Rental Experiences -- Capital Realty Group & AVR Realty Inc

AVR Realty, Inc. -- 2 stars

I was looking for a new apartment in Burlingame and my friend recommended his complex, who was managed for a very short period by AVR Realty.  They are a local rental company that specializes in both real estate as well as rental management on the peninsula.  I worked directly with Sally, who was very nice and accommodating.  I only can speak to my move in experience with AVR as the management of this property was changed half-way through my lease.  

The approval and move-in process was very simple and straight forward.  Unfortunately, the apartment was not cleaned when I moved in.  The apartment was previously occupied by another tenant that had to move out in the middle of the lease, and they took his word that the apartment was clean.  I called and AVR assured they will send someone out to inspect the property.  Needless to say, when I moved in, there was the previous tenant's old pair of dress shoes and a glass pot pipe in the kitchen and closet -- things that I would assume a general inspection would have caught.  Because of this, I'm only giving the company 2 stars, but I would be willing to work with them again.

Capital Realty Group -- 1.5 stars

The management company that took over the complex a month after my tenure was very unprofessional and nosy.  For the first few months they would appear every weekend for random inspections.  I have been complaining about the mold and damage that was in the unit during move-in.  They sent someone over to my apartment without notifying me.  They individual, who barely spoke English, showed up several times unannounced insisting he had permission to enter the property to inspect and make repairs.  Things got better when I was finally able to communicate directly with the owner, Brett.

Many tenants at this period decided to move out of the complex, and when I moved out although they initially told me cleaning fees were going to be under $100, they ultimately tried to charge me $500, on top of that they entered my unit and started renovations before my lease ended.  Because the law requires them to show receipt of actual cleaning and repair bills, and they are unable to do so since they decided to remodel the interior of my unit, I was able to negotiate with them to have an additional $250 returned.  I will update this post when I find out if my friend who lived in the unit upstairs received any of his deposit back when he moves out.