Bartlein

I almost rented an apartment with these folks. They are awful, rude, and terrible. Just because they get a large market share of rentals does not mean that they can treat people terribly. I wouldn't rent from them.

Just got off the phone with Bob Bartlein, telling me that the HOA is not responsible for maintaining, repairing or replacing my 80% clogged sewer line for my condo I only purchased June '21. The board will get back? This flooded my down stairs neighbors condo over Christmas - Jan 19 coming home to 3 week of flushing!

A very bad company trying to take most of the security deposit even I spent two weeks do the cleaning and also asked a professional cleaning company to do the job.

I called earlier in the day to see if I can still turn in my application and they had said yes, they had not reached the maximum applicants yet. I get there and the guy working there said they weren't taking any applications because they already had the 6 applications. They pick and choose who to take applications from and I don't think that's right.

They have an impossible job in a housing market like this. The folks working there are great but their organizational policies are quite cumbersome. Much better experience for everyone involved if you can go through an individual landlord or a smaller agency, if you can manage to find it. But a lot of owners list with Bartlein so they do have stock.

Unfortunately, our experience with Bartlein & Co. was that most (not all) of the staff were unhappy and not very helpful. They were fairly responsive and helpful when it came to asking for their coordination of plumbers and other contractors to come maintain the unit. When we moved out, we felt that they very much overcharged/took advantage of us for the littlest details wrong. Different messages/communication from different staff members. Would not recommend renting from them.

Lack of upfront communication and clarity on what they want from their customers. Ended up wasting our time just to be dismissed.

THEY DON'T EVEN DESERVE 1 STAR! you would think that someone who has lived in their duplex for 10 years, never missed a payment, nothing major broke in the house, fixed all the small things ourselves, never asked for money on those petty items due to wear and tear would get treated with more little to no respect after moving out. Not to mention we never missed a payment!

In 10 years! where to even begin 1) the carpets were old and stained when we moved in 10 years ago. We were in our early 20s and didn't want the responsibility of new carpets. So when we asked for them to replace the carpets 8 years later they refused and forced us to pay half. 2) they would not allow the use of the small outdoor area to be used by us for a small garden or a bicycle.

They claim it was a violation of blocking the pathway. it was completely off to the side and in no ones way. 3) violation for repainting the apartment. wait for it. white. so who do i send the $250 bill to for the painting materials? Oh that's right we paid out of pocket to make the home feel and look more cozy And didn't want to bother them with another request 4) when we moved out they STILL took the money out of our account through the ACH payment.

Then they refused taking my phone calls and even when i did get through i had to reach out to them countless times! Not once did i receive a phone call back i was forced to call them every time and they gave me some BS about waiting 7 days to take the money out. after calling them for days they finally agreed to write me a check but somehow it's still going to take 2 days to do that.

They took $1200 from my account without permission after we turned in our keys! absolutely furious with this rental company. Corissa has been refusing my phone calls and refusing to even have the guts to call me back. way to treat your long term renters with respect. hopefully we don't have to get lawyers involved.

We have a condo they managed for 2 years. They provided excellent advice to help us find suitable tenants. Once the unit was rented, they provided accurate monthly reports. I would highly recommend them to manage property.

Just the worst. They seriously don't deserve a single star. Robert is a real piece of work.

They were very professional. Make sure you have $20 cash, or else they can't return $ to you when you take your key. Despite some of these other reviews Andrew is great and very professional. Cracked a few jokes. Apartment is beautiful and in a beautiful location.

Horrible place to look for apartments! People are not very professional! I applied 2 times but it wasn't worth it the try! I kept calling about my status of the application and Some lady will tell me "call tomorrow the person in charge will be here tomorrow!" I will call tomorrow and same answer i will get over and over! I was very furious, when i was working and they sent me an email telling me that Unfortunately they weren't able to approve my I application and If i need it I needed to find a Co-signer within 24hrs!

I was working didn't have time to go find it that Easy! So i called them back and ask for my refund! Their application price is ridiculous! I had given them 200 because they didn't have change! Go somewhere else!

Bartlein is a dishonest company that has bought up Santa Barbara and runs a deceitful and unethical practice. Not only are they not deserving of anyone's business, but they should also no longer be allowed to operate or even have a business. Mr. Bartlein, the owner, is also a proud charlatan that deserves no ones business, rude and treats people's lives with complete disregard.

Have worked with several apartment rental companies in town, never a bad experience until I came across these clowns. Keep in mind, this is not coming from a disgruntled tenant that missed rent or something, I have never rented from them, this experience was entirely during the 2-week application process, so I can't even imagine how it would have been to go a step further and have these crooks own me for a year by renting from them. Dodged a bullet. Read other reviews and avoid these people at all cost.

