Reeves Rentals - Reeves Realty - Reeves Realty Mobile Al - Reeves Rentals Mobile Al - Reeves Realty Mobile Alabama - Reeves Rentals Mobile Alabama - Martha Reeves - John Reeves - Ripoff - Scam - Con - Slumlords - Slum Land Lords - Property Nightmare - Uninhabitable Properties - Unlivable Homes - Mold - Rot - Dangerous Conditions - Leaks - Bad Plumbing - No Maintenance - STAY AWAY! Mobile Alabama

Today is May 15, 2015.  My Wife and I had the pleasure of getting a new toilet installed today. YAY!

Always wanting to give credit where credit is due, we must give a big heartfelt THANKS to Gordon Ripps of Orange Beach Alabama, Reeves Rentals aka Reeves Realty, John Reeves, Martha Reeves, and Jimmy Gil (who installed the toilet itself).

It's been a long road, but we are making very positive progress.  We definitely look forward to having our home fixed up.

Our neighbors also gave us some FREE concrete (and installed it!!!) from a construction job going on next door to help with our driveway which has been previously flooding and turning into a mud pit when it rains.  So overwhelmed with joy right now, and so grateful to God, Reeves et. al, Mr. Ripps, Jimmy Gil, our neighbors, and our attorney. 

Super Special Day!

It looks like my property is finally on the right track. 

The past few weeks have been a lot of work.  A plumber has come out and fixed the main line clog and installed a cleanout valve near my neighbors home.  I sincerely hope that they do not clog it up with grease - since we share the same line.  I believe that my vent is clogged on the roof but hopefully this will be addressed.

Today we had a contractor come out to do a pre-inspection on the property.  Hopefully he will be doing some work to the inside to fix it up...

Tomorrow there is a termite specialist coming to address the termite infestation - I spoke with him over the phone and he seems very amiable.  He also confirmed that he believed what I said about the termites to be true - seems I even got the correct species!

I really hope that things stay moving in a positive direction so that we can be tenants here for a long time to come.

I'd like up to update my last report / title where I stated that Gordon Ripps was part of The Bill Menas Team | Bellator Real Estate and Development.  He is actually part of the Bellator Orange Beach Real Estate Office located in Orange Beach, Alabama.  It appears that Mr. Ripps is running yet another scam.

Gordon Ripps was the Managing Member / Broker of a company called Aqua Realty located in Orange Beach, AL on Perdido Beach Blvd.  His office location has since been permanently closed, but his website www.beachsellers.com still has active IDX (Internet Data Exchange) which allows persons searching for real estate online (it has been stated in some circles that up to 95% of real estate transactions now begin online) to use Mr. Ripps website - even though he maintains no physical office location.

Gordon Ripps now conveniently works for the Bellator Orange Beach Real Estate office which has a physical location on Perdido Beach Blvd. in Orange Beach, Al.  Real estate buyers and sellers searching online for homes, properties, land, condominiums, etc. in Orange Beach, Al specifically in and around Perdido Beach Blvd (even those searching for the Bellator Orange Beach Real Estate office location) my instead be directed to Mr. Ripps.

Many real estate brokerages like to take on new agents - even giving special commission arrangements to those agents which have extensive established client lists.  It is highly likely that many of Gordon Ripp's "established clients" are just new clients who would have more than likely found Bellator Orange Beach Real Estate first - but are instead being directed to Gordon Ripp's website.

Yesterday, May 10, 2015 I noticed that there appeared to be swarming termites in my home which I rented from Reeves Rentals aka Reeves Realty in Mobile Alabama and co-owned by Gordon Ripps from Orange Beach AL.  When I previously spoke with Gordon Ripps via telephone about the condition of his property, he seemed extremely apathetic and stated that he "did not live in Mobile" and "even if he did he would not frequent the property very often."

I fail to see the relevance of where you live and do business vs knowingly subjecting human beings to unlivable homes which you have the power and responsibility to fix as the property owner.  Gordon Ripps was very aware of the condition of the home prior to renting it, and did not seem at all surprised when I told him about the raw sewage backing up into the yard, windows falling out, stairs caving in, fire damage in the garage, roof leaking, mold / mildew problems, homeless persons living on the premesis, and more.

