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Report: #134220

Complaint Review: Paloma Summit, Sequoia Equities - Foothill Ranch California

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  • Reported By: Foothill Ranch California
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  • Paloma Summit, Sequoia Equities 26371 Paloma Foothill Ranch, California U.S.A.

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Sequoia Equities, owner of the Paloma Summit Apartments in Foothill Ranch, has refused to release any of my nearly $2000 in deposit money.

My family gave notice in proper time in January for moving out February 8, 2005. The apartment had been our residence for more than six months.

Apartment was cleaned thoroughly. Before being a tenant here, I was a landlord in Los Angeles county. I never received an apartment back from a tenant in as fine a shape as we returned this one. We requested a walkthrough with one of their people in order to maximize the return of our deposit.

I walked through with a maintenance person, who complimented us on the fine state we left the apartment. Nonetheless, he pulled out a sheet and started adding up some rather remarkable figures. The different figures for cleaning, carpet cleaning and painting seemed carefully calibrated to equal the entire normal deposit of $500 (our deposit was higher than the standard).

Exhausted after a day of cleaning through the apartment, I had the following discussion.

Me: So, we work all day to get this apartment into near show-ready condition. Now you tell us that you are still going to take $320 from us?

Maintenance guy: Yeah, well, we need to paint, of course.

Me: Look, the walls are clean except a small spot on one wall.

Mainenance guy: We still need to paint. I cut you more slack than my manager would.

(It's funny - I've been living here for six months running a home-based business. Most apartments here turn over in a couple of months, so I should have seen a small army of painters fixing up the apartments. Never saw a single one.)

Me: OK. The point of this walk through is to find out what we can do to get back more of our deposit. What can we do to get back more of our $320?

Maintenance guy: Nothing.

About a week after moving, we did receive a statement telling us to expect about $1500 (out of almost $2000) to be returned.

It is now March 8, 2005, one month after moving. There is still no sign of the deposit. Two messages have been left with the main office, but no one has responded. It is now one week after the California mandated deadline for a return of deposit.

I was previously a landlord, and I personally know the temptation of keeping a tenants security deposit at the end of a lease. I never did so, but the motivation is strong: the money is in your hands, there will be no repeat business with this person and -- prior to the Internet -- there was no way to warn future tenants of the indiscretions of the landlord.

California law allows damages for twice the amount of the deposit for bad faith withholding of security deposits, which Sequoia Equities is clearly guilty of here. I will be seeking the return of $5000, the maximum allowed in Orange County Small Claims Court.

This appears to be a standard operating tactic for Sequoia Equities. I am seeking other individuals who have had similar problems with Sequoia. I am also seeking billings from AUM, the company which handles utilities for Sequoia.

For completeness, here is a list of the other properties that this company runs:

Sequoia Equities
Corporate Office
1777 Botelho Drive
Suite 300
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
PHONE
(925) 945-0900
FAX
(925) 256-3780

Alicante Apartments
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

Apple Creek Apartments
Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Ballena Village Apartments
Alameda, CA 94501

Cambridge Glen Apartments
Davis, CA 95616

Costa Del Sol Apartments
Alameda, CA 94501

The Cove Apartments
Tiburon, CA 94920

Cross Creek Apartments
Dublin, CA 94568

Cypress Point Apartments
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Deer Valley Apartments
Roseville, CA 95661

Flora Apartments
Walnut Creek, CA 94595

Hidden Hills Apartments
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Highlands
Grand Terrace, CA 92313

La Valencia Apartments
Campbell, CA 95008-4064

Marine View Apartments
Alameda, CA 94501

Niguel Summit Apartments
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

North Bay Apartments
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Park Ridge Apartments
Rohnert Park, CA 94928

Plum Tree Apartments
Martinez, CA 94553

Post Street Towers Apartments
San Francisco, CA 94109

Quail Terrace Apartments
Fairfield, CA 94533

Regency Plaza
Martinez, CA 94553

Reserve at Capital Center
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

Sandpiper Village
Vacaville, CA 95687

Seaview Summit Apartments
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Shadow Oaks Apartments
Cupertino, CA 95014

