The worst rental experience I have ever had…read more
Old Town Realty failed to honor the lease agreement by not providing proper window screens, leaving the home uninhabitable during the summer, and delaying or neglecting essential repairs despite repeated requests. In addition, the property had numerous habitability issues--including pests, odors, damaged fixtures, misleading advertising, and unclean conditions--that led us to move out early.
Please read:
Old Town Realty broke the leasing agreement between Old Town Realty and Jordan Greenhut - the lease implied window screens would be included in the home. Upon move-in, only 7 of the 20 windows had screens. We filed a work order to have the window screens replaced. They did not fulfill the work order in 30 days. Additionally, the lack of window screens created a habitability issue because it was the Michigan summer - June and July - with temperatures reaching low 90s. We could not open the windows without screens because the house is located in the country, so pests were plentiful and a constant issue. Because the lack of window screens made the house uninhabitable, I believe they should have had 24 hours to fix the issue, but they
did not.
I asked the maintenance crew to install temporary screens. However, Old Town Realty
only provided a few temporary screens, and it took nearly a month for the screens to be
put inside the windows.
A representative of Old Town Realty told us to use curtains when we complained about the sweltering heat and lack of window screens.
I have a copy of the lease, many pictures of the house and windows, screenshots of
work orders, and the email correspondence between myself, my wife, and Old Town Realty.
I believe these other issues may be not be actionable, but I'm sharing them in case they are relevant or could support the case in some way:
Other Issues:
Nicotine residue was visible on the walls and in the windowsills, despite the lease stating the house was non-smoking. Carpet cleaning crews sent by Old Town Realty agreed that the carpets were disgusting. Old Town Realty offered to replace the
carpets (eventually), but we were not interested in continuing to lease with them. A persistent odor--possibly from marijuana or tobacco--permeated the master bedroom and much of the upstairs.
The home was infested with carpenter ants and carpenter bees. Previous attempts to address this with bait traps had failed, and we were concerned about potential structural damage.
A baseball-sized hole was discovered in the basement on move-out day.
On Move-In Day:
The home was not in livable condition.
Doors had visible holes (likely pest-related).
The entryway was filled with over 50 mosquitoes and other insects.
Floors were covered in dead bugs, suggesting a bug bomb had been used without follow-up cleaning.
Kitchen drawers were filthy, drains were clogged with hair, the dryer hose was filled with lint, and multiple fixtures (doorbell, sink hose) were non-functional.
Post Move-In Issues:
The landlord delayed lawn maintenance, on one occasion, allowing the grass to grow over a foot tall before cutting it.
Although some remediation occurred--such as fixing the sink hose, applying weather stripping and caulk to one door, spraying the backyard for bugs, and cleaning the carpets--these actions were taken only after move-in and did not resolve the core
issues. Several doors that separated the interior from the outside still had visible holes.
The property was advertised as having central air on the Old Town Realty website, but it did not. That listing was later removed.
A water heater failure added to the disruption shortly after move-in.
Lastly, Pittsfield Township informed us that Old Town Realty had recently received a warning upon their last inspection. They offered to conduct another inspection but stated it would take 3-6 months to do so. Naturally, we decided not to wait, and we moved out as soon as possible.