Today, May 11, 2015 I had the Chief Building Inspector for the City of Mobile come out to the property.  He showed me what appeared to him to be extensive termite damage in the garage, around the roof, and in other various places on the home.  It should be noted that my Wife initially viewed the home before we rented it.  She was given approximately 5 to 10 minutes to view the property in its entirety and had to pay Reeves Rentals aka Reeves Realty a $20  key deposit and had to "come right back" or forfeit the money.  There were no utilities on at the time of viewing (no electric, no gas, no water) and my Wife is not a building inspector.

Since taking possession of the home on March 17, 2015 we have made both Reeves and Gordon Ripps aware of the conditions of this home - many of which appeared to be purposely disguised, and some that there would be no way of knowing unless you were to live in the home for awhile.  We did so in a timely fashion, and within the legal parameters stated in our Lease Agreement.  None of these issues were properly disclosed.  We have contacted these persons by telephone, text, email, through their online maintenance request form, and more.  The longer we stay here, the more we notice what is wrong.

I was advised by a Landlord-Tenant Attorney from the City of Mobile that tenants in Alabama had certain "unwaivable rights" when it comes to rental property.  What this means is that even if you "accept" a property in "as-is condition" (like Reeves is trying to use as their defense) there are still certain obligations that Landlords have to Tenants.  Gordon Ripps, John Reeves, Martha Reeves, Reeves Rentals, and Reeves Realty seem to ignore these facts.

I would like to note that Gordon Ripps is a real estate professional.  He is a licensed real estate broker in the States of Florida and Alabama - so one would presume that he is aware of Landlord-Tenant Laws in both states as well as Landlord obligations under those laws.  Mr. Ripps is listed as a managing member of a company called "Aqua Realty" (based on the Gulf Coast near Orange Beach - it appears that they had a physical location which is now closed) and is a current agent with The Bill Menas Team - Bellator Real Estate & Development in Daphne, Alabama. 

The swarming termites I noticed yesterday appeared to be Formosan Subterranean "Super Termites."  This theory is supported by their size (almost the size of a small roach), appearance (golden brown), habits (swarming in the early evening in May on a warm night), and the damage done to the property.  These termites are known to consume more than 10 times the amount of wood when compared with other variety of termites.  The reason for this is that their colony populations number in the millions - instead of hundreds of thousands typically found in other termite colonies.  Inspection of the  edges of the roof around the home reveals sections where several feet of boards are completely missing and appear to be just eaten away.

An Engineer from the Engineering Division from the City of Mobile also visited the property to inspect the plumbing.  Gordon Ripps sent a plumber out to snake the line but it was the Engineer's opinion that the line will back up again - based on the fact that it is shared with the neighbors - and that they are more than likely dumping kitchen grease down the sink repeatedly.  He had also heard of Gordon Ripps and was not at all surprised to find the condition of the home - he agreed when I stated that Gordon Ripps was a slumlord.

My Wife and I visited Reeves office today May 9, 2015 to pay our rent and it literally made me sick to my stomach to have to pay them.  We received a Notice of Rental Agreement Noncompliance on May 6, 2015 demanding we pay $375 within 7 days or they would begin eviction proceedings.

Reeves overcharged us by adding an additional $17.50 to the late fee.  Our lease clearly states that our rent is $325 per month andthat rent paid after the 5th of the month is subject to a 10% late fee ($325 + $32.50 = $357.50 NOT $375).  Kaylin who works in their office gave us a receipt for a credit towards next month's rent. We feel this sleight was done by John & Martha Reeves (not Kaylin or other office staff) who delivered our Notice of Rental Agreement Noncompliance personally.

While we were in their office, I noticed another Notice of Rental Agreement Noncompliance addressed to a different tenant on Kaylin's desk which was dated 08/11/14.  I found this interesting for 2 reasons:

1)  If rent is late after the 5th, why did Reeves wait until the 11th to give this notice to the other tenants?  For my wife and I they gave it to us the very next day on 05/06/15 - the day after the rent was late.

2)  I can only assume that these persons have been staying in the home without paying rent for months and that only now has Reeves gotten around to doing anything about it.  Why else would a Notice of Rental Agreement Noncompliance from last year be on their desk with the date circled in red ink?

I can conclude from this as well as many other instances that my Wife and I are being treated unfairly and with a double standard by Reeves.

Based on extensive research of Alabama Landlord-Tenant Law, speaking with several Mobile Alabama Landlord-Tenant Lawyers, and Mobile Legal Aid, I determined that my best course of action to get any type of fair treatment from these persons is to remain in my apartment paying rent (to avoid eviction) and to sue them for damages - in addition to pursuing other legal remedies.  We possess overwhelming evidence showing that our home is NOT in livable conditions according to the Law in Alabama. 

