Stephens Property Management

S.P.M manages the Condo I live in in Walnut Creek. It has been very easy for me to call them and Get any problems that have come up over the last 10 years fixed. The people in the office do call you right back if you leave them a message and 9 out of 10 times it is fixed the next day by Steve who IS VERY TALENTED at Fixing and installing Stoves, Microwave etc as. he can pretty much fix everything plus he is a really nice Guy. .I am very Happy S.P.M. is our Property Management Co…

I am a tenant at their Diablo Villa property. I have been an owner and a renter of properties in many locations so I have a basis for comparison. They do a fine job of managing the facility. They respond immediately to a problem. The residential manager, Carlton is a major reason for their success. I would recommend diablo villa with no hesitation.

My experience has been great so far. Their was some problems with lease paper work but they where resolved right away. My apartment is great and everything was clear they where helpful when I called to check in on my status and my approval was quick! I recommend!

They suck. I stayed at Summerwood Apts in Antioch. Loved my place, although nothing was ever fixed it was still a nice place.
But the actual SPM company will try to take every dollar they can from you when you move out. Outlandish painting and carpet repair fees and very unprofessional when you call them out on their BS. Currently taking them to small claims court because they are requesting a ridiculous amount of money from me.

I’ve been a tenant for 2.5 yrs @ Newell Promenade and anytime I have a problem or an issue arises, I go straight to the big guy Paul and he takes care of it for me.
Paul is always pleasant, always accommodating and very professional. Every landlord should be like him!

We were lucky enough to walk away from a deal before these folks got any money. At bottom, the rep with whom we dealt was most agreeable on the telephone but refused to confirm verbal promises in writing. Even the application process is inflexible and requires prospective tenants to furnish an fee without a written promise to take the unit off market pending the application. After reading the reviews here it is quite clear we dodged a bullet.

Had a very positive experience with SPM for almost a decade. Staff are quick to respond to any concerns or questions. Not sure about previous negative reviews but I have always had a good repertoire with property managers and office staff. I am an adult and talk to other adults in a professional and respectful manner. If I need of any assistance or require help with something broken in the rental, I ask politely and help arrives! Yes, I would recommend this business to a friend.

I’d like to give them NEGATIVE FIVE for stars…
The woman at the front desk is, and for six years has been, a total bitch. She’s rude, and makes the caller feel stupid for even being on the phone!
These people do not care about your living conditions at all. They will manage ANY property, present it as if it’s prime real estate, and when you move in you find out it’s a dump in a horrible neighborhood! That’s what happened to me and my 5 neighbors!
They don’t EVER return phone calls or emails. When you finally reach them, they act ad if you are such an idiot and bothersome.
*the two exceptions are Susanne and Drew, and I believe neither work here anymore*

This company is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau. They lost that designation by receiving so many complaints that were declared by the BBB as not addressed satisfactorily.

This review is long over due because life got in the way, but as I have now had some time to reflect on our time under Stephens Property Management I can say with certainty that they deserve more than one and a half stars. I really think that all the negative reviews on here are angry people that in the moment of not getting their situation solved lashed out at SPM. Correct me if I am wrong here, but my understanding is that most of the decisions made in repairs or any thing regarding the properties that they manage are of the owners first and foremost. So the anger should be aimed at the actual owner and not SPM.
We rented a house that was managed by SPM for close to 8 years. In that time SPM was professional, and met all of our needs when we needed them. The maintenance guys were always on time, and I never had to wait long for them to show up. They always did what they could under the guidelines of the owner. I have a lot of examples but then this review would get quite lengthy.
I want to give a shout out to a few people at SPM for going above and beyond on several occasions! April Drummond, and Andrew Camera. These two individuals are tops, and just good people! April helped us through some difficult mediations with our current landlord and many, many other things. I miss April! Andrew came through for us once when we had no heat in the house, and once he took over the management of the house, he solved the situation within the day! Kathy Paul, is wonderful too. She is the leasing manager.
On the maintenance team, there are so many that were in an out of the house, and all of them were courteous and on time. A big shout out to Steve McMullen, because he always showed up with a smile on his face and did a top notch job every time he came to the house, you know you are in good hands when he is on the job.
Are they perfect? No, we did have one person that managed the property for a short time that was not great, but she no longer works there. They could also due with checking on their utility accounts a bit more closely, as several months went by before were were charged for our utilities and they stacked up to a tidy sum. I could have been angry with this and jumped on here and given them a negative review, but that would undo all the good things that SPM did for us.
I would recommend them and feel confident that you will get issues resolved, and that they would do their best under the guidelines of the owner to make your tenancy run smoothly.

