Realty World Jo Anne Krausz and Walt Wyatt Discrimination against the Disabled, Discrimination, Spite, Unprofessionalism, Theft, Crooks, Unethical Behavior Enterprise, Alabama

I have been using Walter Wyatt - Realty World to manage my house in Enterprise Alabama. I have had nothing but a terrible experience with him.

Like most people in here have been saying, they only care about the easy buck! They have done nothing they have agreed to.
My house has been trashed, I have been lied to and he breached our agreement many times over.

If anyone with some information that could come forward to help me against him, I would be willing to pay back the favor.
I could also use a lawyer in a law suit.

Please help, wwwlouie@yahoo.com

Oh, nevermind. Either I've mistaken you for someone else, or you're still on good terms with Jo Anne. Perhaps I jumped the gun in thinking that Jo Anne was the problem. You seem to be leaning towards Walt. Well, I never met his wife, and I don't know much about him except that he seemed nervous about showing properties to my roommate and me. I suppose I COULD be wrong. However, I don't think it's very professional to hang up on your customers, and make fun of their disability(as Jo Anne did)...but maybe that's just me. ;)

I DO hope you're able to move forward in your career.

But I find one thing quite odd. Jo Anne is STILL advertising at Southern Homes and Properties as a real estate agent (I would strongly suggest avoiding HER business), while you're not. Hmmmm. Strange how things work out like that, especially when she's blaming them for her shortcomings as well. How come she is still using them as her real estate company if they're so shady? Food for thought. Just sayin'.

Hey Teresa! I know you!!! :D

The only beef I have to pick with you is this one: my roommate and myself never filed a report through the Wiregrass Board of Realtors. You must be thinking of someone else. I went through the state licensing board, and no one else.

What I find so humorous now is that if I would have known about my rights, protected under the Fair Housing Act of Alabama, then I never would have had to worry. I came across that little piece of information later, a bit too late, but good to know just the same. Apparently, Realty World was breaking all kinds of laws based on the handbook the local legal aid mailed to me. I inquired in case something like this were to happen in the future, and I had no manner of recourse.

Interesting that you show up here and now Teresa...bc Jo Anne was posting all over her wall the other day that all kinds of property managers had been fired recently. Wow....I thought she was your friend. Apparently not. Typical. Whatever lol, I'm about to move out of state so it really doesn't affect my life anymore.

Still, I hope you're able to land on your feet and reclaim a job in the field you love. Unfortunately for you, this woman has her claws into everyone about an inch deep, especially the realtors in this area...so good luck with that. I DO mean that.

Again, we NEVER filed a report with the local real estate licensing board or whatnot, only the state. :)

I was employed with Realty World a/k/a Southern Homes & Properties during the period in which this report was filed.  The reason the money was refunded was because the tenants filed a complaint with the Wiregrass Board of Realtors who in turn "suggested" to Walt that he refund their deposit A.S.A.P.  I too was treated poorly by the wife of Walt Wyatt, who is a Russian lady who has poor communication skills and treats customers and employees with disdain and hatred.  After firing me, for no cause other than Elena Wyatt was "jealous" of me, I filed for unemployment.  Walt lied to the unemployment appeals officer and told them I quit.  I had to appeal the case and pay $500.00 to retain an attorney to get what I was rightfully entitled to all along.  These folks are all about the buck and use whatever means necessary to keep the cash flowing in.  I would not recommend to anyone that they rent from Walt Wyatt or allow Walt Wyatt to manage their property.  In my opinion, they are crooked.

First of all hon, I don't spend my whole check sitting around and smoking cigarettes, thats just ridiculous. My entire check (that's 100%), which is NOT that much, went to rent and electric bills. I never purchased my own smokes, thanks. I smoke about 10 cigarettes a day at most. That is not excessive, and I am currently taking medication to help me quit. If you have never been a smoker (and yes, at one time years ago I was up to two packs a day) you have no idea how difficult it can be to quit, so just stop talking lol. You sound foolish.

And dear, there was no reason for her to clean, the place was spotless, otherwise, I wouldn't have received my FULL deposit back. She tried to pull something and it didn't work. Too bad, so sad for her. :*(

Second, you have no idea about the process I'm using to treat my mental illness, so once again, stop talking....you're ignorant to my situation, and it's really none of your business. My treatment does include a strong support system, regular therapy, as well as medication and vocational rehabilitation. In fact, I hope to be working again by next month if all goes well. And yes, it will probably be from home. I feel you're simply assuming you know something you don't because youre categorizing me as lazy, which couldnt be further from the truth....at least that's how it sounds to me based on your statements. And if I do so choose to spend every waking moment of my life in my home or apartment, thats no ones business either, least of all the landlord. As long as the rent is getting paid, whats the problem?

