Complaint Review: Tribeca Partners Tribeca Decatur Holdings LLC

Randall Benton is a SCAM ARTIST. If you see this name, please run in the other direction!!

I moved to Atlanta, Georgia from Califoria for a change of pace for my son and I and to try something new. Within a few weeks I found a cute little 3-bedroom home for rent in Decatur by Randall Benton. When I went to see the home there was a For Sale sign in the yard next to the For Rent sign. I met with Randall, who seemed to be a nice enough  gentleman, but I soon learned that was not the case. 

I filled out an application (which you can tell was created by someone with no attention to detail whatsoever) and gave Randall $25 cash to process it. I was very upfront about my financial situation--my credit was not good, but I had a great job working from home with a company located in California and would have no problem paying the rent. While viewing the home, I asked about the For Sale sign. Randall insisted he was "taking the home off of the market" because he "decided to keep the home" because he "liked it a lot" and might "put the home back on the market sometime in the future." To clarify, this was not a home he lived in but one of several rental properties he/his bogus company had throughout the Atlanta area.

Within a day or two he called to let me know I got the home. We agreed on a deposit of $995 (which was equal to the rent) plus 2 months of advance rent upon signing of a 1-year lease. I also payed for the last week of April for a grand total of $3,217 which I paid via cashier's and personal check.

When I met with Randall at the home to sign the lease, I again asked about the For Sale sign. He told me he already notified his agent to take the home off of the market and the sign would be removed in the next day or so. I also asked specifically if there were any pending transactions/anything that would interfere with the lease to which Randall replied "No." We agreed on a move in date and I did a walk through of the home and pointed out a few obvious things that needed to be taken care of. He told me the appliances (a new stainless steel stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer) would be installed BEFORE I moved in. Helater calls me to tell me everything would be ready for me to move in after 12pm on the date of move-in.

Move-in day, nothing is done and he calls to tell me things would be happening and delivered throughout the day, but completed by the end of the day. The gas company comes out to address a problem with the gas and plumbing that I am told was brought to Randall's attention, but never addressed, and I might not have the hot water I am now paying for for a couple of days. The awesome men at Atlanta Gas Light stayed at my house for 4 HOURS to make sure I caould take a hot shower before I went to bed. A plumber walks in my home at 8:30pm and does not leave until almost 10pm!

The next day, Randall's real estate agent comes to pick up the sign and her other materials but brings someone in with her to do a "final walkthrough." I immediately call Randall and he says "it's just someone who she had scheduled to view before I took the home off of the market so I said she can go ahead with it." I agian ask if this will affect the lease and he replies "No." 

Over the next few days people are coming to the home at random times of the day and as late as 9pm to address things I was told would be fixed before I moved in and finding new problems or working on things they brought to Randall's attention that he never addressed. Randall is in and out of the home without notifying me (which was later confirmed by a somewhat nosey, but very nice neighbor). I even had to fix a couple of things myself.

The final straw occured when an appraiser came to my home. Now, I have worked in the real estate industry and people only spend the money on appraisers for a few things--refinancing a home, selling a home or some probate/estate issue. I call Randall and ask him what's going on and he starts lying immediately. He says that a "family has shown interest in the home, but we will not know what they are doing until late next week." What he does not know is that the new owner of the home came with the appraiser and filled me in on everything! The home was under contract with a closing date of June 27th and he intended to moe in immediately after. He also told me Randall lied to him about the home having a tenant! At this point I had only been in th home for a week and asked Randall for my money back so I can just leave and find another place to live in. The home was not yet furnished and I hadn't done anything to the home.

I immediately consulted a few lawyers and was told I have the legal right to leave the premises and to send off a demand letter because I signed the lease under fraudulent terms. Randall fires back with a letter stating I violated the lease and to mow the lawn. He ignores my demand letter and the letter sent by my lawyer. Right before I file the civil suit, I try to settle with him. We agree on an amount much, much less than what he received. He avoids me for a few days after he is supposed to pay it then calls to say he doesn't think he should have to pay that much because he has a strong case against me. Bullshit! 

I agreed on an accepted an extremely low settlement because I have a 7-year old son and had to move back to California so we would have a place to live. I intended to file and get a lien on closing costs but I just couldn't file the suit in time and didn't want to have to deal with taking him to court for a 2nd and 3rd time to get a judgement I knew I would get. I could've stayed in the home and created a problem for the new owner and Randall, but I did not feel it would be right to drag the new owner into this and I honestly did not have the energy to go through it.

Randall is a piece of sh* LIAR and scam artist with not one ounce of moral fiber, conscience or anything else you want to call it. he's a lying piece of crap who I later found out tries to get over on his contractors, the utility companies he works with and anyone else who will let him. Good thing I believe in KARMA. What goes around come all the way back around, and that guy has a s**t load to look forward to.