I have to say, coming from a family who has been in Bay Area Real Estate for over 60 years, I was less than impressed with Bob Stone and his agency. When my husband and I viewed an apartment in Marin county, his agent only let us stay for 15 minutes before she politely began walking to the front door (of the building). The entire viewing was rushed. The lights in the unit did not turn on, so all appliances could not be checked. We were told that noise was NOT an issue within the unit or surrounding areas; we were sadly mistaken. Turns out, that the tenant prior to us broke lease 6 months early claiming he had a job relocation, I have heard from locals, that was not the case; noise was the issue. My husband and I were terribly disappointed when we were told not to watch our bedroom TV past 9pm by the downstairs neighbor (among other issues) My husband and I are upstanding, intelligent 30 something individuals who were just trying to catch a break to save for a home. I should have stuck with my gut when I saw the ridiculously cheap (for Marin Co.) unit. That's another thing....what kind of Property manager who knows anything about Marin rentals would price the rent so low??? (It was a darling unit, with a spacious bedroom, fireplace, built-in bookshelves ect...)
Within two days, we quickly came to find out the building was a nightmare. We had NO POWER for the first 3 days we were living in the unit because the previous tenant had the PG&E turned off completely. Now, I don't know about you, but I find it odd that a tenant would cut off power completely, knowing others were going to view the unit and move in soon. This meant no heat, stove, internet or light for 3 days. We were not reimbursed at all. "It's not my fault the previous tenant turned off the PG&E." Bob Stone. Really Bob...actually, it IS your responsibility to provide a fully operating unit prior to the tenants moving in. By the second day, my husband and I decided to break lease. I could have called several family members who practice Real Estate Law in SF, but decided to deal with the drama one on one.
Ethics are what make a company survive or not. Good morals and ethics are the foundation of good business. With Stone Property Management, this is not the case. Robert Stone charged us $600.00 to break lease, even though we only spent a total of 6 days in the condo. We were paid through the first and out of the unit a week prior. There was NO lag time in rental and he still took over a half a grand out of the deposit check, of which was almost $4000.00 for an $1150 dollar rent. He would not pro-rate the rent even though we were moving in 10 days prior to the first of the month...again, just bad ethics. Money is the bottom line for this company, nothing more. I do not recommend using Stone Property Management for your Real Estate needs. As I am a woman of integrity, I will not even offer my own family's Real Estate company as an alternative option, just want to make sure property owners understand what they are getting into when dealing with Bob Stone and Stone Property Management. read more