Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/23/2025

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My wife, ********* ****** and I have been residents of the ***** ****** ********** for about 18 months. We signed a lease for a period of 3 years. My wife and I agreed and decided to separate amicably about 2 months ago. She wanted to stay at the *****, but downsize to a more affordable apartment. I decided to leave ********* and travel extensively for the foreseeable future. Because we had developed a personal relationship with *****  co-owner. **** ********., we asked for his help. He promised to intercede with Brownstone to negotiate an equitable transfer. Instead, while I was out of town, he took advantage of an emotionally vulnerable, naive senior citizen by conspiring with Brownstone to have my wife sign a new lease for apartment ** while she was still a signator on **. If that is not an illegal act, it is certainly unethical. After she started moving, Brownstone advised us they would require more than 8 thousand dollars to terminate ** and the security deposit on both is in limbo. ******** physically helped her move and took our bedroom and living room sets for himself. Apparently he now lives here too. **** ******** and ***** ******** at ***** ******** and ********* ****** and ***** **** were the principals in this conspiracy. If we had been provided with those termination charges, my wife could have just stayed in ** until the end of term. I am now living in ** with my service dog with no furniture at all. I am now responsible for maintaining the lease until the end of 2026. We absolutely cannot afford those termination charges. My wife recently had deaths in her family and was emotionally fragile. She is now on the verge of a breakdown. Please help us by contacting ***** ******** *** and Brownstone to intercede.
  ***** ******** ************ **** ******** ************ ******** ****** ************ ***** ***** **** ************ or ************ 
  Thanks in advance for any quick action that you can take. We and I are desperate here.
  
  **** ********

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/24/2025

  I sent a copy of the first page of the lease. The entire document is too large to upload. Is there a certain section you want? Please advise ASAP. We are desperate here. Thanks.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/25/2025

  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint.  However, I know there is no response I can give that will satisfy Mr. ********.As Mr. ******** stated, he and his wife signed a three year lease agreement between ***** ******** *** with Brownstone Properties as the Agent for ***** ******** ***.  The lease does not expire until December 2026.Because this response is public, I will not go into the full details of Mr. ********'s behavior beginning in January 2025.  However, as a result of his behavior my office ceased interaction with him in February. **** and his wife ***** developed a personal relationship with one of the partners of the ***** ******** ***.  All interaction from February forward was with said partner.Brownstone Properties, Inc. was advised **** and ***** would be separating/ divorcing. As such, there was a request to negotiate an early lease termination for Unit ** allowing Mr. ******** to vacate 3/31/25.  ***** ****** requested to move to another apartment.  An early lease termination agreement was presented and did in fact include a provision of the payment of an early termination fee of 3 months rents or $8,250.  Considering the remaining financial obligation on the lease term is $57,750, the early termination fee seems reasonable to both the Landlord and Management. Ms. ****** voluntarily signed a lease agreement for another apartment and vacated Unit **.  There was no conspiracy by anyone; certainly not Brownstone Properties.  Ms. ****** has made no complaints or allegations she was mislead.  As far as when she moved out, who helped her move, and what items she took, I have no knowledge.  Ms. ****** signed the lease agreement and was given possession of her new apartment.I am sure this is an emotionally difficult time for Mr. ******** and, I truly sympathize with his situation.  Divorce is never easy.  I can only imagine his pain when, as he says, he returned from being out of town to find his wife had vacated their joint apartment and moved on. I heard they have been married a long time so, I am sure her departure may have taken him by surprise.  I am truly sorry for both **** and ***** for the end of their relationship. However, the allegation Brownstone Properties conspired against him to have his wife sign a lease for another apartment is absurd.  I do have concern for Mr. ********'s mental health.  For example, this morning he was sending me a personal Facebook friend request.  This afternoon, he was accusing someone of "f******" his wife, after which he threatened to defame me personally.  "  Besides ethics complaints
  to **** and BBB. I am now filing a complaint with ******** ********. I will
  soon start hosting resident get-togethers in ** and explain to everyone exactly
  what you have done to us. This will now undoubtedly end up in litigation. I
  will also be filing individual complaint regarding each and every aspect of
  Brownstone sad lack of management to the **** ** ********** ******** ***** office.  I have already contacted the Fire Marshall's and Fire Chief
  offices regarding all aspects of the myriad lies regarding fire safety and
  security issues and procedures. I will now dedicate several hours a day to
  posting all negative reviews to every so al media or website that mentions
  Brownstone, ***** ****** *****, ***** ********, ****, ******, ******, ********,
  etc."As I have said to Mr. ********, the offer to terminate his lease early is still an option.  He also has the option of remaining in ** as no one has asked him to leave.  This is a personal matter between he and his wife and potentially a third party.  It does not involve Brownstone Properties, Inc or me and neither I nor Brownstone Properties is getting personally involved in his marital dispute.Again, I have no doubt Mr. ******** will accept this response as satisfactory.  Despite his actions towards my staff and me, I extend to him my deepest sympathy during this difficult time in his life.   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/25/2025

  Who made the request for early termination of **? That was done without my knowledge or consent. Again, I hear about it after the fact. Brownstone should have gotten my approval of that before proceeding to have my incompetent wife sign another lease agreement. Is any of that in writing? If so, please upload for the public to see.
  
