Smith Real Estate & Property Management

Smith isn't perfect, but I'm blown away by the bad reviews here and on Google.I was with this rental company for several years, and only separated from them because I purchased my own home. During those years, I had only a few issues with Smith and/or their handymen, but it was mostly minor stuff. I'm not even going to go into detail on the small stuff, as it's all nearly irrelevant. Every repair was taken care of quickly, sometimes in the same day, and any other problems were, as well.The one major issue came much, much later, when I was getting ready to move out and into my own house; it involved a new girl they had working there, and she was a real piece of work. I'd made plans with her to show the house to potential renters, which involved an agreement on a time that would allow me to be there. I came home from being gone - which was thirty minutes to an hour BEFORE the time we had agreed upon - and discovered she had been there while I was away! She had totally went back on the agreement, as if we had never spoken about it! My cats were locked out of their litter box room (she had closed the door and they couldn't get in!), plus they were so terrified from having strangers in the house without me...and the front door wasn't secured properly, which left the house easily accessible to anyone. When we had discussed it before the showing (TWICE: on the phone, and in person when she had come by with other potential tenants), I explained why I wanted to be there when she showed the house, and why I was't able to be there at the original time she had asked about. She acted like she understood and cared, and made it seem like I could trust her; little did I know, she was fake as heck, and didn't care about anything except showing the house. When I went in to speak with her about it after the fact, like a mature adult does, I found out she had taken off before I arrived. She got scared of having to own up to her own BS, I guess! Real mature. -_- Everyone else working had to hear about how upset I was that she didn't keep her word, and how she clearly did whatever she wanted because she knew I'd be away from the house at the time. Someone like her should not be working with people, if she can't even follow her own agreement, actually give a crap, and be real.On the matter of getting one's deposit back upon moving out...it's really simple. If you clean (and I mean REALLY clean), and didn't break or destroy anything, you get your deposit back (minus carpet cleaning fees, if applicable). Upon moving out of the first home with Smith, I got the entire deposit back (there was no carpet cleaning, as they planned to replace it before the next tenants moved in) - because the house was spotless, and I didn't wreck it. Same with the last house - no problem getting my deposit back (minus a $90-something carpet cleaning fee). I don't understand why anyone would have an issue with receiving the entire or majority of their deposit, if they do what they're supposed to do before turning in the keys (CLEAN!), and take care of the place. It's not that difficult. I will say, whoever they have clean the houses that former tenants didn't clean, doesn't know what cleaning is. Both houses were pretty gross upon moving in, so I had to clean them AND unpack at the same time. At least I knew it was done properly, but I shouldn't have had to clean up other people's filth. If I wanted to do that, I'd replace their "cleaning person" and get paid for actually doing it!Overall, I had a fantastic experience with Smith, and I'm sure they had an equally fantastic experience with me (I paid early, was an excellent tenant in both houses I rented, and never gave them any issues). Literally, the only time they ever saw me upset about anything, was when the aforementioned issue occurred, and that wasn't my fault, obviously. Everyone was always super nice, helpful, and caring (aside from that one bad apple, of course).I miss the one friendly face I saw from Day One, and the handymen! They were all super great and a joy to interact with. I highly recommend Smith - just make sure you get something in writing if you deal with a certain younger-looking employee. I don't know if she still works there, but be careful.

Very poor service. I told them that I wanted a place, that I had the money for, within two days after me contacting them, I went for my scheduled appointment only to find out they rented it already. Very poor service. Don't recommend these people.

These people are crooks. The rental department will charge you several fees that they forget to mention up front then fail to follow up with questions or concerns after you move in. They will keep your deposit even if you clearly document any problems upon moving in. They will nickle and dime you then lie about it. That is if your lucky enough to get them to answer your call. Go on craigslist or any other source. You will save money and have a much better experience. I have been overly forgiving and they have taken me for a ride on 2 different rentals.