Oh my gosh, where do I even begin. Rented a fairly small, decent apartment from them in September of last year. Said apartment wasn't in the best of shape to begin with, bathtub didn't work, front door handle was loose, shower door wasn't attached properly, heater was I kid you not scotch taped to the wall, huge rust stains all over the bathtub. Didn't think much of this as these damages were (for the most part) listed when we did our walkthrough. I'll be the first to admit that there was 2 bent screens that were my fault. one being in the front of the living room, and the other being in the back bedroom.

I thought about replacing the screens but determined that screens aren't that expensive, and I wouldn't want to do any more shotty handywork to this apartment as I'm not familiar with replacing screens and was totally fine with them taking this out of my deposit so it could be done right. Anyways I moved out in July of this month, did the typical deep clean of the small bathroom and kitchen, and hired professional cleaners to clean the rest of the rooms which were carpet.

On move out day I brought them my keys and receipt from the cleaning company and thought I'd be on my dandy way. WRONG. Not only has this bloodsucking company added a $600 fee, but that's ON TOP of the $1,850 deposit I gave them to rent the apartment in the first place? I'm absolutely floored as to how they calculated the cost of a couple window screens to $2,450 in damages. STAY AWAY FROM BARTLEIN

What is even the point of this property management company? Trying to find a rental with them is like going on a treasure hunt with a blindfold on. It order to see their properties, you have to go to their office, which is challengingly hard to find, give them a refundable $20 deposit (per key) and an ID, of which they will return when you bring the key(s) back. Okay, we can deal with that.

What is completely absurd however, is that they don't show you ANY PHOTOS of the properties beforehand! They give you a printed list with a few words about the property and the address. Is it sooooooo much effort to post a few photos on their website?!? Literally a HUGE waste of time.

Bloodsuckers - during Corona virus outbreak my son's school cancelled all classes for the rest of the school year. I told them we needed to end the month to month contract early and they responded that they need a 30 day notice AND that they would be keeping the deposit. He mentioned that he had already talked to his lawyers about how he could enforce all rental contracts through the Covid-19 outbreak. If you're desperate and willing to put your college student in contact with a slumlord, you've found your new home!

Deal with many property managements and managers. Considering the whole Santa Barbara commercial market as a whole is struggling with vacancies, the landlord and property manager continue being incredibly difficult to work with. I cannot wait for lease to be up!

Woowww they are so beautiful apartment and they work nice people. I hope I complete all of the documents Because I saw a beautiful place to live on.

Horrible experience on the phone with the owner. i was looking for someone to manage my property that I own. Sure seems like businesses are very lazy in santa barbara. If I consider opening a business in this town I sure won't have to work hard because there is unfortunately not enough competition here!

Their system is a joke and money hungry! I've noticed that they had reposted a certain apartment daily for a month on Craigslist and decided to finally go see it. On the phone with them I was told the only way to see a place is by showing up at the office giving them a $20 refundable deposit in exchange for a key. I asked if it was possible at all to have a showing with an agent but they said no, which isn't very professional.

I finally decided to show up and while staff seemed friendly as I walked in, it quickly turned. They said they didn't take debit cards but only cash. They said I could drive to an ATM. I told them I had to drive to Northern California in half an hour so I didn't have time for running around. Seeing I the apartment looked really promising I decided to go and withdraw the $20 and pay an ATM fee.

I drove back and not only did they insist on keeping my license until I got back (which is ridiculous! I was obviously on my own and it's illegal to drive to the apartment w/o my license.) I convinced them to keep my student ID instead. I drive there and check out the partner. Very excited I decided to ask to apply when I got back to their office.

They wanted me to pay an application fee, which is all good with me, BUT they wanted a $100 application deposit on top of that which is unheard of and ridiculous! After I say no I don't have that on me in cash she finally recorded to tell me that they already have 5 people in the application process on the unit. WHAT? You knew I didn't have the cash to begin with and that I was in a rush, but still insisted I still go get the money and spend my time when they obviously knew that there was no way I would be able to get the place since they are reviewing 5 applications on it already. Thank you for an outdated system.

The other one star reviews are completely accurate. I have lived in one of Bartlein's studio apartments for over two years now. They take your money every month (which is way overpriced for a tiny studio that's falling apart), but do not fix any of the apartment or building's problems, despite multiple calls and assurances that they will do so.

