We work across the US as tech consultants. I got an assignment locally and found INV online. I contracted with them for a small apartment near my work. The apartment was surprisingly dingy and old, but I figured the assignment wasn't long and perhaps this is just the quality of rental housing in Rolla, MO, which is mainly a college town. Having attended school in large US college towns, I know that an unfortunate side effect of university towns is since there's a constant supply of students who need housing to study, landlords and rental management companies can afford to treat people shabbily. Welcome to supply and demand economics. Sadly, community members don't have real choices as other management companies follow suit for the same reason. So one just bites the bullet and hopes for the best while one pursues one's training. Thanks to sites like Yelp and other social media platforms, that model is changing as consumers become far more selection-savvy.
The day I arrived in the INV Realty office to fill out the rental paperwork, there were several graduate students already there trying to work out various problems with the INV staff. Even being a relatively jaded big-city realty market person, I was still shocked by how rudely and condescendingly staff members were addressing these students who, by what I could tell, were orderly, responsible, and polite. First impressions, indeed. The morning after my first night in my new apartment, I woke to find a threatening note on the windshield of my car. Apparently, I'd parked where another tenant was accustomed to parking. He overtly threatened my private property should I park in his spot again. Parking at INV managed properties (at least this one) is first come first serve--not assigned. I alerted the rental management team. They did nothing. Over the next few months, even though I never parked in that particular spot again, I found my brand new vehicle vandalized repeatedly, parts broken off, scratches along the side of the car. Nothing from INV.
One of the families sharing the building I rent routinely throws loud parties, aggressive pick-up trucks left blocking the parking spaces, loud music spilling out of the family's open-door apartment. The family fights often--screaming, cursing, throwing items. My lease also designates this space as non-smoking. Many tenants smoke. I've witnessed sketchy cash exchanges for small packets at the apartment late in the evening when I'm coming back home. Again, nothing from INV besides a group email with no consequences and, therefore, no community change. From what INV has told me, they can't ... manage the apartment space. Says the management company.
We've had two occasions to seek out maintenance's help. While we appreciate that maintenance both times showed up the next day, they pound on the door at a random hour, screaming at their colleagues from within your home, leaving the door wide open despite the weather outside and leaving a mess in your home once they're done. I returned home one day on an extended lunch break to pick up some files and found our door open and maintenance in our apartment, our banking invoices and other private documents on a nearby table. Why couldn't maintenance just give us a timeframe for when they'd come by? This is a minor complaint but it's still indicative of the type of service INV Realty provides its rental community.
Some other colleagues assigned locally longer than us have invited us over to their spaces also managed by INV Realty. We all remark how little INV cares about the community they rent to and how poorly they treat community members who call or email them (or stop by in person) to discuss problems. Since we travel from state to state for consulting work, we have reason to do business with many different management companies. INV is one of those companies that treat you like an organic ATM. All they want is your monthly check. If you have a problem at your rental space that can't be easily fixed, you're on your own. They really don't care about quality of life or the type of community they're building. Edit: they're not interested in building "community;" they just want a steady flow of rental checks. INV clearly represents the interests of property owners, NOT tenants. I've updated our university training board to remove INV from our MO state rental contacts. The last thing you need after working 60+ hours a week is to return home to a shabby space that hasn't been updated in decades to deal with disruptive, dangerous community members the management company refuses to do anything about.
Do yourself a favor if you have to rent in Rolla: find in person and do business with property owners who recognize and appreciate responsible, valuable tenants. And stay away from INV Realty. read more