I am a college student, and I rented through QPM Services for one year at their 2 Norwood Street property. The property they managed was a nice place (though in various states of disrepair), but the people who run the company - namely Sandra Katz and Monica Rugg -are entirely unprofessional, unhelpful, and downright rude.
The biggest red flag should have been when I moved into the property and had to clean out over half of the apartment by myself. I was okay doing this, because I know people my age can be messy, but it was clear to me that no-one from QPM had come to check on the state of the apartment. I hauled over 12 full trash bags out of the living room alone! The whole time I lived there, I only ever saw someone from QPM when they were showing the apartment (rarely) and once or twice someone tagged along when a handyman was there. Various parts of the apartment were poorly managed - from trash in the basement to exposed wiring to lack of insulation and broken doors.
Then we have their unwillingness to deal with problems in a timely or respectable manner. A prime example of this was during October, when there was a bit of a cold snap - so we turned on our heat. Unfortunately, the heat wasn't working correctly.
We tried to get in touch with QPM to send someone out to fix it, but they dragged their feet about sending anyone or working with us to solve this. So, we also called the gas company. The gas company sent out a man who inspected the furnaces. The furnaces did NOT have emergency shut-off switches - which was a huge safety hazard! The gas company shut down the flow of gas because of the danger. While he was there, QPM called us back. Monica Rugg proceeded to yell at both myself and the poor man from Eversource about the problem. It was only when I quoted Massachusetts laws about apartment heating regulations that they finally decided to do something and acted promptly (like they should have in the first place).
During the winter I was looking for other people to live at the apartment with me (my roommates left because they could not stand how incompetent the company was at managing the apartment) and so naturally I got in touch with QPM, hoping they could help me search for other tenants. After all, it was in their best interest to keep the apartment filled. Instead of being helpful or understanding, I was curtly told that filling the apartment was "your problem". They may have no legal obligation to find people to live with me, but if you look at apartment listings in the area, you will not see a single one that isn't being advertised by a landlord or a company - instead of the tenants themselves!
Again, their legal ineptitude showed, because a clause in the lease I signed allowed me to break contract. Since I was unable to find roommates, I told them as much and was treated to a very rude and insensitive phone call from Sandra Katz. I took the lease to a lawyer who confirmed I could leave at any time, and it was only after I legally threatened to leave that they decided to help fill the apartment (and at request of the landlord).
Once, on a winter Sunday, all the fire alarms in the building started going off. We called the company and Monica several times. When we finally got through to Monica, she shouted at us because we were interrupting her meeting. After explaining what was happening she told us she could send someone but it would take 45 minutes. We asked if there was a ladder in the apartment or if a handyman with a ladder was closer, so we could climb up and turn off the alarms. She made a backhanded comment about standing on a table or chair. This was not an option because the apartment's ceilings were too high, and not to mention standing on a table or chair is dangerous!
I have many other horror stories about this company - they love to cut corners and don't care at all about the needs of their tenants. I don't recommend renting any property managed by QPM. If you absolutely have to rent from them, make sure you know your rights as a tenant, do NOT let them bully you into keeping quiet, because they will try. Don't let their threats and incompetence scare you! Try to establish a good relationship with the actual owner of the property, because almost certainly they will be more competent, friendly, and professional than anyone at "Quality" Property Management Services. read more