TLDR - Don't work with this Property Management Firm if you want your safety deposit back at the end of the lease, if you value respectful conversation between adults and if you expect timely repairs when the property owners' items break. - Our interactions began with Franchelle Stevens, Owner/Broker-in-Charge according to the Stevens Realty and Relocation website. - Initially the relationship between our two parties was good. We always paid the rent several days early. We were quick to identify deficiencies in the property and report them promptly before it became a more serious problem. - We were ideal tenants for the three years that we resided at the property overseen by Stevens Realty. - This is in spite of the fact that it took days to fix the hot water heater in the winter, or that the shower door in the primary bathroom remained inoperable for months. - Things changed once we provided out official notice to vacate. - To be clear, our interactions with Julie Graves remained consistent and professional. - Also, I have never had any interaction with Todd Stevens. - Once we provided the notice to vacate the property, Franchelle waited 30 days before requesting a 30 day extension to continue assessing the property for "damage"- When we asked about the extension and were told that by law they have the right to request an extension. - When we asked about the specific nature of the extension we never received a response. - Several weeks after receiving no response we received an email informing us that we would only receive a partial refund of our security deposit. There was no explanation, just a link with several pictures. - When I questioned why $800 was being kept from our refund I received the following answer. - "Scrape and remove stickers from fridge / replace broken crisper drawer" $150 - "Prime walls for paint with rips and heavy scuffs and crayon and pen drawings" - $650 - The crisper drawer was broken before we moved in which their records will indicate as they always take before and after photos of the property. - The home required a paint job between us moving out and the next tenant moving in simply due to the duration of time that we lived in the house. - We were not allowed to hang pictures, put holes in the wall for nails or decorate the house in the almost 3 years that we lived there and still we were charged an excessive fee for painting over areas along a wall that required to be painted anyway. - The total cost to paint the home was $3564 of which they passed $650 of the cost to us for painting a location that required new paint regardless of the crayon on the wall. - When I questioned the veracity of the charges, Franchelle took over the communication and became verbally aggressive and attempted to end the conversation immediately providing us no recourse for dealing with a situation in which we felt we were being taken advantage of. - After this unpleasant experience I did a little more research into the Stevens Realty & Relocation organization and discovered that they received a 2.3/5 stars on yelp. - Combine this with their 3.1/5 rating on Google and I think it becomes clear that this property management firm is dishonest, they have a habit of keeping security deposits and worst of all, Franchelle is incredibly rude and disrespectful. - You'll have the opportunity to see her in action when she is compelled to provide her vitriolic response to my review. Good luck choosing your next property management Company! read more

We live far away and depend on Stevens Realty to manage our rental properties in the greater Raleigh/Durham area. Franchelle and Todd have been managing our family's real estate for many years, and have our complete confidence and trust. They know the market well, and their professional team provides excellent, timely service. They are always fully engaged and responsive; whether finding new high-quality tenants, or handling ongoing issues and needs. Franchelle is also a very knowledgable Real Estate broker; and she has helped us purchase and sell several rental properties over the years. Owning rental properties is never a problem-free endeavor; but the Stevens Realty team makes it feel as smooth and easy as it could possibly be. I would not hesitate to refer serious landlords and tenants to them and have done so on several occasions. read more

