When I put a deposit on a vacation rental in good faith that it would be available for my week, I trusted Century 21 to honor that. When I called this office prior to my stay, they informed me that the home was being handled by a different realty company and that I'd be contacted. I was never contacted so I began calling century 21 looking for answers as to the status of my deposit and future payments toward the rental. I called and called and called. Amazingly, the owner and rental manager were IN MEETINGS FOR TWO STRAIGHT DAYS AND WOULD NOT RETURN MY CALLS. I took matters into my own hands, found that Wards Realty had the listing but were never told about my rental agreement. Wards tried to help us by finding another rental property and absorbing my lost deposit which Century 21 decided to KEEP for office expenses and commission. Have you ever? This company will not last with that lack of customer courtesy, care, or concern. My vacation, my money, my business meant nothing to them. I vowed to warn everyone of their practices. BEWARE **although the owner/broker responded to this review, it's unfortunate that he missed the point. Of course things happen that might interrupt a smootH rental. The real integrity would have shown itself in honest/upfront answers to our queStions beginning in November when we first inquired, and a more immediate response to dozens of calls in December and January, and a refund of all of our deposit since none of the changes were our fault. And please: don't blame No Carolina real estate laws on that because we know that's not the truth either. If you're just another unsavory realtor, what's the point of using your office for anything?? Character and business integrity, and maybe a little fake sincerity mean a heck of a lot more than a silly rental transaction. I hope my experience with you guides others in their realtor choices. read more

Beware, if you use this company for a winter rental you will be paying a lot to clean the cottage, carpets and upholstery when you leave. The place we rented was not clean when we got it. pretty sure they did not have it cleaned after being rented out all summer. They did suggest we get estimates from a few cleaning companies so we would know the charges(which I did). At the end of our lease we were told we could only choose from their two approved cleaning companies and only one carpet cleaner. We had to be out of the house before the end of our lease so the cleaners could get in before the weekly rentals started. We ended up paying ~$1000 for cleaning the place. read more

While the beach house was beautiful that we stayed at - the customer service here is miserable, difficult to work with, and hard to communicate with back and forth. First, while making the reservation - I admit, it was fast. It was a month out when we decided we needed it. My now husband and I decided to plan / get married in a month, and wanted a small beach house where both our families could stay at conveniently, and so we made the reservation over the phone. Paid the fees for having to pay over the phone as well as paid in full on the spot, and had the house booked. 3 weeks later, a week before the reservation, I get a call saying that we still had a balance of over 119.00 dollars we had not paid. How could this be? I paid in full over the phone and had 7 different receipts to prove nothing was owed. According to them, I had ordered early check-in, and early check-out (which I didn't), and thus charged it to my account. I again, dug up the email to show I declined such services, and the receipt to prove I paid in full. They came back, said I was right, and removed the charges... BUT then said I still owed a small amount around 23.00 on the account. Are you kidding? What's that for? That's for the fee's for paying over the phone. Way back when I made the reservation, they included so called phone fees in my final total. When they double checked (for the third time) they said - oh, you're right. "But because of a calculation problem on our end, you still owe 2.00 - would you like to pay that over the phone?" and incur another fee? I don't think so. So we agreed that I would then pay in person when we checked-in. Second - the day we go to check-in, she previously gave us strict instructions that check-in is after 4:00pm. I get a call at 3:15, when we haven't even left yet, asking "Are you on your way?" Well no, we live 30 minutes away and hadn't taken off yet. Comes back and says "oh, well we're closing at 3:30 today, so you'll just have to pick-up your keys in the drop box outside of the door. Fine. Drive, grab our keys around 4:00pm, and head to the beach house. Beach house, was beautiful - nothing to complain about that. However, our first night there we were left without sheets or linens or towels of any kind - no one told us that our linens, included in the reservation, would be sitting on the back porch waiting for us - because we couldn't check in properly. Finally, had to head to the office the next morning to pay the 2.00 fee, and ask where our linens were... Lastly, now that it's been roughly 2.5 weeks since our stay, they called Thursday and said we had damages to pay to the house because of our stay. "Wait what? What damages?" According to them, the headboard and the blinds were broken in a room that was occupied by my husband's parents only, for 2 nights. Without evening attempting to show us the damages, they said we had to pay by the end of that business day, otherwise we would be banned from renting with ANYONE on topsail island. Seriously? Then I kindly asked for them to show us the paperwork and the images of the damages that were 'supposedly' found the day after we checked out. ...not to mention that the place was occupied THE FOLLOWING WEEK but other vacationers. But supposedly its damages we caused. It got to the end of the business day, and while I was still waiting on the evidence to show the damages, I paid them anyway - not wanting to be restricted from renting anywhere else on the island. We actually enjoyed everything about that beach. It's been 5 days - and still haven't seen that paperwork - so if you ever work with Adrienne, don't expect him to follow through on what he says he's going to do. ...Like I said, the beach house itself was beautiful. But if you want to be scammed and threatened and charged, and charged, and charged again with fees out of no where, go ahead and book your vacation with them! So long as you make sure you write down everything, otherwise they'll probably figure out a way to charge you with damages. read more

