In March, Hannah Remick lost her job and her home from a text message. Remick worked at the corporate office for Vesta Realty, a Tulsa-based real estate investment firm. She lived at one of their properties under an employee housing agreement, where rent was a part of her compensation package. T hat was until the CEO of Vesta Realty fired and evicted her in one fell swoop. Vesta Realty’s portfolio includes 30 properties in Oklahoma, with 16 in Oklahoma City, 12 in Tulsa, one in Stillwater and one in Bartlesville, according to their website. Tenants at the properties have complained of unresponsive property managers, lack of heat in winter, no hot water, mold, ceiling collapses, flooding and more.  The conditions made their apartments barely-habitable, and have gone unresolved for months.  Oklahoma’s poor tenant protections leave them few options. While tenants live in apartments with collapsed ceilings and soggy carpets from floods, Marc Kulick, chief executive officer of Vesta Realty, was Oklahoma Magazine’s face of real estate for 2024. He’s a high stakes gambler. And his Tulsa home was valued in 2025 at $1.7 million, according to the Tulsa County Assessor’s office. Oklahoma Watch attempted to contact Kulick via phone, email and at the Vesta Realty office, where staff said he was not in and no one was available to comment. Vesta Realty CEO Marc Kulick’s home in Tulsa, which was valued at $1.7 million in 2025. (Oklahoma Watch) Vesta Realty The company has been sued over unpaid and late bills for electrical, plumbing and HVAC work. Local media has reported tenants’ complaints about the living conditions at the properties. But Remick’s predicament is unique in that she was both a tenant and employee. Remick worked for the company from Oct. 2022 to March 2025, and was involved in designing the corporate office and amenities for The Classen, an Oklahoma City property. She said at first she enjoyed it. But when they started charging for utilities, she was confused and questioned the property manager. Remick said she tried to handle the problem as a tenant, but it was still sent to the corporate office. In an email obtained by Oklahoma Watch, Joey Dunlap, director of facilities and capital improvements said, fully paid utilities were not a part of her job compensation or lease, and had been mistakenly paid. “That issue has been corrected,” he wrote, suddenly sticking her with those bills. Problems at the workplace continued to arise. At one point, Dunlap told Remick to pull 12-hour shifts to prioritize her work. Then, Kulick, the CEO, texted saying they needed to talk. Remick responded that she would prefer to keep any formal conversations in writing. “Lol okay Hannah,” Kulick said via text message. “Best of luck in the future, you are officially being terminated effective as of today. Also a reminder per your employee lease agreement please vacate your apartment within five days. Thanks!” Vesta Realty filed the eviction in Tulsa County District Court. The night before her day in court, Remick stayed up trying to find ways to defend herself, or at least get more time to figure out what was next. She had just lost her job and her housing. “I stayed up day and night using ChatGPT to become an attorney,” she said. Remick was without legal representation going into eviction court, and, like many tenants, was faced with the daunting task of defending herself against an experienced landlord attorney. Only about 4% of tenants nationwide have legal representation in eviction court, compared to 83% of landlords. Those who have legal representation are more likely to show up to court and are much more likely to stay in their homes. Additionally, tenants who go before the judge are more likely to get a fair trial. Still, for Remick, going before the judge and studying the law did not change the outcome. The judge sided with the apartment complex. The Tenants For this story, Oklahoma Watch interviewed nine tenants at several different Vesta-owned properties, and each shared a similar experience. Property managers and the corporate office didn’t respond to issues. Apartments flooded. Many tenants lacked heat during January’s ice storm. Morgan Butler was the manager of The Classen, one of Vesta Realty’s upscale properties. Her paychecks sometimes fell so far behind that she visited the food bank to pick up necessities for her and her family. When she approached Kulick about the lack of pay, she was told they don’t have the money. “He would say ‘we don’t have the money, but we’ll have the money soon,’” she said. The building consistently flooded, she said. “If there is rain in the forecast, I always think, ‘I’m so glad I don’t live in The Classen,’” Butler said. Outside The Classen hangs a sign that reads “the gold standard in luxury apartments.” Tenants at The Classen apartments, owned by Vesta Realty, have complained of leaks and other maintenance issues. (Jake Ramsey/Oklahoma Watch) Another property in Oklahoma City, Muntage Apartment Homes, also had tenants dealing with leaky buildings. One tenant, Lisa Briggs, said her apartment flooded, causing mold. She didn’t have heat or air conditioning, and her bathroom ceiling collapsed, leaving a giant hole above the shower and toilet. She alerted property managers multiple times but Vesta Realty hasn’t fixed the hole.  Another tenant, John Myatt, had flooding in his apartment that ruined the walls of his bedroom. When he brought the problem to the property manager, he was told to remove his furniture and other items from the room. The 66-year-old veteran moved his bed, clothes and other items to his kitchen where they remain, destroyed. The walls were water damaged and mold covered the room. Myatt sleeps on his couch in the living room. Both he and his neighbor, Michael Carkin, have been without heat and hot water for the past five months. Both men relied on other methods to warm their apartments during the winter months. Carkin left his oven on, which he said skyrocketed his electric bill. Myatt used a space heater that posed a potential fire hazard, but it was his only option. When Carkin approached the property manager about the lack of heat and hot water, the manager said if he wanted hot water, he could boil it. “It’s like they’re saying ‘you’re not worthy of hot water,’” Carkin said. Tenisha Williams had been living at Muntage Apartment Homes since May of last year. She said she experienced several problems, put in multiple work orders, but they’ve fallen on deaf ears. Williams, like Myatt and Carkin, also had no heat during the ice storm, and was combating flooding. “It’s a pool in here,” she said, stomping her feet through the soaked carpet that was so wet it was audible. “We’re living in basically a pool here.” Lisa Briggs’ bathroom ceiling collapsed, and has not been repaired by Vesta Realty. (Jake Ramsey/Oklahoma Watch) Across the city, another Vesta property was left in disrepair. Cassandra Rhodes, 77, a tenant at Drexel Flats, said she’s lived there for eight months, and has been through three property managers. She has to manually plunge her toilet because it doesn’t flush. Her 45-year-old daughter who is on disability lives in an apartment below hers. Both are missing appliances they were promised. In Stillwater, another Vesta Realty-owned property, Remington Ranch, also went without water for several months. The problem got so bad that the city declared the property a public nuisance.  Tenants at Vesta-owned apartments in Oklahoma City think the same thing should happen there. “The city should have been stepping in, it’s a hellhole,” Williams, the Muntage Apartment Homes tenant, said. Holding Landlords Accountable Katie Dilks, Executive Director of Access to Justice, said that right now, tenants with unresolved maintenance issues only have two options: they can immediately terminate the lease, or they repair the problem and deduct it from rent.  “Most people don’t have $1,000 or more to move,” Rhodes, of Drexel Flats, said. “I live on $2,000 a month. I don’t have any money. We’re all working people.” Policymakers are looking to address the lack of tenant protections at the Oklahoma Capitol this legislative session. House Bill 2015 would amend sections of the Landlord Tenant Act, giving tenants the ability to sue a landlord should the landlord not provide repairs or maintain a habitable property. Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, authored the bill. Pae is a renter, and thinks that many young people across the state would benefit. Under the proposal, tenants could take their landlord to court, and could seek damages and attorney fees if they prevail. Courts could order repairs or other injunctive relief.  “It means someone might have a fighting chance,” Dilks said. “This is empowering courts to have the tools to hold landlords accountable, which is an area where they’ve had their hands tied by the law.” Jake Ramsey covers evictions, housing and homelessness. Contact him at (405) 370-3798 or [email protected]. 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