Next, about the topic of why I moved into the ghetto in the first place....well, lol I didn't know I was. We were taken to the site by Walt Wyatt, shown around for about 10-20 minutes and other than the mess inside (that they claimed was caused by a negligent tenant that abandoned the place, AND WOULD BE THOROUGHLY CLEANED BY THE TIME WE MOVED IN *lies*) it seemed like a nice quiet neighborhood. It's not like they let you live there for a while before signing a lease! I had no idea the vermin would start crawling out of the woodwork about a week after we settled in...I'm not psychic.

In closing I'll say this: I'm not lucky, I'm vindicated. If you're a friend or employee of hers (apparently youre at familiar with her at least, and I dont think an acquaintance would come to her rescue on the RoR), that would explain your warped point of view regarding her. Go ahead, polish up her halo a little more lol, youre certainly not seeing the side of her I did! If you're not familiar with her, I sincerely hope that you never have to see her dark (oh, and only because I cant use profanity here lol) side because it's a doozy lol....but I guess she messed with the wrong chick this time, didnt she? :)

I have a pretty good idea who wrote this anyway; narrowed down to about three people, and your opinion matters not.

The bottom line is this: I'm rather done with the situation. If Jo Anne, or her friends want to like stalk me about it on the internetz, that's your own mental condition to take care ofnot mine. And every time you post, youre just pushing this report further and further up the list on search engines.just thought you would like to know that. So hey, go ahead, help me get the message out about this woman and her shady tactics!

As far as I'm concerned the conversation is OVERRRRRRR. I got my money back in full, because I was right; she was wrong to treat me the way she did, say the things she said, and try to steal from me. Therefore I win. So as far as people being pleased, honey, I'd say Im pleased as punch; because I took her on, fought for my rights, and won. Deal with it. The end. :D

First of all hon, I don't spend my whole check sitting around and smoking cigarettes that just laughable. My entire check (that's 100%) went to rent and electric. I smoke about 10 cigarettes a day a most. That is not excessive, and I am currently taking medication to help me quit. If you have never been a smoker (and yes, at one time I was up to two packs a day) you have no idea how difficult it can be to quit, so just stop talking lol. You sound foolish. And dear, there was no reason for her to clean, the place was spotless, otherwise, I wouldn't have received my FULL deposit back. She tried to pull something and it didn't work. Too bad, so sad for her. :*(

Second, you have no idea about the process I'm using to treat my mental illness, so once again, stop talking....you're ignorant to my situation, and it's really none your business. My treatment does include a strong support system, regular therapy, as well as medication and job rehabilitation. So obviously, you're simply assuming you know something you don't because you categorize all disabled persons as lazy....at least that's how it sounds to me.

Next, about the topic of why I moved into the ghetto in the first place....well, lol I didn't know I was. We were taken to the site by Walt Wyatt, shown around for about 10 minutes and other than the mess inside (that they claimed was caused by a negligent tenant that abandoned the place, AND WOULD BE THOROUGHLY CLEANED BY THE TIME WE MOVED IN) it seemed like a nice quiet neighborhood. It's not like they let you live there for a while before signing a lease! I had no idea the vermin would start crawling out of the woodwork about a week after we settled in...I'm not psychic.

In closing I'll say this: I'm not lucky, I'm vindicated. If you're a friend or employee of hers, that would explain it. If you're not, I sincerely hope that you never have to see her dark side because it's a doozy lol....but I guess she messed with the wrong chick this time. :)

I have a pretty good idea who wrote this anyway; narrowed down to about three people, and your opinion matters not.

