My problems with Home America/GoRenter started the day I signed the lease. I found a house in Anthem that I wanted to rent on HomeAmerica's web page. I contacted them, went thru the rental process. This was March. Ryan Vanotti of Home America was the person I was working with. I was told my deposit amount was 2K, plus $300 pet deposit. The next day (or so) they contacted me and said the 'owner' wanted another 1K because of my iffy credited. I went to their office, brought $3300 to rent a house and sign a year lease.
When I got there, I gave them the $3300. Ryan proceeded to tell me if I signed a 2 year lease option, its a 'win/win' situation. I told him I wasnt in any position to buy a house. I wanted to lease a house for a year. I had no money for down payments, and my credit was iffy and I knew I wouldnt get financed. He said that if I signed a 2 year lease option, half of the rent during the first year would go towards the purchase of the house. I asked him if I didnt buy the house, would I still get all my deposits back... And he told me YES. I told him I didnt want to be locked in a 2 year agreement. One year was the way I wanted to go. Again he said it was a win/win situation because if I wanted to get out of it after a year, I could move. I asked if I would get all my deposits back, and he said YES.
To be fair, I should first state that I did NOT read what I was signing. This is my fault completely. I should have known better. I believe what Ryan was telling me. I needed a place to live. My kids and I had already seen the house. They had already picked out their rooms. The location was perfect for us. I needed a place to live quick. I had been living with a friend for 12 days (I moved from my previous place on the first of the month and was looking for a new place to live) until I could find a place and needed to get into my own place.
My first problem was when I was in the house for less than 30 days. The dryer nearly caught on fire. My daughter told me she saw sparks coming out of the back of the dryer. I called HomeAmerica to come fix the dryer. I believe my property managers name at the time was Ron Williams. They told me that since I signed a 2 year lease option, I was responsible for ALL the repairs to the house! Since WHEN is a tenant responsible for repairs when they lease a house? I contacted the owner and explained the situation to him. He repaired the dryer. He said if I have any problems with anything in the house to call him.
In March I wanted to move and give my 30 day notice. A year had passed and I wanted to find a house that was cheaper and had a yard for my dogs. I attempted to give my 30 day notice and I was told I had to stay in the house because I was on a 2 year lease. I spoke to Ryan and I explained to him that he told me I could move after 1 year. He said he told me nothing of the sort and I am responsible for a 2 year lease. I stayed in the house d/t the fact that I was working alot of hours, and I didnt want to go thru the hassle of trying to get out of something based on his word alone. I dropped the whole thing. I also really dislike moving and I decided to stay put and move in March when I would FINALLY be rid of Home America/GoRenter for good. I couldnt wait to be done with these people!
In Sept 08 I lost my job. I received a severance for a few months.
I hadnt paid Dec 08 rent yet and I contacted Home America/GpRenter to work something out. I figured I was owed $3300 and I wanted to work it out with them that Dec 08 rent could be taken out of the money that they owed me, when my lease was up in March 08, which was just 4 months away.
I contacted them and was told my property manager was now Peter Lee. I left him a voice mail on a Monday and also emailed him. I received no response. I called them again the next day and left another VM for Mr. Lee and sent another email, and again no response. I called them the next day and spoke to Melanie the receptionist. I asked to speak with a manager since Mr. Peter Lee doesnt return phone calls or respond to emails. She transferred me to 'Greg's' voice mail. She said that Greg was the 'customer service manager'. I left him a message and explained the situation partly. He finally called me back the next week on a Wed or Thurs. This would have been Dec 10 or 11. I explained the entire situation to him from the moment I began dealing with Home America/Go Renter and what I would like to work out with them. I then said to him 'why would I put down $3300 to not get it back? I wasnt in any position to buy a house and I certainly wouldnt gamble away $3300 to POSSIBLY buy this house in a year. I was lied to by Ryan Vanotti and I feel he should be responsible for his actions'. I was also very upset at the fact that I knew an eviction was coming, and that Peter Lee wasnt returning my phone calls. Greg explained to me that he was calling me to find out the story, basically a fact finding phone call. I explained to him that I had alread contacted the Arizona Association of Realtors and I was planning on filing a complain with the Arizona Dept of Realtors. He said he would call me back and I never heard from him.
I called him Monday Dec 15 and left a message. He never called me back. I called him again yesterday, left a VM stating I was going to file a complaint with the State. Of course I never heard from him. I am not sure what the point of the 'fact finding' phone call was if he was never going to call me back.
I had emailed my complaint to the State last week. I got a response from Jay Montoya the investigator and he told me to fill out the form and mail it in along with my complaint. I decided that yesterday I was going to go down to the State office and hand my complaint in in person. I wanted to speak to Mr Montoya and have him read my complaint as well. He was at lunch so I came back an hour later. I met with Mr. Montoya. He read my complaint. I asked him if others had filed complaints against this company. I certainly didnt believe that I was the only person they LIED TO and was DISHONEST with. He told me that I am a little fish in a big pond in regards to complaints against Home America/Go Renter. He told me couldnt go into detail abou the complaints, and I understood. He said that he has been compiling information for 2 years against Home America/Go Renter. He explained the entire process to me. He asked me if I was willing to be a witness against them if the case went to Court. I let him know YES absolutely I would be willing to be a witness.
Do NOT NOT NOT deal with Home America/Go Renter.
I did some research and found out that Mark Bosworth is a crook. Google Mark Bosworth Camelback Title and go to the Arizona Corporation Commissions web page to read just how dishonest this man is.
NEVER under any circumstances EVER EVER EVER deal with Home America/Go Renter. You will soon realize the nightmare they are!
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