I filed my first lawsuit on May 7, 2015 against John Reeves DBA Reeves Rentals aka Reeves Realty in Mobile County Court for my first month's rent, last month's rent, security deposit, and pet fee - totaling $1425.  This is a matter of public record and Mr. Reeves routinely uses his full name in advertisement and doing business - in addition to associating it with his company.  I will continue to file lawsuits (and do anything else legally within my means) against Reeves until I feel that my situation is remedied.

To date, my home is still in unlivable condition according to Alabama State Law - although the owner of the property (not Reeves) did send out a plumber finally (after raw sewage was backing up into my yard for more than a month and I contacted him directly) and the problem is fixed - for now.  The rest of the property is still in extremely poor condition, and I have had multiple persons from the City of Mobile Urban Development Department visit the property, take photos, and verify this.

A plumber came out once before and the pipes began backing up again and dumping raw sewage into the yard within a week.  I suspect this is also due to my neighbors (multiple plumbers advised me that our sewer line was connected) dumping grease down their kitchen sink.  When they were snaking the line and got near my neighbors home they told me that they hit solid grease and the line was completely clogged - and that this was causing sewage to back up into my yard. 

We are of the opinion that our neighbors are destroying the property in addition to constantly disrupting our peaceful enjoyment of our home.  They feed multiple stray cats, are extremely loud (screaming, hollering, playing loud music), trespass, invite vagrants to the property, throw garbage on the yard all over the common areas, use drugs and alcohol, and more.

These are the kind of conditions that you can expect to live in if you do business with Reeves Rentals aka Reeves Realty in Mobile AL.  It also appears to me that Reeves encourages these sorts of tenants to move into their homes.  My wife and I feel we have been treated unfairly from day 1 and with complete double standards.  We have filed a complaint with the Federal Government - (HUD) - Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.  We have also notified The Office of Inspector General about Section 8 Fraud on the property with regard to our neighbors and Reeves. 

I highly recommend AVOIDING this company if you do not want to deal with these types of situations.

Since I wrote my last email to John Reeves and Reeves Rentals / Reeves Realty I had another major plumbing issue with raw sewage backing up into my yard.  I called the same plumbing company from last week but this time they informed me that they spoke with Reeves Real Estate Office who claimed that they were unable to do anything without approval from John Reeves - and that they were unaware of any issues.

I had made a video last week on 04/26/15 showing the plumbing situation at the home which I sent to their email address.  I ended up having to make another video showing raw sewage backing up in the yard and threatening to call local Health Inspectors and Fair Housing Agencies because they refused to send a plumber to fix this issue. At the request of the plumbing company (after Reeves denied us any help multiple times), I spoke with John Reeves via telephone who claimed he wanted to meet with my wife and I while trying to ignore my requests to send a plumber immediately.  When I offered to let him come to my home to meet with us he hung up on me.  Extremely rude and unprofessional.

I got a call from the plumbing company about an hour later saying that they had spoken with Martha Reeves and that she and John Reeves had "gotten together, spoken, and decided to send someone out".  This was only after an extreme amount of effort on my part and frankly I believe they only agreed to send anyone out at all because I let them know that I was planning on having all the buildings on this property condemned as a next step if they did not help. 

The plumber they sent this time claimed that over $600 worth of work was needed to fix the problem which Reeves did not approve.  He also informed me that my line was more than likely connected to my neighbors line - so that everytime they flushed their toilet there would be more sewage in my yard - and that they could also possibly cause future plumbing issues at my home.  He left without doing anything.  Raw sewage is still backing up into my yard as I am typing this.

About 30 minutes ago I got a harassing email from John Reeves claiming that my behavior was "suspect" since I publicly posted to YouTube the first video (yesterday 5/2/15) I made (on 4/26/15) of the plumbing issues "before letting them know that an issue existed."  He doesn't seem to understand or be competent to realize that this is an ongoing issue - and that video was posted a week AFTER the first time I noticed sewage backing up into my yard.

It is obvious to me that Reeves Rentals aka Reeves Realty does a very good job at trying to cover up the fact that they are slum lords who take advantage of persons who don't seem to know any better.  They also have no humanity, and are only worried about their bottom line.

