Cambridge Management Group, Inc

Solid Management Company. They are friendly and efficient. I won’t say they will WOW you, but they will always follow-​up, and have good systems set in place.
The owner is great and will always intervene and make sure you’re satisfied with the results. Kao was always helpful and does her job well.
My only issue was the lack of initiative, especially since our building has a live-​in person from Cambridge. The common areas were always such a mess until we created tickets.

I moved into these apartments taking over someone else’s lease in March of this year. Since that day we have been dealing with a roach infestation! the prior tenants and the management chose to undisclosed this information to us. I have asked to be transferred to another unit they declined saying that everyone else will want to transfer to-​yet they are also saying no one else has the problem-​even though we seen several units being treated. I have been in constant communication and have received absolutely no solution-​So I am at the point where I have contacted the department of consumer affairs-​will be leaving a comment with the BBB calling the health inspector in and might even considering hiring a lawyer this management company is basically like a slumlord and refuses to tent the building or spray all the units at the same time. This place is not worth any dime that you have and I suggest if your looking for a place to live you look else where because the management is incapable of handling problems. I have children and they could care less. I am tired of living like this, throwing all my food away. Cleaning everything spotless– Not sleeping stressed out major anxiety-​DO NOT MOVE HERE DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY

Set up an appointment to view a property and received a confirmation email with a calendar event which I accepted. Nobody showed up. I called the office three times and left a voicemail. This was Friday. It is now end of the business day the following Monday and have not heard one word from them.
If this is the service that I receive when i haven’t even signed with them, I can only imagine how they treat the lessees once they are locked into a contract. No thanks.

OMG — stay away from this management company. I saw a few apartments online so I contacted them to discuss. I was told that I needed go through the website and find all the apts that make sense for us before they spoke to me (OK?! — «maybe» reasonable). So I did this — but when I called to set up appointments to see the units they could only show them on a specific day and time — they could not show us the complex and a comparable unit to see if we would be interested in the first place. Only in town for five days to find an apt in San Diego — and the first time they could give us was the day after we were leaving. WHAT!!! Certainly not that interested in renting the places. Have not found this problem with any of the other management companies. If this rigid when they are suppose to be selling me something can you imagine how difficult they would be if there were any problems with the apt. STAY AWAY

Hey there folks just another installment of Property Management Slumlords…
Well yes — no one is maintenancing the outside of the property either since Cambridge took over… I guess they thought the weeds would cut themselves… they’re getting so tall they are crossing over the sidewalk… My guess is the City of San Diego will be contacted next… just saying… and a couple weeks ago and it was super super windy a cover of one of those bright bright lights that is attached to the apartment complex blew right off and crashed into pieces and its still like that!
Definitely Looking for a Nice place with a respectable reliable Property Management Company!
If you know of one please share!

Horrible experience so far.
Moved in to one of their remodeled buildings which was advertised as 800 a month with utilities included. Got the tour and was told it was 875 with utilities, at that point I really needed to move out so an extra 75 didn’t bug me. Once the lease and all the paperwork was complete and I went to get my keys they said «We want to make sure you know that utilities aren’t included, it’s an extra 15 – 20 a month»… I was upset. I get it, it’s only 15 dollars more but it just seemed so shady to me that they would do that! And when we got the tour we were told that they had people clean and sanitize bathrooms, I’ve never seen anyone do that, so I’ve been doing it myself. I pay this amount for a tiny studio but they haven’t met up to the expectations they presented at all. I can’t wait till my lease is up.
I also call during business hours and I can never seem to get a hold of them. And I send emails and no ones replies, the one time someone did answer they were pretty rude over the phone.

