Park went through an extensive renovation, and they were the first ones to reside in this newly renovated apartment. We have almost 3,000 apartments companywide and have new move-ins and move-outs regularly.  We do not depreciate vinyl plank flooring like carpet as it is a more durable product.  It is in very rare instances that we would ever need to replace an entire floor and as mentioned above, our flooring provider has clearly stated it was from pet urine.  Furthermore, due to the renovations, we do not have the original flooring invoice as it was a bulk construction cost per unit.  However, we are able to provide, the inspection report which shows all photos of the apartment flooring and the quote.  Also, attached is the paid invoice from House of Floors showing that we did in fact replace the flooring. 

  We are a very budget conscientious company and do not just replace things to replace them.  We try to always be fair and reasonable and always take our residents feedback with the utmost respect.  We fully appreciate the frustration that *** ********* has but we also have to be able to provide proper housing to a new resident moving in and the condition of the flooring would not be acceptable to our standards nor a new move-in.    
  
  Sincerely,
  ****** *********
  Community Manager
  Ocean Park Apartments

  Business response

  04/19/2022

  Thank you for your response.  After further review, we've made the decision to waive the additional charges that are being disputed.  You should receive an email from the Community Manager at Ocean Park by 4/20/22 confirming the amount and your new address.  After that the check will be cut and sent to you via USPS.  It will be in the mail no later than next week.  We thank you for making Ocean Park your home for many years and wish you well in your new home.  Have a great day!

  Customer response

  04/19/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

  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. 

  Regards,

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

   

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