Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hawaiis4me, which played a property management role for my rental property in the ********** complex, ****************, ******, took deceptive practices against me, leading to massive economic loss. Some details are described below.1. Hawaiis4me neglected to screen and vet the new tenant, who already had an eviction record in his rental application, and accepted him as the long-term tenant. This tenant turned out to be a "professional" tenant who had never paid rent since he entered my property (August 1, 2023). I found that this tenant had multiple serious criminal records. Hawaiis4me never checked this individual's credit history and criminal background. Isn't it customary that the property management company's most important role is to screen the potential tenant properly? Hawaiis4me failed to do so and did not try to solve the problem.2. Last year, I had NO rental income even though I had a long-term tenant since Hawaiis4me overcharged me for repairs and maintenance. They told me I still owe them more than $500. I asked for specific amounts for repairs and maintenance expenses with the exact bills/invoices and the vendor that they hired. I still don't have those documents. I found that the primary vendor was their former owner's husband. 3. When I learned that we had a rogue tenant who had no intention of paying rent, I attempted to contact Hawaiis4me's realtor (*****************************), who primarily handled the rental issue. But, whenever I tried to reach her, she was unavailable and out of town on her vacation for a while. This delay created more severe problems since I could not take proper action against the rogue tenant.4. Despite Hawaiis4me being responsible for creating this problem in the first place, its (new) owner and realtor did little other than keep asking me to resolve the matter since I am the property owner. 5. Hawaiis4me kept referring to the outdated contract between the old owner (*******) and me who signed four years ago. When the ownership changed, I was not even aware of it. I found that that contract itself was deceiving since I did realize that it included a lengthy addendum that I did not pay attention to. I thought that that contact form was intended to determine my expected rental income in 2019. The new owner (*************************) of the Hwaiis4me argued that the contract still stands, although it was customary and my understanding that the contract should be renewed every year due to rental fee changes. The contract addendum was one-sided without protecting my interest. ******* claimed that that addendum indemnifies themselves from any eviction related efforts and costs (esp. legal costs).6. Taking advantage of my unexpected financial difficulties (lost rental income exceeding $12000 and potential legal costs), ******* and ******** pressured me to sell my property well below the market price. So many times, I told them that I never intended to sell that property since I bought it with the intention of spending my future retirement time there. It was my long-long dream, but Hawaiis4me's unprofessional and grossly negligent acts began to ruin my dream and create the nightmare.

  Business response

  11/27/2023

  Non-payment of rent is a serious matter.  We are completely understanding of the Complainant's concerns and are desirous of reaching a resolution with the Complainant.  Documentation will show that we have been in complete, continual and pro-active communication with the Complainant from the beginning of the unfortunate circumstances that brought us to this point.  Hawaiis4me denies having employed any deceptive practices against the Complainant.
  
  
   1.  Respondent did not neglect to screen the tenant in question.  We followed the screening policy in place which was to verify employment and past rental history.  The tenant's employer verified employment and the intention to continue to employ said tenant.  At the time, tenant had a verified history of employment of a year and a half.  In addition, the tenant showed evidence of his bank account balance.  The tenant informed us that his past rental history was actually an arrangement of exchange, whereby he did property management tasks for the property owner in exchange for housing.  As such, no monetary history was available.  This arrangement took place on the east side of the island, and he wished to be closer to his employment.
  
  
  2.  We don't understand Complainant's claim that he received no income last year as our records show differently, perhaps he can clarify.  Specifically, the **** filed for 2022 reflects gross income of $25,421.32.  Three significant property repairs/renovations were needed which added $15,109.98 to the normal expenses,  bringing the total expenses for the year to $18,949.89.  Net income was $6,471.43.   
  
