Graystone Real Estate

To whom it may concern,

After moving into 10106 N Arden Ave. April 12, 2019, in which I rent from Graystone Real Estate, I discovered the house had not been cleaned. I had no choice but to clean the house and in the process I found multiple crack pipes, mold in the refrigerator, crack baggies all over the yard and multiple other issues. After addressing this with Jessica from Graystone, I was told maybe it inst up to your standards. I proceeded to send Jessica pictures of my findings and she desvducted $100.00 from my first months rent for cleaning the house.

I then discovered the back door was falling apart and would not lock due to rotten wood. I immediately notified Graystone that my home was not secure. After waiting 3 days, a handyman came by, replaced the door and screwed a paint splattered handle on the door. The handle lasted a day because there was nothing to screw it into.

Since June 10, 2019, I have submitted multiple maintenance requests for a leak in the roof among other issues. The house has had a leak in the roof since June 2019 and Graystone has been aware of this for the past 6 months. I have had multiple visits from their general contractors, that I did not refuse to enter my home and only one of the multiple holes in the roof has been repaired. From June 2019 to October 2019 I have submitted multiple maintenance requests to no prevail. The leak in the roof has caused outlets to short out. It has been over a month with 3 outlets that work. Now it rained November 23, 2019 and Im down to 2 outlets that work. I have not been able to use my stove or any other outlet in the house. I have experienced the smell of something burning and had to call the fire department. The fire department was unable to locate where the wire melting smell was coming from. I tried to report the smell of melting wires to Graystone but their maintenance line was instructed to not take my request and my portal access was revoked on November 7, 2019 at 9:46 am EST. I am now being sued for the damages in the house that were caused by the leak in the roof. Sebastian, their general contractor came to the house and has stated several times that he was going to fix the roof and it could be done without me being there because the holes are obvious and he came unprepared to make any repairs. Yet the only thing that happens is Sebastian(GC) calls me to paint the inside of the house so I have to tell him there is no use in painting the house when the roof still leaks and the drywall is wet and sagging.

Along with the roof leaking, the water from the washer backs up into the kitchen sink. When Sebastian (GC) came to the house, he was not prepared to fix the drain so he stated he would come by on Monday because again I did not need to be home for him to fix this. Needless to say that was 2 months ago and it still needs to be repaired.

I have windows that do not open. After submitting a code enforcement complaint, Graystone sent Sebastian(GC) to my home to pry the windows open with a crowbar. After Sebastian left he started the windows were fixed but they would not close or would shatter when I tried to open our close them. I reported 2 windows shattered when I tried to open them and 1 would not close. Sebastian (GC) told me that he fixed them and they opened and closed when he left. I submitted multiple requests for the broken windows, only to be canceled out of their system with no resolution. This caused 3 windows to remain broken for over a week before I had to purchase glass and install myself.

Over 4 months ago, I submitted a maintenance request for the city water smelling like rotten eggs and I had stomach issues from the day I moved into the house. Graystone advised me to have the city test it so I did. The city will only test the water up to the house and it came back clean. I advised Graystone that per the City of Tampa, the smell is a problem within the house. Multiple times I stated to Graystone that the smell and the water are causing me stomach issues and I did what they asked but still nothing has been done about it.

After constantly feeling sick and knowing there are holes in the roof, I had the house tested for mold. The results came back with high levels of toxic mold and extremely high levels of yeast.

I have multiple text messages and maintenance requests that I have submitted for the issues with the house and they have been canceled with no resolution. I have never turned anyone down to enter my home to make repairs. Sebastian (GC) has come into my home multiple times and has done nothing but tell me that Jorge Vasquez is not going to fix the house and I should just move.

On September I mailed Graystone a certified letter stating that I will be withholding rent until the outlined code violations and defects that were submitted in my maintenance requests were corrected. This includes, the windows not opening, the washer backing up into my kitchen sink, the wall sockets not holding plugs (which was the problem before they completely stopped working), adding insulation in the attic because my home would not get colder than 80 degrees and my electric bill was $300.00 for a 640 sq ft house and the roof leaking.

Recently I obtained a lawyer. After my lawyer advised Graystone there was an open code enforcement case, Graystone stated they will illegally evict me. Later Graystone offer to pay me $3875.00 to vacate the property and they would release me of my lease. The problem with this offer was Graystone also wanted to inspect the house prior to releasing the money and Shawn and myself would have to sign a *** order. Graystone is currently illegally evicting me as retaliation to my code enforcement case and in the process they are trying to sue me for damages made to the house because as they stated I would not let them in to fix the roof. This is completely untrue and can be proven with all of the text messages and maintenance requests that I have attached. The simple fact is if I did not allow Sebastian (GC) in the house in the 5+ month period as they have stated, why would they allow me to continue to live here, letting the roof leak and destroy the walls, ceiling and electrical outlets.

Because I did not take their offer, the code enforcement case remains open and because of this; I was recently served a 3 day to vacate notice and a *** order for Shawn because he posted reviews on the internet. The processor that served these papers sat outside of my home for most of the day and was sitting in front of my house when I arrived home from work. Now the owner of Graystone is driving by my house 4-5 times a day which is on a dead end road and it is making me uncomfortable to be in my home alone. Graystone is also stating in their eviction notice that the late fee is $5.00 a day when their contract clearly states $2.00 a day. This is the manipulative conduct I have continuously been subjected to by

Graystone for the past 6 months.

I have lived in this house for 6 months and I have paid my rent on time every month despite being afraid the house is going to catch on fire again. I have multiple pictures of bare live electrical wires in the attic. There are cut pieces of 2x4s holding the rafters together because they were burnt in the fire that occurred prior to my lease. I have been told that maintenance workers have fixed things when in fact they didn't even come to my house.

I have been lied to. I have been called white trash by employees. My portal access has been revoked and the maintenance line was instructed not to submit my requests. I notified Graystone via certified mail that I will be withholding my rent until the problems I have been dealing with since June 2019 and that are in the Code Enforcement violations are fixed. I have lost refrigerated food due to the wall sockets not working, I have lost several electronics, including a laptop due to power surges caused by the roof leaking. I was offered a $200.00 credit for my losses but it was never applied to my account.

Graystone has now served me with an eviction notice and in the past 6 months, I have withheld rent one time. This is complete retaliation for my code enforcement complaint.

If you like you can see more pictures of this fiasco here:

http://graystone-jorge-vazquez-slumlord.com/toxic-mold/

http://graystone-jorge-vazquez-slumlord.com/maintenance-requests/

http://graystone-jorge-vazquez-slumlord.com/move-in-day/

http://graystone-jorge-vazquez-slumlord.com/roof-damage/

http://graystone-jorge-vazquez-slumlord.com/tampa-code-enforcement/