I lived in my apartment for over 18 years… about 6 years ago Cambridge took over the management of our building. They raised my rent 100 a month each year with a new (over 50 pages) lease agreement and they did nothing to improve the apartment. When they did do work on the building it was without notice… they used very sloppy cheap remedies to address issues.(like one coat of spray paint on the building that chipped immediately and never cleaning the overspray off the windows)
One day they did a new epoxy type surface on the landing outside my front door (the only way in and out on the second floor) no one even knocked on my door to tell me they were resurfacing no notice what-​so-​ever) …When I tried to leave to go to work, I was stranded inside for over 4 hours waiting for it to dry.(try explaining that to your boss) When they painted the security doors they left a drippy clogged mess of black paint on the screened areas, with no attempt to blot it.
They also insisted on locking the alley and front gates into our courtyard… you may think this is a good idea (for security) but the reality is that if you are a single woman parking in an alley a few feet away from a freeway on-​ramp in a questionable neighborhood, you don’t really want to deal with a sticky lock and key situation in the darkness with your arms full of whatever you are hauling into your apartment. UPS and FED-​Ex refused to deliver our packages… I locked myself out twice while doing laundry… I simply climbed over the gate. The locks are useless except for being completely impractical and down-​right dangerous on the alley side.
I had a leak (reported on the very first inspection when they took over) that broke through my bedroom ceiling the 1^st week I was recovering from a major surgery… they hooked up a huge dehumidifier that ran for 7 days straight… because of the surgery I was unable to leave the apartment and had to try to sleep on the couch because of the deafening noise. The guys moved my very hefty furniture to make the repair but never put it back, and left a terrible mess as well. It turns out they fixed the ceiling (after 2 call backs for lumpy shoddy work I climbed a ladder myself and smoothed out the surface) THEY did NOTHING to repair the actual leak in the roof… unbelievable. There was a big water-​stain forming when I left.
Be Careful!
They are apparently quite charming when they are showing property to prospective residents, but once you have moved in, they are nearly impossible to reach during business hours with a ridiculous voicemail system that makes a person want to pull their own hair out. If you need to (or are instructed to) discuss anything with the owner’s daughter… you might as well just talk to yourself… because she is an ice-​queen with a nasty overbearing attitude that will singe your soul.
They do mandatory inspections with less than 24 hours notice. (they SAY they place a typed notice on the door– must have blown off)…but never mail or CALL even if you REQUEST it because of travel which I did very frequently) and when they do replace or fix something they do it without any thought for aesthetics or common sense… they placed a carbon-​monoxide detector right in the middle of my wall… never-​mind that I have had the gas disconnected from the wall heater by SDG&E and the stove is electric. When they replaced the garbage disposal they left the old nasty gunky sink ring and rubber flange in place but left the new parts…“For you to replace if you want“
When I gave notice (propper 30 days) they immediately had people traipsing through my half packed-​up and disheveled apartment… they were informed I was out of town and I asked for notice by phone before showing the apartment… yeah no, that never happened… they were completely immune to the idea that people call their apartment «home» and acted like they owned the space and everything in it. No wonder they have such a nasty reputation with their vendors.
There is more, but I won’t waste any more of your time with details of living in a community where the property management company dictates your life… Hey, If you want to deal with a petty, pissy, moody, snooty, property management company this is the one to pick!

This is a great property management group! If Deliza is showing you the properties you are in great hands! She is so knowledgable, reliable, can answer all your questions, prompt, friendly, efficient, and helpful. She made a normally stressful process extremely simple and easy. The apartment we were looking at got snatched up quickly so we weren’t even able to sign with them but I highly recommend! Kao in the office was also super helpful and patient with us and all of our questions. Very impressed!

I needed an apartment for both my aunt and my mother who relocated to the SD area. Jen, Kao and Mike were incredibly helpful and were prompt with communication and getting things done.
Jen especially went out of her way to make a move earlier in the month. I always appreciate and praise good customer service — as always — and will call on them in the future if I am in need of services. Both my mom and aunt are pleased with the apartment and CMG’s services — and thats no small feat.
Thank you so much!!!

SHITTY ASS MANAGEMENT. If I could give it zero stars I would. They lack the knowledge of the business that they’re running. They seem very nice and helpful until you sign your name to the lease. Staff is VERY UNPROFESSIONAL, unhelpful, disrespectful and very very RUDE. They make you feel like you’re wasting their time and it seems like they don’t even want to do their job. Its hard to contact them through the phone and by e-​mail, they won’t get back to you until about several days later. Rented out an apartment and got ROBBED by the neighbors on the FIRST DAY of getting the keys. ROACHES in the place but didn’t see any on the day of viewing the house. Won’t even end the lease when we have LEGAL REASONS. Never rent from these people.

Awesome «pet advocates». this company has many great services to assist renters find pet friendly options. They also promote pet adoption! I was pleasantly surprised when I visited their website — I had never seen this type of service promoted before. Great resource for military families who are relocating with pets. Well done! I will spread the word.

Since moving in we have had numerous on going problems with maintenance requests for our bungalow. I have previously wrote a review based off the numerous issues. Since then we have been contacted by Jennifer Woods in Resident Relations and everything has done a complete 360! All of our issues have been resolved and we have managed to see eye to eye on all issues. We have discussed ways to prevent issues in the future and simpler ways to go about submitting a maintenance request.
Jennifer reaching out to us, has single handedly reversed our opinion of Cambridge. Don’t let just one bad apple ruin the bunch like we did.

