Many renters contacted Channel 2 Action News to express their concerns over water leaks and delayed repairs, as well as photoshopped images.
Ashli Lincoln, Channel 2’s investigative reporter, has been investigating the property management firm Excalibur Homes in Alpharetta for several months.
In May, Channel 2 Action News reported the first time on a woman who was dealing with raw sewer backing up into her Excalibur Homes rental.
Channel 2 Action News learned of more problems after that one, including mold and water leaks in a home.
Lincoln brought the concerns of the employees to the president, who took action.
Autumn Page said, “We shouldn’t have moved into that house.”
Ian Cohen, Page’s spouse, said: “You can clearly see the amount of water on the ground.”
Cohen gave the tour to the damp, dilapidated, and damaged property of the couple.
The entire house has to go. Page said that the sofas, mattress and vacuum cleaner were worth thousands of dollars.
They said that the couple’s problems started within weeks after moving into their rental house in southwest Atlanta, which they had found via property management firm Excalibur Homes.
Water leaks, mold growth, broken or non-working doors, electrical problems, and an angled foundation were just some of the many issues.
Cohen said, “Here is the floor caving in.”
Page said that when Excalibur sends someone to do maintenance, they will write a letter informing Excalibur of the cost.
Soncel’ra Bankston, a tenant at Excalibur Homes in Hapeville, said that the wiring in the rental was so poor she had to unplug her fridge in order to use the dishwasher.
Bankston said that an electrician had told her: “I am surprised this house didn’t catch fire.” I thought, ‘wait, what’?
Riley Humphreys, while checking Excalibur Homes rental properties found spray-painted warnings on one of the doors.
Some of the photos were also photo-shopped.
Humphreys said, “At first glance, the yards would appear lush and green, but when we arrived, they were brown and barren, sometimes covered in trash.”
Sherrita said, “The partial payment they sent me was signed by someone else.”
Excalibur Homes only returned $195 out of an $850 initial deposit.
Morton said Excalibur Homes also mailed the cheque to an address in a Gwinnett County Shopping Center that she had not provided.
Lincoln asked, “When you think about mold and fecal matter or sewage leaks, can you picture yourself living in these kinds of houses?”
Would I do it? No. No, I would not tolerate it,” said Mike Nelson, President of Excalibur Homes.
Lincoln played him a clip of black mold in Autumn Page’s and Ian Cohen’s house.
Nelson said, “That 320 Brooks property was a mistake.”
The company has admitted that they dropped the ball. The vendor did not follow up after closing the order when he discovered that the leak came from the roof and not the plumbing.
Nelson said, “We did not get any money from the tenants and the maintenance department lost out and shouldn’t have… now it is their number one priority.”
A 21-page report on the assessment found that $9,200 worth of repairs were needed.
Lincoln asked, “Is there a problem with understaffing?”
Nelson replied, “We have a greater number of tenants on the rental market than there are available houses.”
Nelson says that since 2018, Excalibur has grown from eight to 24 property managers in the metro Atlanta area.
Renters will often contact the wrong department when reporting problems, he said.
The property manager is not involved in maintenance. Nelson said that maintenance is handled by the maintenance department.
Lincoln asked Sherrita Morton about her check. Nelson said, “We were under the impression that she had given us her address.”
According to him, the company’s records showed that she had a back-rent balance and this amount was taken from her deposit.
Morton claimed that her landlord had sent a check for back rent.
Lincoln asks about photoshop.
Nelson admits that some landlords are guilty of this, but thinks it is a terrible idea.
We have no say in it. They feel that it enhances the listing. Nelson said, “I think that it causes more problems.”
Autumn Page, Ian Cohen and Lincoln Nelson received an email about 20 minutes prior to the interview in which they were told that there would be no penalties for them if they left.
Atlanta Code Enforcement reported that the next-door property has a sewer leak.
Excalibur Homes stated that this must be corrected before the home can be fixed.
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