JAI Property Management Predatorial, Unethical, Unprofessional and Shady Chattanooga, Tennessee

I refuse to go back-and-forth. As I stated, JAI Property Mangement and its' representatives are not to be trusted. The Cartersville, GA. representative and I met on a Saturday afternoon which is when I paid the $1500 deposit. By Monday, mid-morning (not even two days later), I had received an "assessment" not appraisal as the company mentioned in their response and information that the homes in the community were in foreclosure. Armed with that information, I began to reconsider as I did not want to become a victim, like so many others here in GA., of a foreclosure scam. I attempted to look into other properties owned by the company but, for some strange reason, the deposits all of a sudden were almost two-three times higher (they blamed it on my "crappy" credit. Yes, the rep actually text me and said that my credit was "crappy." She was very rude and unprofessional and I saved the text) for homes that were located in undesireable almost low-income-type communities i.e. cars on lawns, debris everywhere, knuckle heads standing on corners, trash cans in driveways with their tops in the street, dilapidated homes, etc. Basically, they were trying to strong-arm me into staying with the Cartersville home. How is it that my credit wasn't too crappy for a brand new 4 bedroom 3 bath home? Increased deposits and higher rental amounts for dives? So, as a result of their tactics, I did my research on why they so happily advertise, as a perk, that a police officer lives on site (after all, I'm not looking just to rent, I'm thinking long-term) and why it seemed they were so aggressive about leasing the Cartersville home. Needless to say, I got my answers from the area crime stats, a very reliable/credible source and the internet. With that being said, it was not just the ridiculously over-priced home that was a serious issue.

Moving forward... though an expensive lesson learned, I'm more than satisfied where I currently reside and the heavens are smiling on me and my business right now. If nothing more, I hope that others reading this report will learn from my mistakes and stay away from JAI Property Management and other predatorial real estate schemes. Since I have been threatened with garnishment and the payment of losses/damages (I'm a small business owner and an independent contractor with another company so I doubt garnishing is possible...smiles), I have elected to exercise my right to discharge what little debt I do have, to include JAI Property Management. Thank you Ripoff Report for providing a platform to address such issues, educate consumers and call unethical companies out.

So many issues to touch on here Where do I start?

Lets start with the phone call to the Tax Assessors office.  Most people know, when getting an appraisal from the Tax Assessors, that the appraisal is based on the taxable value of the home, not the market value. The taxable value of a home has very little to do with the actual price a home should sell for.  Let me add to this that due to Georgias new
law about the taxable amount of a property, the taxable appraised value has nearly nothing to do with the market value of a home. Seriously, do you really believe that a brand new, never lived in home (Ms. Maddens words), 4 bedroom 2 bath would sell for $47,000? Lets be realistic here..

Once Ms. Madden posted this report I did some research on the homes in and around that area.  Here is what I found: In the city of Cartersville, which is where this residence is located, the average market value of houses for sale is $157,980.00.  The median market value of homes for sell in this area is $105,750. If the median is that high, how is it possible that the homes in the neighborhood that Ms. Madden is talking about, only worth $40,000 and $47,000? If you would like to verify that what I am saying is true, here is the link to the web page: http://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Cartersville-Georgia/

As Ms. Madden mentioned, this is a brand new, never lived insingle family unit. It has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. For a brand new home with 4 bedrooms, $129,000 is a good price. Stop and think about the average listing numbers above. This house is priced within that price range, but all the others have been lived in where this one has not. Pretty good I think, especially considering that the price she is getting the home for is less than what the insurance company has for the replacement value of the home.

On February 11, 2012 Ms. Madden did pay a $1,500 holding deposit on the home after signing a  Holding Deposit Agreement. A holding deposit is a deposit paid by lessee to hold the property and take it off the market. When Ms. Madden paid this holding deposit we removed the listing for the property, and other persons that were interested in the property were turned away because the home was promised and held for Ms. Madden.   In the Holding Agreement it states that the holding deposit paid is then transferred as a security deposit when a lease-purchase contract is signed. The same date, and time, that Ms. Madden signed this holding agreement she also signed a lease-purchase contract for the home. So, on February 11, 2012 Ms. Madden signed a legal and binding contract with us, Jai Property Management to purchase the home from us in 2 years. Yes, the monthly rent amount was $830 and yes all $830 was to go toward the purchase price, as was the $1500.00 deposit.  So, lets touch on what the lease-purchase agreement says. Item #5 in the agreement states:   In addition to the rentals due in this agreement Lessees shall pay the sum of $1500.00 to Lessor  as payment toward the purchase price. If for any reason the contract is cancelled this down payment will be forfeited."  Item #17 in the contract states: Early termination of this lease: If during the original term of the lease, tenant is required to cancel the agreement, they shall be permitted to do so upon giving LESSOR a full terms written notice, paying the LESSOR all sums due thru the end of the notice period, plus one (1) additional months rent if after one half (1/2) of the lease term. 

If before one half (1/2) of the lease term the Lesee is to pay an additional two months rent. In both of these cases the security deposit will be forfeited."  Ms. Madden agreed to these terms and signed the contract in front of one of our representatives. All of these items are in nearly everyrental agreement, though they may vary some. JAI Property Management is going to go after MS. Madden for the Lease Cancellation Fees as per written on the contract
using all collection methods possible and allowed by the law, including a wage garnishment.

As for the deposit amount on the other properties being 3x the monthly payment, it is only that much if you have an eviction on your record. You may be thinking that 3x the monthly rent is an extremely large deposit, and yes it may be. The reason for the deposit being that much is simply because you have an eviction. If you have been evicted once, the chances of you doing it again are highly likely. So the three month deposit is a security payment.  What Ms. Madden did not tell you about the three months rent being the deposit is that, if for the first six months all rent is paid on time, then your security deposit pays months seven and eights rent.  So there is two months your rent is already paid.

Lastly, lets cover the comment Ms. Madden made about one of our representatives telling her to stop calling and texting. Yes, Ms. Madden was advised to stop calling and texting that representative for two reasons.  One being that Ms. Madden was at the point of harrassment and the number of texts and emails was ludicrous. The second reason, the issue about Ms. Madden deposit was out of the representatives hands as she cannot give a refund for a security deposit because a contract was signed and she is a leasing agent, not the owner of the property.

If you any questions about any of this, please feel free to contact us. We can be reached at: 1-800-423-1368. Dial extension 103 and you will be connected to the property manager who can answer any questions you may have.