Ironically, what attracted me to ACORA was their spiel about being fair and transparent, and I was so excited when I first began renting ftom them, but one gets what one pays for.
Colin Phillip Ralls founded the ACORA business, is its principal member, also his own employee. Oh, yes, and he is also a co-owner of ACORA General Contracting, the vendor that repairs and updates all of ACORA-managed properties. So he's making bank off of his business dealings. You'd think he could be a little more courteous and appreciative of his tenants, rather than bullying and nasty.
ACORA has a team of scumbag lawyers over at the Clark and Walker law firm at their disposal to threaten, hustle and evict tenants if the mad tinpot dictator, Colin Ralls, does not get his way. Yep, this is the same lawyer Scott M. Clark who got placed on probation for a year by the Arizona State Bar Association for illegally evicting over 900 tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can tell a lot about a business by the friends it keeps, and ACORA has slimy friends.
ACORA'S lease contains many violations of Arizona landlord-tenant laws, but half the time ACORA associates break their own lease agreement. They evict tenants constantly. They'll find little things they can get you on and falsify fees and charges to soak tenants for extra money.
ACORA uses a rent collection software/communication platform called Appfolio. Do not trust this software! It works off of an algorithm that is designed to block payments over a certain size. It will decline rent even if you have autopay set up, and then ACORA will charge late fees and legal fees and document preparation fees and run you up hundreds of dollars. ACORA knows the software does this, they have been alerted by multiple tenants. If you default on rent through no fault of your own, they won't fix the situation their own software caused, even though their own lease says ACORA is solely responsible for maintaining the software. Can't pay? They'll evict you. Ok, they DO pick and choose, they waive fees for some tenants, but not for others.
Then, there's the matter of Colin Ralls doxxing current and former tenants who post negative reviews about him or his company. Do you want a landlord who acts like any angry Twitter troll? Read past Yelp reviews (back to 2018) and Colin's responses and you will know who you are dealing with. Go figure, ACORA got their Better Business Bureau page suspended.
Also, read up on ACORA on their own webpage. They deal in what they call the "boutique rental" market. Translation, these are old, worn out properties in some of the worst hoods in the Phoenix Metro: Alhambra, Encanto, Estrella (no diss to anyone who loves these places, they have their charm). Or in decent neighborhoods like Arcadia and Old Town Scottsdale, but the ACORA rentals are "classic" buildings, think ancient pipes, creatures in the walls, built in the 60s, 70s, 80s. If you are moving from outside Arizona, know that these places are cheap for a reason, and it's not to do you a favor. ACORA slaps on some fresh paint and adds new appliances but, like putting lipstick on a pig, the real deal is it's gross under the gloss.
To my point, where I lived, it was not safe to go out after dark due to the meth addicts, had homeless people sleeping behind the building, wake up and find hypodermic needles or piles of vomit in the parking lot from night prowlers, multiple vehicle break-ins each month, mailbox break-ins. ACORA had no cameras on the property and no security, in spite of tenant complaints and repeated smash and grabs. I get they can't help the location, but they can control the actions they choose to take or not take to protect tenants. With all the extra fees they pile on, you'd think they could offer courtesy security patrol.
If you are foolish enough to rent from ACORA, know your rights. If they screw you - REPORT! The Better Business Bureau (BBB), the Arizona Attorney General, the Arizona State Bar Association for ACORA's shady attorneys. The Arizona Department of Real Estate (ADRE), they control real estate licenses and licensees (such as Colin Ralls). The Arizona Realtors Association, you can file an ethics complaint. What this company does to tenants is harassing, abusive, cruel and immoral. The more individuals who report, the higher this company will be on the radar of the bureaus who have the power to hold this unethical company accountable for its actions.
In closing, I was not careful enough when I made the mistake of renting from ACORA Asset Management. I thought because I always paid rent on time, always kept my apartment clean, always followed the rules, I'd be fine. Colin claims it's a few bad apples spreading malicious gossip who could not get their lives together who are the problem. Trust me, the negative reviews are true. read more