Question

Hi!  Anyone here rent from American homes 4 rent?Hi! Anyone here rent from American homes 4 rent? We are moving in a few weeks and just received their move out check list.  I’m curious if anyone actually got their security deposit back or not.  

Answer 1

Well this makes me feel uneasy lol I already paid for everything to move in.  

Comments

@transubstantiate we’ve never had any issues in the 3 years we’ve been with them. It’s just the move out process that I’ve read bad things about  but some people commented they didn’t have any issues so ‍♀️

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@concordant I’m reading too that they don’t fix problems very well. The house we re moving into had a major leak in the master and the whole ceiling had to be redone. I’m freaking out now that it wasn’t done the right way  

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We signed a lease on a house in plainfield. We were in another state at the time. I pleaded with the property manager that we cannot have mold in the house. My daughter is a severe asthmatic. We got there to get the keys. Went in. Found mold in the basement(finished) they tried to paint over. Claimed "mold is only dangerous after a period of time" We said we would not take the keys or possession. They allowed us to find another one of their houses. We did. Moved in. Holes in walls. Nails in walls. Dirty bathrooms and walls. All they did from the last tenant was clean carpet. We know because when we viewed this house we walked in on him cleaning carpet. We were told holes would be fixed and the house would be clean by move in.  It was not. Cuz "those are cosmetic things and we don't do cosmetic" Ummm. ok. lol.  

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@oleneolenka I did go in before the ceiling was finished. So I’m praying they fixed it right. My son is extremely asthmatic as well!  

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@transubstantiate one of the bedrooms a previous smoke lived in. It happened to be what would be my daughters room. I spent a week wiping down every surface and carpet cleaning just to get the odor out. It was bad. And there is mold in this house too. But thankfully its outside in the garage. They claimed they fixed it. I'll send u a pick. Their fix is a joke.  

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@oleneolenka that’s not good! We don’t have another option to look at either. Ugh this sucks

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@transubstantiate just prepare to fight like hell for what is right or to pay out of pocket to fix whatever needs fixing on your own. Thankfully my husband is handy and owns a remodeling company. So we dont bother to call them for anything. We just fix ourselves. This garage mold issue tho. I'm gonna have to fight them. They claim they already fixed it. All they did was replace the dry wall. Not the source of the leak that is causing the mold

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@oleneolenka ugh this sucks. I’m going to take a video and pics of everything before we move in. Thanks girl. Might have to call your hubby if we need work done  

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@transubstantiate YES! TAKE A MILLIONS PICTURES. I have heard from the tenants against ah4r that a ton of pictures is what saved them. In the video have a witness w you. State the date and time. Who you are. Who your witness is. And verbally point out any issues. Cosmetic or not. We signed another yr with them til we buy/build a new house. Dont get me wrong. It's a nice house in a nice neighborhood in a nice school district. Buuuut AH4R suuuucks. Good luck! Hope for the best for you!  

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@oleneolenka Thank you so much! Where are you guys at? My poor son is worried about starting a new school  

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@transubstantiate after our Plainfield house fell through we ended up in Yorkville.  

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@oleneolenka gotcha we are switching to plainfield from Plano lol

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@transubstantiate I border on plano. My brother and a few friends are in Plainfield. Its a nice area. And the schools are good too

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@oleneolenka my sister will live a mile from us lol

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@transubstantiate the move out process is the worst. That and they will up your rent every year. Just be careful and take as many pictures as possible and leave the rental the exact same way you moved in.  

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@gytle7663 thank you! I definitely plan to do that!  

Answer 2

Ekkk we are just moving into one of their homes. What does the list look like  

Answer 3

My old Neighbor rented from them, and she did get her deposit back! She didn’t think she was gonna either.  

Answer 4

Always take pictures! My husband and I are landlords, he takes a video with his phone and takes pictures

Comments

@carrol upon move in & out, even down to under & inside the stove and fridge, in the bathtubs/cabinets/doors! I hate to say that many people have the mindset that it’s not theirs, so who cares. to me, you break it, you buy it; you make it dirty, you clean it ‍♀️

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@kraal Yes. Especially if there's little things, like nicks in the wall, spots on the carpet (if you're the renter) so they don't try to blame it on you. Now as a landlord, ours is a townhouse so we don't have multiple units. Our first renter was a nightmare! My husband's video of his walk through before he handed over the keys helped us so much! They stole my kitchen appliances! Broke my dryer, destroyed the carpet (upstairs), destroyed our "real" hardwood floors, etc. Omg a nightmare!  

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@kraal Also, super important ALWAYS keep a copy of the lease you sign!  

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@carrol I am a manager, I understand to the fullest. single family, multi-family, condominiums, townhomes, you name it; all suburban areas, no discrimination!  

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@kraal My daughters apt in Indiana made me see red! The deadbolt wasn't sealed properly and there was chunk of door missing. It locked but you could feel the cold December winds come right through it. And my 6 year old daughter could kick in that door. It was awful. I told them they could keep her deposit (it was only $200) but she's moving out before her lease is up. And don't even dream of trying to take us to court, with all the pictures and emails of my daughter complaining the kitchen sink was leaking and about the deadbolt for over 4 weeks, I'll end up suing you. Plus there was mold under the sink and they told her to spray it and wipe it up, knowing she's 5 months pregnant!  

