Domino Realty Management and Versailles on the Lake Apartments They will lie to you, ignore you and rip you off on your security deposit Beverly Hills California

Versailles on the Lake should not be somewhere you want to rent, as they will lie to you, ignore any requests for explanations and will cheat you out of your deposit.  There are many other places in the South Coast Metro Area that will not rip you off.  Don’t be fooled by the attractiveness of the surroundings.  It’s not worth the aggravation you will encounter if you rent here.  If you have pets, you will have to pay an inflated pet deposit and a monthly rental of $75 per pet. When you move out, you will lose ALL your security deposit and then some, because they will claim pet urine damage on the carpets, the laminate floor and even the CEILINGS (I’m not kidding.).  We had a security deposit of $3,250.  They took it ALL and made us pay an ADDITIONAL $694! Nearly $4,000 in charges.  Other tenants who we talked to said that they never heard of anyone who did not lose at least 75% of their security deposit for “repairs”.

The claim about damage to the laminate flooring is a special level of lie, as they claim that the pet urine had worked its way under the floorboards.  According to the manufacturer of the laminate floors, that is impossible, if the floor had been properly installed, otherwise kitchen spills and the simple mopping of the floor would seep through the separations between the boards. So, why do they do this?  Well, they will claim that all the boards need to be replaced, even though any “affected” ones can be removed and replaced early.  They will charge you 25-35% ABOVE what you can purchase the flooring yourself.  Plus if you purposely or negligently install the boards properly, the opportunity to recoup “damages” is there for the taking. When you multiply these “actions” across 300 apartments, it’s easy to see what a gold mine this can be for them.

They will overcharge you for cheap carpets and claim that it will take $190 per room to seal the floor under the carpets, when all you have to do is go to Home Depot and buy 2 spray cans of “Kilz” brand sealer at $3.98 per can or a bucket of it to be applied with a roller for $14.98.

They will also claim your fiberglass tub/shower enclosures need to be reglazed, even for an almost invisible stain, as they want the tub to be “pristine”.  Never mind the shoddy paint jobs and broken or missing mirror on the insides of the hall closet, that they explain away that “the building is 40 years old, so what do you expect?”.

They will claim that they will have to repaint the entire apartment rather than touch-up any picture hanging holes.

If you question anything, you will be told by the Leasing Manager that she doesn’t have to tell you or explain any corporate decision. We encountered this when they disallowed us from renting month-to-month at the end of our lease as was promised and is published in their tenant handbook.

This I can prove and I will not only be pursuing claims in Small Claims Court about their lies and fraud, I have contacted the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, because I believe there exists a strong case for criminal fraud.

My wife and I are both senior citizens, so our treatment at the hands of the Leasing and Property Managers at Versailles on the Lake in Santa Ana and their owners, Domino Realty Management of (get this) Beverly Hills, CA, is particularly cruel.

A Summary of My issue:

Our 9 month lease ended 10/31/2106. When we signed our lease, we were told that we could go to a month-to-month option at the end of the lease.  That is why we rented here at Versailles on the Lake in Santa Ana, as there existed a possibility that I would need to move to San Diego to work at a company that was in its start-up phase. On 8/27/2016 a Termination of Tenancy 60-day notice was affixed to our door. They offered no reason.  We have never received any complaints and we have paid our rent on time. This is all in spite of the Tenant Handbook we received from them which states that we would be contacted about our lease options before the end of lease...we weren't contacted!  The Handbook also states that at the end of a lease we could choose another apartment.  We said we would and apartments WERE and ARE available in this big complex.  We said we would be happy to move to another apartment in the complex. They refused this request, even though the Handbook offers this option!  My wife and I are both 70, living on fixed incomes.  I told them it would be a financial and an emotional burden to have to move so soon and so abruptly.  I contacted the owner, Steven Gordon by mail and the 5-person property management executives at Domino Realty in Beverly Hills, twice by email, but they did not even respond.  We feel that we have been defrauded.  We paid a substantially higher monthly rental at the 9-month-lease rate than the rate which would have been in effect for a 12-month lease.  We maintain that they did not want us in another apartment in the complex, as we could have been able to verify the degree of validity to the work they claimed they had to do. 

What follows is a copy of the correspondences I sent by mail and email to the owner and officers of the parent company, asking that they honor the month-to-month promise.  This was ignored by them.

Original Message to the Owner:

September 3, 2016

Steven Gordon

Versailles Lakes Investors, Ltd. LP / Domino Realty Management

9990 Santa Monica Blvd

Beverly Hills, California 90212-1607

RE: Apartment I-112 Termination of Tenancy

Dear Mr. Gordon,

Having had 40 years of business experience, much of it at the C-Level, I fully understand the need for a business to anticipate its cash flows.  In an investment like you have in Versailles on the Lake, month-to-month and short leases can add a measure of uncertainty.

However, we leased our apartment with a less-than-one-year lease, because we were assured by managers at Versailles on the Lake that we could convert to a month-to-month at the end of the lease term.  However, this assurance has not been kept and we have been given no reason, other than “management decision” and we have been told that we must vacate by October 31, 2016.  If you and Domino Realty can be so kind as to let us stay until January 31, 2017, it would eliminate a lot of chaos in my family’s life.

Some key factors.

1)      I would NOT have rented here had I known the month-to-month would not be certain. I have been consulting for a lengthy period (with differed compensation) for a company about to start up in San Diego by the end of the year.  They are being funded by JPM Chase, so it is real.  I will have a job with them at their launch. This has been a long funding process, so I was uncertain how long it would take and that made a shorter lease with a month-to-month option attractive to my family and me. I simply would not have rented at Versailles had I not been given that option by the managers on site. I had been given that option at neighboring complexes. That was, arguably, misleading. In December, we had sold our Anaheim Hills home of 28 years, so I do admit to being a bit unfamiliar with renting, but I do understand one’s word and its importance before God.

