Complaint History & Business Rating for Austin Highland Development Co

Brittany B. says: The day I moved into my town house at Country Villas, November of 2014, there was a pile of trash in the middle of the kitchen floor, holes in the screens of the bedroom windows and they were loose, the windows did not properly shut and lock, the main railing upstairs was very loose and badly rusted. The screen door on the front door was rusted on the entire bottom and peeling. That day I explained to the leasing agent and Nora that I have a small toddler and if he got near the door he would be severely injured. Country Villas- Austin Highlands advised per Nora they don’t replace screen doors and the Maintenance will be by the next day to fix everything. The next evening while at work I got the email showing the service ticket and that all the problems were fixed. I got home that night and the only thing that was completed was the screen that had a hole in it. The next day I called requesting to speak with Nora due to her promising my fiancé it will be done. I finally spoke with her days later and she sent them out again. They fixed the rails and nothing else. On December 25th 2014 the door fell off and my house flooded due to some plumbing issues in another house. Feces and urine water soaked up my kitchen and front door walk way tile and carpet. I have pictures for documentation. I called and reported the issue and begged for the other conditions can be fixed. The next day Maintenance shampooed the carpet. I asked can they replace the tile that peeled up in the kitchen and the front door because I knew that water under the floor was very bacterial since pieces of feces came out of the toilet, Nora said no. Approximately One month and 1 week from when my door fell off it was replaced with a door that was crooked and had a 6 inch gap under it. Any animal can run under the door if my main door was open at any time for a few seconds. My son’s foot can get stuck under the door and he could be hurt bad. If it rains water can even get through the main door due to the conditions of that house. I called and advised it was unsafe and against weather policies and it needed to be taken care of. Every time I called about the door and the window that will not lock and the railing that is loose with screws hanging out, I was told by everyone that works in the leasing office including Nora, that the previous maintenance rep quit and he was very irresponsible and was not doing work and they don’t know what the door status is. In July of 2015 I had waited enough and I got time to call and check on the status. She said she would put in the ticket. I expressed with her I was tired of being tricked because I kept believing her. At this point I just really wanted to know was it going to happen. One week later 2 maintenance men came and looked at my door and advised I did not need a new door and a sweeper can be put under the door, although the door is crooked and will not even lock properly like the last door. I agreed to the sweeper. August 2015 I decided to stop in on my day off. The current leasing agent advised she did not see an order for a sweeper and she will put one in. The current Maintenance rep Jeff walked in and told me the guy he was with the day he came and decided the door needed a sweeper, he quit and he forgot to put the order in and me coming in just reminded him. He also advised they have been busy with other tenants. I asked him what does the other guy quitting have to do with you ordering my parts, you all just don’t care. He advised they have been busy with other people. I felt that was very unprofessional due to how long I have been waiting and living in these conditions. October 3rd 2015, I called in and spoke with Nora. She advised it was not ordered and she did not know why. She advised I would have to wait until Monday and to hear from her. Since I never got a call back I called October 6th 2015 and Spoke with Nora. I asked her is there a place in my lease that shows the lessors amount of days to respond and fix conditions that related to safety and weather. Her response was go home and look at your lease. I asked her to just confirm with me that amount of days they have to fix it. She screamed at me and said go home and look at your lease, we don’t know it by heart. Trying to keep calm due to me being at work I asked her can I come in so I can bring me lease in or she can pull her copy, she blew hard. I said forget it what is corporate’s phone number. Per request she provided with 708-424-3222 as corporate Austin Highlands’ phone number. The conversation with her disturbed me so bad that I never asked about my door and loose railing and my window that won’t shut and lock. I was very distracted by her offensive attitude to me. An hour later I called back. I asked Nora what was the status of the sweeper. She placed me on hold without saying anything. She came back to the phone quickly and started speaking fast and rude. She advised Jeff from maintenance said he was going to take a look at the door because he did not think it needed to be replaced. I then told her I did not believe she called him because of her tone and he already confirmed with me what the door needed, she did not know so she was making it up. I advised he knows what piece the door needs and I just want to know when and if it’s going to be replaced. She began screaming at me and I put her on speaker so my co -worker can hear how she was talking to me. She was repeating everything she had just said. I then asked why was she upset, each and every time I called she was rude and nasty. I then began to tell her I had let the situation go on for months without calling due to me trusting them and I’m am getting mentally tired. She responded and said call me when you are having a better day and hung up. I immediately called the number she provided to reach corporate. I spoke with Kristine and provided with a brief summary of everything I mentioned in the letter. She took my information and said she was going to call Nora to see what was going on and give me a call back. I called Kristen back later that day and no one answered. I called Nora and she began having a conversation with Jeff while I was on the line. She came back and asked me was I home I advised I was at work. She said Jeff went by and fixed adjusted the door and all I needed was a sweeper for under the door. The sweeper they have is too big and they would have to order one that fits. Nora asked me what I wanted I advised I wanted a sweeper that fits my door so the issue will be resolved. She said ok loudly and hung up on me for the second time. The next morning, October 7th, 2015, Kristine called me back to advise she spoke with Nora and gave me the same update Nora gave me. I asked her what could I do about Nora being rude and hanging up on me and what could I do about this issue not being handled within 60 days, due it being weatherproof- Per my lease I signed with Country Villas- Austin Highlands. She said Nora’s supervisor was coming in and she will speak with her and call me back. It is now 10/08/2015 and I have not heard anything from anyone. Over the past year me and my fiancé Michael have both begged and reached out to Country Villas-Austin Highlands begging them to fix these issues. I am mentally drained and I am sick of being lied to and put off to the side. I pay rent on time and abide by the rules and regulations. I deserve to live in a safe environment. Anyone who looks inside the townhouse I’m renting can see all the issues that are dangerous. I have upheld my part of the lease but they have not.