Farrell Smyth

Disgusting slumlords who're out to make a buck off anyone they can.\r \r They took over $200 out of my security deposit to ""sanitize"" a 1 bedroom apartment that I had scrubbed from top to bottom before I moved out. Sanitize my foot, they obviously have a racket with their chosen company. When I moved in, the apartment was absolutely filthy. I had to call and complain before they sent a janitorial crew over.\r \r They also charged me $40 for damage made by the previous tenant that I had forgotten to note on my move-in sheet. In my move-out inspection with the crooked, rude, and entirely unhelpful manager Tony Flatos (who is the most unhelpful person on the planet. He deserves his own entry into the book of jerks but this review isn't about him) I explicitly went over with him that I never mounted curtains over the windows and yet I was charged $25 to ""patch holes over blinds"". A little jar of spackle does not cost $25, guys. Also, I was charged $18 for ""holes in NE ceiling"". I can only guess this was the ~5 foot crack in the ceiling that was there when I moved in two years prior. I never mounted anything on the ceiling, nor did I ever make any holes, so I have no idea what this charge is for.\r \r And the worst part? They took $400 out of my deposit in ""unpaid rent"" for 15 days I wasn't even living at the property. I'm fighting this one as we speak, but I am simply so appalled by this that I was speechless when I received the letter.\r \r Bottom line: rent somewhere else. If you must rent with them, make sure you do the following: document *every single detail* on your move-in sheet or you will get charged for it. Use your own janitorial and carpet sanitizing company when you move out since you can shop around for a good deal and not get ripped off for $200+ by these weasels. Pay into a trustworthy escrow company so the money only gets released when you as a tenant are satisfied. Oh, and don't rent from them. more

The worst people I have ever dealt with in renting from is Farrell Smyth property management company in San Luis Obispo. I was moving to SLO and my friends had already had a house rented through Farrell Smyth, We had planned on re-renting the property with new room mates because some where moving out and me and another person where moving in. All seemed to go well until Farrell Smyth decided to make a 4 bedroom house a 5 bedroom and charge 700 dollars extra. This was ridiculous as the previous lease had stated 4 bedroom and 700 dollars less then what they where asking. Clearly not happy with how they handled this, we decided not to re-rent with them. No where on the website do they say anything about an application fee or anything. I had planned on renting with them, but decided not to. When I asked for my deposit back that they needed immediately 3 months before the lease even started, they decided that some how taking 100 dollars out of the deposit was fare for the HORRIBLE service that they provided me. Clearly confused as to why I got 100$ less than what I sent them. They claimed ""application fee"" and have refused to return my emails. This company is terrible to rent from. They don't care about their tenants or anything about them, they only care about money, tenants are treated so unfairly you can't imagine it how they victimize their own tenants. Worst experience trying to lease a house for a year from these people at Farrell Smyth, they really screwed us over and they thought nothing of it. Please precaution this property management company, they show no respect to their renters at all which they should not be trusted as how horrible they do treat people more

Farrell Smyth is Horrible Farrell Smyth hassles students non-stop and treats us as sub-citizens. I had a horrible experience with them this past year. They will find any reason to charge you extra money and their head guy Tony is a major douche. They are really hard to get a hold of if you have a problem as they are only open until 5PM (2PM on Fridays!) and take an hour lunch break. I previously rented from private landlords and San Luis Obispo Realty and Property Management and had much better experiences. Seriously stay away from Farrell Smyth. I know I will.. You can smell the fishy reviews below too, I think they are faking their stories to hype they are all this and this is certainty not the truth. more

My wife and I switched to FS after they were voted #1 by Cal Poly last year for rental agencies. We though, what the hell, these kids must know something. We have had issues with every other rental company here in SLO, but so far we have no complaints with FS. Upon move out at our last house they kept a portion of our deposit but there was stuff that needed to be fixed (from us) and the carpets needed cleaning, which they did come and do. We also had maintenance issues that needed attention while living there and they were quick to respond and fix what they could. At the end of the day, I think the property owners have the final say on what gets fixed or replaced anyways, so don't expect a full remodel from any rental agency. 99% of the time, if they are keeping your money, you probably Fu#*ed the place up or you're just a slob. These guys wouldn't still be doing business here (30 years) if they were scamming people.. this town is way to small for that. So, my only advice is to do your homework, ask around, and see what others think, Cal Poly seems to think highly of them and i would recommend them as well. more

I have nothing but praise for the individual I dealt with. Nikki went above and beyond to help me with an extremely stressful situation. I had a 1yr lease that I had to get out of even though I had signed it 2mos prior to the start of the lease and he never moved in. I needed her assistance to have someone take over my lease. She always took my calls and always responded to my emails within minutes, regardless of how busy she was. She was always very professional even though I emailed her constantly to check on the status of a potential tenant. I know I was being a pest but not once did she come across as annoyed or upset with me. On the contrary, she always offered words of encouragement and support and insisted that the problem would work itself out, and it did! \r \r I live 5hrs from SLO so my only contact was Nikki and she gave me peace of mind knowing that she was helping handle the situation on her end. Honestly, I had already paid 2 mos rent so it really shouldn't have mattered if she worked hard to help me find a replacement because the rent was paid! She just knew how stressed out I was and wanted to do her part to help me. more

Very professional. Annette was very friendly and kind, and informative. more

It has been a great honot to work with you on the sale of the home in Atascadero, your program on the computer and fliers at the home were the best. You made our fears of selling go away, THANK YOU. more

Very flexible, great follow-up, accommodated our crazy schedule + closed quickly. Annette was available whenever we needed her in this process. Terrific job! more

Pam Bliss was a delight to work with, her patience and professionalism is greatly appreciated by us. Annette Mullen was also great to work with, they both were great to have on our side while looking for the right home for our family, thank you! more

Works great with others!! :) more

5 stars all the way! The real estate agents are stellar - very responsive, genuine, reliable, generous with time and energy, smart, proactive, a blessing. I couldn't have asked for any better, more professional agents. You guys bust the myth of real estate agents being an unnecessary cost of buying and selling. You were more than I needed and wanted! more

The people at Farrell Smyth are very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. They understand the changing real estate market both from a sales and a management stand point. Their experience and expertise are very important in assisting both sellers and buyers of real estate. more

Mary and Larry were incredible realtors. They presented themselves professional and very presentable. Answered all the questions we had and did not give us any pressure what so ever! Very nice to do business with! more

Never felt hurried, spent time to check the entire complex. Sonia is consistently on any issues that come up. Always follows through. Thank you! more

Your staff is always very responsive and efficient. It is a pleasure to work with you. more

We felt very at easy with with Pam from Farrell Smyth. Our calls and emails were usually returned within a reasonable amount of time but she really did listen to our every need and kept us focused and on track to find the right home for us in Pismo Beach! more

Mary Rosenthal-Smyth is an excellent example of someone who should be working in the real estate business. She was helpful and very knowledgeable and I would have never been able to sell the house without all of her help. more

Despite a tricky loan situation and some last minute tenants in the property, our experience was incredibly enjoyable and exciting due to the hard work, dedication, and trusting relationship with our Farrell Smyth agent, Mary Roesnthal. We would certainly choose this company for future home purchases! more

Fast response more

Pam was really great to work with and did a fantastic job representing Farrell Smyth. She was on top of the REO proposals from start to finish and was keenly aware of our timelines. Pam was also amazing when it came to keeping expenses of the rehab down. It was a real pleasure to work with her and will again soon, I am sure of it. more