2)      A huge disruption, which could be avoided. We, now, are facing to have to move twice in a short period of time…By October 31 to move out of Versailles and in January to move to San Diego.  This is a huge strain, both financially and emotionally. My wife and I have both just turned 70, so the physical nature of multiple moves in a short period of time is just not possible for us.  Our adopted daughter is 20.  She has had special needs since birth and has an IEP Program.  She has been finally able to start college and is now enrolled in Orange Coast College.  If we had to move before the end of the semester, she would have to drop out mid-semester and we don’t know if we can get her going again.

3)      We could not get another suitable apartment for just three months.  It would be difficult to find anyone who would rent to us (and our 2 cats) for that short a period of time, so we would have to move to San Diego.

4)      We have been good tenants and good people.  We have always paid our rent on time (and we paid a higher rent than we would have with a year’s lease). We’re senior citizens, so we are not noisy or disruptive.  I have developed many good friends and colleagues in the Orthodox Jewish community working in Los Angeles from 2000 through 2014, several of whom are involved in commercial real estate, so I can give you good references, possibly from some people you even know.

5)      Letting us stay would be good PR. We would be so grateful to be able to stay, that we would sing the praises of Versailles.  Kicking out two senior citizens, you’ve got to admit, is not the greatest PR.

So, I understand your investment needs, but the impact of letting us pay rent through January would be small for you, but enormous for my family.  I hope you’ll consider my request.  I would certainly keep a modified agreement under wraps, should you and Domino Realty want.

Best regards,

(I included my contact information)

Cc: via email

christian.irwin@dominorealty.com

jeff.hupp@dominorealty.com

saree.gordon@dominorealty.com

bob.ormond@dominorealty.com

Residentialproperty@dominorealty.com

September 12, 2016

Dear People:

There are three clauses in the stapled booklet (Tenant Handbook, Rules and Regulations) that is given to all new tenants.  Specifically, on page 15 clauses 37, 38 and 40 are ones which outline specific promises and obligations of Versailles on the Lake.  These are contractual obligations, legal and binding, given in consideration (in the legal sense as to establishing a contract) to the renter (my family and me) in return for our deposits and agreement to pay rent.  They are rules and regulations which, also, obligate Versailles on the Lake management and owners!

“Clause 37: Lease Terms and Renewals” reads….

… “When your lease term is expiring, you will be contacted in advance concerning the renewal of your lease, as well as changes to the lease terms and rental rates.”  This clearly did NOT happen.  Your managers did NOT contact us. In fact, in advance, I inquired, as to what the new monthly rental rate would be and I was told, they “didn’t know yet.” 

“Clause 38: Transferring to Another Apartment” reads….

… “By the end of your lease term, if you decide that your current apartment no longer suits your needs, please consider transferring to another attractive apartment in our community.  Please contact the Leasing Office for more details.”  This is another untrue statement in your document. I did contact the Leasing Office and told your Leasing Manager, that if you needed Apartment I-112 back so much, we would be willing to move to another apartment.  I was told that was NOT possible, as I had been given a Termination of Tenancy notice.

“Clause 40: Security Deposit” reads (and it is UNDERLINED for emphasis on your document)….

… “We don’t want you to leave, but if you must, please complete the following requirements...”  This is simply not true. We were lead on, thinking that we, as senior citizens, would be secure in this location.  For some unknown reason, you want us to leave.

Please be sensible, as this matter will not end, even if we are forced to vacate by October 31, 2016.  In that unfortunate event, it is not under Landlord-Tenant laws that we would seek satisfaction, but under laws regarding intentional contractual fraud. That can possibly carry treble damages.

You might also find this article which references California Penal Code 368 particularly germane with respect to my wife and I both being senior citizens…  https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/16727-activists-sue-california-landlords-elder-abuse-eviction/ 

And in the event that you are trying to convert the use of Versailles on the Lake into condos, I urge you to review the Ellis Act… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellis_Act .  Through my research, I have uncovered that some of the units here also have the classification as “single family residences” … which is most interesting and disturbing. 

Just let us stay here up to January 31, 2017.  It would be very easy and this would help alleviate the deep emotional distress that my wife and I are in because of your actions in that we can pursue other living accommodations in a less stressful manner. We are very frightened.

Regards,

(I included my contact information)

One last argument against the fairness of your decision …

September 15, 2016

Dear all:

            If one looks at your standard lease form (scan attached), one can easily see that in Section 1 “Term”), there are two boxes which can be checked by management.  The first can be checked to establish a specific lease period to which the lease applies.  The second (and this is the kicker!), applies to the inception date of a MONTH-TO-MONTH agreement.  The significance?  This displays that month-to-month options are definitely available and only serves to support our argument that we were lead-on to believe that such option was available to us at the end of our initial lease period.  Again, we would NOT have selected Versailles on the Lake if that month-to-month option were not promised to us.

            I think my arguments produced and supported herein, can validate my position.  Please, let’s get this resolved.  My wife and I are exhibiting physical (nosebleeds, insomnia) and emotional distress because what we have been wrongfully subjected to this termination of tenancy.  I would really like to avoid having third parties (the court, media, AARP, senior rights lawyers, Yelp/BBB/Ripoff Report reviews, etc.) involved.  That would be time, money and distress I cannot afford.  No one would really win … Mr. Gordon, Domino Management, Versailles on the Lake, or my family.  Please reconsider.

Sincerely,

(I included my contact information)