kaleigh b
1/5
My fiancé and I lived at LeCraw on 13th for two years, beginning when we were both still in school. We were first-time renters and were so excited to get to live in apartment that, to us, was really nice and affordable in a great location. We loved living at LeCraw. Despite the bug problem that we could never seem to get rid of, and the fact that our unit was the only one that didn’t get renovated before we moved in, we truly enjoyed our time there.
We moved out April 13, 2018. Before our final inspection, Jessy Garver at the Thayer Properties office at the Village on Cherokee told us not to worry about being present at the inspection. She told us that if we didn’t hear anything, we were good to go – her exact words (and we have a voice mail of her saying this) were “no news is good news.” We did not hear anything from Jessy or any other member of Thayer staff, because we left the apartment in good condition.
On April 30, we received a letter from Thayer Properties informing us that they were keeping our security deposit and that we owed an additional $288.32 for a bug infestation and carpet replacement. We immediately tried to contact Jessy and the Thayer office and were ignored. We sent a letter registered mail (so we would get a receipt when they received it), which said that we disputed the debt and needed some documentation proving that the damages were a) as extensive as they claimed, and b) our fault. (Side note: Georgia state law mandates that if a landlord intends to keep a tenant’s security deposit and/or charge them for damages, all inspections and a final list of damages must be compiled within 5 days of the tenant moving out. By the time we were informed of the “damages,” more than two weeks had passed and a new tenant had been moved in. In addition, the statement we were sent was dated April 23 – I’ll save you the math: that’s 10 days after we moved out.) After they received the letter, we were told that all further inquiries should be directed to their lawyer, Travis Hargrove at the Finley Firm. We immediately tried to contact Travis; during our first call, Travis told us he was in his car and couldn’t answer any of our questions because he didn’t have any of the paperwork in front of him. He said he would call us back from his office first thing the next morning.
We never heard back from Travis. His office staff told us that he was in a meeting or mediation every time we called (we made seven attempts to call him in a single week), and when we emailed him, he said that he was on vacation and would contact us when he returned. I bet you can guess what happened next.
On May 24, my fiancé and I each received a letter from National Credit Systems informing us that our debt had been sold and we now owed the collection agency. We sent letters back right away informing them that we disputed the debt and wanted proof: a record of the Knox Pest Control inspection that LeCraw said they ordered, proof that we damaged the carpet beyond reasonable wear, etc. We heard nothing from the debt collector or LeCraw/Thayer or Travis Hargrove for about a month. On July 19, I received a letter from National Credit Systems that said our account had been cancelled because LeCraw/Thayer was unable to provide documentation proving that we owed the debt.
While this was all going on, I spoke to some of our friends who also lived in Thayer-owned properties (one at Hilcrest and one at the Village on Cherokee, both also college students and first-time renters), and what do you know – they were both contacted post move-out that they owed exorbitant amounts of money for damages (with no proof) and carpet replacement.
TLDR: Thayer Properties is running a scam on college students and first-time renters. Living there is pretty great, but once you move out, they will accuse you of damaging the unit and will demand you pay for carpet replacement, but they will have no documentation or proof of the damages. It is NOT worth it.
