They have done thousands of rentals. 49 years has to tell you something. You cannot please all of the people all of the time no matter what you do. To see just a few negatives is a testament to their business acumen. Businesses come and go but only those of high integrity last. read more

They have done thousands of rentals. 49 years has to tell you something. You cannot please all of the people all of the time no matter what you do. To see just a few negatives is a testament to their business acumen. Businesses come and go but only those of high integrity last. read more

Watson Realty seems to not care too much about any issues you may be calling them with. I usually get some type of attitude from one of the people I speak with. The handyman also just shows up randomly without a phone call or text when no one is home. If I were a home owner I would look elsewhere for property management. read more

Very hard people to work with. Almost like scamming, worst experience ever. Never had an application process this complicated for renting a house. Wondering if I can give zero star. read more

Please update your phone number so I can contact someone about listing and not just spin circles going nowhere waiting for someone to contact me. read more

We rented from Watson Realty for 3 years. For the first year of our lease, maintenance/repair was done promptly and courteously. Later on they said they would just not repair anymore. As we moved in, we realized that they had not fully disclosed what utilities we had to pay for in addition to rent. Al had told us Water and Trash were included in rent, but later Watson Realty said we had to pay that, whether the contract said anything about it or not. There was no sense of regret or apology there. They said we had to pay the late fee as well. So we ended up paying a bit more every month, including the late fee on the first bill that we never received. We ignored it at that time, showing goodwill. When we turned in our notice after 3 years, they behaved in an unprofessional and vengeful manner (e.g. yelling at the caller when a prospective landlord called to obtain a reference). They called us at 1030 am on Saturday and told us they will bring someone to see the house at 1100 on the same day. When we demurred and asked for some notice, they turned minatory and insulting. They said they could just call us that they are bringing someone to show the house (including on Saturdays) and start driving, that it was their right. When we reminded them that a 24-hour notice is needed according to California law, and 20-minute notice is certainly not sufficient. They just hung up on us. They had no interest in listening to us, they only wanted to rent the house while we were still living there. They brought in people two days after we turned in our notice, with a one-hour warning. They repeatedly asked us to give them contiguous 4-hour slots on all Saturdays and Sundays so they could bring people in without calling us in advance. We offered to let them do an open house one Saturday if they offered us some rent relief. They refused that but still wanted to make appointment blocks covering 3-4 hours on Saturdays. 75% of the Saturday appointments were no shows. Shows you their class. I guess that is good for the owner but is certainly of questionable morality. They waited a week or longer before responding to our maintenance-related emails, so this alacrity was a surprise. Overall, 50% of the appointments they made were no-shows as well. It was extremely stressful and unprofessional. After the final walk through (which WR did not want to do) that is legally mandatory according to California law, they told us we'll pay no more than $40 for two hours worth of cleaning. When we got our refund, however, we found that they had held close to a $1,000 from it, without any warning. Reason? They wanted us to pay for repainting the house that was last painted 6 years ago and was in bad shape as we moved in, but they ignored that. Instead, we had to put up with many insulting emails from the owner Carolyn. She scoffed at us and said how ridiculous it is that we turned into attorneys overnight. She sent us emails from many different email accounts, at all times of the day, and repeatedly tried to bully, insult and belittle us, telling us that she has 37 years of experience and if we even thought of going to court, she will crush us there. She said the court will make us pay $2,000 so the house could be repainted, and we better suck it up and let them keep $1,000. Then she started calling me a liar. At that time, I forwarded her her own email in which she called the place "filthy" and "grimy". That did not deter her however as the emails came flying at us every morning still! After talking to a lawyer, I suppose, they learned that we were right all along, and returned the deposit they had held, without an apology. If they had gone to small claims court, there would have been a public record; but they were prudent in the end. As you can see, dear reader, there are many reasons I am writing this review. In summary, if you know your rights and know the law around security deposit and showings, you would be all right -- but be prepared for a very stressful moving out in case you like sticking up for yourself. I suppose there are worse companies around -- that's always the case. Notice the other two positive reviews are written by others who have posted no other review except their glowing review of WR. One review is merely a cut & paste from their website. Go figure. To Watson Realty my advice would be "treat your tenants better and learn the law around your business". If they really have excellent references, let's see some "real" reviews here by those who have been happy with Watson Realty. read more

