Complaint Review: Pathlight Property Management / Home Partners of America

We made a mistake and signed a lease in February, 2018 on a house with Pathlight before we were able to see the inside of the home. Houses in the area we needed don't come up often and disappear quickly, and we had been watching for one for over two years (and lost a few to other renters). When we finally saw the home, it was a filthy, smelly, disaster (the tenant was still there). I briefly shared my concerns on the portal, and was told only that safety, structural, and mechanical things would be taken care of. We tried to see the house after the tenants left, and before our move-in date, but were told the homeowner did not allow it. If we had been allowed to see the state of the house before we moved in, we would not have made the move.

We moved in on 4-14-18, following are some of what we moved in to: -Carpets were soaking wet (pooled around our feet) -Smelled horrible. -Kitchen corners/floors filled with old food and mold. -Kitchen and bathroom floor boards separating and warping - filled with dirt and old food. -Kitchen smells like mold - even after cleaning, can't find the source of the smell. -Grease on kitchen back-splash and cabinets. -One bedroom upstairs has urine smell in carpet, and old urine smell in vent. -Crayon and pen marks on walls. -Splash stains on ceilings. -Bad fill patches on walls. -Trash in yard. -Chalk marks on outside of house. -Recycling and Lawn Waste bins filled with garbage. -Touch up paints done in different sheen. -Peeling paint on rails, fireplace, and windowsills. -Things stuck in carpets (gum, peanut butter, chocolate, play dough, many unknown). -Fireplace mantle loose. -Shed power switch broken and slat missing. They sent a contractor out after I complained, and he sprayed simple green in the smelly vent and wiped it out. He then took a photo with his phone and said he could still see something sticky, but couldn't reach it. He walked the property but didn't do anything else. He said that when he was at the house after the last tenants, the carpets needed to be changed but Pathlight told them to instead just clean them. The cleaners said they had to "really soak them to get the filth out". One contractor neighbor, who walked the property with someone from Pathlight, told us that he suggested the flooring be changed and the interior painted as well, but Pathlight told him they didn't want to do that.

After 16 days in the house, the kitchen still smells like mold. The general smell is getting better, but the carpets still smell bad and are crunchy and/or matted in most places. The upstairs bedroom still smells like urine (even after many enzyme treatments), and the vent still stinks. Three of the five of us living here are experiencing respiratory issues that are worse when in the house for extended periods. We were told by Pathlight that they are refusing to do anything. When I tried to explain to Rachel that the house never would have rented in the condition it is in, she said "That's just it. You already signed the lease". When Chris Hakenson (also on the lease), spoke with Ethan, he said that signing the lease before seeing the inside "was your first mistake", when Chris was trying to get them to take the mold issue seriously. ...should there be any "mistake" when signing a lease with a property management company?

We were told that the house got a "contract clean", not a deep clean, and that - basically - they have no obligation to do anything because the lease we signed says we will take it "as-is". I'm sure the previous tenant lost their deposit, and we heard that they were charged an additional $5000 for damages. But - the money did not go back into this house. And I believe it is immoral and predatory for any company to take advantage of a situation as clearly as Pathlight has taken advantage of us.