Coldwell Banker Real Estate review: misrepresentation of lease agreement and fiduciary misconduct

A lease was negotiated in 2009 for retail shop space. The lease was reviewed by the tenant, negotiated and the tenant had a law firm review the lease prior to signature. Coldwell Banker represented the landlord in the negotiations and serves as the property manager for an absent landlord. The lease was signed based on an agreed upon base rent plus additional rent, with additional rent defined as insurance, property taxes and common area maintenance (expenses (CAMs). An additional fee of 15% of the CAM expenses was also included in the lease agreement for managing the common areas. An estimate of the reasonable additional rent to be included each month was also described in the lease. The additional rent was collected as escrow to cover the upcoming years expenses. The property manager provided a reconciliation report about a year later that showed a shortfall of almost $4, 000, Investigation showed that the property manager added a "management fee" that was in addition to the other fees already discussed that had not been disclosed in the lease. Coldwell Banker also consistently includes expenses in the CAMs that specifically defined in the lease as the landlord's responsibility (e.g., roofing, HVAC) plus other fees that are questionable (more than $15, 000.00 charged ($45.00/hr) over the course of the year to empty about 8 trash cans once or twice a week). Most of these charges are paid directly to Coldwell Banker - Sun Coast Partners, LLC to which they charge an additional 15% CAM admin fee. My roof over my checkout counter has leaked for 5 years and never been fixed, each year we are charged for pressure washing the building (pictures are attached of the street side of my building that has had the same green munge for three years and of my checkout counter on Mother's Day 2015). For each dollar that Coldwell Banker - Sun Coast Partners can bill to the tenants, they make $0.15, so the more expenses they incur the more money they make. North Carolina addresses fiduciary responsibilities in state statute. Coldwell Banker - Sun Coast Partners engages in unethical and deceptive business and accounting practices. If you choose to do business with Coldwell Banker - Sun Coast Partners read your lease carefully and track every expense.

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