Invitation Homes

We rented with IH for two years, which covered the interim between selling our IL home, relocating to MI and having a baby in there too. If it were for those three things it would have easily been one year.
I have to say that most of the reviews on here seem to be spot on. My issues with IH started immediately as they have almost zero information on any of the homes they are releasing to market. I would say that a conservative estimate for work orders related to the terrible quality/​age of the home would be around 15. What needs to be understood from that number is that each one requires a tech to visit the home during a two hour window, these visits are typically only available during «normal» business hours M-​F. The techs upon arrival either don’t know what they are walking into or require a specialist come out which ultimately wastes more of my time & money (and theirs, but they are too stupid to realize this). Most if not all of the my work orders required 2 – 3 visits, which becomes a very big hassle with no way to work around it other than their suggestions of placing a lockbox on the door… yes, please allow your sketchy techs into my house unsupervised. How can IH expect their tenants to make money to pay rent when the POS property they are providing needs multiple visits and time away from said job where rent money is made? Seems very counterproductive to me.
During my two years the home was under the control of three property managers, with the previous two both taking my email contact with them to their new jobs and sending spam to me and likely every other tenant contact they pulled before leaving… classy. The rent did go up after the first year and I talked them down by pointing out that either they lower it or roll the dice letting the home sit on the market for X months at a higher price. I was able to get a month free rent because of the clown show that happened during the first months of my residency, so that was nice. The pre-​move out inspect guy was very likely the most knowledgeable and reasonable person that I met in the two years at IH. If any of the PM’s or anyone else I dealt with over there was remotely close to his level then maybe this review might not be what it is. We did take care of the property and received all of our security deposit back… maybe in hopes I would go away quietly.
Some highlights from those work orders:
Things that didn’t work at move in which I had to deal with getting fixed because IH didn’t! AC, Drinkable water, septic tank (required a dig out and repair). No hot water at some faucets and no cold at others, kitchen sink drain leaked.
Well water that was hard and unusable for the first 1.5 weeks. Only when a two stage filtration system was put in place was it useable. The home should have never been up for rent with this condition.
Exterior basement wall was cracked (a long time ago) and leaked heavily in the first two months of my living there. A large hole was dug by a contractor and it wasn’t finally repaired for approximately 4 months!!! Nice. It was my job to manage their contractor apparently, not the Property Manager (PM).
Was told by a IH rep that a neighbor had complained to the county about the basement wall hole and sewage coming from it. There was no sewage (at this time) and I called to county to confirm this information as it seemed very strange that the county would call IH and not the resident. As it turns out the IH rep was lying for some unknown reason and quit a few days later.
The third and final PM (who was incredible rude) sent me a email notice that the CITY (remember unincorporated) needed to come out and check the sump pump and it’s exit. Once again, very strange considering no City was providing services to the home. During the discussion I found out the PM didn’t know the difference between a sump pump and septic system and also that it was going to be my responsibility to verify with the city. I did this because I was going to have to waste more of my time and money while this inspection occurred… talked to the city and they confirmed that there was no inspection needed. I never did get an apology from the PM for her lack of respect and general stupidity.
Septic was spewing raw sewage (now there’s sewage) out of the ground. This was because of two things, 1: it was never cleaned out and 2: There was a broken exit pipe. This took several attempts to finally get them root cause the problem with the interim being a pump every few months.

Agreeing with all the other renters, this company’s sole purpose is profit and doesn’t give a damn about you and will try its best to make money off of you and screw you over.
They asked us prior to leaving to repaint every wall in the house, which was not in the lease. We painted every wall anyway and our whole family of 6 spent 3 full days to do this. We also cleaned the rugs like they wanted. After all this work, they said they had to deduct HALF of the deposit because the rugs were going to be replaced «anyway». Unbelievable.
I’ll endorse them for one thing. Their service was satisfactory. Technicians arrived timely and most of their work was good. Keep in mind this company will also raise your rent annually, especially after you call for more technicians frequently. DO NOT rent from this company. Benefit a small family or business instead!