  Regards,
  
  **** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/24/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In 2018, we noticed mold when moving into our residence and were told to wipe with bleach, so we did that for years. We had also reported a leak in the bathroom multiples times starting in 2018, until 2021. From 2018, they gave us bleach to use on the wall which we made sure to do up to 2021. In 2021, we reached out again and reported mold growth while also mentioning a leaking toilet and this time, they came and only added two humidifiers. We escalated it from there as we were not satisfied and talked with the president of the company in which we also mentioned the leaking toilet.
  
  From that escalation, our place was tested for mold toxicity which showed high levels of toxicity, and it was remediated after. Recently, we have seen more mold and reported to our management who is now blaming us and not fixing this issue and saying that they would charge us. We have two children in the home with chronic conditions and no one is fixing the toilet nor the exhaust which is drenched in mold as are the walls. We are living in that dangerous environment; they are not willing to offer an alternative safe place or pro-rate our rent while we live elsewhere till the matter is solved.
  
  They claimed that we have breached contract for not reporting the leaking toilet but since 2018 we have been reporting it. Maintenance came and claimed it was good after. We issued a request in August 2018, then another one in November 2018. We also, while reporting a separate issue with a different toilet in 2021, mentioned that the prior toilet has been leaking since forever. They replaced the different toilet, but they did not do anything about the one that has been leaking since forever which we kept going on and on about to them.
  
  The remediation and the cleaning gave it the appearance that things were fine from 2021 but since the toilet has slowly been leaking, it causes the issue to slowly come back, which is why we had to report again mold growth. They never solved it at its roots.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/24/2024

  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint.  The tenant has been sent a lease violation notice in regards to this matter and has indicated they are hiring legal counsel.  Therefore, legally Brownstone Properties, Inc may not have any direct correspondence with the tenant and all correspondence must be with the designated attorney.  The Landlord in this situation has notified the tenant a professional mold test will be performed and a professional remediation plan has been requested.  The tenant is responsible for the cost of the mold testing and remediation and no further comment can be made because the tenant has opted to engage legal counsel. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/24/2024

