If you are a property owner, please please DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.
The company provided very little interaction or guidance to me while dealing with a tenant that was gradually destroying my property. They basically gave up on my property which turned out to have all sorts of violations resulting from the tenant’s drug activity and a fire that burned down the garage.
They completed inadequate inspections and when I was finally allowed in the house, I found drugs and substantial damage that was never noted in any of the inspection reports. While the home was vacant, a former tenant returned and turned into a squatter. The property manager sent someone to look at the house and they told me no one had entered and the property was secure. I had to perform all of the legwork to get the police to pull the tenant out. I tried to at least use them to arrange a locksmith for the date of lockout and Marshal, my property manager was nowhere to be found and said his phone was dead, so could only communicate by email. I arranged for the last-minute locksmith and police service on my own. I am located in another city and all of this should have been handled by the management company and they were extremely negligent in allowing the squatter to stay for an entire week. They said there was nothing they could do.
I called several times to inquire about water that was left running AFTER they completed the inspection and sent them all of the alerts from the utility company about the over-use of water. They said there would be another charge for them to send a plumber – when they were the ones that left the water running on the date of the inspection.
After 3 MONTHS of the tenant’s departure, I finally received half of the deposit funds, since the rest went to charges related to every insufficient visit to the house. The inspector itemized only a handful of things that were in need of repair. They somehow missed the larger items, including that the garage was burned down, the floor in the kitchen was sinking, the kitchen sink was broken and flooding the kitchen, holes all over the walls, including through the roof, rotted wood all over from water damage.
In my last correspondence with Marshal Wiscombe, the property manager, he basically said he feels bad for the tenant. Please please stay away from this company.
Response from Home River Group:
We understand your frustration with your prior tenant. When the tenant was evicted the first time, we advised that he not be allowed to move back in, however you chose to allow him to come back to the property.
Due to COVID restrictions and the current eviction moratorium, we were not able to get your tenant out the second time. Once the tenant vacated, we constantly went by the property, however, your tenant broke in after one of our visits. In addition, we strongly advised for you to keep the boards in place and complete all work needed as fast as possible, however, you chose to use your own vendor and remove the boards- which is ok, but it kept the property vacant for an extended period of time, during which the tenant continued to break in due to the board removal. We called the police numerous times to assist in getting the tenant removed from the property. It is true Courtney was out of the office during one of the break-ins, however, we had another Property Manager and Maintenance Technician on-site to assist in her place. Inspections are very accurate for the time they are conducted, however, we, unfortunately, have no control over a break-in that occurred after the fact. Especially when the security systems we placed were removed by yourself and your vendor.
We are so sorry that you had a horrible experience as a landlord, and completely understand your frustration, it is just unfortunately pointed at the wrong party, as this is the fault of a tenant that was able to take advantage of the system and your kindness for allowing him back in.
We wish the best to you.
Response from homeowner:
UPDATE: Wow, received the below response. Missed every one of my points entirely and blames the customer for their poor service. Nice!
Not only will Home River Group allow your property to be destroyed by never actually inspecting the property, they will not take any responsibility when they turn the property over to you.