We're updating the review to two stars as Michael ended up paying us the rent money that was owed us from the previous and current months. As long as the checks clear, we'll be all settled with Avatar. Being over a month late on paying us our share of rent was still inexcusable. We had mortgage payments to make and the bank wouldn't take an excuse that our property management company couldn't figure out how to pay us. Michael also returned our tenant and owner security deposits. We've switched to a new property manager. In the end it all worked out, but it took a lot more effort on our part than it should have. read more

When we moved to another state in 2000 they assured us they would take care of the property and would handle all the exhausting details of being a landlord. 17 years later they are still going strong and out confidence in them has only grown over the years. So if you are in the market for a professional team to manage your property then Avatar is that team read more

My experience thus far with Avatar Home Management has been disappointing. I had to move out of state for graduate school, so I decided to rent my home in the meantime. Micheal Shapiro seemed to have all the right answers during our first interaction; he claimed he was a lawyer and knew people in high places, so he could quickly get someone evicted if necessary. However, his actions thus far have not supported the talk. My reasons for dissatisfaction: -I signed a contract with him at the end of July, but didn't get a tenant until the end of October. -I signed one completed contract and a blank contract, which he was supposed to fill-in and return to me. He mailed the filled-in contract (a legal document) without a required signature and claimed that it was "lost in the mail" when I inquired about my copy. (I took pictures of the original document.) -While my home was still unoccupied, I did a random internet search of my address and did not find my home advertised on any go-to realty websites like zillow, realtor, trulia, etc. One website even stated that advertisement for my home was pulled on August 27!!! -This man has lost the key to my home TWICE and thinks I should be financially responsible for changing the locks. Huh?! -He has received prorated rent for October and all of November rent, but I've yet to receive any financial statements. -The tenant moved in without completing a checklist and I was told by Michael that "the tenant said everything was okay." Huh? What point of reference will you have once they move out and something is damaged? An email that stated everything was "okay?" I value excellent service and have high expectations from someone who charges more than his competitors. My interactions with Avatar Management have been stress-inducing and disappointing, which is the last thing I need while I'm out of state furthering my education! read more

Michael and the team are nothing short of stellar. The man is a true professional that knows his niche. After trying to sell our home and being offered less that it was worth, we decided to try our hand at investment property. He found a great tenant for us in a short amount of time. Even we pulled an all nighter to try and get the home ready for lease and my painting and patching was a fail, Michael took decisive action and kicked us out and took care of getting the home ready. I genuinely like the guy because he sets a high standard for investors and tenants. Avatar is a like steakhouse in a world of cheeseburger property managers. You won't be sorry. Thanks team Avatar! read more

Do not trust your property to this man. I acquired a property in Georgia but live in Idaho. I decided to try renting it out as an investment. When I spoke to Mr Shapiro about managing my property, he answered by calls and emails promptly, had answers to all of my questions, seemed eager to help me and was optimistic that renting the property would be a good investment. After I signed a contract with him, I had bad experience after bad experience. Neighbors sent me pictures of the property that looked terrible. There were more weeds than grass and it looked like it had now been mowed in weeks even though he had been charging me to manta in the yard between tenants. He did not pay HOA fees after telling me he did. The HOA changed late fees and threatened to send me to collections. It took numerous calls and emails to finally get him to take care of it. I got a letter from the HOA telling me that the property needed fresh pine straw. I let Mr Shapiro know, and he said he would ask the tenants to do that since it was their job to take care of the yard. I got another letter from the HOA a couple weeks later telling me I would be fined for not putting down pine straw. I asked Mr Shapiro to drive by and see if new pine straw had been put done. He emailed me saying the property "looked fine". The tenants ended up moving out shortly after without paying the last months rent of putting down the pine straw. When I confronted Mr Shapiro about it, he admitted he had not looked closely at the pine straw even though that is what I had asked him to do. He ended up charging me to put down the pine straw. According to his contract, Mr Shapiro says he will send monthly profit/loss statements as well as receipts for any maintenance or repairs and a statement with the balance in a fiduciary account he sets up. I rarely got quarterly statements let alone monthly ones. The statements and receipts he did send were very vague. I did not get a year end statement for 2018 until 3/6/19. The only thing it had on it was rental income, management fees and maintenance and repairs even though he had previously claimed to pay HOA fees and home owners insurance. The amount on the statement did not match the amount that was transferred into my account. I complained about it and did not get a corrected statement until 5/3/2019 (well after I needed to have the information to file taxes). I never did get a statement with the balance of the fiduciary account. It has been a month and a half since I terminated my contract with him and he still has not closed the fiduciary account and transferred the balance to me. Mr Shapiro does not answer my calls or return emails. His office staff always has some excuse. I have heard, "Mr Shapiro had a family emergency." "Mr Shapiro has the flu." "I am working on you profit/loss statement now. Trying to communicate with Mr Shapiro is like hitting you head against a brick wall--It's painful and gets you nowhere. You can not trust that he will do the things he says he will. I am not sure if he is dishonest on inept but either way, DO NOT TRUST YOUR PROPERTY TO HIM! read more

This is based on my pre screening phone conversation as I have yet to do business with the company but intend to. I spoke with a real person and the actual person that will manage my property in the future. He was spot on regarding my specific questions on services they provide. I think he's actually marketing himself short and if he wanted to be busier he could be by explaining his detailed offering. I hope to write back as time permits on performance of managing my property. read more

I have been working with the leadership of Avatar Home Management since 2010. I must say that the services provided since day one has been nothing short of amazing. What's even more impressive is that the staff is not only prompt at responding, but are also quite pleasant to speak with. Being a military family, we need a trustworthy company who we can depend on. We are out of state customers and have been overseas for the majority of the last nine years. Avatar Home Management has been a true catalyst in our success in real estate. The team has represented us at closings and has done top notch work in renovating properties for us. What's even more impressive is that we have maintained a great relation over the years and we have not met in person. This just goes to show that there are still trustworthy folks in the world. I work with several property management companies in the US and I must say that they are my number one pick!! Wish they were across the 50 states!! read more