TLDR: Do not EVER sign a lease for any property run by All County Capital (ACC)!…read moreMy advice for anyone reading this who is in the unfortunate circumstance of already signing a lease with ACC, is keep all communication in writing. If a fee seems unlawful, it probably is, and you should not pay it. You have to be relentless in following up with them. Don't be intimidated if they send you eviction threats (see my note about illegal notices below).
It's hard to tell with ACC where the scam ends and the pure incompetence begins.
I have been renting for 20+ years at multiple properties and this is BY FAR the worst property management company I've ever dealt with. For context, our building was originally owned by a different landlord (who was great!) who sold the property in early 2024 to a landlord who contracts ACC.
This is not even a comprehensive list of our grievances with ACC; just a few highlights:
- They entered our deposit as $0 in the ledger when the building transferred owners (which we were not aware of) and ghosting on us when we asked about our deposit. We knew that they were going to give us trouble, so when we moved out, we sent a detailed email with all the receipts documenting that we paid the security deposit of $1,375 and paid a pet deposit, which had a refundable portion of $150. We left the place in immaculate condition and even paid $250 to have it professionally deep cleaned (which was not required). When the 30 days after our lease ended, we received an automated notice that our deposit is available and I called the ACC office and they confirmed they had our new address and would mail the check to us. We never received a disposition stating that they were keeping all of/part of the deposit as is legally required in the state of Texas. Two weeks went by with nothing, so I emailed them and reattached all the receipts. RM, the manager, said he would "Look into it." I emailed three more times in the coming weeks and he never responded. We later received an automated email saying our deposit was $0 and we owed them $6 (see below about admin fees). So, we sent another email again saying that they had three weeks to give us our money or we would sue for three times the amount of the deposit, as was our legal right under the Texas property code. The next day, RE, another manager, said sorry, explained the issue with the ledger and said that we can come by to pick up the full deposit. We sent three emails saying when we wanted to go by there, and asking if they would be in office, and to confirm the check amount. RE never responded. So, my husband shows up one day and the employees reiterated that our ledger was $0 and had no idea that RE had promised us a check. They text us the next day to say that the check was ready. When my husband returned, the check was for the $1,375. We had to go through more hoops to receive the $150 pet deposit, but eventually they cut us a check.
- No transparency, ever. We'd get insane $300+ bills for "utilities." Mind you, we paid electricity to the city directly. So this was for (we assume since we never saw an itemized list) the electricity in the shared small laundry room (on top of the $2.50-$2.75 we paid for every load in the washer and dryer), gas, and water. We asked for an itemized receipt repeatedly and never received one.
- Random fees with no explanation. When we texted the landlord about the fees, he said that he had nothing to do with it and that ACC set all the fees and he washed his hands of the matter. When we went back to ACC, to demand more transparency around the fees, they said that the landlord set all the fees and that we would have to go to him. Hard to say who was lying. The fees varied in size, sometimes $200+, but there was a consistent "admin fee" of $6. We already paid the processing fee for paying online and no where on our lease was a $6 fee, so we just refused to pay it month after month.
- Because we would refuse to pay illegal fees, once a month, we would receive a "final warning" that we were about to be evicted. We would ignore the notice. The eviction notice never came, because what they were doing was illegal. We'd keep fighting them until they would wipe away the fees, usually weeks later, sometimes accumulating thousands in late fees.
- They claimed that we had clogged the toilet and charged us $384 for a plumbing visit because it did not count as a standard wear and tear. We did NOT request the plumber for the toilet, nor did he unclog it. We had asked for a plumbing visit to fix low water pressure that was due to ACC turning off the water for maintenance. The water pressure was never fixed. They said that the plumber charged them $600+ for the visit, and we were getting a "deal" only paying $384, but did not provide a receipt. This was early in our lease and paid it in good faith to avoid late fees and thinking they would refund us. Big mistake. We'll never see that money again.