Stay Away From PCS Real Estate in Milton

[PropAddict]

Having been on both sides of the rental deposit agreement: it still pisses me off.

I have left every house cleaner than I received it, and I have usually made repairs to damaged items that I probably didn't technically need to. Somehow, I still get schwacked with some kind of fees a good 50% of the time.

On the other hand, when you have shitty tenants who move out and leave it all a mess, it usually ends up costing more than the deposit to do the repairs, cleaning, and cover delinquent rent/bills as applicable. I've never had a tenant who left and I just had that "Oh, it'll just be $100 to steam the carpets and we'll refund your deposit"; it's either all (and then some) or nothing.

<Break, Break>

Anyone had a bad experience using their military clause on short-fused orders? Specifically, how you have to pay rent for the full next bill period extending for 30 days after you give notice? Like, say you get orders on the 5th of Jan and are gone on the 12th. January was already paid in full, but landlord wants February's $$, too??

 

[insanebikerboy]

Anyone had a bad experience using their military clause on short-fused orders? Specifically, how you have to pay rent for the full next bill period extending for 30 days after you give notice? Like, say you get orders on the 5th of Jan and are gone on the 12th. January was already paid in full, but landlord wants February's $$, too??

I'm no lawyer, so take this with a grain of salt. The Florida clause specifically says that you have to give them 30 days and are responsible for the 30 days. So, in your case, you'd be on the hook till Feb 5th, but not the whole month of February.

At least that's the way I read it, off of the Florida clause. YMMV depending on what state you're in.

 

[paigeme04]

For all of the bad experiences above, is why we do base housing now...
There are absolutely NO deposits and they actually know what the meaning of PRO-RATING rent means!

We, too, got orders 7 before we were to move (after primary)... and were then charged the 23 MORE days of RENT, and the minimum from the water and gas company... all of our DLA was used to pay on our previous house back here in Milton after we had moved to Corpus... (on Cottage Woods Drive)

Our realty company was SunQuest - they too were very nice the entire time we paid rent BEFORE it was due (usually) but when we moved out they TRIED to find anything wrong with our cleaning job - it was 10x cleaner than when we moved in... and since they couldn't find anything wrong with the house - they held us to the 30 day military clause and got 95% of our deposit that way!

It still disgusts me!

 

[JimmySpank]

Anyone else use Top Gun for their home or rent from them? I have gotten a couple really weird e-mails from them in the last week about people being locked out of offices and being fired. Trying to make heads or tails of it but all I get is a form e-mail response telling me everything is ok without explaining what is really going on.

I don't know what the deal with Top Gun realty is, but their website isdefinitely closed down and what used to be Top Gun realty has brokenup. I had a friend who just winged who owned his house and is gonnarent it out. He said all kinds of jacked up things were going on withTop Gun and that Ted Johnson (the guy most military people were usingto manage their homes) split off from Top Gun. He was still going with Ted Johnson to manage his property but didn't know if the Top Gun name still went with it or anything. I don't know how accurate this is but I think he might be working through a different company now. I found his name at Perdido Sand Realty: http://www.tinyjohnson.com/ It seems he either moved over there or started up a new place after the Top Gun meltdown. Seems legit though. Anyone know if he took all of his managed properties with him?

 

[gdd05]

http://www.tinyjohnson.com/

Really

 

[JimmySpank]

haha yeah, thought that was weird too....but that's what what it is. Maybe he's just short or something.

 

[UMichfly]

It's his callsign. He was a Hornet dude or something if I remember right. He took good care of my buddies when they were renting from him in Snuggle Harbor a year or two ago.

 

[Cavt]

I spoke with Ted today, I won't go into details but suffice it to say it was interesting to hear what he had to say and that he is no longer with TopGun and is working out of a new office. I plan on terminating my contract with TopGun and sticking with Ted and Beth.

 

[SergioMartinez]

I typed an angry rant but for some reason it didn't post, (probably for the best). So I will just summarize.
They tried to make us pay for days that don't exist when prorating our 30 day notice.
Took forever to respond to maintenance requests, resulting in a constantly running fridge (about $50 extra a month on power bill) and an unusable toilet for the first 6 months of living here.
Carpet damage prior to my occupancy led to further damage by my dogs due to RCS Real Estate not responding to multiple requests to have carpet replaced.
Overall, slow service and no desire to fix things that weren't my fault to begin with, which I know they will try to pin on me when I leave. Stay away from PCS Real Estate, I am sticking to base housing from now on.

 

[usmarinemike]

Get over it. Everybody's mileage varies. PCS is run partly by a Marine reserve major. Not exactly a highly questionable and shady character.

