Trident Investment

After trying to settle directly with Trident Property Management and not getting a response, I'm reaching out here to request mediation for a fee waiver of $55.00 that was wrongly charged. I also want to address the issue of harassing emails that I've been receiving from Trident. Here are the facts: In October , I informed the property manager, Linda *** at Trident Property Management, that I would be moving out of the property in December and wanted to explore my lease options. I was given permission to find a qualifying tenant to take over the lease. I found a roommate who applied and was approved, but she later backed out of the agreement to move in December and suggested moving in mid-January while expecting me to pay the rent. I had to cancel any agreements made with her because I didn't want to recommend someone unreliable to take over my lease. I took good care of the property, made improvements, paid my rent on time every month, and followed the property and HOA rules. When I contacted Trident, I found out that Linda was on leave. Belinda Whitten contacted me and suggested that breaking my lease and paying a $497.50 tenant replacement fee, along with other unspecified fees, would be my best option. Later, she sent an email correcting the previously mentioned amount to $750.00, which is significantly higher. Since Linda had previously given me the option to find a qualifying tenant, and considering the strange fees offered, I couldn't trust Trident to sign any further agreements with them. I tried to call Belinda to understand the process, but she never responded to my voicemails or calls. Instead, she had her assistant Carolyn reply, saying she was too busy with the Holidays. I made every effort to find a new tenant, spoke to over thirty qualifying tenants, and directed them to Trident for the application process. However, Trident rejected all applicants, claiming they were not accepting applications for this property. We even had a friend call Trident to inquire about the property, and Carolyn stated that they were trying to make me break the lease so the tenant could rent directly from them. My lawyer believed that Trident was attempting to make me break the lease in order to increase the rent instead of finding a new tenant, and he was correct. They raised the rent from $995.00 to $1350.00, as shown in the attached advertisement. Trident could have negotiated a fair lease termination with clear fees since my lease was ending in March, which is only two months away. After several attempts to reach a resolution, I managed to contact the property owner, Mary Santos, directly. I negotiated a lease termination effective January 1st, in exchange for my security deposit, which the owner agreed to. I also reported to the owner a series of abuses committed by Trident, providing evidence for each issue mentioned. One of the abuses I reported to Ms. Santos was that I had provided Trident with several qualifying tenants who were all declined. One of these tenants, who belonged to a minority group, was asked to pay off all their debts, including medical bills from Covid19, and provide two years of tax returns to qualify. However, Trident had just approved a roommate with half the credit score, part-time income, and several thousand dollars in debt, without requiring them to pay anything off. The couple had an income of $5,000 and a credit score over 700, so it seemed unfair to me, and they felt discriminated against. Immediately after the owner accepted the lease termination, I received the attached letter from Belinda Whitten at Trident, stating that the owner accepted the termination without payment of lease break fees. However, in the same correspondence, she expressed her displeasure and claimed that in order to protect my credit report, I needed to pay a $*** fee for removing a string of Christmas lights, as well as lease termination fees. I disputed this and requested a waiver of the $55.00 fee, as the property was full of debris when I moved in, and Trident violated my rights as a tenant by not providing a clean property. I sent emails to Trident asking for the fee waiver due to these circumstances, and I received one response from Mark Herbst informing me that my request would be forwarded to management. However, I never received a response from management. Instead, I continue to receive harassing emails threatening damage to my credit report if I don't pay the fee mentioned above. Trident Property violated my tenant's rights by delivering the apartment full of debris when I moved in. Given that I had to dispose of the items myself, it is only fair that they waive the fee and stop the harassment. Trident is not acting in good faith, as required by the law and the Tenants Rights handbook. I appreciate any assistance in resolving this matter and having the fee waived and the harassment stopped. Thank you.