I normally don't take the time to write reviews like this, but after the experience we've had with…read morethis property management company literally within our first few days of moving in, I feel like future tenants deserve to know what they're getting into. To start, we applied for the property and were told it would take approximately a week to determine whether we were approved. We were finally approved on a Friday and were given until Monday to make a decision and bring in a $2,400 cashier's check for the deposit. Within roughly two weeks, we went from applying to being expected to have $4,800 available for the deposit and first month's rent. It's now move in week on Monday.. We signed our lease, paid the first month's rent, and were given our gate code. During the lease signing, they went over their expectations for move-out, including things that we were required to leave for the NEXT tenants:
* Brand-new batteries for the carbon monoxide detectors/fire alarms
* Brand-new air filters left on the counter
* A receipt proving the home had been professionally cleaned
We were very clear on their expectations and were prepared to take care of everything required of us.
The problem is that those same standards clearly were not applied to the condition of the home when WE moved in. The following day, Tuesday, we did our move-in walkthrough. We expected our agent, Richie, to be there, but instead someone we had never met before showed up to conduct the walkthrough. He had apparently already walked through the property beforehand. The home was not move-in ready.
There were cobwebs and webs throughout the house, bugs in multiple corners, bugs hanging from walls, and the stairs were visibly dirty. I specifically pointed out the condition and asked, "This was professionally cleaned?" His response was yes. That was extremely frustrating considering we were being told that we would be required to provide a receipt for professional cleaning when WE eventually moved out. Then there were several other things that should have been handled before handing over the property.
We were given two silver keys and told those were the house keys. We were given two universal garage door openers, but they weren't programmed for the garage we were told WE would have to set them up ourselves.
Then we were handed two gold keys and told, word for word, "These gold keys were left from the previous owner, not sure where they go to." We were also told that we did not have our mailbox keys yet. Our doorbell wasn't working either. When I asked why, I was told it was a Ring doorbell and that it might simply be dead. On top of that, there was no gate opener provided for the gated community, leaving us to figure that out ourselves as well. So to recap: management was very particular about requiring us to leave brand-new batteries, brand-new filters, and proof of professional cleaning for the NEXT tenants, yet we were handed a home with cobwebs, bugs, dirty stairs, an uncharged/non-working doorbell, unprogrammed garage remotes, no mailbox keys, mystery keys from the previous owner.
That doesn't feel like the same standard they're requiring from their tenants.
And then, on the second day, when we actually used the dryer for the first time, it immediately started making a horrible noise and clearly has an issue.
We contacted management, and after going back and forth, the manager, Chris, eventually approved giving us a break on the rent because of the issues. I appreciate that she eventually acknowledged that there was a problem, but even that situation has been frustrating. We were initially told we would receive $500 off for one week due to the problems, and that amount has now apparently been reduced to $400.
At this point, it's not even just about the money. It's the amount of unnecessary stress and inconvenience we've had to deal with immediately after moving into a property we were paying a significant amount of money to live in. The move-in experience should have been the easiest part. The property should have been cleaned, inspected, and made fully functional BEFORE handing over the keys. Instead, we moved in and immediately had to start identifying problems and chasing management to address things that should have already been taken care of. I'm leaving this review because I want prospective tenants to know exactly what to ask about before signing a lease and to thoroughly document EVERYTHING during their move-in inspection. Take pictures and videos of every issue, no matter how small, because apparently the expectations placed on you at move-out are very different from the standards applied when you're handed the property at move-in.
I hope management takes this feedback seriously because tenants should not have to move into a home and immediately spend their first days dealing with problems and nothing but headaches. Very disappointing experience so far, especially considering the amount of money we were required to pay upfront.
