Bidegain Realty, Dale Bidegain Dale Bidegain Tucson Arizona

I'm writing this because I recently moved out of a Bidegain Realty property, and I really feel like people need to hear about my experience if they're considering renting from this company.

When we moved in, there appeared to be a few things wrong with the property but Bidegain Realty ensured us that those things would be fixed, and not to worry about it. These things included:

• The pool was empty (and actually had about 2 feet of black, stagnant water full of maggots at the bottom). The property was advertised as having a complete, working pool. Bidegain Realty informed us that they weren't sure if they'd be filling the pool or just filling it in. Only because we told them we'd have to break our lease if they didn't fix it did they actually keep their word and do so. This was red flag number one.
• There was a window AC unit in the den (again, this was advertised in the listing we found as working fine). It didn't work at all, and it took several phone calls to get Bidegain Realty to replace it.
• Pictures on the listing showed the main bathroom as having a sliding glass door in the shower. This wasn't a necessary feature but it was a nice touch. It of course didn't work at all and had to be removed, which Bidegain Realty replaced with the cheapest shower curtain and rod available from the Home Depot down the street.
• The garage door opener didn't work and had to be manually opened. This was never fixed.
• The motor for the front gate didn't work, causing it to have to be manually opened and chained shut with a padlock (we had to replace this one ourselves since they wouldn't do it).
• Virtually all of the outlets in the house didn't have outlet covers. They assured us this would be fixed, but of course it never was.
• Close to the move out date, we discovered that he swamp cooler (which had broken twice already), was now leaking and beginning to sag into the roof. It actually looked like it might cause a hole in the roof on the final day we were there. Dale Bidegain said he'd "take care of it", but I find that highly suspect based on his other broken promises.

There were many more issues which we discovered throughout the year that we lived there, but the truly dishonest part came when our lease was up.

Both my roommate and I called Bidegain Realty shortly before our lease was up to ask the exact move-out date and express our overall displeasure with their service. The date was of course provided to us. We cleaned the house thoroughly (it was cleaner than when we moved in - we even steam-cleaned the carpets) and moved out.

Dale Bidegain then informed us that he wouldn't be returning our deposit (1.5x the rent) because we "didn't give notice" that we'd be moving out. Both my roommate and I reminded him of the phone calls we'd made, but Dale Bidegain informed us that since we didn't "supply the notice in writing", he wasn't obligated to return our deposit.

Now, I get that we should have submitted it in writing. That's a mistake I won't make again. But at the same time, virtually every interaction with Dale Bidegain and Bidegain Realty resulted in some sort of backhanded, shady and dishonest tactics which felt designed to take advantage of us as renters.

Using a technicality to keep our entire deposit comes off as extremely dishonest and only short of theft due to the thinnest margin of the law available. We could probably sue Dale Bidegain or Bidegain Realty and get our deposit back (they actually did a few things over the course of the year we lived there which would have given us reason to break the lease immediately), but the time and effort that would take are simply not worth it, and Dale Bidegain knows that. It's likely he uses these same technicalities to take advantage of many of his renters.

Overall, I'd rate Bidegain Realty and Dale Bidegain a solid 0 / 10, and would highly advise anyone who is considering renting from this company to look elsewhere. It's simply not worth the constant headaches you will deal with, since they are the very definition of slumlords. It's unfortunate that businesses as shady as Bidegain Realty and owners such as Dale Bidegain are allowed to continue doing business in Tucson. Hopefully this complaint will make other potential victims steer clear from this liar.