The staff is extremely helpful UNTIL you sign your lease. It’s nearly impossible to get a hold of anyone in the office, and when you do they act extremely put out and make you feel like you’re wasting their time. They don’t seem to care about the buildings until there is a major issue (our floors have had to be replaced twice due to a major pipe leak), or they are showing other units on the same property. When people from the office come to the property they are always rude and act like the tenants are inconveniencing them by being there.
In the past month, our floors have been completely destroyed due to pipes bursting beneath the slab. The first leak was seen as a major problem, but the second is a different story. They are so focused on fixing empty units that they have completely forgotten about our unit, and our living room has been without a floor for almost two weeks now.
It’s almost gotten to the point where I just want to break my renewed lease and rent somewhere else. I’ve never had a management company care so little about its tenants, especially when they are paying close to $ 2000 a month.

Since my last reviews CMG has gone above and beyond expectations with taking the time to fix the previous problems. Jen went out of her way to make sure we were satisfied with their services.
I’m still not a fan of style way CMG handled things, but per my conversation with Jen, it seems like they’re truly making an effort to make things right.
Bumping it from a ¹⁄₅ to a ²⁄₅ stars.
CMG is still the worst property management I’ve ever encountered. Hands down.

Dog friendly management company

Update to my previous Unilocal:
After the below post, we were contacted by Jennifer Woods of Cambridge. She apologized for the things that were their fault, let us know of the things out of their control, (i.e. the rent increase is per the owner of the building), and is helping us get to a compromise. She called us «good tenants» and made us feel all special. :)
Still can’t give full stars, as the fees are still very high for the market, and the various issues I mentioned. But a company who tries to do right by their upset customers, I guess that’s all you can you ask for, and it deserved an update.
— — -
Don’t do it… I’ve never felt less at home, at home. Once they get you in, and you’ve turned in notice at the last place, THEN comes the contract. And the rules. And the fees. (Which are extremely high compared to every other place we’ve lived.)
Our building has had multiple tenant inspections, notes on our doors for any little infraction, our roof leaked twice (the first time they forgot to come back and patch the hole), workers showing up with no notice, and it’s very hard to get ahold of someone at the office.
And now we’re being told our rent will increase by $ 250. A HUGE increase and not worth it, given all of the above. Hate writing negative Unilocal reviews, but hope to help someone else. Keep looking. :)

If I could put less stars I would. This was the worst experience I’ve ever had and it only recently and randomly occurred to me that it was safe to write a review– 6 months after I moved out. Let’s start from the beginning…
It was summer of 2013. I just received a job offer in San Diego and they wanted me to start ASAP. I began immediately looking at apartments and found some reasonable and nice looking places through Cambridge on Craigslist. I emailed every one of them. I called the number and left several messages. For days I didn’t receive any call backs or return emails. Since I was moving from LA I did not want to drive down there without viewings set up. Finally late one evening I get an email from Jennifer stating she was showing a unit at 9am the next morning that I expressed interest in (confirming they did receive my calls and emails!). So, I responded stating I would be there. I drove over 2 hours and waited at the unit 45 min. No one showed. I had to google to find Cambridge’s address and drove there directly. I informed the person at the front k was stood up. Jennifer comes out saying «I called and left you a message that this viewing has been cancelled.» Then I kindly reminded her she didn’t call me she emailed me last night and she was mistaking me for someone else. You could tell that she forgot about me but made no apologies except «I’m sorry but the viewing was cancelled.» I told her frankly, that is too damn bad– I drove 2 hours to get here. She finally took me out to see 5 places and, due to time constraints, I signed a lease that day for the best one.
Then comes move in day. Obviously Jennifer was aware of my move in day because she drafted my lease to start that day. She told me On move-​in day I would need to stop by the office to get the keys. So I did. When I got there no one knew I was coming. I had a truckload of stuff and a dog and I had to wait an hour for them to first return from lunch, then figure out that I was actually moving in. Jennifer was no where to be found. They told me she didn’t let them know and I didn’t have all the paperwork completed– for example they wanted proof of changing the electric into my name (wanted the account number!!), a picture of my dog with a vet bill stating his breed (wtf?), proof of renters insurance and something else that was never mentioned to me by Jennifer. Two hours later I had my keys, and disgruntled and sweaty friends with a moving truck. The gas guy was scheduled to come that day to turn on my hot water but he left– and I didn’t have hot water for another few days thanks to them. Then the laundry key didn’t work– it was apparently cut wrong. Trying to get a replacement was a freaking nightmare and the only reason I got one delivered to me at home was bc Jennifer was «in the area» showing the units. Otherwise they expected me to leave my brand new job early to pick it up from them during business hours!
After 6 months of consistent and on time rental payments you can request your deposit back in writing. I did that. In order to receive that from them, they had to do a walk thru of the unit to ensure that they can return the deposit. Jennifer cancelled the first time 15 min AFTER she was supposed to be there (I left work to be there to let her in). Then her assistant called to cancel the rescheduled appointment because Jennifer couldn’t make it. I was fuming– twice I left work early to be there during times convenient for this woman and she couldn’t even make it. They took out an astronomical cleaning fee too– so don’t hire a cleaning company on your own they will still charge you a cleaning fee.
Also– my neighbors had a plumbing issue. When I came home from work they informed me that maintenance had entered my unit too (this was NOT an emergency, it was a clogged bathtub they had!) and sure enough– my shower head was turned all the way to the left and things were moved around in my bathroom. I was not provided any notice let alone asked for permission to enter! When I brought this to their attention they told me there was no one in my unit even though I kindly told them my neighbors witnessed it! Also– major major major cockroach infestation in my building. I had never seen so many cockroaches in my life I went to battle with them like it was Armageddon. Apparently my downstairs neighbor had them first and instead of treating all the units they just treated hers and it sent them up the pipes into my unit with a vengeance. Disgusting.
If I wasn’t in such a pinch to find a place I never would have in a million years rented from them– especially when they couldn’t get back to me after several emails and phone calls as a prospective renter. Then it spiraled down from there. Save yourself– seriously no apartment they have is worth this headache. I have never wished someone get fired ever on my life but let’s just say that this is not Jennifer’s calling.

