The Charleston Property Company

I had an very poor interaction with this company that resulted in ultimately deciding to rent another property. Myself and my roommate submitted an online application to a property, for which we charged 50 $ processing fee each (100 $ total) at the time of submitting the application. After we submitted the application, we were immediately contacted and were told that we did not qualify based on our combined income and asked if we wanted to include a third person on the application for an additional 50 $. This requirement to apply was not mentioned to us any point in earlier discussions when we emailed with interest about the property or when we went to see it in person. When I tried to ask about what our actual chances were of actually being approved for the property we were interested in if we did get a cosigner, they were very evasive and also trying to pressure us to «submit one quickly» because «places go so fast in this market». Throughout all of us, our applications were not actually processed at any point — no background or credit checks, no inquires made to our references, etc. The entire interaction left a bad taste in my mouth, and although we were really interested in the property itself and could easily have gotten a family member to cosign, we decided instead to apply for another property that came available, and were approved for quickly. (Ironically that cost the exact same amount as the Charleston Property Company listing).
When I contacted them asking for a refund of the processing fee, since our application was never actually processed, I was outright refused. I have attempted discussing this with Lizz Taylor multiple times who has refused to give me the contact information for her superiors or to address this in any way. Even before asking for the refund I received emails that were borderline rude, and made me feel like this was a company that was simply out to get every penny they could from a potential renters. In fact, they literally used the words «cut-​throat» when describing the current market for renting or buying property in Charleston. While I do not believe that our city is cut-​throat, clearly this company is — they are willing to behave both unethically and illegally by charging a fee for a service they never actually provided, and refusing to refund it when that service wasn’t provided. Given the other reviews on here, its clear that this behavior very much extends to their actual tenants.
I have rented many places over the past 9 years, including the last three years in Charleston, and this is the first time I have ever had an application processing fee charged when my application wasn’t actually processed. This is also the largest processing fee I have ever paid, (especially considering it would have been 150 $ to actually submit an application they would even be willing to process). I am not an unreasonable person, if and they had actually processed my application and THEN refused it, I would have accepted it. But to charge a fee to people automatically, knowing some of them may not even meet the requirements to have their application processed, is deceptive and wrong.
Prospective renters — do not let this company bully or trick you into applying for a property and paying the fee when you may not even qualify to have your application processed, and find out you have pay more and have a cosigner also submit an application (again, for a property you still may not end up even being approved for anyway even after they process your application). Be wary of a company that would do that and know that they will have the same «cut-​throat» attitude any time there is a repair that needs to be done or when they are deciding how much of your security deposit they are going to give back to you.

If you are a tenant renting from this company don’t expect them to help you in any way. They will find a way to make sure to charge you for things that should not be your responsibility. The managers there are rude, disrespectful and unprofessional. I would not trust my house with them if you are an owner. I also strongly recommend not renting from them or you will end up spending more money and have more frustrations than you would with another company.

The Charleston Property Company has done a great job managing our property in the lowcountry. A tenant was found in a matter of days and the fees are very reasonable. The communication is very open and I appreciate their hard work with making sure my property is a priority. Would definitely recommend!

Charleston Property Company has been a rare pleasure to work with as a property company. I am active military and therefor move around quite a bit. My experience with Charleston Property Company has by far been the best. I have to give specific credit to Ms. Morris, who always went above and beyond in fulfilling my customer care needs. Anytime a problem arose, she acted quickly, and treated us like family, ensuring we were constantly informed and action was taken swiftly. If we ever end up back in Charleston, Ms. Morris and the Charleston Property Company will be the first ones we turn to in looking for a place. Thank you for everything!

I needed to switch companies for my two condo units when my previous company decided to move more toward vacation rentals. The team at The Charleston Property Company made the switch painless and turned around my vacant unit in record time. They are very professional and have all the modern tools you would expect online (records, billing, direct deposit). I am glad I found them.