Absolutely the worst company to rent from! I moved into 1419 W 6th St with a disabled vet. We were there 3 months and bought a home they were listing. The apartment was so filthy when we moved in, I refused to cook in the kitchen. The water heater area was filled with lint, because the dryer in the kitchen vented into the water heater closet in the hall. I feared letting my disabled Veteran sit on the filthy toilet, lights and blinds were broken and never fixed. We had an $800 deposit and, although we never cooked or walked around the living room much, they charged us just under $200 for shampooing the carpets!! I had cleaned and left the apartment in better condition than when we moved in, and had sent them 25 pictures of everything that was wrong with the apartment! To charge us to clean new carpets (the only thing decent in the apartment), after I had painted unpainted areas in the kitchen and had worked so hard to clean up the place, even leaving new curtains in the kitchen and living room, is absolutely unconscionable!! Do not trust this realty, unless you are desperate!

We rented a house from Smith, then moved to another house also under Smith.Now, let me say some ok things about Smith, then some very NOT ok about them, so you can decide. For me though, I won't touch them with a 10-foot pole, but you can be the judge.Good things: they have a free bug-spray once a year. I don't know if this is a unique thing about Smith, I don't even know if they do that to all the rentals, but for the two houses they did provide it. Also, every maintenance they hired to fix things was nice and courteous. Finally, it seems they do have some cheaper rentals. Guess there's a reason for the lower price though.Now, bad things. Let me just state the facts: First, it often took a long while for maintenance to come and fix things.The biggest problem, however, happened when we switched to the new house. We did our best to clean up the first house. Since 2001 we've been renting houses, and we got good recommendation letters from landlords. However, Smith charged us hundreds from our deposit without specific explanation, just "cleaning fees." Ok, maybe for any reason our previous landlords have very low standards; one can argue this is subjective.But when we moved to the new house, I've NEVER, EVER seen a horror like that: dead roaches covered the floor of the basement!! There was a thick layer of dust on all the ceiling fans, the big blue trashcan was full of heavy trash, another big and heavy trash bag on the patio, among other things. It's very obvious NO ONE CLEANED the house. Smith did NOT bother to get the house ready for us, while they couldn't wait to take money from us.We took pictures and showed them the condition of the "new" house. They finally said: "We'll waive $70 from your next rent; that's the best you can get" words to that effect. That's like less than half of what we were charged. Not to mention when we first moved into the 1st house, the condition wasn't ideal: someone left a dump in the toilet.Again, I just present you with facts, you decide.

DO NOT do business with this company! I applied to rent a property and paid $40. They did nothing with the application for almost a week. They said that they checked my credit and checked my references. They did neither because I am a member of LifeLock and get notices when my credit report is looked at. I also called my past rental references and both told me that nobody called for a reference. I wound up renting another place that approved me the same day that I applied. I called and asked for a refund of my $40, as they did nothing, but they rudely refused. There are some very rude girls working there: a ditzo named Jessica and a smart mouth named Kim. Smith's is in the business of stealing $40. from multiple people and choosing the "best applicant". Other people have reported the same problem with this sorry excuse for a company on other sites. They deserve negative 5 stars! BEWARE!

Smith Real Estate rented a property to my grandson that was dirty and had to be cleaned before occupancy. They did not disclose that it has NO heat Or air conditioning. The owner painted the bathroom sink and tub with house paint that flaked off. It also had wiring that was not to code and a severe bug problem. We cleaned the property prior to his moving out and he cleaned the yard. They charged him his cleaning deposit! They apparently have a reputation for doing this. BEWARE!!

As a former property owner with an excellent occupancy history, I cannot recommend this company to either owners or tenants. The company did not notify me of needed repairs, so there was extensive damage to wood, floors and stucco that could have been easily fixed or even avoided. They were unwilling to repay me for necessary repairs, but kept the tenants deposit. I now manage my property and caution anyone using this company.

I am completely dissatisfied with Smith Real Estate. The property I rented from them was old and musty. It has a 5gallon RV water heater that only allowed for 45 second showers. I requested a bigger water heater got the same size water heater except for a home which didn't change things I could still only take 45 second showers. And there was a roach infestation. They also took me for a ride on my deposit I only received $49 out of the $475. With no breakdown of charges explaining why I had just received $49.

I have been a tenant of Smith Real Estate for 9+ years. Have always had a great relationship with them. They have been prompt to take care of maintenance issues (even some weekends). In my book they are highly recommended.