I’m a 2^nd time renter of Invitation Homes, I rented from them back in 2012 – 2014 (2 year lease). If I was to review them then, it would have been probably 2 – 3 stars. They were just starting up and communication was our biggest struggle. Long story short, I needed to rent in the BG area and found an adorable ranch and they were the owners. I was skeptical, but was willing to give them another chance. The first month I had some run ins with a skunk living under the home, ants in the kitchen and found dead mice behind the stove, but with that said, they were VERY responsive and sent out someone immediately to take care of all the issues. My portfolio managers are awesome (much better this time around) and seem very compassionate and caring about the situations. It’s only been 2 months so I’m hoping the remaining 10 months are just as good. I would rent from them again if needed.

STAY AWAY! These people are CROOKS. They do things in the cheapest way possible. In the 12 months we lived jn their property, we had at LEAST one maintenance call a month. When trees were hitting the roof they sent a guy who was STANDING on there roof with a CHAIM

On the outside and inside the homes look very nice. They are all remodeled (cheaply) and pass the first sniff test. However, the real issues start on the service. As others have said, expect to take days off or wait for an open Saturday for any type of service. Also expect them to not be responsive to email and questions. Oh, and that they will try to take half of your security deposit. They offer a «pre» move out inspection to point out any issues that need to be addressed prior to moving out and having the house inspected for real. We took advantage of this service, and were told «the house looks great, marks on walls were from prior tenants» on our report. So, we expected to get a full refund on the security deposit. 40 days after our lease ends we get our deposit back, only to see more than half taken out. Turns out they tried to make us pay for 600 dollars in re-​painting costs, and 130 dollars in landscaping (even though I kept the bushes trimmed and lawn mowed), as well as 120 dollars for debris removal as the garbage men left behind some of our move out trash (even though it was broken down to small manageable pieces). After much arguing and a day on the phone I was able to get 100% of our deposit back. Kudos to our portfolio manager for going to bat for us.
Overall I would say it is okay for a year, but don’t go back for a second. They always increase the rent by 6−8% and try to lock you in to a longer term lease. Our neighbor two doors down was renting his house for 3 – 400 dollars less a month, and took care of utilities and landscaping.

I signed a contract on Nov ’13, at the house. Property Manager (PM) rushed me through contract. In a hurry they had «another appointment». I am 73 yo have monovision, harder to read fast. They had no copy of contract to give me after I signed it. Told me look up generic contract on their web site. That is not the one with my signature. Took three months to get a copy of one I signed.
Seems intentional cause if you don’t report cockroaches within 20 days it is your problem thereon and learned you do not get rid of them. They find every way they can to make you pay for their problems and maintenance.
The kitchen smells like a greasy spoon restaurant and musty moldy odor. They said it would air out. It didn’t. Old pressed paper cupboards smell moldy and can see obvious water damage to lower shelves under sink and next cupboard. Old stained tile grout on counters not sealed properly. They sent a maintenance person with some cans of spray to mask musty odor. Musty greasy odor persists. Greasy pullouts that cannot be washed off. Still feels dirty.
The PM not a licensed property manager. No real estate license, and no property manager certification. Corporate escape clause? They still have fiduciary duty to you. They are not professional, and generally overall rude and authoritative. Service people told to spy on the tenant and report to the PM.
Signed my water form when signed lease. It took PM 10 months to submit it and demanded that I pay her monthly the amount she said I owed but would not give me a copy of the water statement. The amounts were double what they became after the water company sent me statement. Emailed her two months after lease signed about getting water bill in my name; no response.
She over billed my water I learned after more than one year later. She did not notify me of the overcharge. It was my money and she had a fiduciary duty to tell me and refund it. Asked her for an accord where the over charge was from but was ignored.
Last August PM sent me an email subject «DELINQUENT RENT», in bold letters.
I learned this is a trigger to not renew leases. Their policy «one month late on rent, no renewal of lease», no renew. I was never late one time. The body of that message said nothing about rent,. She scolded I did not pay her the water. I had added it onto the rent check paid on time. She had no accounting for what happened to the water added onto the check. So, nothing about late rent but why give that email that title? That put me on their list to not renew. She was retaliatory and did not want to learn she over billed my water charges.
They need audits when they collect money for utilities. She sent me her «ledger» for water bill was a joke, all figures pulled out of nowhere and didn’t agree with water company. She did not like my response that her «ledge made no sense and I was not paying her for water anymore». Statements started coming from the water company thereafter.
The second year I made an error in the monthly check writing it $ 5 short. They did not notify me. Then I learned of the water credit they hid from me. They took the $ 5 from the water credit then when used up learned of the credit. I would have corrected my error the first month. They preferred to used my water credit which was my money and had no right to use it without my consent. I preferred the refund and would have fixed the shortage of $ 5. Big deal to send me an email.
In August people looking at house walking around the outside looking into windows and stopped me when going to mailbox, asking about the rental. It was advertised on the rental sites. It was news to me it was for rent. Then I was noticed my rent not being renewed, no reason needed in Florida. In my case it is retaliatory. I think it was related to PM writing DELINQUENT RENT, headed on email when rent was not late. But that cue is sufficient to put me on the move list.
Retaliation from PM with attitude and ripping me off with my water bills. AT 73 must pack and find another place to live. Not my preference. I am disabled.
Solar panels for pool removed when large holes in roof noticed and roof replaced. Solar not placed back. No adjustment in rent due to loss of use pool in winter months, although I asked. Didn’t I pay for that.
Asked PM where my contract said I was responsible to clean rain gutters and told it didn’t and they would send someone to clean it. Months later, not cleaned, PM does 180 turn saying it is my responsibility. No rent adjustment for the loss of use of pool in colder weather, nor substitute heater added, but expect 73 year old disabled woman to get on top of roof along 45′ edge of lanai to clean their gutters. If I fall and get hurt they are responsible.
Never rent from large corporation. Been homeowner for 30 years, and the misrepresentation of titles and lack of fiduciary responsibility and accountability is a big legal issue. These so called PM’s need to be audited.
.