   I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.We need a temporary safe location provided to us in the meantime or that our rent is pro-rated accordingly while we found our own temporary safe place since no plans for testing or remediation have been revealed to us. We have a 4 years old and a 2 years old. We have all been displaying headaches and other respiratory symptoms. We also need our toilet, and exhaustion fan replaced in the upstairs bathroom as well as the molded flooring and bubbling wall paper. In our opinion, we should not be held financially responsible for Brownstone’s  negligence and unethical manner of refusing to acknowledge misconstrued allegations and inaccurate statements. If they fully addressed all our emails and maintenance requests Neither us nor the landlord would be in this situation. We are reporting Brownstone for, in our opinion, not being ethical  about due diligence to fix a leak reported since 2018 through 2021 and now. Our floors, baseboards, nor toilet was replaced although mold was reported there by the mold testing done in 2021. Brownstone did not fix the root cause of the mold, that being the leaking toilet  that caused excess moisture after all of our ongoing emails and maintenance requests about it. Their maintenance staff saw the floor being discolored since the first time they came in 2018 and nothing was done about it so it was impossible for us to know if that toilet was still slowly and unnoticeably leaking and causing the issue to start all over again after the remediation was done in 2021, as we were reassured it wasn’t leaking at the time. We have email proof and maintenance requests saying our concerns about the toilet. We abided to everything that has been  asked of us as tenants; we were asked to bleach the areas of molds ourselves, we even use the dehumidifiers they provided, on top of buying our own dehumidifier bags out of pocket. They never replaced or fixed the toilet upstairs and falsely reported that they did, confusing it with the toilet downstairs that was replaced for a leak (yes, there were two leaks). The remediation that was done after we had to escalate it only cleaned and removed the mold spots but that toilet was not fixed or changed so the issue came back. They also falsely claimed they changed the actual exhaustion fan in the restroom. They have only changed the air vent covers that rusted in our house from built up moisture. The exhaustion fan in the bathroom downstairs  is clean but the one with the toilet upstairs turned out moldy and maintenance showed us after he removed the cover and stated that this leaking toilet that was never fixed caused all the moistures buildup in it.  We were accused of not reporting the mold promptly, however the mold as of recent wasn’t as severe as it was in 2021 because of the remediation, so we did promptly notify the property management as soon as we did and that’s how the leak was discovered. Had the toilet been replaced upstairs, the flooring replaced, and the baseboards in 2021, as well as the discolored and bubbling wallpaper from the mold damage in 2021, this would be a different outcome. We were falsely accused and Brownstone did not take responsibility. Documents, emails, pictures, dates, can be provided. Regards,***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/24/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I signed the lease August 11 2022 I didn’t do a walk through. I stopped by before work on August 11 2022 after getting my keys. It was a hole in the wall behind the door in the bedroom, and big dent in the same room. The same room the bedroom door wouldn’t open. The tile in the living room has nail prints in it and tile lifting. The tub had a big spot in the middle a totally different color than the tub. She said it was cracked the fixed it. I still feel the crack in it when I shower, the cover up is slippery. I went by the rental office the following Friday morning. The property manager ***** said the hole in the wall would get fixed which it did, the door would get fix which it did, the dent probably came from the door when they cleaned the carpet there is no door by the dent. The next day my Mom came to clean it took 2 hours just downstairs it wasn’t clean! Everything we wiped was dirty. Urine was on baseboards around toilet downstairs the pantry walls were dirty. Spider webs in windows and ceiling, windows were dirty, the screen in the living is still broken. The mop water was black. My stove front caps don’t get hot. The dryer had thick white lint in the tray. Behind both is dirty had cat/ dog food behind it. The washer was filthy and I’ve ran at least 6 cycles it’s still filth coming out. I can’t wash my clothes I have to go to a family member’s house to do so. There is a hole in my daughters screen with tape on it. The area where the water heater is is disgusting, and still haven’t had a chance to clean that. No sink stoppers. I have t tried my oven yet. Leak spot on my bedroom closet. She said all cleaning companies don’t clean windows and pull out washers to clean, sorry the cleaning was to my expectations she only offered $89 credit or to move out without being penalized. I’m a single mom with two kids I can’t just move out just like that. I need a new washer, the tub fixed, more off my rent I didn’t stay in my place a week after paying deposit and rent.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/24/2022

  On Sunday August 21st, Ms. ******** sent an email requesting maintenance.  Because the email was sent outside of normal business hours, it was received on Monday morning.  Ms. ******** received a prompt  response by 10:30 am.  Management agreed to repair all items requested and, in addition offered Ms. ******** a three day rent credit.  Ms. ******** was also given the opportunity to terminate the lease agreement without penalty.  She did in fact inquire about another unit in the same community that is not managed by our company.  It has been three days since the request was submitted and all items have been addressed/ repaired.  Attached is the email correspondence related to this complaint.Management has gone above and beyond to assist Ms. ********.  No additional rent credits will be issued. It should also be noted that Ms. ******** is not a new tenant to Brownstone Properties.  After renting from us for five years, she vacated another property in August 2021 where she left having incurred cleaning and damages totaling over $1,000.  Fortunately, her security deposit covered the damages and cleaning costs.  In good faith, Brownstone Properties approved her rental application for her current residence. However, it appears we will be unable to satisfy her and, if she is going to rush to filing a BBB complaint without first giving management an opportunity to respond to her request, and after accepting the settlement offer of 3 days rent credit, and if she is going to remain unsatisfied, she is welcome to reside elsewhere.  Ms. ******** may vacate by August 31st and receive a refund of her security deposit (less damages) and rent refund.  We have a wait list of applicants who would love the opportunity to reside in this community and in this home.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/26/2022

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Everything I sent to her has not been fixed, some things yes the hole, dent, and leak spot was painted over. The cracked in the tub had a different color cover up, when I first seen it didn’t know what it was I just knew I wouldn’t want to sit in it to take a bath. She clarified it was a cover and I asked if it could be redone with the same color as the tub, it was redone, but you still can feel the crack it the tub. I didn’t mention that, but as I see some things is just what it is. So yes she has fixed some things. Which I appreciate! The hole in the screen in the bedroom wasn’t replaced, the bent screen in the living room wasn’t replaced, I emailed about a new washer and left a message. I missed her call I left another message saying she could let me know about the washer via voicemail or email yesterday. Trust me from the pictures no one would want to wash there clothes in that washer, and to run multiple cycles and it still whatever it is coming out the top I just can’t bring myself to put clothes in there and know there clean.  The reason I came to BBB is because of what I’ve had to deal with since I turned the key it’s frustrating. It shouldn’t be this many things wrong soon as I get here, if someone cleaned and there was a walk through to approve it was good enough for someone to move in.   I’ll be satisfied with everything she has offered plus a new washer so I don’t have to go elsewhere to wash my clothes. She said that all cleaning companies doesn’t clean everything well that’s not acceptable if you charge previous tenants for not cleaning and charge them. I did in fact rent from them before and my deposit was $595 and I received $50 back, so I never had over 1,000 worth of anything. I appreciate her helping me thus far it’s just still something’s that’s not resolved. Thank you! 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/30/2022