Answer 5

I have had clients get their deposit back

Answer 6

Ugh they are awful! We had to when our house flooded and it had to be rebuilt. Thankfully I was super picky on the list, took hundreds of pictures, and a ton of videos. They tried to keep it (even though it came from insurance) and charge us a ton more and I was able to throw it right back at them with all my phone time stamped pictures and videos and emails I sent to them with it when we first moved in.  

Comments

@epidaurus I wish I took more pictures  

Answer 7

Got everything back but the cost of an oven bulb so like $11 maybe? We rented from them for 3 yrs and had no real issues with them at all.  

Comments

@kirkham we’ve been here 3 years too! I’ve never had any issues at all with them the entire 3 years but I’m reading bad reviews about people moving out and not getting their security deposit back/ owing money. Did you have your carpets professionally cleaned and paint the house before moving out?  

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@concordant No to both of those questions. I have a shampooer so I did it myself. I was worried about the carpet in the hallway by the front door because it certainly wasn’t perfect but the man said nothing. I patched a few nail holes and painted and somehow magically picked the exact same off white that was used so you couldn’t tell i filled the holes which was amazing. We definitely took our time and cleaned really well. If you have your own shampooer add oxiclean. it’s quite shocking what it’ll make your carpets look like! Lol We had one issue where our furnace stopped working in the dead of winter. When my husband called he reached someone based out of Las Vegas and they said they’d have someone out in 2-3 days. My husband was like Um no you won’t! We’re in Chicago in the middle of winter and there are children here. Someone was out the next day.  I honestly expected them to be a huge pain when we moved but it was great!  

Answer 8

I rented from them 6 years ago, I got my deposit back. I shampooed the carpets myself. Everything looked good, but I had a Chihuahua that would be in the kitchen when I was at work and warped some of the trim and I still got my deposit back

Answer 9

I have nothing good to say about them after renting for 4 years from them. They are scammers and trash!  

Answer 10

My parents did and had to fight for their deposit! They’re both extremely anal about how their house looks & we’re renting to save for the house they’re in now! It was just them and 2 kids in high school so not much for a mess. No stains, scrubbed everything clean, were never late on rent & left the place immaculate & still had a hard time. I know a few people that rented through them & told me to avoid it completely! Personally I’ve seen more bad reviews than good

Answer 11

We currently rent thru them and know what's going to happen when we move. Look up tenants against american homes 4 rent on fb. U will see alllll the stories.  

Comments

@oleneolenka so hold your last months rent in them

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@zoophilia they send u to collections and add all kinds of fees. Ppl have stated they are told they owe 10 to 15k by the time is all said and done.  

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@oleneolenka is lawyer you and sue

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@zoophilia oh I'm not worried. I have a family member who is a rock star high powered corporate attny. I just think this company sucks. They are basically slumlords of nice suburban homes. And they totally take advantage of everyone. Lots of class action lawsuits against them already

Answer 12

They are the worst! We asked for paint to do touch-ups around the house and they gave us a completely different color and expected us to paint the entire house. The absolute worst company to work with. I don't recommend ever using them.  

Comments

@gytle7663 they left us paint too but didn’t give us the right color. I have to call today  

Answer 13

I received every penny back. Rented for two years, cleaned carpet myself, paid $75 for a whole house clean when the house was empty. I did not paint but I wiped down the walls. The guy who did the inspection was really nice and fair - came a week before to point out the things I needed to fix which was a lightbulb and some yard waste on the side of the house. I never had problems renting from them at all. I read everything reported online before I rented with them and as a former landlord who'd heard all the same stories at one point or another, I take tenant complaints with a grain of salt.  

Comments

Thanks this makes me feel better!  

Answer 14

Run fast! Read their reviews.  

Answer 15

We almost rented from them but just dealing with them trying to get into a place was a nightmare! We wanted a short term lease (6 months) while trying to buy a house and they increased the monthly rent by like $900 more than if we signed for 12 months. Thanks but no thanks.  

Answer 16

We didn't get all our deposit back cause they claimed we stained the carpet and sent us pictures of it. The picture they sent wasn't even the carpet we had in the rental. It was a different color and style.  

Answer 17

We rented from them for a year, and they were HORRIBLE! Our AC went out, and it was weeks before they could get it fixed! They sent out some co., and the guy didn't know what he was doing! Had to wait for the AH maintenance guy to come, but it was like a week before he came, and my Husband ended knowing him. At the time, there were only 2 maintenance guys. he handled the so. End of the state, and the other guy handed the no. End. They did finally approve and reimbursed us for a window AC but that was after MANY calls and emails. Mind you, it was in the middle of a sweltering summer top! We also had the carpets professionally cleaned, patched some sm. holes/scratches in the walls and painted. We ended up fighting them about some of the deposit, and I think it was something stupid, like not power washing the front steps and something about the fence (that had issues when we moved in). If I didn't keep the pics. And notes from the pre-move-in inspection, they would have kept the whole thing! I've always treated every rental as if it was my own, and I was annoyed I had to go thru that! Stay clear of them!