If I could go lower, I would. The neglect shown by this company's employees (both full time and sub-contracted plumber) cost me over $10,000 in damages in a single year.
We recently completed a 1-year agreement to manage our longterm rental near Bigfork...with Valley Maintenance & Property Management in December of 2021.
Last week (middle of March 2022), we finally finished fixing the damages caused by a water leak that was allowed to persist under our kitchen sink...even after the tenants reported the leak not once, not twice, but three times to the Shannon at Valley Maintenance.
The first two occurrences were back to back in December 2020 and January 2021. Those two "fixes" resulted in $1200 and $1300 plumbing bills, respectively. The last occurrence, Shannon and the Valley team...informed the tenants that they were "washing their pizza pans too aggressively" and that the water under the sink was from them...not a leak. Nothing was accomplished to fix the water pooling under the sink at that time.
In July of 2021, during our annual walk-through of the property, the tenant brought the water leak issue to our attention (note: this was more than 6 months after the initial complaint). Upon inspection of the area under the sink, it was obvious that there was still a leak (see pictures) somewhere that was causing significant warping and damage. Unfortunately, it was too late to salvage the entire section of kitchen cabinetry, sink, and faucet.
After calling the folks at Valley, and insisting that they get a plumber out to find the leak...We were assured that the leak was finally stopped (due to a corroded pipe beneath the sink)...and then provided another $340 plumbing bill to cover the "fix".
We now had been charged nearly $3000 for a $340 fix.
After several inspections and insurance adjusters, it was determined that this single leak, that was allowed to persist for 6 months, would not be covered by normal homeowners insurance. When a leak is allowed to persist, the insurance company will label it as "improper maintenance" or neglect (ironic that they use the word "Maintenance" to deny my claim...as it is in the property management company's title). After several back and forth emails with Shannon, we decided to email the owner.
When we approached Mr. Keller, the owner of Valley Maintenance via email, to inquire about Valley Maintenance's insurance covering the cost of the damage...we receive a reply that consisted of mostly deflection of fault and a regurgitation of the story told by Shannon. The owner at one point said that he would check with his insurance to see if they would cover it, but never got back to us.
We have received zero compensation from Valley Maintenance for the damages to our home under their management. This was a chance for a company to "do the right thing"...but they failed.
I have completed all the fixes to the home since the expiration of our contract with Valley, to the tune of approximately $10,000.
Icing on the cake...during the last month under their management, I asked Shannon to arrange a fall yard cleanup. She delayed and/or forgot to arrange this service until the last week of our contract. She then told me that it was completed "at no cost to us"...We had before and after pictures taken...the yard was never cleaned up. Just an overall poor performance...I expect more from Montanans. Hopefully, they have put fixes in place to avoid this again. Until then...
TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE! read more