First Place Management, Inc 1st Place Management, homes4rent, rentalsinjax, www.rentalsinjax.com This company will rent you a home in foreclosure. A leasing company that only cares about the home owner, not the paying Renter. *MUST READ* Jacksonville, Florida

Renter beware of this company.  We are a loyal tenant of what started as a beautiful home.  Upon living at the home for well over a year, the leasing company will not assist the renters in maintenance and upkeep..... if the home owner says no, the repairs and maintenance does not get completed.  Please read this report in it's entirety, it only get's more interesting.  I will start with the minor and move on to the major.

At the year mark, the home is begining to show some wear on the exterior as well as general maintenance on the interior.  We have treated this home as it is our own only to ask the leasing company to communicate to the owner to assist in sharing some of the maintenance costs - as I will provide the time and labor myself. 

Nothing as simple as even interior paint....to the point that there was a leak inside the wall (took over a month to repair thus creating a mold problem on the inside of the wall) and when the repair man they sent to fix it after a month of wet walls in Florida humidity, they wouldn't even match the paint in the dining area where a large hole had to be removed.  There is essentially a painted square foot hole in the wall where we invite guests over for dinner.  Not only was this hole cut open and not repared correctly, not only was the mold growth an issue, but the hole cut in the wall was exposed for a week open to the outside elements. 

The leasing company has been notified of an armadillo problem burrowing under the dual AC pads in the back.  Their response "thank you for letting us know".

By the way, upon calling the company for any concerns - they will pass the buck and tell you that no one is currently available for WEEKS.  Communication with this company is terrible at best. 

WE DISCOVER THIS HOME IS IN FORECLOSURE.  We inform the First Place Management company that we received a letter in the mail stating that the home is pending FORECLOSURE.  Upon informing them, they get back to us weeks later and let us know that they contacted the home owner and that the home is NOT in foreclosure.....although we received legal documentation that the home is in fact in foreclosure.  We have had a car show up and a person walk around "our home" that we pay approximately $1600/mo for looking around the yard.  A pickup truck stopped in front of "our home" when a mans gets out and takes pictures of the home.  Upon approaching this man, the man stated he was not at liberty to disclose any information about what he was doing.  We asked if it was about the foreclosure, his answer was "it may be about that".  Days later we recieved another notice ORDER SETTING NON-JURY FORECLOSURE TRIAL AND DIRECTING PRE-TRIAL PROCEDURE - an acutal court notice to the owner and to us the occpants inviting us to the court proceedings as well as a witness list.  Essentially 1st Place Management, Inc is supporting a slum lord (who is foreclosing on this very nice ((or could be)) very nice home.  We understand that the management company cannot make decisions for the owner, however at no point has First Place Management acted on our behalf.

WE CANNOT PREPARE MEALS FOR OUR FAMILY OF 6 WITH 4 YOUNG CHILDREN.  The kitchen is equipped with a beautiful gourmet double stacked, stainless steel oven.  The week prior to Easter (4/22/11) the ovens went out.  BOTH ovens.  We contacted the emergency hotline provided to us in case of emergencies.  It was the week AFTER Easter when a call back was received.  Multiple emails and phone calls later we were contacted to inform us 1st Place Management would have to contact the owner and would get back to us once the owner informs the leasing company of their wish to repair/replace.  5/16/11 we were still sending HELP emails as the oven was still not fixed and to PLEASE help quickly as the only meals we can prepare are 1.) stove top, 2.) on the grill, 3.) resturaunt provided. Inconvenient, unhealthy, and expensive.  As of 6/01/11, 39 days later our ovens are STILL NOT WORKING.  Absurd.

No renter should have to live in conditions without the items listed as being provided in the leasing agreement, when paying the amount that they agreed to pay.  Although this home was once nearly a 1/2 million dollar home, regardless of area or amount paid, the leasing company should find themselves as position to represent the leasor and leasee.  This leasing company has had extremely poor communication with the renters thus resulting in living conditions that no paying renter should have to live with.

The following statement is directly from First Place Management's web site on the "About Us" section:
"We understand that choosing a property management company to handle your investment property is not a simple task. You need to be confident that your property will be handled with the care and consideration that you would provide yourself. You need to be sure that every decision regarding your property will be an educated one.
At FIRST PLACE Management, Inc., we treat all of our clients properties like they are our own, and pride ourselves in the personal level of service we provide to our clients whether they are local residents or absentee property owners.  We have thirty one years of combined experience and do hands on care of your property. 
From the moment you entrust us with your valuable investments, we begin a comprehensive plan for your property in order to lease it to a qualified candidate in the shortest amount of time possible."
Nowhere does it state they will care for the tenant.

First Place Management, Inc., I welcome you to challange this report to disprove any of the facts stated above.  They are just that, facts.