I'm happy to have the chance to respond to this review, even though this tenant's complaints are news to me—I received only glowing reviews from her during her stay, including a card stating how happy she was and that the unit was "perfect."
First off, far from being an inactive "elderly" landlord, as implied, I pride myself on being very proactive when it comes to keeping my units clean and repaired. I have a team of cleaners and handymen and respond immediately to tenant requests; tenants often tell me how well kept-up the units are. This particular tenant specifically requested to move in before the scheduled date, as she had to vacate her previous residence right away. We discussed the fact that the sink needed repair, and it was her choice, not mine, to move in before it was repaired. As far as the unit not being clean upon move-in, this is simply not true: it is always thoroughly and professionally cleaned by a very reliable team between every use.
I am very reluctant to bring up the next fact, but in this case, it does shed light on the tone of this review: This tenant did not part on the best of terms due to major issues I had with the state in which she left the unit. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced as a landlord. I had agreed to allow one "well-behaved" dog; however, she housed 3 dogs and they were clearly not housebroken. Without going into too much detail, let's just say we needed to completely overhaul the apartment, including replacing the carpets; professionally cleaning the furniture and walls; and replacing a damaged screen door. Again, I only bring this up because this review is full of falsehoods that are clearly a retaliation for my keeping the tenant's deposit—which is also not typical for me (needless to say, it didn't begin to cover the damage).
I've had hundreds of short-term and long-term tenants in these units, and I've had overwhelmingly positive responses from them. I typically have very warm and cordial relationships with my tenants and have many loyal repeat tenants. I would have no problem if this tenant wrote an honest review about her stay, but that is not what this is. In this age of easy-to-publicize Yelp, Amazon, and VRBO reviews, there's little a businessperson or landlord can do to protect themselves from a bogus review except to offer an honest accounting of facts and hope that the reader takes said review with a grain of salt.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, Barbara.
