REI Property Management DO NOT RENT OR BUY FROM THIS COMPANY Bloomington Minnesota

DO NOT RENT OR DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!

My girlfriend and I decided to rent a home through REI this past April, 2014. The realtor, Lorie Burnette, was initially very friendly. The home itself was still in the process of being moved out of. This did seem unusual, but we were assured that all the previous tenant's personal possessions would be removed from the home if we were to rent it. We decided to rent it as the price was fair and it was a good location. 

Our move in date was 1 month past the date we looked at the home. When we arrived at the home to begin moving our things we were surprised to find a tremendous amount of possessions from the previous tenant still in the home (grills, lawn furniture, a garage full of miscellaneous items, closets with trash in them, etc). We contacted the realtor who asked if we could keep it until the tenant had time to pick it up. REALLY?!? We refused and emphasized that we would not pay full rent for only part of a home. This involved days of back and forth emailing and calling until finally the realtor got someone over to remove the items. 

Then we find that the front door deadbolt does not work, the screen door on the patio is missing and the main kitchen window leaks. We again, contacted the realtor (who is supposed to be our contact person) about these things. Again, we had to put up with several days of keeping on the realtor to have anything done about it. Her response was, "it passed inspection." This all occurred the first week of living in the home. 

The realtor refused to have a new screen door put on the home and the neighbor (not associated with the company) helped US fix the dead bolt and window. The realtor finally offered us a discount on the 1st month's rent due to US doing HER job. When rent came due she asked for the full amount, rescinding on her agreement (which we had in writing). She then offered to have the first month's utilities covered. Come this month, June 2014, no big surprise all the bills came with late notices for not receiving payments the prior month. We have now contacted Lorie Burnette once again to find out if she plans to uphold her agreement. 

It rained for majority of our first month living in the home so we kept the windows shut and began to notice a odor from the basement. The carpet, which was mildly stained during the walkthrough, now gave off a distinct pet urine odor. Again, we contacted the realtor (Lorie Burnette) who responded with, "it passed inspection." We borrowed a carpet cleaner and put in over 20 hours of carpet cleaning, rinsing and cleaning taking out bucket after bucket of dark brown water in order to dilute the smell. The realtor has refused to provide professional cleaning despite the fact that she visited the home and sent us an email acknowledging the odor. 

So far, two months of working with this company, has cost us weeks of our time in doing the job a property management company should be doing. I strongly recommended that you go anywhere else to rent, buy or have your property managed. As the service offered is not professional, not honest and frankly very difficult to work with.