Thank you Jennifer!
I’ve had an original lease and a lease renewal with this fine company and it has been a fantastic experience!
They may not be able to answer all the phone calls, but they took care of me when it counted! Every time I put in a service request to have something fixed or repaired, no matter how ridiculous, it was taken care of promptly and with enthusiasm!
Every time I sent an email or did a service request though their website, they were ALWAYS answered. They have always been positive, I loved that!
Thank you again, Cambridge, you win the prize for the most positive renting experience of my life!

100% agree that it is impossible to get a hold of them on the phone, and it is extremely difficult to communicate with them once you move in. If you are moving in or moving out, it’s a little easier.
Rent increases each year, and there is a $ 75 month-​month lease surcharge. My lease ended ⁶⁄₃₀. I asked if I could stay until 8/​4, and they said yes, but I would have to pay the $ 75 for both July and August (even if It was just 4 days in August).
The property itself was fine. I had to sign the lease sight unseen from out of town due to some extenuating circumstances. Upon my arrival, I found that their online advertising makes the complex sound much nicer than it actually is, but that is probably the same everywhere.
They are very responsive to maintenance requests submitted online and the maintenance staff is great. The only issue with maintenance I had was that my toilet was broken and an outside plumber I had to call in an emergency said it had to be replaced. It took 3 trips from the maintenance staff before they agreed it had to be replaced. I would assume this is a cost cutting measure.
One major frustration was that they only want leases that end between April 1 and June 30. This complicated my move out because I would have been there for exactly one year, August-​August, but because my lease had to end on June 30, I ran into complications with the month to month lease. I brought this up when I signed my lease and they assured me it would be no problem to stay to August and of course did not mention the fees.
Overall, Cambridge is fine, and I’m sure there is worse out there. I found them difficult to work with and extreme sticklers to any and all policies.

The maintenance department is prompt and mostly helpful, although not always very knowledgeable about the property’s in’s and out’s. I appreciate the online submission process that makes it easy to place requests at any hour. I appreciate their all size dog friendly rental policy, not that easy to find these days.
However, if my rental property wasn’t so nice, and in such a prime location, I wouldn’t be with this company. Communication is not their forte. Reminds me of what they say about Washington DC– worst of the north and south– SLOW and RUDE
It is extremely difficult to get a prompt response from their resident relations department, no matter what the concern is, both by email, phone, and in person. 95% of the time, I have had to escalate concerns to supervisors, who are unknowledgeable and generally mean.
From reading the other reviews, I am concerned about my eventual move out date, and exactly how much deposit they will decide to steal. Very unfortunate that they are the managers of some great properties. I will try to find the owner’s information to let them know about this company’s poor service. I also hope that Cambridge values their customer’s input and will mend their ways. They are simple things to fix, that anyone who has had basic customer service training knows how to do. If I acted like they do at my job, I wouldn’t have a job.