Complaint Review: AgentOwned Realty

COO Liz Loadholt interceded and refunded our deposit in full. The situation has been resolved.

Your statements are not even close to being accurate Ralph. The leak did originate (and continue) from the outside and the water and moisture came into the home. The outside is the responsibility of the HOA, but as tenants, we would not be communicating with the HOA. We would be communicating with AgentOwned. Despite doing just that, for about two months we had a large open hole in the wall loosely covered by a hanging piece of plastic and ongoing leaks and moisture. I can assure you that was not a pleasant experience. 

The coax cable cost us about $20 and I loosely attached it to the wall by the border of the molding strips with small plastic covered tacks. We extended the cable, so the TV could be moved to an optimum place on the wall for viewing. Anyone who has done that knows how easily it can be installed and removed. Had I spent the thirty seconds necessary to remove the cable, no one would have known it was there. Instead, I left it as a favor to the next occupant. If I had known that AgentOwned was going to charge us for it, I would have removed the cable and kept it in case I needed it again down the road. Instead, someone other than the next occupant now owns that cable. 

As for Mr. Cumming, Tae Sun and I both heard him say the cable could be left. We spent a good ten minutes in the living room talking about the house and looking at the landscaping in the back yard. I can only assume he doesn’t recall our conversation. Mr. Cumming also spent about the same or perhaps more time on the second floor talking and walking around the area. He clearly saw the stove, as did witnesses the same day, the day before, and weeks and months before that, as well as during Karen’s mid-rental visit in January. The stove worked perfectly fine and was thoroughly cleaned. The glass top was discolored from normal wear and tear and in no way warranted the purchase of a new stove. 

I am not going to speculate on the reason the Cummings and/or AgentOwned decided to replace the stove, but in looking at the list of items being charged to us, it sure seemed like the home was being refurbished on the back of our security deposit. The cook top being included was just as baffling as being charged for a cable we left for the benefit of the next occupant and that was verbally approved by Mr. Cumming, or being charged for split decking, loose railings, and a blind that were all in that condition when we moved in, or being charged for touch up painting on the first floor when I explicitly informed AgentOwned that we had no matching paint for that room, or being charged for a mystery screen that was supposedly broken, or being charged for a broken shelf in the laundry room that was not broken, at least to our knowledge, or being charged for missing light bulbs when there were none missing. 

If there were that many bogus charges, multiple witnesses including Mr. Cumming who saw the stove top, and a failure to address a major repair that was an active mold culture, I would have a hard time accounting for any action AgentOwned might or might not take. Judging by the online reviews, especially with respect to the Main Street and Goose Creek offices, we are far from alone in that sentiment. 

With respect to you spending “considerable time” with me trying to settle this situation, we spoke on August 20, 2018 for a total of 20:07. That was when we explained our experiences and view of the situation. I had originally tried to do that on August 02, 2018 when I left a message, but you never returned my call. We spoke on August 31, 2018 for 5:18. That was when you told me that the amount being taken from us had been reduced to $500. I told you that was a non-starter from my perspective, but that I would discuss it with Tae Sun and our attorney. 

I called you back on September 19, 2018 and left a message. You returned my call on September 21, 2018 and we spoke for 3:31. I told you that we would agree to $100 being taken from us in exchange for being done with the back and forth. You said that you would get back to me that day (Friday) or Monday, September 24, 2018. I never heard from you again until today in this post. I would hardly characterize that as a substantial investment of your time. 

Since you did not follow through as promised, I did exactly what I specified in the letter dated August 08, 2018 to Mr. and Ms. Loadholt, you, Mr. Wilder, and the Cummings, and that is to undertake an intense and thorough campaign to let people know how AgentOwned operates. That meant filing reports and complaints with various state agencies and professional organizations, lobbying lawmakers to make changes in the statutes, giving our story to the media, and reaching the public though any means necessary to heighten awareness. We have made steady progress in all those areas since we last spoke a month ago. 

You said it would be easy to reduce the outstanding amount to zero and write it off. Our view of that is you can give the money back that you took from us. It is no different than someone breaking into our home and stealing our money. We vigorously dispute every item that AgentOwned tried to pin on us and we strongly protest the avoidance of a final walkthrough. Like the bogus charges, I don’t know whether that is standard operating procedure or a sign of disorganization and incompetence, but it was way too convenient. In retrospect, I should have called our attorney, changed our plans, and somehow stayed in town for as long as necessary. 

As I stated before, the $500 offer is a non-starter, and now that holding AgentOwned accountable has become a part time job, nor is the past $100 counteroffer acceptable. That was in exchange for not having to go down this road. I am a patient man and I plan several steps ahead. We have a couple years before the statute of limitations compels us to utilize small claims court. In the intervening time, we will do all we can to educate lawmakers and the public at large about what happened to us. We will also make a concerted effort to gather testimony from others who have been railroaded by AgentOwned and explore what we can do together from a legal standpoint. 

I would not be this committed to pursuing such a course of action if I did not genuinely, one hundred percent, believe that what AgentOwned did was wrong in every sense of the word. There is no way that happens, or the similar complaints online happen, if there is not a serious issue with the moral and ethical bearing of your company. There is a culture of arrogance and a lack of caring that is palpable. I have much better things to do with my time, but when I think about how we were treated by AgentOwned, it only fuels my resolve. We have a game plan ready for 2019 and beyond as needed. We didn’t ask for this, but we will certainly see it through.

  My name is Ralph Wetherell, I am the broker of the rental office that rented and manages the property occupied by Thomas A. Merz & Tae Sun Ciuzio. Thomas and Tae Sun are the individuals who have post this complaint. Although I am not in agreement with their approach, I would like to offer the following as our response to their current issues.

The information provided by Thomas and Tae Sun is correct as provided in this post. I would make the following corrections; the outside leak was the responsibility of the HOA and was handled by them. Thomas mentioned that Mr Cumming owner had told him that it was fine to leave the cable wire that Thomas had attached to the wall, this was not confirmed by the owner.

The owner stated that they never talked about leaving the wire, and since the tenant installed it, the tenant should have removed it and corrected the damage. I have spent considerable time with Thomas in an attempt to settle the outstanding repairs needed on this rental.

I offered what I thought was a generous settlement of reducing their repairs expenses to $500. This offer was rejected outright, with Thomas and Tae Sun only wanting to pay $100 towards their damages. We are in the midst of this conflict because these tenants caused damage and did not correct said damage prior to their vacating their rental.

If the stove was not damaged during their tenancy, we would have no reason to replace the cook top. If Thomas had taken down the cable wire and corrected the damage done by its installation, we would not be dealing with this complaint. If Thomas had patched and painted the damage to the living area by the hanging of his pictures, then we would not be dealing with this complaint.

The offer in the reduction of the repaired damages was made by myself and would be paid by AgentOwned Realty. At this point these tenants have made repeated claims against myself and AgentOwned Realty, it would be easy to reduce this outstanding amount to zero and write if off; but this tenant must bear some responsibility for the damage they did to another's property.

I will however leave open my offer of the pay for most of the damage charging them only $500. It is my strong desire to continue to be involved with this issue to seek an acceptable solution. In that same manner if you personally have an issue with our level or quality of service with our AgentOwned property management services I would like to hear from you in an attempt to resolve any outstanding issues.

You may email me at Ralph@AgentOwnedRealty.com, Thank you, r