  3.  During the time that our agent, who had been the primary contact with the Complainant, was on vacation, the Complainant had access to other staff in the office.  Also at that time,  we referred the Complainant to an attorney that could advise him as to his options.  After said attorney consultation, Complainant expressed his intent to decline the aid of an attorney and to file in Small Claims court on his own behalf.  We told him that we would see if we could represent him in court due to his distance from the ***************.  Our staff continued to urge him to work with an attorney so that he would fully understand his options.  Subsequently, when appearing at an initial hearing in Small Claims, we were informed that although the Complainant had transmitted a ***** of ******** to the Court requesting that we be allowed to represent him, we were told by the Court that that was not an option.
  
  
  4.  Respondent did continue to urge the Complainant to engage the services of an attorney and that we stood ready to assist in any way advised.  We were advised by two individual attorneys that any legal action taken needed to be initiated by the landlord (property owner).  A third attorney has now advised the same.
  
  
  5.  In July of 2023, ownership of the ****************** changed hands.  The existing contract remained in effect as the company itself had not changed, only ownership.  The complainant was notified of the change of ownership in two separate emails sent to all owners.  One was sent on July 21 by the departing owner, the other was sent on July 26 by the new owner of the company. 
  We are unclear as to why the complainant describes the contract as deceiving "because of an addendum that he did not pay attention to".  The contract does not say that it must be renewed every year.  It specifies that it is in effect until a 60 day notice to cancel is submitted by either party to the other. 
  
  6.  Hawaiis4me did not take advantage of the Complainant by suggesting the option of selling the property.  This was only one suggestion of several.  Other suggestions included that Complainant file for eviction as the property owner.  We again strongly recommended that he engage an attorney.  Another suggestion was that the Respondent would engage an attorney on the Claimant's behalf, with the understanding that any legal expenses would be the responsibility of the Claimant, as per our Management Contract.   A further suggestion was to explore the possibility obtaining a line of credit on the property in question to help with any financial expenses.
  
  
  Being mindful of the advice on the BBB resolution site, we have been discreet in the use of names, etc.  We have an abundance of documentation that will show our continued efforts on behalf of the Complainant's interests.  We have already supplied said documentation to the Complainant and are happy to submit it to the BBB as needed.  It includes all timely notices to the tenant for payment of rent, notices to the tenant to vacate the property, and communications with the Complainant keeping him apprised of actions.  ****** communications with the Complainant have not been answered with regard to determining how best to move forward together.  Again, it is our desire to continue to be of service to the Complainant and to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.
  
  

  Customer response

  11/29/2023

   
  Complaint: 20912532
  
  I am rejecting this response because (see the attached) Hawaiis4me never took their responsibilities of properly screening the tenant and handling the messy eviction problems. Also, they failed to show me any clear evidence supporting their claims:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Hokey Min

  Customer response

  12/04/2023

  Thank you so much for your prompt response. Per our email communication, I would like to reattach several documents to the email since I could not do so with my previous BBB response. I also added several additional email traces that *** explain some sources of my complaints. In particular, a copy of my earlier expression of concerns over Hawaiis4me management (see attached) summed up the sources of my earlier complaints. In addition, please notice that the attached owner-property manager addendum confused and misled me by mixing up the desired rental income with other clauses waiving Hawaiis4me's liabilities. Unlike what Hawaiis4me claimed, my August 2023 ledger showed that I still owed the money to them despite the long-term tenant's $2600 monthly rental fee. To make the long story short, my main sources of complaints are (1) their unclear/ambiguous accounting information without proper invoices and receipts plus evidence of actual repairs; (2) negligence of their duties and responsibilities (e.g., failure to vet and screen a prospect tenant properly-they only claimed they checked the tenant's background but all without evidence), and (3) reluctance to take any responsibility for their acts-e.g., acceptance of a "professional" tenant with an insufficient bank account and serious criminal records, purchase of defective washer/dryer with no effort to solve the problem-I was asked to solve the problems).
  
  Among others, the above-mentioned problems have never been resolved up until today.
  
  Thank you so much again for giving me an opportunity to express my concerns. I hope no other Hawaiians fell victim to an irresponsible and unethical agent. 
  

  
  

*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. ↩