Zero stars. Our house, "Sunshine Daydream" has mold growing on the whole back wall of the house and Century 21 refuses to move us to a new house since we "agreed to rent that house." Clearly if we'd known there was mold in the house we would not have rented it. Century 21 is not willing to work with us and they were rude and inconsiderate on the phone. We are now vacating the house and booking with a different realty agency. Do not book with this agency unless you want to throw away over a thousand dollars. read more

I have rented from Century 21 for the past 4 years and they have always been wonderful to deal with. The 4 different house's that we have rented have been great - just as described and for the most part fully equipped. Some could have used more plates, silverware, dishes and preferably plastic cups for the grandkids. Love that we can get pet friendly properties. I do wish they could just take a cc payment over the phone WITHOUT a charge, that would make things much easier. I also hope they can also encourage more smart homes to eliminate going to the office for check in and out. That would be ideal! Thank you so much to the staff for always being so nice! See you in August!! :) read more

We usually vacation in Frisco, NC during Easter but wanted to try something different this year. I called a rental company on Topsail multiple times and left various messages but they never returned my calls. Ended up just googling Topsail Rentals and picked Century 21 Action Surf City after looking through the rental list. Called them up about The Hi-Sea and agent picked up the phone after the first ring. Agent was very helpful and enthusiastic, wish I could remember her name. Century 21 e mailed me multiple times over the next few months explaining check in procedures, things to do in town, etc, all the way up to our check in date to keep us informed on our rental week. Check in was easy, rolled into town around 3:30, check in was at 4 but our house was ready! Young man behind counter explained everything in our vacation packet and was very cheerful. Was in and out in less than 5 minutes. Vacation home was clean and tidy, free linen service a definite +++! The only thing which could have made the house better was more glassware, coffee mugs, and a bigger stock pot, but that's not the fault of the real estate company and not a future deal breaker for the house. Locals everywhere in town are extremely friendly, especially the local surf crowd near the pier. I met and surfed with 5 guys the first day I was there and never felt like an outsider. Nice town! Century 21 emailed me throughout the week explaining trash pick up and check out procedures. We had to check out an hour before the agency opened on Saturday and the provided instructions and envelope for keys was fast and pain free. Will definitely stay with these folks again if we ever get down to Topsail Island in the future. read more

I had a great stay, and check in and departure was very easy. Staff was very kind, and nothing negative came out of my trip with Century 21. (May 18-25, twin landings-surf city) read more

We visited Topsail Beach, NC for the first time in May 2014. We stayed at Sweet T at 1125 N. Anderson Blvd. We stayed with my 2 younger children and we had an extra room downstairs so we invited my parents to share in the rental with us to help with the costs. Tuesday my parents left abruptly. After they got home I called them and asked why they left. My mom was upset because the room smelled like must and mold. It was damp and the air vents had black mold on them. I emailed and spoke to Miranda regarding the mold and she said she had just stayed there and it was fine. I emailed her pictures of the mold and told her I wanted to speak with the manager. I heard nothing. Then we went out for the afternoon Thursday and we returned the air conditioning did not work. It was 80+ in the house. I called the office but it was closed. I called the emergency number but the recording listed requirements for emergency calls, fire, and broken pipes water issues etc. I left a message on Tanner's voicemail and emailed him. I told him I wanted to talk to him as soon as possible. It was very hot and uncomfortable Thursday night. We received a call from Amanda Friday around 10 am. Later that day Amanda called to let us know we were on the list with the vendor. I thanked her and told her we never heard anything about the mold issue. Amanda knew nothing about the mold issue because she was off that day. Within hours of our call Friday she had the cleaning company in to clean it and the smell. I explained that the house did not even looked like it was cleaned before we checked in on Saturday. She told me the supervisor of the cleaning company told her they we were so busy cleaning houses they did not get to our house. Amanda was very pleasant and very helpful. I am very disappointed in the condition of the house, deck, and the downstairs. I did expect to hear from a manager to discuss an appropriate credit for a stay next year or refund. After getting no response from my email to the company I called and asked to speak with the manager. The man was short with me and pretty much told me oh well there was nothing that could be done. I asked to speak with the owner and he said he was. If you ask me these people need to get some education in customer service. We loved the area. I did not want to leave and even did some research on owning there. We spoke with the township and local residents and did some research in other areas to compare it. The beach was very nice, the pier is nice and the people were nice most of all it was quiet. We are in the processing of making reservations to return but through another agency and another home. read more