INVITATION HOMES IS A SCAM! If you do anything take the advice of me and a majority of others on here and run.
We rented from invitation homes for 2 years and it was the biggest mistake we ever made. I will spare the details of the cheapest appliances and paint jobs. This company makes all their money during your move out.
We recently moved out and prior to moving you get a lovely email from the «Move Out Specialist» aka rip off specialist. Which you could care less about because you receive an email every 2 months that your portfolio manager has changed.
So we get the highly recommended Pre Move Out Inspection, which will «help ensure you get your full security deposit back.» The guy shows up to our almost empty house to inspect.
It was REQUIRED we paint any walls with holes from screws, or that had «above normal wear and tear» this is their favorite statement.
If you don’t paint it’s 25cents per square foot
We had to replace a blind, and a door. Oh it’s also REQUIRED to get the carpets professionally cleaned. We were reminded to clean the fridge and that’s it! We did everything asked in the move out inspection! Yay we will get all of our money!
WRONG!!! All the walls had «above normal wear and tear». Let me explain what this is, this is ANY type of mark on a wall. We lived there for 2 years!
They charged us for security chains on the doors we never had, we got charged for debris removal bc we left our trash at the curb for garbage day, «excessive» dog hair when we were allowed to have a dog. If this isn’t painting a clear picture for you I don’t know what will. The pre move out inspection is a joke. They don’t tell you everything you need to do on purpose and then try to say they didn’t notice it bc there was furniture in the way.
TAKE THE ADVICE AND DONT GET SCAMMED! We have emailed/​called and haven’t received a response since being informed we would not get the full deposit back. Give your money to a real landlord who will do their job and have some human compassion. We aren’t some filthy animals who lived in this house and didn’t take care of it. We are a young couple, and a dog, who even hired landscaping to keep up with the yard. Do not be fooled by these people.

Horrible dishonest and manipulative company– AVOID at all cost! First, when we moved in there was a leak in the foundation and flooded basement and a dead raccoon and raccoon feces in the attic that caused a carpet beetle infestation in the house… Then ANY issue with the house was barely if at all dealt with by the maintenance department, slow didn’t return calls awful. Next we had some firewood delivered and the company backed into the house (fully covered by the company’s insurance company) and it was never fixed, the portfolio manager never followed up with the company so it was never fixed. Finally, we moved out, pre-​move out inspection was great, guy told us two walls need to be painted and I might as well let them do it because it’s cheaper in the long run. They also required a carpet cleaning that he also recommended we let them do. We left under the assumption that we would get a good amount of our deposit back. 2 months and counting later, they never even sent a message. So finally I sent emails and phone calls repeatedly and finally got a settlement report” wit a big made up list of reasons why I’m not getting my deposit back AND it looks like they are expecting us to pay them! Probably calling a lawyer, don’t get involved with this company!

