Well, this is certainly something I didn't expect I'd be doing, however, I felt I had to do this to protect all of you out there who may be considering either using this company to manage your property or renting a place from them.
First of all, I want to tell you that we did not rent the house we wanted to rent, as much as we loved it, because of the total lack of integrity, honesty, and the shadiness this company illustrated to us in our dealings with them. There was also the 17 page "sample" lease agreement they "let us review" before we were going to pay them the $2,000 security deposit. They didn't give us the one we were going to sign, just a "sample" of it. Sample or not, our attorney, who owns many rental properties, read it and said, "17 pages, seriously? Hell no!"
It took us four days to get in touch with anyone. They brag on their website how they will present your property to prospective tenants, and all they do is put one of those WiFi lock boxes on the doorknob and don't show anything. They agreement says "they painted, cleaned, and inspected the property." Well, there were dirty floors, dirty walls, dirty doors, and even a dead critter on the shelf of the entryway closet!
We tried to call to ask about it, but no one answered the calls or the voicemail. I finally went on Facebook to ask if they were still in business, when someone finally responded and told me to send them my number. I guess they don't listen to their voicemail.
We were willing to discuss the cleanliness of the place and clean it ourselves, but they never responded to our voicemail detailing everything that was wrong. When they finally contacted my fiancé, we applied for the rental, but they still hadn't answered any questions. It coat each of us $45 per person, or $90 for both of us as an " application fee.". I'm a private investigator who knows credit checks don't cost anywhere near that much, so I guess they were conditioning us for what was next.
We had some questions, too, before we signed anything. We were contacted and told we qualified and were approved to rent the place. I called and asked if we could move our DirecTV there, and Lourdes told me, "I don't have that information , why is that a deal breaker?" And she said it in a rude and obnoxious manner. I explained that it was just one of the things we wanted to know. I asked for a rental agreement, and that's when she went sideways with "policy statements." It was their policy to have the deposit paid within 24 hours of being notified of approval, or lose the house. I was against their policy to give out their agreement until they had a "verbal acceptance" and a money order or cashier's check for $1,995.00 within 24 hours of today. What? We're going to agree and accept the terms without seeing them first? I wonder if Lordes is Nancy Pelosi's daughter? You know, you're going to have to sign it to know what's in it. She then informed me the deposit of $1,995 was due by the morning, then our move in date was August 19th, when another full month's rent of $1,995 was due, and then the $852.64 prorated rent for August was due on September 1st. What? The prorated rent should be due on the move-in date, right? Right! But she said it "was their policy" to do it the way they wanted it. So, to move in, we had to pay them $4,842.65 by September 1st, after only moving in there for 11 days. Isn't that I ke $452.00 per day? What if they decided our prorated and first month's rent was security deposit? Well, they could because it says so in their lease agreement.
I told her my fiancé was working and was not reachable by telephone until after 5pm. She said she would leave at 5:15, so she had time to call her before they gave it to the other couple who was approved. I love nothing more than a veiled threat. So, I hung up the phone and pulled up AAPEX on Yelp. OMG! I wasn't alone! They do this a lot, I'll bet.
So, needless to say, their rental agreement is just as everyone said it is, you basically are paying rent to sleep there, as long as you don't snore and wake the neighbors, because that's grounds for eviction and cash prizes for them... I mean penalties against you!
So, you can't do anything there, period. Sleep is optional. Inspections can be done at random times without notice, as long as they leave a message first. They can wait up to 30 days before responding to a request for repair. I guess it's cold showers for a month if the water heater blows up! Or of someone breaks in, you get to stay there for a month without a window or locked door, right? Oh wait, you can pay to fix it, but if you didn't get pre-approved by them, then they don't have to reimburse you. Oh yeah, its a great rental agreement, all 17 pages of it!
RUN, DON'T WALK AWAY!!! The good reviews must be friends of theirs, because this reviews don't even come close to the truth! Especially that girl from Los Angeles... She's renting from them in Hayward with an L.A. address! Yeah, right! read more