After posting the first review, I was contacted by a prior SPM employee who gave me the idea of contacting some of the head guys over at SPM. I did, and only then was my concerns finally addressed, and April actually responded to me. They did a great job at first addressing the concerns, however it was shortly thereafter, that my concerns slowly became white noise to them. I’ve asked for a check on some mold that has developed in our room and instead they have just wiped it off with a Clorox bleach cloth and stated that that’s enough to take care of it. My wife is concerned that this mold is hazardous, but SPM assured us that it was simple because of ventilation.
I’ve never experienced mold like this no matter where I’ve lived… this is very concerning! The building is so old, and instead of fixing walls, floors, sound proofing, and the ceiling, they are changing the doors, windows, and will be painting soon. The place will definitely LOOK nicer than it really is. They are all concerned about the outside looks rather than the real issues.
Come knock down our wall and replace it with California standard earthquake material please. This place is squeaky, and noisy. I can hear people walking up and down the stairs from across the apartment in our bathroom… insane!
If you want to spend the money, live somewhere else. And make sure SPM isn’t the managing company… good luck!

I’m not one to go out of my way to write a negative review, but I’ve had two horrible experiences with SPM Properties. They are incredibly unprofessional, very unresponsive when it comes to communicating with their customers/​tenants, and for any college students/​young adults who might try and rent from them, they’ll treat them like children. In my second SPM owned apartment, I was accused of partying late into the night and threatened with eviction because the president, Paul, got a complaint and didn’t bother to verify whether or not it was actually my apartment. Furthermore, it has been a month since I moved out and I have yet to receive my deposit. I could go on and on about the inappropriate and unprofessional ways I’ve been spoken to and treated by SPM, but I think there is enough consensus here that I need not continue.

THIS COMPANY IS UNBELIEVABLE.
2 years after I move out of the home I rented for 3 years with them, I get a call from a collection agency about 1,300.00 bill. I heard nothing from spm for 2 years. The house was left spotless. Please folks try to rent somewhere else.

I used them in 2004. They wanted me to sign a contract for 2 years. I signed for 1 year. Big Mistake!!! I had to phone every month and ask «where is the rent
money?» I had just bought the 4 plex and it was immaculate. Every month they claimed something broke and had to be fixed. They are dishonest. They cheated me out of a few thousand dollars.

No comment

They are just fine. Replaced broken parts over the past 5 years in a timely manner, incl. fridge, dishwasher, light switches, ac repairs. A big thanks to manager Suzanne who has a super customer service attitude!

Shady, Shady, Shady!
****OFFERS TENANTS A LARGER SECURITY DEPOSIT ON MOVE-​OUT IF THEY WRITE A POSITIVE Unilocal REVIEW!!!
This has been offered to 2 friends of mine!
(Suzanne was nice and that was about it!)
Ignored maintenance requests all but 1 time!
Unable to fix simple issues such as a backed up drain or a toilet that needed a new handle
Health Dept shut down pool and hasnt been reopened in 3 years
Laundry room is disgusting and only 1 dryer works
washing machines often not operable bc no one came to unload the quarters
run-​down building
no walk-​throughs offered at move-​in
black mold in bathrooms and in 1 bedroom
took 1 year before they put our names on the lease!-correspondence used to come addressed to prior tenants from 2 leases ago!
Avoid this management company if you can!