  The company has nothing else to add to this complaint.  We have been in contact with Ms. ******** outside of this complaint and there will be no further action by the management company or the landlord.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/12/2022

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  She’s not trying to do anything else with the washer situation, so I’ll continue cleaning the washer until it’s useable. Since I was accused of harassing her just by telling her the things that were wrong. Thank you for all your help. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/15/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Hello this is ******* ********** I live on *** ********** ** *** * ** ********* ** ***** And I paid my rent on Aug 1st, 2022 via money order. On Aug 14, 2022 I was Emailed by a lady named ***** and she had informed me that my rent wasn’t paid and that I needed to pay a late fee. So I called the rental office to see what was going on to be told that the office no longer accepts money orders.They stopped accepting money orders June 1, 22 and I was never informed about it until Aug 14,22 because there was no sign stating that they didn’t take money orders anymore on the office building when I paid my rent. Now I have to pay through a portal and also a late fee which is $84. My money order was sent back to my Apartment late and I think this is unprofessional due to how late the notice is. I would greatly appreciate if you can help me with this. My phone number is ###-###-####. I received the notice after June 1st which is why I didn’t know

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/15/2022

  Brownstone Properties, Inc. implemented a policy change effective June 1st that payments would no longer be accepted at the office.  Residents may either pay on-line (at no extra cost) or be issued a pay slip to pay at local stores such as ******** ***.The policy change was announced in JANUARY 2022 and there have been ongoing efforts to inform residents.  Residents had multiple notices over five months informing them of the change.1.  Social media notices on the company Facebook Page.  January - June2.  Notices on the company web-site.  January - June3.  Notices posted on the office drop-box.  January - July4.  Notices posted inside the office.  January - July5. Ms. ********** was sent an individual email in February informing her of the change.6.  Residents who sent rent payments to the office in June were again notified individually of the policy change and no late fees were charged.7.  Ms. ********** was sent instructions on July 5th of how to setup online payments.There has been ample notice over five months of the policy change.  Management waived late fees for all customers in June and July who were still adjusting to the new policy.  It has now been 2 months since the policy was implemented.  August rent and late fee are due. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/16/2022

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Hello this is ******* ********** I am making a second complaint About brownstone properties because. I talked to ******** ***** and she lied to me this morning about notifying the tenants since Feb about not accepting money orders. She said that it was a sign on the black box which it was not and I didn’t receive any mail from them about it. As of June 1 they stopped taking money order but I was not notified until Aug the 14th. They have accepted my money order from Jun and July so I’m not understanding why I’m getting charged an extra 159 late fee when I was never notified. I have been here for 2 years and I was never late on my rent.
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* **********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/17/2022

  As previously stated, tenants have been advised of the policy change since January 2022.  Ms. ********** has documented that we in fact have signage posted as previously stated.  Ms. ********** called the office yesterday and was quite rude to two employees who responded with the same information as was previously discussed in this complaint.  If Ms. ********** has maintenance needs, she may make a maintenance request through her property manager.  No such request has been received.  Maintenance requests may be sent via email or through her on-line portal. We will not tolerate her continued harassment of staff and therefore require any maintenance request be put in writing.  We will also accept her notice to vacate by August 31st if she is so unhappy.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/17/2022

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  Brown Properties did not notify me at all about changing payment methods and also I was not rude to none the staff and they are very unprofessional and do not answer the phone and when they do they don’t answer all your questions. I was actually hung up on by one of the staff members and not once did I get rude with them. I have a attachment on my portal that states  the maintenance that needs to be done to the place from last month and nothing has been done. I’m complaining because they are ripping there tenants off and expect us to pay higher rent every year but ignore maintenance request that I will put in the attachment.  I never gotten any mail or email about the payment changes until Aug 14,2022 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/19/2022

  A maintenance technician visited the home this week.  No problems were found.Management has no further comment on this complaint.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/19/2022

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  
  As I stated the garbage disposal would not cut on I was outside talking to my mother when maintenance fixed it he came to the house with tools and nobody come out to fix it for a month. I had to complain before someone fixed it. there is another lie being told.