Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  02/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired PJ Morgan to manage my property when I moved out of state. I signed a management agreement with them in September 2022 and terminated that agreement on 1 February 2023 effective 1 March 2023 (30-day notice). I put down a $*** maintenance deposit should any maintenance issues arise on my property, and agreed to pay them half of the first full month's rent when they secured a tenant, as well as a $***/month management fee once a tenant was placed. I found out that PJ had been debiting management fees out of the maintenance deposit I put down, which is not stated anywhere in the management agreement; PJ Morgan did not set me up with an appfolio account until February 2023 after I gave them a 30 day notice of termination so I had no way of knowing they were charging me these fees. A tenant was secured and moved in 17 Jan 2023. The tenant paid a pro-rated January rent, and Billy initially informed me via pone that I would receive the full prorated rent payment (minus the $*** management fee), and the listing fee (half of first full months rent) would be deducted from the February rent payment. PJ Morgan then withheld the pro-rated January rent payment because they claimed I "had a balance due" to replenish my maintenance deposit. I have had a tenant in the home for over a month and have not received payment from PJ Morgan. I would like my the management fees from September, October, and November refunded ($***) since I still lived in the home during those times, and never explicitly agreed per the management agreement to pay a management fee while the house was listed for rent and I still occupied it. My property manager Ann assured me the management fee started once a tenant was placed.

  Business response

  03/15/2023

  We have been in regular contact with Mr. ****** regarding this complaint.  Our CEO, President and two department Directors have all been in communication with Mr. ****** on this issue.  
  
  Issue 1.  Our management agreement has an effective date and a term.  The fees are charged upon the effective date of the agreement and are not specifically noted to start outside of the effective date. It appears there is a misunderstanding of our fee structure but it is a legal contract.  
  
  Issue 2. Our management agreement does not specify a maintenance deposit.  There are start up fees noted in the agreement and we request our clients to make an owner advance to the account to establish the account.   We have reviewed this and the funds deposited followed suit with the agreement and terms.  
  
  Issue 3.  The Appfolio account was in fact established on 10/04/22 at 3:53 p.m.  
  
  Issue 4.  Our fees were deducted per the management agreement and the rental proceeds are in process of being distributed to Mr. ******.  Upon termination of a contract, we have a policy of a 14 day period following the end of the term to ensure proper close out of the account and any invoices for the property are paid before the final proceeds distribution.  
  
  We were in receipt and review of Mr. ****** request to refund fees.  The request was made to our CEO to refund fees on 2/21/23 late in the afternoon and a review of process and the management agreement was initiated with our team that evening.  By the next morning we were informed by Mr. ****** that he was initiating a formal complaint process with several organizations.  Unfortunately we had less than 24 hours to review and respond to the request.  We are communicating now to the organizations where the complaints have been filed.  
  
  
  

  Customer response

  03/15/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1. The management agreement stated an effective term, but failed to explicitly state when the management fee started. Noticing this before I signed the management agreement, I asked my property manager Ann for clarification on when the management fee started. She informed me that the management fee would be charged once a tenant was placed. If my property manager was not correct, PJ Morgan must assume liability for the property manager's lack of knowledge of company policies and agreements. I would like my management fees refunded for the months that I still lived in the home while it was listed (October and November).

  2. Again, the management agreement fails to specify what the "owner advance" can and cannot be used for. When I asked what the owner advance was, my property manager Ann informed me that it was to be used should any maintenance issues arise with the home, that money could be used to ensure quick and efficient repairs. She did not mention that it could be used for management fees. 

  3. While the appfolio account may have been created on 10/4/22, I did not receive access to the account because whoever created the it typed my email address in incorrectly. I did not receive access to the appfolio account until the evening of 02/01/23 when Rachelle corrected my email address in the system (********* **********).

  4.  The management agreement was vague and needs more detail on how and when management fees will be deducted.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Kristoffer ******

*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. ↩