LONG REALTY SOUTHWEST MGMT SVC

My wife and I signed a 1 year lease with Long Realty for a single family home they manage. They stated the home had not been cleaned prior to our move in and that we would not be responsible for a professional cleaning upon move out. When we arrived to the house it was filthy with the previous tenants hair, etc throughout the bathrooms and a general lived in film over everything. My wife and I understood and began cleaning knowing this labor would be compensated by not having to pay for a professional move out cleaning service. Also of note in the lease was a table outlining what was considered wear and tear vs damage. We noted nail holes, chipped tiles, etc on our move in inspection as well made maintenance requests for improperly installed thresholds, ceiling fan, banding on counter tops, water leaks, etc. The water leak was the only repair ever made. I am in the military and received orders to move to Ft Bliss, TX. I provided them appropriate notice and scheduled our move out day from the residence on 11 March 2014. We had professional carpet cleaning done, pest services, and landscaping services conducted in accordance with our lease agreement. We were specifically told not to initial the portion of the lease requiring a move out cleaning and would not be held responsible for one. We dropped the keys and garage door openers to their office that morning and left for Ft Bliss, TX. The lease dictates and Arizona state law requires the landlord return portions of the tenant's security deposit ($1350) or other held money within 14 business days of tenant turnover of the premises (11 March). I called their office after about 2 weeks had passed and was told my deposit had been mailed out that week. On the 1st of April (14 business days later) another rent payment of $1150 was taken out of my bank account. I immediately contacted their office and was told the deposit refund should go out this week along with my additional rent that was taken. I followed up again the next week and was told my deposit and rent should go out this week. Beginning to worry after several weeks of delays I asked what the amount was and what day it was sent. I was told I was being charged $821.17 for a professional house cleaning and for damages. I told them I needed an itemized list to verify the damages and they agreed to send one. They said the payment wouldn't be sent out until the following week because the person with authority to make payments was going through some type of family emergency. I received the remainder of my security deposit, additional rent money, and invoices for the damages and cleaning on June 3rd 2014 with a postmark date of 29 April. I had been charged $250.00 for a professional house cleaning. I contacted Long Realty who said the house was dirty and had to be cleaned. I referred them to the lease which stated the house was not cleaned prior to our move in and we were not responsible for cleaning it upon move out. The response was " you were only charged for cleaning the oven". I immediately contacted the vendor who stated a whole house cleaning was conducted. I recontacted Long Realty, informed them of the vendor response and was told "that's not true". I pointed out repeatedly the section of the lease that states I am not responsible for a move out cleaning and was simply told repeatedly "yes you are". Next I confronted them on the nature of the damages - the "itemized list" of repairs they sent me did not list charges for individual items - just a list with a total dollar amount of $571.17. I told them I needed an itemized list not just a large bill.On the list were nail holes in walls, light bulbs being replaced, closet doors being put on track, painting of walls nail holes were on, and an entire door being replaced due to pet damage. I reminded them that nail holes in walls were annotated on our move in but were also listed as wear and tear in the lease agreement. The lease specified that tenants are not liable for items classified as wear and tear; they are held liable only for items classified as damage. I pointed out the table in the lease that specified this and was repeatedly told "you have to pay to repair the nail holes". I asked why I was being charged for an accent wall in the living room to be repainted. They stated nail holes, I replied they were annotated in the move in inspection and additionally were wear and tear and received the same response "you have to pay to repair the nail holes and paint the wall". They charged me for a light bulb to be replaced in each of the ceiling fans in the Arizona room, Master bathroom, and master bedroom. The master bathroom does not have a ceiling fan and the fan in the master bedroom was the subject of a maintenance work order. Long Realty's maintenance man told us the fan wasn't unbalanced, it was installed improperly, and should not be used under any circumstances. He said he was surprised it hadn't fallen from the ceiling. They claimed there was pet damage to an external door that required it to be replaced. I told them I would need some evidence of damage; they have yet to provide it. They refuse to reference or acknowledge the lease or state law in their responses. I cite the 14 day requirement for return of my money and they respond with "we have followed all guidelines for processing your refund". When confronted with lease terms for wear and tear vs damages they say "the work that was done was dictated to us by the owner of the home". I contacted their handyman multiple times and left messages with my contact information in an attempt to get specifics on the work invoice but received no response. I am now going to be pursuing this matter in Arizona small claims court. It is unfortunate that the limit for small claims court is only $3500 as legally entitled damages for held money exceed that. I work with several other transient military members who have had similar problems with this company also. I will post an update when this is all resolved.