Urbana RE

Urbana let the tenants move in before the contract started. I got a call the weekend before the contract started where the onsite community manager said I needed to come in and sign a form so my tenants could move in. Awkward. I didn't want to meet the tenants. And they shouldn't have had the keys this early. The contract said Urbana would do 6 month checkups on the property. That only happened once in the 3 years they managed my property and that was 8 months into the 1st year of the contract and I had to initiate it. If I hadn't brought it up, it never would've happened. Seems like they just didn't want to drive out to the property so they came up with excuses not to even though the 6 month check ins are something they advertise as one of their services. I asked for pictures, something they advertise in the pitch, but got told that they only take pictures if something is wrong. At first, I was notified of all service requests before they happened. Once the assistants all left (they had a lot of turnover), Urbana would then have maintenance performed without informing me. I wouldn't find out until I checked my statement and saw that the cost was deducted from my rental income. I asked why I wasn't notified prior and they said they have so many customers that they can't spend time telling owners and that waiting on owner approval would be a disruption to the tenants. Uhm, what about the owners - the people who are paying you? Also, Urbana would pick high priced contractors. With my home warranty, a service call cost $60. A Groupon cost $90. But no, Urbana chose to go with one of the contractors they liked to work with who charged $120. When I was renewing the lease with the tenants, Urbana increased the rent by $10 without asking me. I asked where the increase came from and Urbana said it was a mistake but that the tenants agreed to it. So I left it alone, but how do you err on the rent amount in a contract? As far as communication, it'd take days to get a response. One time it took 3 days and multiple calls to get a response. When I complained about that, Will actually told me that I "wasn't their only client." Another time when I complained about my calls going unanswered, Will told me that email was a better way to reach him. So I'm not your only client and I should email you instead of call you - when I'm paying you $115 a month. Hmm. After 3 years, I decided to not renew the lease with my tenants and thus not renew the management agreement with Urbana so I could sell my condo. Will told me the move out inspection was at 10AM. Instead he held it at 9AM and texted me at 9:30 saying it was done. This prevented me from being present during the walkthrough. So I had to go through the place by myself. I noticed that the painter Urbana hired before the tenants moved in only painted halfway up the living room wall. I had vaulted ceilings. The paint only came up to eye level; you could clearly see a line across the wall as to where the new paint stopped. Urbana was supposed to send me my reserves refund back within 30 days. After 30 days I emailed Will to ask where my money was. He said I'd get it on the 6th, the day my tenant's rent would normally be deposited into my bank account. That's not what the contract said as far as when reserve funds would be returned; it said 30 days. Not 36. This experience has turned me off from ever being a landlord again and from ever dealing with a property management company.

I was referred to Safe Property Services by a friend who is a real estate agent. William McCoy contacted me right away and provided me a free estimate and assessment of my home. He showed me and explained things I could do to make my home more marketable. They also provided me with a list of vendors for items that needed to be repaired before I placed the home up for advertising. My home was rented within two weeks, and I especially liked the fact I was able to sign digitally with them, since I travel often. They explained the process for property management and have taken care of my tenant for over a year now. I would recommend them to anyone because of cost and the full service they provide.

They are overall a good company. There has been some delays on completing a repair after approval is given, but I believe this is due to scheduling with contractors and tenants. I've researched this issue on the forums and found many similar concerns from property owners, but overall a good experience. Definitely better than the last company I was with.

I'm military and was deployed in July of 2010. I contacted Safe Property Services after seeing them advertised on another site, and someone immediately contacted me. This was better than some of the bigger companies, who took several days to get back to me if at all. We have been using them ever since.