As an advocate for the renter of one of the properties that Precept manages, I need to let folks know what happened to this renter. The renter lived in the house for a little over three years. During that time the renter replaced an old wooden door at the back of the house that was letting cold air in. The door was replaced, with permission of Marlyn the property manager, with a quality metal security door purchased at Sutherlands. Drip irrigation was installed with permission by the renter to try and keep up with watering the 24 or so rose bushed in the back yard, and a new faucet was installed by the renter in the bathroom because the old one was leaking so badly. Marlyn was also informed about the faucet and seemed pleased that it was replaced by the renter. The carpets were cleaned twice during occupancy. On leaving the property, the interior of the house was thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed, and the carpets were thoroughly cleaned throughout a third time. The small lawn in the front was edged and cleaned up. The property manager emailed an acknowledgment that the interior of the property was kept "really nice", but that the yards were dead, and claimed that it would "take a lot of time and effort to get that to return." The tenant moved into the property 3 years earlier during the month of July, and the yards at that time were yellowing throughout. The small front yard was green. The tenant, on leaving the property, minimally watered the roses, and they were still blooming on the last day of occupancy. The front yard was dead because it had not been watered regularly, a very small front yard. The deposit was $1000, and the manager, Marlyn refused to refund any of the deposit because of the condition of the yard. As an owner of a rental property, and the owner of several homes over the years, in know that a bag of grass seed costs a few dollars, and has to be sprinkled on and watered in to take hold, with very little effort. In this case, the grass will come back to at least the condition that the tenant found it in when occupied three years earlier. The property manager said that the tenant had been a good one, and that she would give a positive review in the future. I cannot say the same for the property manager. I understand that some tenants need a lot of encouragement to maintain the properties to a reasonable degree. That was not the case here. Rent was paid in a timely manner and throughout the Covid months. The house was left in move-in condition, and improvements were made with permission while the tenant lived there. This was a cold move made by the property manager. No way does it cost $1000 to bring life back to a 120 square foot (approximately) patch of grass. The water bill rand about $85 a month. Maintaining the roses through hot summer months was always a challenge, and they were left in better condition than when the tenant moved in 3 years previously. read more