Mixed experience with this company as a prospective tenant. Pros: Franchelle and her staff were always polite, professional, and even friendly. They made time when necessary to discuss potential issues and always responded promptly. Cons: While the staff was reasonable, their policies and leases were not. I'll list the highlights. Note that all these issues were brought to their attention, but Franchelle (the owner) refused point blank to consider editing the terms of the lease. 1. Application Sectino 1b - They require a check for one month's rent BEFORE processing a rental application. While I understand how this help's the company and their clients, it's an unreasonable request. Imagine going to a car dealership where they ask you for a check for the down payment BEFORE they would consider selling you a car. The Stevens staff assured me they wouldn't cash the check until the application was accepted; however, if that dealership told me, "Don't worry, we'll give the check back if it doesn't work out," it wouldn't convince me to leave any slower. Stevens Realty did ultimately agree to waive this policy. The following terms of the lease, however, were upheld as flat non-negotiable. 2. Section 17f - If the tenant breach's the contract, not only can the landlord terminate the lease (harsh, but potentially fair), they can terminate your "Right to Possession" without terminating the lease. You have to move out, but you still have to pay rent, minus anything they happen to collect if/when they re-let the property. By the way, rent that's even one day late constitutes a breach and would allow the Landlord to invoke this clause. It was suggested we either hand-deliver or mail checks to the owner's address. Call me paranoid, but I'm not willing to trust that our check never gets lost or even delayed in the mail. 3. Section 18 - While a tenant who breaches is liable for full damages (again harsh, but potentially fair), a landlord who breaches the contract is not. The best you can hope for is a discount on the rent. What if the plumbing breaks and the landlord refuses to fix it? You can either live without showers and toilets, or move to a different property while still paying rent on this one. 4. Pet Addendum Item 1b - Got pets that the landlord approved and for which you paid a 3-figure pet fee? If the landlord decides at any time and for any reason that they're "undesirable," you have 72 hours to get rid of them. While the staff at Stevens Realty was polite and professional in person, their policies are ultimately unreasonable from the perspective of the tenant. Franchelle, the owner, personally refused to negotiate any terms. I understand that you, and the lawyer that wrote the contract, are obligated to act in the landlord's best interest. However, you should expect the tenant to then advocate for their own interests. As a tenant, it would be foolish to accept any contract provided by my landlord's agents as originally written. "Everyone else signs it" (i.e. we get away with it when people don't read carefully or stick up for themselves) is not a valid counterargument. Prospective tenants, be wary. You might get through a lease without any of these provisions being enforced, but that's a pretty big risk to take. If you or the landlord don't intend to use these provisions, then why are they in the contract? read more

We live out of state with Stevens Realty handling our NC rental property. Almost 2 years in, and it has been absolutely seamless. Really appreciate the service, communication and professionalism. read more

Terrible service and responsiveness. There are other companies in Raleigh that will do a better quality job for less. Avoid or be warned.

Stevens Realty & Relocation is The WORST rental Company in the Triangle. These people will do anything to keep your security deposit or charge tenants unnecessary fees. The worst mistake I made was to rent one of their properties without reading their reviews from other tenants. The owner Franchelle is rude and disrespectful. I rented one of their properties that had ants coming out from under the hardware floor, an ongoing problem since I moved into that property, took pictures and videos of the ants send it to them, and they wanted to charge me for the ant treatment that was done and sent me an invoice, when I vacated the property I took pictures and videos of the entire property before returning the keys, This company wanted to keep half my security deposit claiming I left nails on the wall, payment of the ant treatment, and other stupid charges that I couldn't believe and which were all lies. I had to take legal action to get my money back. I blame home owners that will allow a rental company such as Stevens Realty and Relocation to manage their properties, these people are money hungry/greedy and don't care about their tenants, they will do anything to keep your security deposit or charge the tenants unnecessary fees, Rip-offs is what I call them, DO NOT RENT FROM STEVENS REALTY & RELOCATION. read more