And all the stupid little problems with your house have to do with the owner, not the management company. They'll do their best to ask the owner to replace the sorry carpet, but if the owner doesn't cough up the cash then nobody will.

Next time rent a damn house that's worth living in and stop asking for blood from stone.

 

[wstcoaster07]

About a year ago when we moved out of our place run by PCS we had a huge hassle too. We spent forever doing a ton of landscaping, cleaning and painting to make sure we got the whole deposit back. Then, when the guy came to to our checkout he spent 5 minutes and gave it all a clean bill of health, saying everything looked great..... 3 months later and MANY unreturned calls, along with 2 or 3 "we mailed your check, it must have gotten lost" , I demanded they wire the money that day or they would hear from a lawyer. They quickly responded to my voicemail and then informed me that there would be money taken out for cleaning costs... BS. I Informed them that they had no right because the place was spotless and signed off by their own inspector. Anyways, after telling them it was either all the deposit or a lawyer, they gave back the full deposit and that was that.

However, we did file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau about them because it is the only way to get incidents like that on the books for when people have trouble in the future. So, contact the BBB and see if there are more and you can add that to your arsenal if you go after them.

Make sure you get them to email you or sign a document to any agreement. We noticed that they always required us to email them to get it on paper but they NEVER emailed when requested, they would only talk on the phone (assuming because then we had no documentation)

 

[Ducky]

The dispute letter is in their hands now so we will see what happens. We hand delivered it and had them sign a document that we kept stating they received it within the appropriate time frames.

 

[Ducky]

Get over it. Everybody's mileage varies. PCS is run partly by a Marine reserve major.

I don't care who is running the place. If your getting screwed your getting screwed. Being a Major doesn't make him or his company infallable.

 

[propwife]

usmarinemike - all are not created equal. I have an extensive background in real estate. My husband PCS'd to Jax. I worked for a $*%Y$& particular person for 2 months, left with no notice b/c of this individuals poor business practices. She/He shouts from the roof tops to anyone who will listen regarding Her/His 'stellar' <questionable> military record. Ethics and integrity in business can not be determined by the person's military record. Also, I'm sure many of you guys have come across top brass who led with the very same questionable integrity.

To the poster on page 1 curious about military clause.. you can contact NE FL Realtor association or NE FL property manager association for more exacting definition on your clause. Worst case, I think you'll be paying a proration for February's rent.

For everyone that is new to the renting game.. I encourage you to take video and photographs of the interior condition of your newly acquired rental. When submitting your notice to vacate, ensure you drop the bug that you have that documentation.. be present for walk through. I've worked with 3 property management companies with a high military relo base.. personally and professionally that is the best ammunition you can have to protect your security deposit, if you're banking to receive any of it back.

For the average landlord or property manager, they should be looking for reasonable damage that *exceeds* normal wear and tear. EXCEEDS is the operative word, as wear and tear is to be expected whether the home is a primary residence or an investment. It is fair and reasonable that carpet that has been walked on for 2 years will not look like brand new carpet. However, tears, holes, burns, excessive staining is not fair and reasonable. Also, consider the quality of the materials used within the home. If the landlord has installed contractor grade beige carpeting and bottom of the line quality padding.. likewise 'updated' the home with cheap quality fixtures, cabinetry, counters.. ensure you advocate for yourself when the hinges break off, the carpet becomes ridiculously matted, or the particle board chips away. (I've seen this with many landlords that purposefully install 'cheap' with intention of procuring security deposit - plus some $ - when tenant moves out.. and then essentially start off 'new' every year or two with remnants, cabinetry that looks like it was purchased at the dollar store (if there was such a thing), and self install labor that is not top quality). <---- Take the quality of the home and overall maintenance into consideration when you are touring properties.. Middle of the road is the best way to go. Moving into a property with top of the line, also comes with an unspoken expectation that the landlord's expense to repair and replace will come with a hefty price tag that will likely fall dow into your lap.

 

[propwife]

FYI..

Understanding the terms and conditions of your lease agreement is imperative. As one of the wives mentioned on page 1, some property management companies retain a portion of security deposit for professional services (cleaning, mandatory de-flea if you have a pet, etc.). On the flip side, some property management companies *require these services be performed with receipts provided but may/may not specify if you can perform services yourself (example DIY Rug Doctor rental from mart store). You still may be spending the same monies, it just comes down to the terms of the agreement, so I encourage you to review those (as much of a blast as it is to sit down and read upwards to 10 pieces of real estate jargon)..