Complaint Review: H and K Properties - Lexington Virginia

I should have known from the first phone call. There is no H and K, only H, which is Heather, the owner. She is not concerned about getting a tenant into a property, or their well being. We needed to find a place quickly. I took off from work early and agreed to go view a property that was priced too high. It was 45 minutes from where I was living. I took off work early to meet Heather, the property manager. She texted me 10 minutes before I was to arrive to tell me she had to take her daughter to dance class. 

The owner of this company will more than likely file a rebuttal. When someone has gone to the time and energy to fill out all of the forms and tell their story, they are probably pretty angry by that point. That is me. Please ignore any rebuttal she files. Usually someone who has done nothing wrong does not have to defend themselves. 

We were looking at a property that had been vacant for months. A run down, and dumpy vacation home which includes thrift store furniture. Heather the property manager was late arriving to the property and was obnoxious when we arrived bragging all about the fact that she is a licensed realtor. My 8 year old son said, "It stinks in here like and old attic." The house was dirty. She promised it would all be cleaned up and the smell would be gone. It took 3 weeks to get us approved to move in. The entire time we viewed the property she kept staring at her phone and watch, rushing us through. When I asked questions she would not answer them and got us out within 10 minutes. I called the office every day needing an answer about the rental application no one answered or the receptionist said the owner was out for the day. The receptionist is very nice. I feel sorry for what she has to put up with. 

When we needed to move into the house in March I asked Heather to meet us out at the property. She refused. I had a large Uhaul truck that I had to park on a busy street. There was no pre inspection of the property done, only a check list given to me. The house I was renting is a beat up dump. It was supposed to include things like sheets, towels, pot, and pans.It has no coffee make, toaster, scratched pot, and pans.  It did not. There was no inventory regarding the personal items and sacred artwork. Why the owners keep precious paintings in a rental property I do not know. 

It still smelled of must when I moved in. It was never cleaned. I specifically told Heather to let the neighbors know I would be renting there so I could avoid wasting my time having them ask who I am. 

The house was listed on apartments.com as available while I was renting it. One day a lady got out of her car and chatted up the next door neighbor about the property. I pulled in 1 evening at 8PM and that neighbor came flying outside to tell me that I am being stalked. One morning there was no water. In the middle of a Zoom meeting there is pounding on the door that won't go away. I told the neighbor I was on camera with my boss. She stood outside going on and on all about the broken well and how it had to be fixed. This happened at least 5 times with the neighbor knocking, a guy coming to mow when I was supposed to be working. I shouldn't have to be taking care of this. The property manager should. 

Everyday we ran out of hot water because the hot water tank is about 15 gallons and is not on demand. We had no cell phone service. Phone service does not work through Xfinity. Imagine having to leave everyday to make phone calls. The house is always swarming with carpenter bees. The picnic tables are rotten. The lawn is rarely mowed and the area to walk down to the river is never mowed. 

I lost 2 days of work unpaid because someone had hooked up cables to the sattelite dish. Heather told me everything was ready to go with internet. It wasn't. There was no heat available the whole month of March. It would not kick on so I gave up and plugged in space heaters. As someone who had a large 145 year old house for 16 years I am capable of taking care of things. One morning at 6:30 AM on a Saturday in March the police were knocking at the door. A car broke down down the street and another neighbor thought maybe it had something to do with me. At the end of May I went into H and K's office. As I was attempting to say to the receptionist that I will be using my deposit as my last month's rent Heather comes storming out yelling and screaming at me that this is again the law. It is not. 

From the very beginning of meeting this woman I have never trusted her. I cannot afford to lose $1,200 of money because she claims there is a scratch on the wall or the property is dirty. According to google reviews she consistently does not give security deposits back. Instead of her giving the property owners rent she kept the deposit. She also insisted that she had to come inspect the property while I was working. I refused her access and told her to get a court order. She did not want to do a pre inspection. She can wait until I leave to do a post insepction. After having to live in a basement apartment for 5 months and listen to young kids jump on the ceiling all day and night I was looking forward to some peace. I have no peace at all. 

Yesterday and today we have had the flu. At 9AM each day roofers came to the property. I was never told about this. I had to call 911 to attempt to get the roofers to leave. They refused to leave even with the cops asking them to.

This is a forewarning that she will probably try to pull illegal tactics with whomever is renting. She has attempted to do this with me. If you absolutely have to rent from H and K properties I would suggest you make sure to use your security deposit as the last month of rent. I would not trust Heather to do anything she says she will. She has too many properties to look after and not enough help. All she does is collect rent. She is well aware of the fact that I have a restraining order against my husband for domestic abuse. I did not want to be left alone with roofers all day. 

I read the google reviews back in February and most were negative. All of a sudden within the last 2 months of  there are positive reviews. Heather is the worst small business owner I have ever dealt with. While most people in Lexington, Rockbridge County are incredibly kind I refuse to live there, mostly because of having to deal with her.