Shadowridge Apartments
Simi Valley, CA 93065

Sharps & Flats Apartments
Davis, CA 95615

Sheffield Greens Apartments
Fairfield, Ca 94533

Shoreline Apartments
Alameda, CA 94501

Spring Lake Apartments
Santa Rosa, CA 95405

Sterling Heights Apartments
Benicia, CA 94510

Swan Lake
Santa Cruz, CA 95062

Three Crown Apartments
Alameda, CA 94501

Tower Apartments
Alameda, CA 94501

Trinity House Apartments
Walnut Creek, CA 94596

The Villas Apartments
San Ramon, CA 94583

The Villas at Wood Ranch
Simi Valley, CA 93065

University Village - Davis
Davis, CA 95616

University Village - Riverside
Riverside, CA 92501

Ed
Foothill Ranch, California
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 03/08/2005 04:14 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/paloma-summit-sequoia-equities/foothill-ranch-california-92610/paloma-summit-sequoia-equities-ripoff-refused-to-return-any-deposit-money-foothill-ranch-134220. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
0Author
5Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#5 Consumer Comment

Most landlords treat people like garbage even good tenants

AUTHOR: Charles - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Friday, March 30, 2007

Most, landlords treat people like garbage sense landlords have a system to report bad tenants, well good tenants need a system to report bad landlords this is a warning do not rent from raptis homes inc. After, this experince I will also never rent from any landlord in my lifetime they all lie about u & treat u like a piece of garbage. Us, good tenants need a system to report bad landlords!.

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#4 Consumer Comment

Unhappy tenant

AUTHOR: Brian - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, March 29, 2007

Seqouioa equities sucks!!!I live in the highlands apartments in Grand Terrace and can not get any of my maintenence requests completed or even aknowledged. Vinci and other managment only care about fixing vacant apartments to get new tennants. Once you sign the lease you are treated like trash!!! DONT LIVE HERE!!! DONT TRUST SEQUOIA EQUITIES!!!!

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#3 Consumer Comment

Failure to Comply

AUTHOR: Desmond - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Wednesday, August 09, 2006

I posted previous to this report. Here is an update. I faxed a letter to Regional Manager, Corporate Office and Leasing office requesting repairs under California Civil Code 1942.

These repairs remain imcomplete and only a half hearted attempt has been made to do them.

Now the leasing office refuse to deal with me because off web postings and stated that I have to put all maitence through agency that is lease holders. So they saying that occupants have no rights or should I say they are to cheap to do the repairs.

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#2 Consumer Comment

Many Complaints about this property

AUTHOR: Desmond - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, July 06, 2006

As a resident of this property, I have heard many complaints about the management response to various issues.

As a resident of this property I have complaints. Certain repair issues that I have raised in my appartment have not been dealt with. All what maitainence does is look at the problem. It seems nothing gets repaired because of budget restraints made by Corporate.

The 4 gates that residents enter and exit by have never worked 100% and remained opened. In fact the main gate into the property by the leasing office has never closed since we moved in. So much for a gated community. In fact because of this we have had non residents gain access to the pool area and people speeding through the property well in excess of the 5 mph speed limit.

Some residents do not pick up after their dogs and management fail to enforce the code. A number of drains on the property are not secured and can be dislogged just by walking over them. They remain unsecured despite a maitainence request been placed.

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#1 UPDATE EX-employee responds

Yep, Sequoia Sucks.

AUTHOR: Carrie - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, June 01, 2006

I'm not sure if this will reach you, but I am a former employee of Sequoia Equities. I worked in Davis, CA. I am not jaded (ie, was not fired), but I stayed with the company until they sold the property. I still work there, but with the new company.

SEQUOIA SUCKS. Not only do they treat their residents badly, they also treat their employees badly. You think they don't return your phone calls? Try managing their property! They left us for 3 days with no electricity and no phone because they didn't pay the bills. They did withhold deposits, and did all kinds of illegal stuff, like not sending itemized receipts for charges, such as carpet cleaning, not returning deposits until months after someone moved out, etc. I can't believe they're still in business. One of their properties here in Davis was voted the worst place to live in Davis.

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