I’ve had an excellent experience with SPM, and I’m surprised to see a number of negative reviews. I’m assuming people usually review this type of business only when they are unhappy with something, which is the case with many service related businesses.
There’s a few things I look for in an apartment management co — responsiveness (plumbing issues, ect), professionalism and the move-​in/​move-​out report (aka security deposit). All of these marks were hit well beyond my expectations. Whenever I needed something fixed, they were right on it, with no hassle on my part.
And, everyone I worked with at SPM was friendly and just had a really great attitude; in particular the office manager Susanne, who is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I also really liked my apartment manager, Alex. From day one, he made me feel comfortable and welcome.
Anyway, be weary of the negative reviews because I’ve leased a number of apartments and this company was by far the best to work with. That’s all folks!

Miss Zola, I am glad to hear YOU are having a positive experience with this company, but allow yourself to embrace the reason that (you stated) as to why you are not seeing what so many others are.
«I reside in a big apartment complex they manage in Walnut Creek. Everybody I talk to in my complex seem to be very happy with the management. We have a wonderful couple as our Resident Managers. Whenever I have a maintenance issue, it is addressed right away, usually within a same day or 24 hrs»
It’s ALL about the money. Where I live is apparently not on the same level of basic human dignity or existence as where you reside.
See for yourself .a health inspector would condemn this kitchen
— I have no NO heat, there is black mold in the bathroom, broken fridge which I have to constantly chip ice out of, the carpets were NOT cleaned before move in, I had to make them relocate the smoke detectors so they were located in spot where someone could actually reach them because they were non-​functioning ‘decorations” &… I just moved IN!
Do you enjoy being blown off and lied to… well you’ll need to learn to love it.
Multiple calls to the office will result in what HAS to be a planned series of misdirections, half truths, lies and lack of accountability.
A) What they SAY — B) What they MEAN
A) «I will make a note on your account»
B) I am not directly responsible or accountable for this issue so it doesn’t really matter to me“
A) «Someone will get back to you»
B) No one will bet back to you
A) When I ask to speak to the person in charge of the company «He’s on the phone, tell me what this is about maybe I can find someone else to transfer you to»
B) We have a great VOICEMAIL system that can help us to continue to ignore YOU and your issue.
A) When she offers to email the person in charge my message (Paul) I ask her to CC me so I know its been done «I can not include you in that email. you would have his email address!!»
B) How dare you try to hold the person in charge accountable — he is not accessible to the people who pay rent… Ewwww how revolting… I mean WTF?! You are a tenant. The nerve of some people!
A) When I invite Paul to come to my apartment and spent a night in the conditions that I have to face, i.e. no heat, a kitchen so filthy a health inspector would shut the place down as a Bio Hazard, Paul is «too busy» and «doesn’t have time».
B) I live in a great big house with heat and food and a working kitchen… that places me ABOVE you socially and economically… and therefore your needs are not MY problem.
A) I offered to work for SMP. for HALF the pay of his worst employee… after all I can do an awesome job of passing the buck, ignoring the people who need my help and never call anyone back. Paul said that was «offensive»…
B) Really? The work ethic displayed by YOU and YOUR employees is evident, how dare YOU sir, not see if for yourself.
A) When I mention the reviews on Unilocal, «Out of all the units that we have… that many complaints are no big deal»
B) Nothing matters more that how much money I will make.
Tenants are a method to allow ME to live the way I want. Spending time./money to dealing with them is a hassle.
I invite anyone to visit me and see for yourself, reblog /​repost this review anywhere.
Miss Zola… that includes you. Bring a jacket and a cheeseburger.

Probably the most unprofessional management company I’ve ever come across. They posted an ad for one of their properties in Lafayette on Craigslist. I sent an email, then called and left a message for ‘Kathy’.
No email response, and about 2 – 3 days later I received a voicemail that Kathy had gotten to my voicemail. Wow, such prompt response. So I call back and finally get in touch with her. We agree to meet that night at 6pm at the property. I ask her if I should call her to confirm, she says no, she’ll definitely be there from 6:00pm to 6:15pm.
I leave work early, get there at 5:55pm. No one’s there. I waited till 6:05, called her office. No one picks up of course. So I leave a message.
I leave at 6:15pm. It’s the next day and no phone calls back, nothing. These clowns are completely unprofessional. If you’re a landlord, think twice about the using them. I’ll be sure to avoid them like the plague.