I have been in my home now for almost 6 months and we have had some major things go wrong. But invitation homes have responded quickly and have always been very nice to us!!! I’m so glad I didn’t listen to other reviews they had a long time ago because they were bad and it kinda scared me to rent with them! But I figured I would make my own opinion and boy am I happy I did!!! They really are a great company to rent from!!!

Now that I’ve been in my rental home for 3 months, I have to admit that I’ve been very happy with my home and the people of Invitation Homes. As with any new home, things will pop up maintenance-​wise and Invitation has been very responsive with not only addressing my concerns but making the repairs when needed.
After every repair /​maintenance call, you get a survey asking for your thoughts and opinions on how they responded and what could be improved upon. Hey, at least they’re asking the questions.
What has also been very nice is a program called «Invitation Rewards.» They have special offers and savings (like movie discounts) that they offer to their renters (wow, that’s nice.) And they have been offering on-​line, fun things like a photo contest. It gives me the impression that they really would like to build a community of fans.
I’ll continue to update you as we move along but my experiences have been very positive. As a result, I have no hesitation that you should consider them for your next rental experience.

Our family rented a split level house from Invitation Homes for a year, summer 2014 — summer 2015. They were extremely quick to rent the house and take our money, but extraordinarily slow to respond to any requests if they ever responded at all, did the absolute minimum to prepare the house for tenants and used the lowest grade fixtures and appliances.
As of today, they have not returned our security deposit even 2 months past our move out date. We moved out on time having completed all the items on their move out inspection on time in full to their satisfaction.

My husband and I rented a house from Invitation homes for a year from summer 2014 to summer 2015. This is kind of a difficult review for me because we had some good and bad experiences. I don’t normally do a pros and cons list in reviews but I think this time it’s warranted.
Pros:
— Scheduling maintenance was easy and maintenance people came promptly. We were always able to schedule around our schedule (usually at 7 am, allowing us to arrive at work on time or only slightly late). They fixed some major problems with the house without complaint. For example, the foundation was cracked and was leaking water in. They sent out a contractor who examined the problem, then came back and fixed it the next day.
— I was able to rent an entire house with a yard. Maybe that seems pretty basic, but I was very happy not to be attached to anyone else. The house was a nice size, the yard was fenced in… there was plenty of storage. I realize that this is going to change from house to house, but we were ok with ours.
— Brand new appliances! Every single appliance still had the plastic on it. Again, user experience may vary on this one, but we lucked out, so you may too.
— We’re the kind of people who like to be left alone. Invitation Homes didn’t bother us at all. No one came in to show the house while we were living there. They never attempted to enter the property without permission. The only time we ever saw anyone was for maintenance requests.
— They have a pretty lenient pet policy — three pets. There is no monthly pet rent (which drives me BONKERS) but there is a non-​refundable pet payment (250 $ per pet). This isn’t a cleaning fee — you still have to clean. This isn’t a deposit — you don’t get it back. It’s just money you give them for the joy of having a pet in their house. I was just happy that it wasn’t 25 $ per pet per month, because that adds up quickly. I’d much rather it be a one time fee.
Cons —
— The leasing process was incredibly stressful. We were informed by our real estate agent that we would be able to take possession of the property at the beginning of the month. This turned out not to be true! We had to take possession within 7 days of submitting an application. This was very difficult as we were MOVING from out of town and had only come in to house hunt for the weekend. My husband had surgery scheduled and we had an EXTREMELY difficult time convincing them to let us start the lease on a Monday instead of a Friday. They wouldn’t allow us to just start paying for the house, either. We had to be there in person to go over the house with a representative of Invitation Homes. Had we known this, I think we would have picked a different house. We ended up having to start our lease 3 weeks earlier than we had intended. That’s a lot of money. This terrible experience permeated through EVERY interaction we had with the «office» people.
— Our initial fees (security deposit, first month’s rent, etc) had to be paid in INDIVIDUAL certified checks, which also had to be expedited because we were out of town and they absolutely had to be there within the week. I think we ended up spending 100 $ just on check fees, which is completely absurd.
— We had to request documents repeatedly. We’d usually have to email at least twice before we got any response at all about an issue that didn’t involve maintenance.
— The house was disgustingly dirty when we moved in. I spent a ton of time cleaning before we were able to put our stuff inside. The carpets upstairs were old and hadn’t been replaced. The downstairs carpet was brand new, but was so stained from people coming to look at the house. The repair work was bad — someone did a really crappy job painting the room. Everything was kind of banged up and nasty. This would have been ok (we would have cleaned the heck out of it anyway because we’re just like that), but at the end, they wanted us to have the carpets professionally cleaned and provide a receipt. We didn’t do this because we didn’t feel like it was our responsibility to rectify a pre-​existing deficiency. We took very good care of this house. The cleaning fee was taken out of our security deposit. We had to demand an itemized statement of the deductions, which was provided after the 30 days allowed by law. We are fighting it.
— The house its self was in a very, very loud neighborhood with essentially no soundproofing. We got to hear our neighbor’s music choices every night.
I didn’t hate my life everyday in that house. I’d probably still have rented it, despite the bad taste in my mouth left by the staff. As I mentioned earlier, we had no trouble with maintenance, had nice appliances, and it met all of our requirements. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend that anyone rent a house with this company if they have other options.

