Summary:
I was a tenant of a property managed by Bento Management in Pomona for approximately a year. It was also my first time renting. Eric was extremely helpful, and professional from the viewing to my exit inspection. The online payment method was quick and easy. I had only one maintenance issue, and someone was out immediately the following morning to make the necessary repairs. If you take care of the property and are on time with your rent, you won't have any problems. I received 100% of my security deposit back as well. I highly recommend them!
Finding the property:
I found the listing for the property on Zillow, and scheduled a viewing for the next day, I believe. The rental was in good condition, so I submitted my application (a $25 application fee ,which is standard), and within a few days Eric contacted me to let me know that everything was in order.
It being the first time I had rented, Eric was very patient with me reading all the paperwork and explaining anything I had questions on. He took his time and I felt well taken care of.
Maintenance:
During my tenancy, there was only one occurrence that required any maintenance. The property I was renting was a little old and one of the pipes in the wall had started to leak behind one of my counters. I took some pictures and submitted them to Eric. He let me know that someone would be out the next day to make the required repairs. The repairmen were friendly, and were able to wrap up a pretty extensive repair in two trips. They were great about working around my schedule as well. When they were done, everything was working great and you never would have known they were there.
Payment:
The online payment method is great, and lets you schedule payments. I'm always a little paranoid about things like that, so I decided to still use the online payment method but submit each months rent manually. The only problem I ever had was one time I made a typo in my banking information, and didn't check it like I usually did. I had to pay the fee ($50, less than anywhere else I saw including my current residence), but it was my own mistake. My advice is to both automate the payments (reducing the chance to make a typo) and follow up the day after it's supposed to go through to make sure everything went right.
Advice:
I've read some bad reviews of management companies on Yelp. From my experience with Bento Management, there are a couple things I can try to pass on. The first and golden rule is to take care of the property you're renting. It seems like common sense, but I think this is what saved me the headaches I read about other people having. The second is to carefully read what you sign on the lease. If you aren't sure you understand, just ask questions. Lastly, request an inspection before moving out. Eric pointed out a couple things (minor things, like a couple broken blinds) to remediate to avoid having my security deposit deducted. Thanks to this I was able to get back 100% of my security deposit. read more