If I could give them a zero star rating, I would. Stevens Realty and Relocation is VERY tenant oriented. If you are the property owner, do not expect much, even though you are the one paying for the service. Apparently, their screening process is flawed. I hired this company because I wanted to rent the property until I was able to retire. I lived in another state. They supposedly investigated and approved the tenant. When I moved to NC some 5 years after I purchased the property, I found that Stevens Realty and relocation were not enforcing the stipulations in the lease. I was visiting and drove by the property to find Ivy growing from the backyard all along the side of the house and going up the front peak. The tenants, according to the lease, were responsible for the back yard. The ivy should never even gotten to the house. When the tenant was asked to sign a new lease in 2012, they told me they would be moving. I discovered later, they had already had the utilities turned off, but had not cleaned out the fridge. The fridge had been purchased by me in 2012 and a stove was purchased in 2009. They apparently had a grease fire of which I was never informed that scorched cabinets and damaged the stove. I wound up with a stove that had the stove handle taped on and a fridge that had spoiled food because the tenant had turned off the utilities weeks before they informed me they were not renewing the lease. There were fruit flies everywhere and the stench from the fridge made your eyes water. The other damage to the home included feline drenched carpets that were so bad, the slab also had to be treated to remove the stench. There were holes in the walls and doors. The white walls were black. The cabinets in the kitchen were scorched.) There was $17,000 damage not including the $2000 deductible (part of the claim was fire damage and the second claim was for vandalism). If you are a property owner, steer clear of Stevens Realty and Relocation. You will be paying them to collect the rent and nothing else. read more

I have been in my new place for over a year now, so I wanted to update my review now that I've been there a while. I absolutely love my place and the service. I haven't had many maintenance problems but I have to say, when I put in a request for maintenence, I hear from someone within 24 hours at the latest. I have also had no problem paying my rent online with absolute ease. No one comes in and out of my home without permission and they always give me an option to be there when something needs done, and the schedules to come to the home are very flexible. . I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon! It's the only apartment I've ever been in that feels private and feels like my personal space. Also I have yet to see one bug! I've seen guys around spraying and they do a good job! Love it here! read more

Terrible customer service , if I could I would not even put 1 star. Investors stay away. Tenants do not rent from them. They don't solve issues very well & most of the time it seems like they don't know what they are doing. read more

We moved here from VA. The house we rented was a brand new house and had 1 renter before us who trashed the house. They were supposed to change the carpet, paint and fix the microwave according to our walk through before we moved in. We packed up our truck in VA and moved down here to NC and when we arrived, they did NOTHING...not even changing the batteries in the smoke detectors which were all chirping when we arrived. Then they had the audacity to try to charge us for these items after we moved out. I told them and I still have the documents showing that these issues existed prior to us moving in. We moved out at the end of our lease 2 years later and bought our own home. No eviction, no courts or anything like that. But then years later they just decided to place a credit collection on our credit without any notice to repair those items that they were supposed to have fixed to begin with. How can they do this?!!? Deplorable!!!!! I would NEVER recommend! I am still friends with the neighbor. She has told me what kind of treatment all the new residents received, too. Looks like I am not the only one. read more

What a great company and experience. I have used them to buy a house prior to the start up of this company and they were awesome and then I had the pleasure working with tthem when I needed to rent a town home for my wife. Needless to say they found me a renter about 6 years ago and the same renter is there today. I had the choices to do what I felt comfortable with and very easy to work with and very successful at what they do. I would not use anyone else. read more

Moved into a property they manage. I have to say it has been the worst experience of my life. My lease indicated i would be moving into a professionally cleaned and painted home. Not the case when I moved in. The place stank of dog indicating the carpets probably hadn't been cleaned since the last tenants moved out. We had to clean the dried poop and pee from under the toilet seats around the toilet and the surrounding floor. The seats themselves were in bad condition so we replaced them and had to deal with jellied urine which was the opposite of awesome. the final straw for me is my cats who are indoor only cats got fleas within a week of move in. Not only did the realty people not take ownership of this they blamed us for wanting to move in too soon(the date was theirs it was and is on the listing) so the place couldn't be cleaned. Unless you want to really regret having rented a property they managed stay far away. Owners if you want to keep tenants you might want to stay away as well. The property manager seems ok but the own is totally unprofessional, over emotion and jumps to conclusions. She assumed that because I stated all the problems we have had were due to negligence on their part I got an angry three paragraph email about my tone and that it was not the way to get things done, I can only guess she assumed because I used a big word I wanted to sue or something though all I asked was for the bill for the fleas treatments to be credited towards next months rent. Would move out today if i could afford it and can't see myself signing another lease agreement. I kind of wish i could get in touch with the property owner and let him know just how bad the condition was when we moved in. read more