They take your money but don't do the work. Then, they have the audacity to remodel every apartment that becomes vacant around yours, and then charge every single tenant in the building an increase in rent. I did not get a new sink, though we desperately need one; the vacant neighboring apartment did. I did not get new carpets, the neighboring apartment did.

But regardless, our rent has gone up sixty dollars a month over two years for the "maintenance" of other apartments, while my own slowly deteriorates and I'm told it's "normal wear and tear." The staff, from reception to the property managers, are incompetent and incredibly rude. If you know what's good for you, don't get stuck renting from these scumbags.

Read the reviews! All true. They have "fixed" my toilet three times, and now i'm trying to get them to fix my toilet again, but they refuse to. Living in an apartment filled drain bugs now. They make you feel like you're waisting their time. Customer service is a joke. Everyone is some how in charge but all they do is send you to some other person that's clueless.

Last person that I spoke to shut me up and raised his voice at me. They basically forced me to "admit" that I broke my toilet when it's been broken for months now and all they do is temporarily fix it.

Some staff is so rude, not nice. whenever I call about something, she responded like fighting with me. She speaks in very rude way and loud voice.

Customer Service, yikes! I've call this property management a couple of times to ask questions about some properties. I was very turned off by the receptionist! She wasn't friendly at all and also had a very defensive tone. First impression are everything and having someone like that answering the phones, yikes. No wonder why they have a low rating. Thankful I read all these reviews before a submitted an application!

If you are looking for an apartment with reliable and responsible property management, turn back now. This business is horribly run. When I applied for one of their properties, I was told that I was the only applicant. Several days later, they call me to tell me that there was another applicant ahead of me, and that they had been approved for the property.

I was given information about the property that was completely false. When I came in several days later looking for an explanation as to why I was not informed about the other applicant, the receptionist couldnt give any explanation for why I was blatantly lied to. This was the same receptionist that told me that I was the only applicant for the property.

This woman's lack of attention to detail cost me over a hundred dollars and wasted a ton of my time. If you are considering renting a place through this company, I strongly advise you to LOOK ELSEWHERE. If I could give this company a zero star review, I would in a heartbeat. My biggest regret is failing to read the reviews about this company. Don't make the same mistake I made; find a better property manager.

I haven't rented from Bartlein and I'm thankful I didn't get an apartment with them. Just the applying process was dreadful. $130 to apply, which is partially refunded if you are declined or added to your rent if approved. I didn't get a call on either for over a week! I then called every single day to get a status on my application and no one returned my call. Upset and running out of time on my current lease I applied elsewhere, still no call!

Finally showed up and demanded a refund of my money. I'm sure they hope most people just forget and then they get to keep the money. *only adding second start because they actually gave me a full refund. Still a hassle though, work on better communication and customer service, the ladies there have no etiquette.

I rented from many different places here in Santa Barbara. By far the worst experience with property management was Bartlein & Co. They kept most of the deposit on the grounds that they had to replace the carpet because it was torn and dirty. They replaced a shower head that I bought and it was an upgrade from what they had in the first place. That carpet was already torn and it smelled like cat pee when we moved in.

We made note of that on the move-in sheet and that there stains. They charge a tons of money just to move in. They expect for you to pay 1st month's rent and last and a deposit before you can move in. I'd prefer to live out of my car than to actually rent from them again. I do remember that the staff was not that friendly either. I do remember that we got a noise complaint and we did in fact deserve it; however, on the letter I got they had a complete different last name for me and and they had a strangers name that wasn't even on the lease. If you are going to be professional at least get my name right.

POOR, very poor service. They treat their renters/customers abominably. STAY AWAY! They're horrible and will nickle and dime you. They are horrible at helping you through the process of applying or putting in notice and have gobs of special forms and rules and orders and if you don't do it right they extend your official date of notice so you have to pay more rent.

They left a giant hole in our wall for months when repairing water damage. When we asked for a decrease in our rent for the inconvenience they said absolutely not. Who does that? If you can avoid them. It's so hard because they are one of 2-3 rental companies in Santa Barbara, but if you are not going to live somewhere at least 3 years try to go through a private owner. (If you are there less than 3 years they over charge you for re-painting, charge you special application and processing fees to squeeze as much $$ from you as they can.) They are such con artists. It's a wonder they are still in business.

Had to vacate their property immediately after moving in due to a mold infestation that I was allergic to. They refused to send inspectors out, only fixed the leak that had certainly existed before our move-in and ignored the rest. I also know that after a month, dysfunctional doors and windows had yet to be repaid despite numerous requests -- I should note that this is a property on the Eastside. Any attempt on our part to address these situations prompted boorish behavior on their end. Higher rent with another management company would definitely be worth it.