Property Management Co magically turns 1 yr lease into 2

[Lauralee22]

Help! I own a house in Arizona and recently moved back to the state of Maryland. I didn't want to sell yet, so decided to use a property management company to handle leasing out the house. They found a tenant and I accepted the tenant and agreed to a 1 year lease. No other length of time was ever dicussed or even considered on my part. I just received my first statement from the PM company and they included a copy of the lease. The lease term says it's from 12-1-00 through 11-30-02. A 2 YEAR LEASE. The "2" is very dark and obviously written over the "1" that was there and the tenant has her initials by it. What??!!? How can this happen? I called the PM company immediately. They couldn't give me any explanation and would only say that they would ask the tenant if she would come in and sign a corrected lease, but that if the tenant refused there was "nothing at all they could do." My name is signed at the bottom with a date (a date I was out of state)...but it is NOT my signature. ALso, I signed papers with the PM company, but nothing in front of a notary, so I don't believe they have any power to sign my name on my behalf. Is this correct? Can they do this? Is there legal action I can pursue against the PM company? Please help me. Thank you!!

 

[HomeGuru]

Hire an attorney to sue this company for breach of contract, misrepresentation, forgery, deceptive trade practices ......

 

[Lauralee22]

Guru -

Thank you so much for the speedy response.

 

[HomeGuru]

Guru -

Thank you so much for the speedy response.

HomeGuru response: You are welcome. You can also file a complaint with the State for violations of real estate licensing and management violations.

 

[Lauralee22]

The property management company convinced the tenant to come in and sign a corrected lease that shows a term of 1 year. HOWEVER...now my tenant is breaking her lease only 2 months into it and I'm having a whole new set of problems with the property management company. In the agreement I signed with the PM it states they will collect from the tenant a security deposit equal to 1 or 1 1/2 times the monthly rent. No where in the agreement or the lease itself does it state a portion of this money goes to the PM for "administration" fees. So, all along I was under the impression that I held a deposit from the tenant in the amount of $825.00 (1 months rent, but come to find out, I only have $625.00, because according to the owner of the PM company, "the tenant pays a portion of the deposit to cover admin fees." Along with this issue, the PM company states if I terminate my contract with them (which I can do at anytime, 30 notice in writing) then the tenant will not be responsible for any fees for the house being vacant until I can secure a new tenant. The PM is horrible at returning my calls and they've included wrong information and misspellings in my ad on their website. (Desertwide.com) I paid $65.00 for a "virtual photo tour" and it is not linked properly. I could go on and on about their incompetence, but here is the root of my question...I'd like to end my relationship with this company and hire on a new PM to handle my property. I'd like to do this without losing any money I'm due from the tenant who is breaking her lease. Am I out of luck? Please advise and thanks in advance!