We recently rented a house with Century 21 Action Inc. We had already paid in full. They cancelled the reservation 2 days prior to our arrival. This was the week of Easter and Spring Break. We had family coming from all over to spend Easter together. They told us the house was unrentable and would not give any other explanation. They said they didnt have too. They could not help us with any other options. The so called property manager (Amanda) was rude and unwilling to help!!! Beware of this company!! They said they had a right to cancel two days prior to arrival. We also paid with credit card..they refused to give us a credit on our credit card. They made us pick up a check!! DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY!!! read more

If I could give this company ZERO stars, I would. We are currently in a vacation home rental that has an obvious mildew/mold issue and odor and looks like it has never been properly cleaned. The customer service is terrible and the My Get Away rental property is dingy and in disrepair. Do not use this company - we will be telling everyone we know how awful our experience was, in hopes of saving someone else's vacation. I wish I had known about these reviews sooner, our vacation might have been different. read more

So completely disappointed. Not in the rental property we had, but in this company itself. We paid for the rental in full 4 months before arriving. Several hours after checking in, a family friend informed me he MIGHT be coming to stay for a day. I immediately called the office (before they closed for the night) to advise our friend might be coming, along with his dog. I WANTED TO DO THE RIGHT THING. I stressed he might not even show up, because he does that a lot! They GLADLY took the $175 pet deposit from my debit card (along with taxes, etc. $191.08). My friend did show up....Sunday morning, we all hung out on the beach, then he went home. The dog never even came inside. But because I didn't call IMMEDIATELY to advise the dog didn't come inside or stay, they get to keep that deposit. The reason given by Amanda (after I called several times) was because there was no way to prove the dog DIDN'T come inside. Lesson learned. We will certainly return to the Island...we love it there....but Century 21 will not receive another dime from me. read more

Worst rental we have ever been in. So bad we will be checking out 2 days early and paying more money to stay in a hotel someplace else .

You are obligated to rent linens through this agency for your rental home. Then, check-out is earlier and earlier each year. Though you can't check in till late in the day of your arrival, you must check out by 10 am on the day you plan to leave, meaning your week is SHORTED by about six hours. In addition, little twenty-somethings in company t-shirts come around to your house, check you over in a most condescending way and make sure you leave, forgetting that you are the customer and prefer to maintain a level of dignity. It's all about the benjamins with Century 21--you are not very important at all--once they get your money. read more

ZERO STARS! And here is why: We went down for a 7 night stay and then hurricane Florence hit. The hurricane was forecast to hit on that Friday. There was a mandatory evacuation order that was to go into effect on Wednesday. Century 21 made us leave on Tuesday. We received a call from them right after lunch on Tuesday and they said we had to be out by 5pm because they wanted to go home and secure their own properties. They also asked us to bring in all the outside furniture to help secure the place, which we gladly did, even though we were in a panicked hurry to pack everything up and get out. All of this was well and good until I found out that there would be ZERO compensation to us. We paid approximately $2200 for that week and only got to enjoy 2 1/2 days of our vacation. When I spoke to them on the phone all I got was a 'too bad, so sad" because we didn't buy travel insurance. We have been on Topsail before when a hurricane hit and the owners ALWAYS compensated us by giving us a voucher to come back at a later date. The fact that neither Century 21 nor the owner of Terrapin Station would do anything to make this right and STEAL our money by not inviting us back at least for the unused nights we paid for, plus the $250 pet fee plus the several hundred dollars in taxes we paid (we paid taxes for 7 nights when we only stayed for 3) is the reason for my negative review. These people don't care about repeat business. They are greedy and they lie. I am still waiting for a call back and it's been 3 weeks. So I will NEVER use Century 21 Action nor will I stay at Terrapin Station ever again. There are many other companies you can rent from who care about you and if something goes wrong they WILL make it right for YOU and they won't use you and then steal from you! STAY AWAY FROM CENTURY 21 ACTION if you value your money, time and dignity. read more

The worst cmr service ever!! Do not use Century 21 Action in Surf City,NC! Upon checking in to stay at Living The Dream they conveniently informed us the ac was not up to par but they brought in a portable ac and 5 box fans! What a joke!! But one call to apologize, not one offer to refund my pet fee which was just about $400!! They need some serious cmr service skills!!!! read more