These guys are the typical rental company. Super nice up front and then no so much. We rented from them for nearly 4 years and while our interactions were minimal, when called upon they were slow to provide service or respond and then if they did respond they always had some "Clause" in the contract to cover their butts.... Moving out we did everything the "Contract" required to the tune of nearly $700 (cleaning of Apt, carpet, windows) and they still took out an additional $350 for added wear and tear to the carpet. Plus a 5 fit to re-paint touch up the place... They're definitely in it for the $$$ but what else is new? Do yourself a favor and don't use them or you'll be writing one of these too when you leave. read more

We had a terrible experiece as well with WR. They are total bullies! When we moved in they told us they were well aware of the present state of the house and did not express any need for us to further document damages. When we moved out less than year later they claimed we had done tremendous damage. They tried to say the damages that were present upon us moving in were our fault. They make their money from keeping security deposits. If you try to fight them they just bully you to no end. They lack class and ethics. I really am not sure how they remain in business. read more

Watson realty took our security deposit of $750 and justified keeping $280 of it for normal cleaning for another rental in spite of our leaving the Condo 99% spotless. In my opinion Watson Realty = Thief- read more

If I could give zero stars, I would. What a nightmare house rental business. The original owner and his wife retired a few years ago, and their children/inlaws "run" it now. The surly, rude and aloof women who answer the phone get angry if you have a maintenance request, and they make rude calls to you and your next of kin if your rent is not paid on the due date. They generally dislike and distrust people, especially senior citizens, which is unfortunate, because Watson Realty is based in Rancho Bernardo, a primarily senior citizen community. They are bad news for renters, from rude treatment during tenancy, and for the property owners who hire them to find renters. I could write a long list of complaints like the other reviewers, but let me sum it up: DON"T RENT A HOME (OR HAVE YOUR PROPERTY "MANAGED" AND RENTED OUT BY) WATSON REALTY! read more

Watson Realty is highly unprofessional, bullies and belitles their tentants, and only received one star because rating it a "zero" was not an option! Much like the other reviewer, they were cordial and kept up with repairs in the beginning, only to change their tune as time went on. The "maintenance crew" they hire is horrible and does nothing but weed whack and blow off the rest...all while charging full-service to the owner no doubt. We rented from them for over 2 years and many things that were promised to be repaired in the beginning were later blamed on us once we turned in our notice. Our experience with them showing the house once we gave notice was identical to Zinzan R's. The day after giving them notice, they called and wanted to bring someone by that day, only to get short and aggravated when we said no. They scheduled five three hour blocks of time during the next month to show our home...and we ended up having 20-25 different families come through...all while trying to get packed up and still, mind you, paying full rent to live there the last month. Though they finally found a tenant, the entire experience was very interruptive and stressful. It was only because we happened to know the owner's children through our church that we were saved from what would have been a horrible departure. Before leaving, we let them know that we had reservations about how the property was being managed, as the owners were elderly and surely unaware of how Watson was handling the home. The home was damaged in the wildfires a few months before we moved in, as the home next door had burned down. The roof was still covered in ash two and a half years after the fires and the stucko on the house and walls of the property, which Watson had said when we moved in would be repaired once the house next door was rebuilt, was never touched and would crumble off in large pieces. In addition, repairs that they did were done poorly or not at all. The home owners association had been sending Watson letters for years about the roof and stucko with, to my knowledge, no response. Turns out my intuition was right, as the owners children came to survey the damage to the home and were shocked. Though Carolyn Watson came by and proceded to belitle our family and blame all the damage on us, the owner's family could fortunately see through her. We had lovingly spent years and considerable money on the yard to upgrade it and beautify it, only to have Watson claim they had made the changes and that the roof, stucko, and problems with the home were done by us and our children. As you know, most people who lovingly plant flowers and plants new for each season for years at their rental home typically throw large quatities of ash on the roof and rip the stucko off the sides of their home...must have been our children, right! The owner and their family promptly fired the Watson's and ended up having to put $15,000 worth of repairs into the home. It was only because of them stepping in that we received our deposit back in full. If you are a renter, find another place to get your home from unless you want poor treatment and enjoy kissing your deposit goodbye. If you own and are looking for a property management company...stay very, very far away from Watson Realty unless you want your home to go into disrepair and your tentants to be bullied. Watson Realty should change their ways or get out of the business for good! read more