There I said it.
The Villages rentals are totally dishonest. They trumped up "charges" which were ridiculous. When they said there were marks in the cutting board, we knew we were in big trouble. They did retract that later after we explained as simply as possible that if you don't use the carving board, you end up with cuts in the granite. Kind of the purpose of a carving board. Then they said there was dog hair...Well...hmmn....that is what the nonrefundable pet security deposit of $150 was ostensibly to cover, no? Then later they said we took 1 towel and 2 pillowcases and 3 wash cloths for a total of $92. . Wow. Never thought I would be accused of taking a pillowcase or towel that didn't at least say Hotel Danieli or Plaza Athenee..
Really ridiculous. Not to be ostentatious but to make the point, we just built a very stretched lantana on the golf course with a very large pool...I think we can afford our own wash cloths.
So after being gracious and allow inspectors and workmen in for several different days because the owner's one year warranty was up while we were there (and we could have easily refused but were doing them a favor)
After being screamed at "You have no business being here" at by a maid that was angry when we returned after our check out time to return a cable cord that was mixed with ours as we were moving in to our new home) yelling the place has "dog hair" over and over, ( I suspect she just didn't want to have to actually clean since it was a Saturday and had hoped to do a light dusting)
After then meeting with the power man, Joe Cozensa, and being told there would be no problem, three weeks later (after the date by which they need to return your security deposit) we get a registered letter saying they are taking an additional $160 (which they had already done after the legal date) from the main deposit of $500 and we should refer to section blah blah blah of Florida statute. Typical of a sneaky mentality, they try to make you think they are in the right by throwing out a statute but, if you actually refer to that statute, what they did was illegal.
It says clearly that they cannot just take your security deposit (which they did) but they need to inform you of the discrepancy and you have 15 days to dispute it.
We rented through them because it was TV. Oh wait. Actually, we discovered through this it isn't ..exactly... TV. TV franchised it to these guys two years ago. You get your contract on TV letterhead, you pick up and return your keys to the sales office in Lake Sumter...it certainly quacks like a duck. I still don't understand TV pretending and supporting kindasorta it being a Village operation. It is really quite disappointing to us The Villages plays into this shenanigan. It isn't something we, and probably everyone else, would have expected.
So here is what we suggest for those who are going to engage these dishonest people. DON'T! You are better off going with a home owner where you build an honest relationship. If for some crazy reason, you feel you still want to rent through TV Hometown Management, absolutely make them do a walkthrough with you when you take the house and make sure they give you an itemized inventory which you sign off on. Otherwise, you end up with charges that are ...bologna.
And as for the incidents above, I have left out details that would make your jaw drop in the interest of trying to make this a concise and germaine post.