This is a review relating to my experience trying to rent a home that VMG manages. I saw a home listed for rent via Craigslist and contacted Valley Management on Sunday, March 23rd and scheduled an appointment for the next day at 12:30. Upon calling to confirm that appointment on Monday I was told that they didn't have record of the appointment and had neglected to write it down. Thankfully I had called to confirm or else I would have wasted my time and no one would have shown up to show me the house.
My co-applicant and I toured the home and immediately gave Valley Management Group's office a check for the application fees before leaving the showing. The applications would be emailed to us later that afternoon since none were brought to the showing. (Applications should always be brought to a showing!) Once we received the applications, we both immediately filled them out and sent them over to Valley Management. My FICO score was well over 700 and my co-applicant's was over 600. Neither of us have any debt, we both own our vehicles free and clear, we've been with our current employers for over 7 years, and I've been a Commercial Real Estate Property Manager for nineteen years. It's my job to take care of properties! Considering the fact that this home has work boot paint stains leading up to the front door, front and back landscaping in need of TLC, peeling paint on the exterior of the home, and an iron burn on the master bedroom carpet I can confidently say that we would have made this home look better than the condition we were going to take it in.
Unbeknownst to my co-applicant, there were three accounts totaling $347 that had gone to collections on his credit report from when he re-located from the east to the west coast seven years ago. Upon learning about the discrepancies he immediately got on the phone, called each of the creditors, and had each of them resolved within 24 hours.
During this time, my co-applicant contacted Mr. Lloyd Kipp (VMG owner) to discuss further and explain that he wasn't aware of these issues and would be taking care of them immediately. Mr. Kipp was nothing short of rude. He told him that "he could see he was in sales and it wasn't going to work on him". We offered an additional security deposit and we even offered to pay six months' rent in advance to calm any fears that VMG or the owner may have had with having us as a tenant. When my co-applicant inquired about offering the prepaid rent to the owner, Mr. Kipp said that "he was here to keep people like him away from the owner" and he told him that he doesn't "fit his template".
We continued to try and pursue the home and submitted proof of payment along with letters from two of the creditors showing that the balances had been paid in full. Mind you this was less than 24 hours from the time my co-applicant initially learned about the issues. We were told that we were no longer in line for the home and two other applications had been submitted but Mr. Kipp would review our applications again. On Wednesday, March 26th, Mr. Kipp's office sent a final email stating, "Lloyd ran your situation across the owner, and the owner does not feel comfortable with the situation. Unfortunately we are going to pass on what you guys have to offer."
Based on several online Yelp reviews (including the ones that aren't recommended by Yelp) and the fact that I saw the home's Craigslist post updated the morning of March 27th with a rental price drop from $2,695 per month to $2,600 per month as well as it was updated again on Sunday, March 30th, I felt it was necessary to write this review. I don't know if Mr. Kipp ever actually presented our offer to the homeowner or if they were given full disclosure of the situation. However, this may be a little insight as to how potential tenants are being treated and why this home is still sitting vacant after 31 days on Craigslist. I also feel like we probably dodged a bullet and am happy that we're not renting a home that VMG manages. read more