Last update… Invitation Homes, as stated, by me and many others, is THE worst. So, we moved out. Lease ended and we ran for the hills. Before leaving, they send someone to inspect. As I was about to rehang their awful wire closet shelves, the inspector tells me not to, that it’s normal wear, no charge for them to do it. Shows me a list of a few walls to be painted. Over two days, I do the work.
I get a move out inspection form with how much is being deducted for repairs and more walls added as well as repairs for the shelves and to do landscaping weed removal, AND WE IMPROVED THE YARD, we spent 4 days pulling out weeds over 5 feet tall when we moved in! And we had already moved out before the first inspection, so there was no further damage by us. It was impossible! They charged over $ 600 in additional repairs that were NO WHERE on the original inspection! Needless to say, we fired back, threatened lawyers and got more back, not all, but most. Worst rental experience of my entire life!
DO NOT RENT FROM THESE THIEVES!!!

We’ve been renting from IH for about a year and a half. We’re actually landlords ourselves so we know the drill… Long story short these guys get a bad wrap but they’re about as good as you’re going to get. We’ve had our share of flooding (not their fault) and issues with the house but within hours they’ve managed the follow up and we have a scheduled service call to repair.
They spare no expense — just last night they replaced our water heater, sent a full service cleaner to start and remedy the flooding from the storms this past week. Do they rely on you and your choice for renters insurance for the personal belongings that were lost — yes… Everyone does. It’s the law.
They get a bad wrap, and I’m really not sure why. They’re responsive, the houses are beautiful and well maintained. I recommend them to friends and family…

If you wanna stay up all night cleaning the water out of ur basement I recommend renting from them, or if u want your shower water leaking into the room next to your bathroom go for it. I also got served to go to court because the front desk girl marked my April rent as «May rent «so it’s like April never got paid. Took a day off work because I had to go to court thank god I save my correct receipts. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM !! They filed a wrongful eviction on me cuz the girl at the front desk is to worried about texting then reading what I wrote down ! I can not wait till my lease is up. Learn from my mistake ! Do not do it ! Everything in the house looks nice but it’s cheep it will all break. Doors fall off the walls they are cardboard doors u can hear a pin drop in the basement from the third floor. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM. MY BASEMENT IS FLOODING RIGHT NOW.

I’m not going to go into details about my experience but by far the worst experience I’ve ever had in my life. I have been renting for 10+ years and not 1 time have I ran into a company that was so poorly ran. If you have ANY other option then take it. I mean ANYTHING!!! The only good thing that came out of my 7 months with this company is that I bought a house because I told myself I would never go through something like that again. Absolutely horrific experience!
Oh…and employees are extremely unprofessional!