The bottom line is this: I'm rather done with the situation. If Jo Anne, or her friends want to like stalk me about it, that's your own mental condition to take care of, not mine. As far as I'm concerned the conversation is OVERRRRRRR. I got my money back in full, because I was right, she was wrong to treat me the way she did, say the things she said, and try to steal from me. Therefor I win. So as far as people being pleased, honey, I'd say I'm the most pleased as punch; because I took her on, fought for my rights, and won. Deal with it. The end. :

I hate you feel that way about Realty World. I have had many interactions with their office and haveNEVER had a problem. Mrs. Krausz has always been very friendly and professional with me and every other tenant/vendor I have seen her interact with. Being someone who has suffered from similar conditions including PTSD and anxiety disorder, I would hate to think that anyone would be discriminated against due to a mental disability. I personally don't feel that being put on disability is any way to fix the problems and with a mix of family support and medications, a productive life can be lived. Sitting in an apartment all the time spending your disability check on smoking isn't gonna help much.

If the properties shown to you were such slums and full of crime and drug dealers, why did you sign a lease to live there in the first place? One's safety should be #1 especially if you are homebound. Also with all your health problems (ulcer, arthritis, etc.) I can't imagine smoking helps your conditions any. Another thing, if Christmas money was such a concern for you, why not quit smoking and save the cigarette money for Christmas? As someone who has cleaned for a living, you should realize that $53 for cleaning fees is VERY reasonable. Most places deduct cleaning and carpet shampooing fees out of every deposit regardless of the condition the rental was left. Febreeze doesn't remove the smell of heavy smoking it just temporarily masks it.

You are very lucky to have gotten your full deposit back and I'm sure Realty World is as glad to be done with you as you are to be done with them. Some people just can't be pleased and you seem to be one of them.

I am unsure what prompted the action, but on Friday December 17th, Realty World finally refunded my security deposit in full ($450). I wasn't even able to fax them a copy of this report, so I'm not sure if that's what caused them to finally take me seriously....or if it was the call I made to the state licensing board. Whatever the case may be, I did receive all of my money back in the form of a check in the mail, signed by Walt Wyatt. Walt, thank you so much for your professionalism. I do not know the details of Ms. Krausz's involvement with returning my money, so I can't comment on her willingness to work with me on this issue.

Additionally, I have not received any type of apology from Ms. Krausz, not that I would expect such a gesture from someone who would make blatant inflammatory statements regarding someone with a disability, and directed at their disability.

I was able to salvage my Christmas, though it was a bit rushed to say the very least (which also prevented me from updating the report at an earlier time, I apologize for that). Since the check arrived on Saturday, I had to wait until Monday December 20th to cash it, which put shopping and preparing off a little longer....but I suppose I shouldn't complain about such small things. I managed to get a little tree and decorate a bit, as well as purchase a few gifts.

However, what finally occurred to me just before receiving my refund is that it wouldn't have mattered much in the end anyway. I've been blessed with the best presents anyone could ever want or need: the love and respect of my friends and family, a beautiful, quiet, secure, and safe new roof over my head, and the adoration of the best man in the world. So really, the money was just icing. ;)

I would still strongly discourage renting or buying from Realty World. Their business practices are sloppy, unorganized, and unprofessional at best. All of their properties that I toured were run-down, sketchy, seedy, filthy, and borderline slums.

That isn't to mention that the neighborhood I lived in was just crawling with crime and drugs.....yet they allow some of their best tenants to be harassed and run out of the place. No, I'm not the first decent tenant to have complained to the managers at Realty World repeatedly; I'm just one that stood up for myself. Most of the others just feel that they have no other option but to stay because of rental prices in this area being so high. It's funny to me that the property managers expressed wanting to run the "bad elements" out of the complex....going so far as to tell me exactly who, and then when I try to give them a hand with it by calling the police, I'm the problem lol. As perplexing as it may be, I'm rather done with the situation and thank goodness for it!!!

I sincerely hope Realty World gets their act together and starts providing affordable yet safe environments for the residents of this town. Otherwise, their business is going to fail completely...I would imagine sooner rather than later at the rate they're going. But hey...it's really no longer my problem lol.

And thanks to the Ripoff Report, at least I had a voice in the matter. And like I said before, I don't know if this had anything to do with the refund or not....but something certainly lit a fire under them! I'll credit you all anyway, it's been nice just to vent and get the word out to people. Thanks for helping save my Christmas ROR! :D

On a side note, I'd like to say that belittling someone with mental illness is no different than any other form of bigotry. People in this country, especially in this part of the country often fail to realize that. You are allowed to feel and for that matter say what you want on your own time....but when it comes to doing business, you don't have that luxury. If you find yourself too ignorant to deal with a particular situation, or if you're easily frightened by things beyond your understanding, then educate yourself. Otherwise, show the class and dignity to at least keep your mouth shut....or you'll find yourself losing good, reliable customers, future business, and profit. That's just common sense.