After calling a plumber on 4/26/15 to unstop the mainline clog from the cleanout valve, raw sewage is again running into the yard at our home.  I informed Martha Reeves on 4/26/15 that my wife and I would no longer be paying rent.  Today is 5/1/15 and we have not, and will not pay rent until all of the issues with our home are fixed.

I am not sure if Reeves Rentals aka Reeves Realty paid the plumbing company that came out last time to unclog the main line - since they did not return my phone call today (I left a message stating my name and the property address).  Nothing else has improved.

I recently learned that my next door neighbor has been "squatting" in his home on the property for approximately 20 years.  He has his possessions in the home and even has utilities on.  A Google search reveals that he is listed as living at the address.  The day my wife and I moved into our home we were informed by Martha Reeves that he was a "good renter" - which we know now to be false.

Of the 4 total homes built on the property there would be occupancy available for 6 families under ideal conditions (Total of 6 units in 4 homes).  Currently, 3 of 6 units are occupied by squatters and / or homeless persons.  1 is occupied by a Section 8 renter who has been living on the property for several years.  Another is occupied by a new couple who just moved in after us and the last is occupied by my wife and I who are not paying rent.  So, at least 4 of 6 units on the property are currently producing zero income.

My wife and I do not plan on moving despite everyones urging (most of all the other occupants of the property).  We are aware of our ability to report the conditions of the home(s) to State and / or Local Fair Housing Agencies which would result in our home (and possibly others) on the property becoming condemned.  When Martha Reeves threatened me with eviction via telephone I informed her that I would be happy to see her in court.  We are hoping that the owners and / or property managers show some interest in improving conditions here before things get worse.

My wife and I would be happy to pay the agreed upon rent if our property were in suitable condition.  We both have stable employment (I walk to work from our home and my wife works about 10 miles away), and do not plan on leaving the area until possibly retirement age (I am 32 and my wife is 24).  I am confident that many other persons would feel the same about paying rent here if things were improved. 

We are confident that if these homes were made livable that higher quality persons would move into them - and would be highly incentivized to pay rent.  The neighborhood and surrounding area is actually quite nice - despite the unfortunate conditions of our rental property itself.

Of the 6 available units on the property there is only 1 on which rent is being paid reliably to my knowledge.  Currently, these homes are in such poor condition they would not pass a Section 8 inspection - so they are unable to rent them to new Section 8 persons even if they were inclined to do so.  The current Section 8 renter has been reluctant to report the conditions of her home.  We believe that if conditions were improved that these homes have a lot of potential and that things would be better for us, the property managers, and owners.

The day after posting my original complaint I got a phone call from one of the office workers at Reeves who was trying to get my wife and I to come in and talk to John Reeves in person.  She claimed that he did not want to speak on the phone regarding these matters and refused to give affirmation as to whether or not our issues would be fixed.  John Reeves then sent 2 emails to my wife and left a voicemail on her phone attemping to get her only to contact him.  Reeves has been unable and / or unwilling to provide any sort of positive affirmation as to whether or not these issues would be fixed by qualified and licensed contractors.

My wife and I are not the sort of people who are going to pay on the basis of a future promise made by anyone whom we already know to be dishonest.  We already paid first month's rent, last month's rent, security deposit, pet deposit, application fees, and a processing fee (in addition to a pro-rated amount for half of a month) with the belief that Reeves would maintain our property in habitable conditions.  So far, Reeves has done nothing except try to demand more money, harass, and threaten us.

My wife and I are also not the sort of people who act independently without the other's knowledge - especially when it comes to an issue as important as where we are living.  We are deeply disappointed in Reeves' attempt to further deceive us.  Dealing with this company has been a nightmare from the day that we moved into our home.

I have observed that the 1 occupant who I know to pay rent appears to be pacified by the persons who work at Reeves with promises of future repairs and / or oral agreements allowing her to use different parts of the property.  In the meantime she has informed me that several parts of her home are without electricity and she complains frequently regarding the condition of her home, plumbing issues, and more.

It appears that Reeves has been making a living by taking advantage of ignornant people.  It also appears, at this point, that doing so has not led to a situation that is in their best interest.

My wife and I recently got approved for the Federal Weatherization program in Alabama.  This program provides repairs, appliances, and more to homes who need them for qualified households.  These repairs are done by licensed professionals.  In our State, the Homeowner is required to pay 25% of the repair costs.  I informed Reeves and am awaiting their response.

I am hoping that despite their past transgressions, Reeves will want to make things right.