Absolutely the worst experience in my life! Don’t rent from them! They are a corporate company in it to make money on garbage properties that they poorly rehab. I made the sad mistake to rent from them and realized that shortly after moving in. My rent was $ 1950 for the entire home, what a bargain right? Wrong! Here are a few examples
— After receiving my monthly utility bills I was in for a surprise! $ 748 for gas, and $ 530 for light, I thought there was a mistake called the companies had a tech and hVac person inspect the issue they stated that it was because their heating unit was outdated. Told invitation homes, and they refused to change it stating it was still functional.
— paid my rent online, but they never received it, I was out of town when they called to tell me that I was going to receive a 5 day notice, and then showed up to my house pounding on my door question my daughter (under age child) about our living situation. They realized it was a mistake on their end, but yet still charged me the $ 225 late fee. Tcollins the property manager with NO professional background was demeaning and not a nice person at all.
–I moved in during the winter months, so wasn’t aware that there was no grass outside. Called one of property managers they stated I rented the «property as is» I said but how can I maintain the grass when there isn’t any??? I made an agreement that I would purchase it, because you can’t maintain what isn’t there and she agreed to pay half of it. Needless to say that property manager was gone and the issue went from one property manager to another and I was out the entire $ 1200
I can go on all night about all my issues. Please save yourself the stress, the anger, and the frustration by avoiding these monsters they are bad business.

We have been renting from Invitation Homes for the past year and have nothing but great things to say about this company!!! Justin Burau has been great to work with! He is professional and took time to show us house after house with a great attitude! I would recommend Justin and Invitation Homes anytime!
When we moved in last year, the house we rented needed some repairs and when I contacted Invitation Homes they sent someone out and fixed it right the first time. It has been nice to be able to rely on good service from a great company!
If you decide to rent, I would highly recommend Invitation Homes, they are courteous, willing to help, and professional!
Teresa B.

Rented from them for almost 2 years. Take it from my personal experiences:
1)pay via check and don’t use the online portion
2)before you rent check for any damages or inconveniences in the home (I.e. Sticky windows, doors, draft problems, lights, water leakage, and running water meter when no water is on)
3) be prepared to have new portfolio managers every 2 months or so with all new #‘s and emails, annoying and inconvient. Oh and have them NOT RESPOND to you
4) most importantly!!! Read carefully as this has happened to me, THERE IS NO CLAUSE THAT SAYS YOU HAVE TO PAY AN EARLY TERMINATION FEE, NOT ONE AT ALL! *REMEMBER THIS* not joking! If you have to break lease they will charge you an extra months rent basically and try to f**k you over. I emailed the head honcho HIMSELF stating there is nothing stating I had to pay it, I am moving out on XX date, and will be taking pictures on everything to show appliances are in working order, and in good shape, and pay rent on time. If I have to get lawyer involved then so be it. And they will «write u off» and file it under what they call a «skip»
5) and finally I ate my security deposit of $ 1000 because they said any scratches on the paint or holes in the wall from pictures or anything will have to be and I fu**in quote «patched, sanded, and repainted» no if’s and’s or butt’s they go over it like a fine tooth comb in order for you to get your security deposit back which is total bullshit when you’re moving into a new place dealing with life in general
YOUVE BEEN WARNED****** Tread with Caution guys

I don’t even know where to start. We rented the home in early Nov, 2013. The house looked nice enough on the walkthrough, they put all new appliances in the house which was nice. However, once we rented the home (My fiancée, myself, and one room-​mate) problems immediatly started to pop up.
We quickly found out how poorly the house was remodeled. Tiles coming off the wall in showers, windows leaking water, garage door broken, door frames broke because the spring weight on the storm doors was too strong for the wood (this is what their repair man told us) dead outlets, bad central air, and the worst was the leaky basement.
Our basement sprung 3 – 4 leaks in two seperate walls, whenever it rained these would literally shoot water into the room so all of us, who wake up very early for work, had to stay up every night it rained to keep the basement from flooding. We called IH and they sent out a basement sealer to get an estimate, however, after this we didnt hear back for over a month. The 800 number they gave us was to the UK or something and we never got anywhere with them. Another month passed and still no repairs. I left a message on every voicemail I could find that was realted to the company. Finally I had to drive to their office in Chicago and make someone sit down with me to promise they would fix it. 2 – 3 weeks after this they finally sent out someone to fix the basement, but they claimed they were only authorized to fix 2 of the cracks, not all of them, so we still have 1 minor leak in the basement.
After all this, we did not get a rent credit (we asked), not even a sorry, instead we got a letter telling us our rent would be going up 6.8%, but if we locked into their 3 year deal it would only go up 5% the first year, with the following years being 7%!
I was weary of renting from IH after I read the reviews online. Please don’t rent from this company if you can afford not to.