We've been renting with them for the past 4 years and every year we had some problems with the house we rent. It appears they're happy to take our money but don't plan to use for maintenance. This year, we've been out of Internet since the beginning of our visit (5 days so far). All we hear from the office is that it will get fixed and that they will let us know. No call back in 5 days (despite repetitive inquiries) and still no internet. Very disappointing !!! read more

Our family has vacationed at the Whaley (1314 Ocean Blvd) in Topsail for two years in a row. Last year the a/c went out and was repaired the following day, leaving us without air for one day. This summer we arrived Saturday and the a/c was nice and cool. By Sunday night it was completely out again. We called first thing Monday morning and someone FINALLY showed up late Monday afternoon. A part needed to be picked up in Wilmington and we were told they would be back Tuesday with the part. The rental company called Tuesday morning to say they would be following up with us shortly after talking to the a/c company. After not hearing, we followed up ourselves with the rental company around 5:00 and they just told us they didn't know anything and would call the a/c company and leave them a message, but we wouldn't hear anything until Wednesday morning. That's Sunday night to now Tuesday night with no air. It's been 90+ degrees and has been miserable. They did finally bring a few portable a/c units Monday night, but that does absolutely nothing to cool the main living space, only the bedrooms. We should NOT have to spend our vacation following up to ensure our house is livable. read more

If I could give less than 1 star, I would. After booking a vacation home, I came to discover that the google map provided on Century 21's website depicted the house 3/4 of a mile further north than it actually is. This made a difference for our family as we had booked that house based on it being walking distance from restaurants, shops, the pier etc and an extra 3/4 of a mile made that impossible for little 4 year old legs. When I called to point out the discrepancy, the person I spoke with said it was my fault for not double checking their map. Apparently one should always assume that a realty company cannot accurately use google maps. That aside, we were determined to enjoy our vacation anyway. Even that became challenging when we discovered on our first night that our house was infested with cockroaches. I'm talking 20 cockroaches scurrying away when you turn the kitchen light on in the middle of the night. I can handle most bugs, but roaches are a health hazard. They can carry diseases, they can trigger allergies, they can even travel home in your luggage! When I called to complain, Century 21 did not once apologize or act like I had any reason to be appalled. They simply said they would schedule an exterminator to come out as though it was something that happens every day. The exterminator did his job and sprayed, but I got to spend each and every morning sweeping up dozens of half dead cockroaches on the floor of the kitchen, the largest of which were over two inches in length. We truly enjoyed our beach time, but we could not get out of that house fast enough. I complained one last time upon check out and received the first apology from the lady behind the desk. Sadly it was too little too late. I will not ever rent from Century 21 Action again and would not recommend them to anyone else. read more

This company ruined a family reunion by fraudulently advertising the address of one of their rentals in a prime location Turns out the rental was no where near the prime local and nowhere near the rest of our family, causing serious logistics issues. But of course they charged us primo prices. And instead of trying to help, Century 21 just made excuses. There are many other real estate companies in Surf City so you have a choice. read more

What makes a beach rental house company 1 star when the family behaved and the weather was great? The complete absence of customer service, attention to detail, or the ability/willingness to correct their errors put this rental company on the list of places I will never use again. The reservation was done wrong and they admitted that the agent who booked it made the mistake and no longer worked there. Instead of a big shared duplex for our families (with elderly grandparents) we were put in duplexes in two different houses, creating a barrier for sitting in community, requiring navigating down and up again two sets of steep, double level stairs to go between houses. There was no attempt to correct their error or a semblance of regret. Later when the air conditioning failed and the house was a humid 86 degrees their response was "we don't have anyone to fix it, we don't know what to do". The black pet hair in the carpets and corners and the peeled paint in the houses wasn't great, either. My suggestion? Pick any other company to rent from but still go to Topsail because it's a lovely destination. read more

DO NOT USE THIS OFFICE, OR RENT "THE HI-SEA"!!!!!!!! This office is horrible! The owners of our rental showed up to our place unannounced. Our steps were washed away from a storm before we checked in, however Century21 kept this a secret when we called ahead to ask. The steps were already roped off when we got there, so obviously someone knew. Instead of hiring a legitimate construction crew to replace them in a timely manner, the owner had his buddy doing it by himself. All the other houses had at least temporary steps the very next day, however we still had nothing 5 days later when we checked out. To top it all off, 9 days after checkout I was charged for a stain on the carpet they claimed my dog made. My dog was never left in the rental alone, and any stain on the carpet was there prior to our check in, in fact the photos they advertise online for the rental show large stains on this carpet. You would think after already paying thousands of dollars for this horrible stay, they would at least take my word that we were not responsible for the stain, and suck up the $78 loss. My interaction with the Century21 staff greatly reflected that they do not care about their customers whatsoever. I will NEVER use them again, and I highly suggest that you do not either. read more