Westbury Reserve Apartments owner respond to complaints about trash pick-up

HOUSTON - We are hearing from the owner of the Westbury Reserve Apartments— a troubled complex we’ve been working to get answers about. 

The next day, the trash was collected-- after Republic Services and the city got involved, and the Houston Health Department issued nearly 30 violations. 

Westbury Reserve Apartments owner responds to residents complaints

What they're saying:

Owner Robert Ritzenhaler, President and CEO of REM Capital, tells me he hired AMC Management to take care of the property and they did not.

He adds he says he’s even more upset that his residents are living in these horrible conditions.

RELATED: Resident at WestBury Reserve Apartments share complaints about lack of trash pick-up and other maintenance issues

"At the end of the day, the buck stops with me, as one of the owners of the property, and I’m the manager. That doesn't mean there isn't a story behind it, of course."

Owner says management company did not pay $10,000 trash bill

"So they asked us about a month ago if we wanted to pay the trash bill, which I was a little bit surprised about because I knew we had funds," said Ritzenhaler. "I approved it immediately when they brought it to my attention, but it took a month to get the trash bill paid. I think because their process is I approve it, it goes to their corporate accounting in Utah cuts a check. They send the check to Houston. The onsite manager then has to turn it around and send it to the trash company."

Ritzenthaler says on Friday he found out there was over $366,000 in the account with AMC Management.

*Video below is from previous report on April 24.*

So, he is not sure why the trash bill was not paid - because all rent money goes to the account.

"I had found out they had paid $120,000 in other bills again not complain about them paying bills," said Ritzenthaler. I shouldn't have to approve a trash bill. The contract specifically states that they will take care of managing the property and keeping it habitable.

On Monday, he sent a team member by the name of Priscilla here to manage all of the clean-up being done. He says he's starting by picking up the remainder of the trash.

RELATED: City of Houston departments and officials respond to claims made by residents after trash was picked up

"We got our contractor to start boarding up a lot of the doors and windows from a lot of vandalism thats happened," Ritzenthalter said, "They came out last night and started working on the plumbing issue because there was a sewage back up in one of the buildings that hadn't been addressed immediately.

Owner provides to-do list for clean-up operations at Westbury Reserve 

Timeline:

1. Order and pay for supplies at Lowes as needed
2. Communicate with various people at AMC to get funds released
3. Get existing payroll information from AMC, create/send offer letters to existing staff, setup payroll
4. Setup/fund ACH to reimburse Priscilla for out-of-pocket expenses
5. Source landscaper for Thu/Fri mow, review/approve cost, and provide CC for payment
6. Confirm work and pay for units getting boarded up
7. Get bid for hot water issue, review, approve, pay deposit to get work started asap
8. Call various city departments/inspectors and build rapport
9. Meet with Mayor Pro Tem’s office to ensure she is aware of the work we are doing to address the issues.
10. Create a budget for open items in #8
11. Interview/hire new maintenance staff immediately
12. Schedule resident open house to let them know doors are open and we are listening
13. Review open work orders and bring temp maint. staff (as needed) to address asap

 Owner provides end-of-day updates as of April 29

What's next:

1. City Compliance: The city has officially closed the case regarding the vacant units. Additionally, the plumbing issues in Buildings 2 and 19 have been resolved and signed off.

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2. Fire Marshal Visit: He granted us a 30-day grace period to complete the following:

• Fence and Gates: Must be fully repaired and operational.
• Potholes: All large potholes must be addressed. A general contractor was on-site today to provide an estimate. I should have a clearer budget by Friday and will follow up on potential funding needs.
• Pool: The pool and its surrounding gate must be repaired and brought up to code. The current condition is unacceptable (dark brown water).
• Fire Extinguishers: All units are expired by two years and must be replaced. We are coordinating with a vendor to handle this and will begin pulling permits.

3. Health Department Visit: The health department also visited to verify that all prior sewer leaks were properly cleaned and treated. I purchased the required chemicals last night, and cleanup was completed. No citation was issued.

AMC Management ending responsibilities at Westbury Reserve

What they're saying:

On May 2, FOX 26 received this statement from AMC Management:

"We categorically reject the false and misleading statements made by REM Capital and Robert Ritzenthaler regarding AMC's conduct with respect to Westbury Reserve.

To set the record straight: AMC never sought permission to pay trash collection bills at Westbury Reserve, nor was it required to under the property management agreement. Instead, as REM Capital’s agent, we consistently sought necessary funding from REM Capital to cover essential services, including utilities, trash removal, and other vendor payments. Not only had REM Capital failed to provide the necessary funding to timely pay these property vendors, but REM Capital had also fallen significantly behind on AMC's management fees and property staff payroll.

Despite the repeated funding requests by AMC, REM Capital’s funding was inadequate to run the Westbury Reserve property. AMC gave notice to terminate its property management agreement at Westbury Reserve on March 14th and March 28th, 2025 due to lack of funding and the inability of the REM Capital to timely pay its important vendors for the benefit and safety of its residents and its failure to pay AMC.  At the request of REM Capital and Mr. Ritzenthaler, AMC ultimately agreed to delay termination to May 1st, 2025 to avoid the property being left with no management, and the termination has now occurred.

Effective May 1, 2025, AMC has concluded its property management responsibilities at Westbury Reserve."

Houston