Interestingly enough Robert, after I posted my response to your query, I did some searching on the internet, and noticed that there is a man working at the Realty World office in Irvine, CA. I'll just ask you outright...is that you? Additionally, I was amazed to see that you used some of Ms. Krausz's exact same arguments.....eh, probably just a coincidence. ;)

Hi Robert, thank for for your response. I believe I can help you out here with some further information. First of all, the neighborhood was crawling with drug dealers, in fact, we had the police out to run several off during our short stay there. So exactly how am I the problem tenant when I stay inside all day, rather housebound, don't bother a soul, and am simply trying to protect myself? Additionally, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the American's with Disabilities Act, but the day I went to meet with Ms. Krausz, I came fully armed with a variety of paperwork from the ADA website, which would have REQUIRED her to release me from my lease. Fortunately, it did not come to that; she seemed like she no longer wanted the attention of the police being called to the "hood" anymore. Additionally, the upstairs neighbors were purposefully being obnoxiously loud after we called the police to file a noise complaint, and it led to a bleeding ulcer due to my nervous condition. So Robert, yes, I was very much entitled to being released from my lease. People have to make reasonable accommodations for someone with my type of disability just as they would have to make for someone say, with a physical disability. Once again, it sounds as if you have a problem with people with psychological problems....and honestly in my opinion, that is no better than homophobia, or racism.

And sir, the reason I feel as though I'm entitled to recouping the entire deposit, is because there was absolutely nothing wrong with the place as I left it. I have degenerative disc disease as well as arthritis in my right hip...yet I spent an entire day scrubbing that place from top to bottom....even though the same was not done for me before I moved into the place. And trust me, as far as the smoking issue goes, I aired the place out thoroughly and sprayed both Febreeze and Lysol all over the carpet and let it sit for an hour before vacumning the entire apartment. That place smelled like nothing but disinfectant by the time I was done. I used to clean houses, I very much know what I'm doing. Having a disability has nothing with why I think the entire deposit should be refunded. That belief is based on a written agreement between Ms. Krausz, my roommate, and myself upon dissolving the lease. She did say that barring any MAJOR damage to the apartment, we should receive the ENTIRE deposit back for our troubles usually within 7-10 days, and she added that she didn't think that would be an issue whatsoever. I actually have a copy of the agreement in question if you would like for me to fax you a copy sir. :)

I suppose we will have to agree to disagree, but honestly, you weren't there, you didn't see what we both went through in this place, and I wouldn't pass judgment on someone simply because you don't understand their disorders. I've had quite enough of people dismissing my problems as invalid, and blowing me off as though I'm faking my disorder or blowing them out of proportion. Do you have any idea what it's like to be housebound for over six years? Do you have any idea what it's like to be frightened of people because you have been attacked and abused so much in your life? I'd like to see you walk in my shoes for just one day. Still though, I honestly respect your opinion, and appreciate your response. Have a nice day sir.

She proceeded to get exceedingly nasty with me at this point, and then hung up on me. I called back and threatened to take legal action against the business for breaking both verbal and written agreements. Ms. Krausz would not take my call.

- Quite honestly I don't blame her.  Your landlord was letting you out of your lease 3 months early.  You come off as if you feel you are "entitled" to your FULL deposit back because you are disabled. 

Where the only thing they had done at that point was to say that they were holding $53(out of $450) for cleaning.   If the smoking issue was even partially correct, I doubt you would find a judge in your "legal" action to say that $53 was excessive for cleaning.  Oh and the "well they didn't tell me I shouldn't smoke inside" doesn't fly either.  In fact, if the smoking caused real damage they probably could have justified taking most, if not all, of your deposit.

In reading this report and your "complaint" I wonder if letting you out of your lease wasn't more of a case where they were glad to get rid of a problem tenant.

 

Jo Anne Krausz and Walt Wyatt, property managers at Realty World in Enterprise, AL are attempting to, without legitimate reason, withhold my security deposit from me as well as deducting monies included in the security deposit due mainly to Ms. Krausz's discriminatory attitude against disabled persons, myself in particular. I am on disability, and the reasons for my disability include PTSD, agoraphobia, social anxiety, and bi-polar issues.

