NC landlord who charged renters thousands in move-out fees 'appalls' commission as complaints mount

A landlord who charged a group of NC State students $23,000 when they moved out in August, with most of the charges related to a "disgusting" drinking game table, now has the attention of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission and the North Carolina Attorney General's Office.

State regulators' questions come in direct response to a joint investigation by WCNC Charlotte and WRAL News that exposed Evagelia (Lisa) Eustathiou's history of keeping college students' security deposits and then billing them thousands of dollars in additional charges upon move-out.

Eustathiou has since mailed a revised bill to her former renters, delivered to one family in recent days, drastically reducing the amount owed from $23,002.71 to $4,796.67. In that "Revised Security Deposit Report" she adjusted a cleaning fee and removed all charges associated with the drinking game table she didn't like. However, she added additional charges, alleging the renters refused to allow her to show the apartment to future tenants, which forced her to hire a real estate agent "to defuse your intimidation towards me."

Despite those revisions, through her attorney, Eustathiou indicated to WCNC Charlotte and WRAL News she now "has no present intention of going after student tenants for amounts in excess of the security/damage deposit." That said, her attorney Harry G. Gordon defended "the facts that led to the determination that the tenants in question were not entitled to a refund of their security/damages deposits."

"The problems Ms. Eustathiou and Apollon, LLC face are tenants who, notwithstanding a signed lease and commitments to act responsibly, instead abuse properties, will not cut the grass as agreed will not take the trash out to the street regularly, will not separate trash and recyclables as required by the City for City trash pickup, place junk and allow trash to accumulate on the yards, and create a nuisance in quality homes in quality neighborhoods with little or no regard for anyone else," Gordon wrote in a response to WCNC Charlotte and WRAL News.

The attorney's statement did not address concerns over why Eustathiou charged some of the additional fees, including the more than $18,000 she fined her former renters for their homemade drinking game table. Instead, the attorney listed nine problems "the landlord faced with these tenants" unrelated to the table.

"Ms. Eustathiou prides herself on providing quality properties," Gordon said. "Again, look at the elegant, large, older home she provided here. No landlord can provide quality tenant housings when the tenants abuse the house, will not put the trash out each week, will not sort the trash in a fashion the City will pick it up, put furniture on and allow trash to accumulate on the front and side yard, refuse to cut the grass, refuse to respect neighbors, and refuse to allow inspection or showing to new prospective tenants."

Her former renters have previously disputed many of those accusations. In recent days, several filed formal complaints.

"The (NC) real estate commission has accepted a group complaint from all of us," Nichole Williamson, a mother of one of the students, said. "I personally think she needs to lose her real estate license. Her behavior has been nothing but unethical."

"Appalled" by WCNC Charlotte’s and WRAL News' reporting, the NCREC urged the roommates, their families and other former renters to file complaints. Emails show the commission has since opened an investigation.

"I'm just happy that something is finally being done about it," Williamson said. "In my opinion, she's a financial predator. I want her to be stopped from doing this. I want every parent and every student at NC State to know who she is and to never rent from her again."

Months before Eustathiou billed those students, Connie Baker filed a formal complaint with NCREC tied to a home in Greensboro. Baker, who said she has a disability and relies on a service dog, told the agency Eustathiou kept more than $1,000 of her money and then cut off all communication.

"I was extremely distressed. The most distressed I've been in my life," Baker said. "You feel like you're cornered and you have no options."

Baker said she wired roughly $2,700 to the landlord back in June to cover the first and last month of rent plus her security deposit at a home on Spring Garden Street near UNC Greensboro. She said Eustathiou never finalized the lease, so she had to find somewhere else to live. Since then, she said the landlord has only refunded a little less than half of her money and refused to pay the rest "until the apartment is rented" to a new tenant. NCREC assigned the case to an investigator last week, Baker said.

"That would be satisfying if they realize how bad this was and something was done," Baker said. "I was very low on money and I was very exhausted by the process and I knew that she was depending on that, that I was worn down and demoralized and exhausted by this whole process of interacting with her. It seemed like she knew already that I would just eventually give up."

In addition, she previously filed a police report.

The North Carolina Attorney General's Office also encouraged former tenants to file complaints. In recent days, the agency mailed Eustathiou a letter, noting her "concerning charges" and giving her 15 days to respond.

"Among the concerning charges listed...are fines of $50 per day for 365 days for 'refusing to remove...non authorized' items from the front porch, totaling $18,250," an assistant attorney general wrote in the letter. "You have elected to charge fees for your travel from Greensboro to the Raleigh property. Further, your report also includes a 25% interest rate on unpaid fees allegedly owed throughout the lease team. Please explain how these charges are proper under the lease and applicable North Carolina law."

As WCNC Charlotte and WRAL News previously reported, state law prohibits unfair debt collection. According to Legal Aid of North Carolina, landlords can only charge tenants fees that are either laid out in a lease or allowed by law. People who violate the state's debt collection law could face steep penalties.