Please note that this review was flagged by Krystle Properties and removed because I didn't specify…read morehow I'd been a customer of Krystle Properties although it clearly states in the quote below. I will clarify and add that Krystle DM'd me because she has no idea which property I'm writing about...It says a lot about how her company is run.
"Hi Me Y. We're trying to figure out who you are so we can understand where we went so wrong with servicing you and your properties. Please let us know so that we can understand this mystery and learn from our past experiences.
Thank you,
Krystle Karimian, CEO
Krystle Properties
sales@krystleproperties.com
707-342-2290"
Since you asked:
These are some of the issues we faced and why we fired you the first month:
1. The building had so many keys in such a disorder that we had to go unit by unit to confirm that it was the correct key. This included front and back doors, mailbox keys, basement keys, and excess storage keys, so you can imagine the mess. The labels were tangled and some had become wet and therefore couldn't be read. Key labeling may seem insignificant but when there is an emergency and you need to access a unit, garage, etc. it becomes very important.
2. The maintenance on the property was horrific. The tenants explained that the yard had been left unmaintained throughout their tenure which made it difficult for them to access their units, storage, garbage, garages, etc. Why, Krystle? This lowers the rent you can get on a location and will cost only $100-$500/mo for a reliable gardening service. That's nothing when you are considering this is a commercial property. Why wouldn't you explain that to an owner to HELP THEM?
3. The windows in many of the units had been painted shut and were therefore inoperable. (Some of the tenants liked this as it allowed them to hotbox more effectively. LOL. ) This is a fire hazard along with something that lowers the property value, since people want a home that functions properly.
4. The backdoor screens were all broken. EVERY ONE. Either the latches didn't work, they were bent and didn't close properly, or the screens had holes (from the cats and dogs), making them nonfunctional. This contributed to the "cheap" vibe and was an easily fixable annoyance.
5. Rentable space. There were garages and storage areas that were not being rented. Why? This represented a +5% increase in property income, which almost paid for Krystle's services. Why wouldn't you mention that to the owner? It would have been nice to have your services covered in the increased rent.
6. This building is in a highly desirable location and rents were 20-50% under-market, with NO CHANGES TO THE BUILDING and, at the time, no rent control. Why, Krystle? I started bumping rents the first year and couldn't believe how quickly the units rented. It is now a VERY profitable building, largely because YOUR TEAM DIDN'T EXPLAIN TO THE OWNER THAT HE HAD A GOLDMINE. It just needed tidying, good maintenance, and some aesthetics.
7. ALL the tenants hated your team. They didn't like the $50 charges for things like replacing batteries. (I have smoke alarms checked 2x a year as a standard part of maintenance and safety.) The tenants felt disrespected and ignored. They knew how nice the property could be but felt mentioning anything to you or your team would NOT result in anything being fixed.
Here is my original review, for those interested, and I've attached a photo of my previous review and their other location where there is much more information:
"Ugghhh. Just started looking for a PM for our Benicia property. Be forewarned that a MAJOR reason Vallejo's properties aren't in "above the rent a crack dealer can afford" is due to Krystle Properties management philosophy. (This comment was said to me by a tenant as an explanation for the condition of the property when I purchased a residential commercial property managed by Krystle Properties.) After speaking with my new tenant community, one of the first things I did was fire Krystle. That year I raised the rents 20%, fixed the broken screens, hired a gardener, and fixed the unsightly repairs done by her "team", and began to build a plan for the property to shine.
The results speak for themselves... The Cap Rate went from 7% to 25% in 5 yrs. Yes, I'm not kidding about how badly marketed and managed this place was!!! Given they'd been managing it for +6 years, they also cost the seller $X00,000 during the sale, since Cap Rates drive commercial property pricing.
If you are considering a PM for your rental, understand that KPM thinks all potential/current tenants are beneath them and will treat them as such. There are also more incentives for PMs to have turnover than to set the rental rates high enough to provide quality maintenance to attract tenants with high incomes and job security.
We are going into a deep recession. You need to be VERY careful with who you choose to partner with during this coming era."