One of her tenants harassed me, filed false reports on me and ran me out of the place because I complained that he was making too much noise. Eventually, he left me with no other choice but to break the lease because the situation was affecting my health. At a meeting at her office on or about November 23, Ms. Krausz released my roommate and me three months early from our six month lease with her full blessing, both verbally and in writing, of which I have a copy. She also made a promise to return our full deposit barring any major damage to the apartment.

At this same meeting, we explained to Ms. Krausz that we had spent most of our savings moving into our new apartment, and that the deposit to be returned was our only source of Christmas money, Ms. Krausz assured us that the deposit was usually returned between 7-10 days, and it shouldn't be a problem. We took Ms. Krausz at her word, now I'm finding, very foolishly.

Now, Ms. Krausz is refusing to return the monies in full, trying to say we caused damages to the apartment because I smoked too heavily and it left a stench, when no stipulation was made that I should NOT smoke in the apartment. Additionally, the apartment was ABSOLUTELY filthy when we moved in; the carpet was ruined, and had been shampooed very poorly, leaving animal feces for us to clean up. There were also holes in the bedroom walls which Walt noted during our initial walkthrough....so we had to not only clean, but we repaired some of the damage to the apartment at no cost to Realty World. We also improved the apartment in various ways, including pressure washing the back patio, thoroughly cleaning cupboards and other aspects of the apartment, adding towel racks, etc.

I called Ms. Krausz to find out what the difficulty was. She informed me that we would be receiving less than our original deposit by approximately 53.00 of a 450.00 deposit because they claimed there was a small mess on the bottom of the stove. I know this to be incorrect, because I cleaned the entire apartment the day I moved out, from top to bottom, leaving it worlds cleaner than I found it....this isn't even to mention that my roommate and myself are both extremely clean people. She went on to claim that she had bent every rule in the book to release us from our lease early, becoming increasingly angry with me even though I tried to calm her down, and even though the situation that drove us out was causing me severe physical and mental distress due to my nerves/disability. Then I responded by saying that it was because the tenant upstairs that had run us out of the place....literally, and it wasn't our fault. She proceeded to get exceedingly nasty with me at this point, and then hung up on me. I called back and threatened to take legal action against the business for breaking both verbal and written agreements. Ms. Krausz would not take my call.

My roommate, in an attempt to diffuse the situation, called Ms. Krausz back and said we would not take legal action, and that we were counting on that money for Christmas. She responded by asking if we had any of the receipts to PROVE we had made any improvements to the property. Though we DO have MOST of them, he responded "no" because he was unaware that I'd saved most of them.

We also informed her that she had NOT preformed a home inspection prior to our taking possession of the apartment, therefore, she owes us the full deposit back anyway, since she has no way of blaming us for said damages that were caused by the former tenant who abandoned the property. She again very nastily snapped back to my roommate that that works both ways and that we could be held liable for ALL damages caused by the former tenant....a veiled threat to say the least.

And after explaining to Ms. Krausz that my situation was unique, being disabled with the types of disabilities I have, and attempting to apologize, Ms. Krausz stated something like 'Well, maybe she needs to learn to function in society like a normal person'. I heard the entire conversation on my roommate's speaker phone. I feel that this violates my rights as a disabled person, and was rude, highly unprofessional and unethical at the very least. I DO want our FULL deposit back, as well as making sure she CLEARLY understands that discrimination, and ethics violations have consequences. She, as a "professional" can't treat disabled persons so disrespectfully! Or anyone else for that matter.

Not only did she violate my rights by her statement, but I feel that she has had an attitude with me since day one. Additionally, since the money in question comes primarily from my disability check for housing, I feel that she's not only violating my rights to recoup my deposit, but she is openly stealing from the government in some respect, and discriminating against my particular disability because she is prejudiced and feels that my disability is invalid. I also feel that she is withholding our deposit to ensure we don't have any type of Christmas simply out of spite.

I want justice, and I want a Christmas....considering I haven't had one in about 10 years. Thanks Ms. Krausz, I hope you Christmas morning is filled with cheer and gourmet dining, surrounded by gifts and your lovely family. I hope it makes you feel good that I won't have that, even though I scrounged and saved that money for almost a year...only $450.00, it wouldn't have been much, but it would have been something.

But Walt and Ms. Krausz have made it clear to us that if we get any deposit back at ALL, it WILL be by January 4th, the last day of my roommate's vacation, and well after Christmas. They know what they're doing is wrong, and they need to pay! Since they have cut all lines of communication with us, I feel I have no other option but to file this report.