My boyfriend and I just moved in to a Panzera property last weekend, so you could say we are still going through a trial period. But based on everything so far, there shouldn't be any cause for an angry, disgruntled-renter edit of this review.
I've only rented one other place before, so I don't have much to compare to besides talking to my friends about their landlords and their respective horror (scarily common) or positive (sadly few) stories. I do however, know what a landlord should or shouldn't be, and Panzera is doing something right.
The first positive sign was the incredibly professional website we linked to from the apartment ad on Craigslist. They put a lot of effort into establishing a polished, professional image. Everything we needed to know was on there and I was able to print a rental application that was very clear about the requirements to apply including expected income and additional documents needed.
The pictures of the place online looked extremely promising so I prepared a money order and showed up with all docs filled out ahead of time, and it was a good thing that I did. I had set up an appointment to see the place and wasn't able to confirm that morning so they called and cancelled. I called back and left a frantic voicemail asking if I could still make it and they consented. Well, when I showed up, it was to find an open-house environment swarming with people. I wasn't sure why they didn't make that clear ahead of time, anyone off the street could have come in and checked it out, but I still had my application and handed it over right away, beating all those other people to the punch. Apartment hunting is an aggressive business.
**SPOILER ALERT**
We got the apartment, pulling a classic House Hunters happy ending. HGTV missed out!
There were phone calls back and forth getting everything in order,but they were undeniably responsive and helpful, and it felt like you were talking to a person, not a robot that took your money in exchange for a hovel and refused to assume responsibility for the roach infestation (friend horror story). I feel like if we have any issues, these are people we can talk to and who will listen.
Other positive signs: the terms of the deposit return are clearly listed with pricing for each thing in the house not up to code. Crazy, right?! No guessing if they will care or how much they will charge if you don't change out that light bulb you can't reach.
A sheet with nearby fire stations, police, grocery stores, you name it. They called for me to switch electric over, I just had to pay the deposit and set up an online account. They have a renter portal where you can track all service requests and payments made to them.
The transparency, responsibility, and responsiveness is almost unreal - but really, this is what every landlord should be doing for their tenants.
We had terrible water pressure and I suffered the three worst showers of my life, but one day after we submitted a service request, the problem was fixed while I was away at work.
Let's keep this up, Panzera! Your tenants are two very happy, grateful people. read more