This has been the worst property management company I have ever worked with. If I could give negative stars, I would. Throughout our experience, there were repeated errors and a consistent failure to perform even basic property management responsibilities.
For those who do not want to read the entire review, the biggest issue is this: I repeatedly had to contact them to remind them to collect utility payments from tenants--something that should be a standard part of property management. Unfortunately, that was only one of many problems.
1. Failure to enforce lease terms
One of the provisions in our lease stated that the tenant was not permitted to remove the smoke/fire detection alarm. When we later visited the property to replace a microwave, we discovered the alarm had been removed. We informed Utopia and reminded them that this issue was specifically addressed in the lease agreement and should be discussed with the tenant.
Instead of addressing the lease violation with the tenant, they sent out a technician and charged us for the service. To make matters worse, the original alarm was functioning properly before it was removed. The situation made little sense: they failed to enforce the lease agreement and then attempted to pass the cost of resolving the issue onto us.
2. Repeated failure to collect utility payments
On multiple occasions, utility bills went unpaid because Utopia failed to collect payment from the tenant. Each time, there seemed to be a different excuse. One explanation was that the company had moved offices and had a new mailing address for utility bills. Another excuse was there was new staff and management so our property concerns had gotten lost with keeping up with no one managing it.
The problem is that we were never informed of this change. We only discovered it after receiving notice from the utility provider that a bill was overdue and had incurred late fees. Not only were we not notified, but the tenant was also not informed about the late fees.
Even after the address issue was supposedly corrected, the same problem continued to occur. I repeatedly followed up and reminded them that the new address had already been updated, yet utility payments still were not being collected properly.
3. Final utility bill mishandled
At the end of the lease, we decided to terminate our relationship with Utopia because of the ongoing issues. There was one final utility bill outstanding. Utopia informed the tenants that they did not owe anything, yet the bill was ultimately charged to us.
When I asked why they had not collected payment from the tenant, I was told that because we were no longer under contract with them, they would not pursue collection. However, the bill became due while they were still managing the property and while the lease was active. Why was it not collected during that time?
As the property management company, collecting tenant obligations was their responsibility. Instead, the burden repeatedly fell on us.
To this day, I have called and emailed regarding the remaining $215.51 balance, and I have received no response.
Based on my experience, this company created more problems than it solved. Property owners hire management companies to handle responsibilities professionally and proactively. Unfortunately, that was not our experience. I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere for property management services. read more