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October 2023 by Moret Lauren
Written several years ago now, but decided to finally post to the public.For the past two years this was in 2015, I’ve contracted with C. Hamilton and Associates (CHA) to take care of my rental property in Athens, GA. Claire, the owner, is very involved. She came out to meet me at the house initially and has been in email or phone contact from the start. Her team, consists of her daughter, Tina, and about three others. All have been easy to contact via email, for any question or concern since our contract began in July/August 2013. I admit to being a little fussy as an owner: dogs ok under a certain weight and preferably no undergraduate partyers who’ll destroy the place. I can’t think of any additional concerns of mine that I shared with CHA regarding tenants.CHA found a tenant for the place in June/July 2013 (really, the tenant saw a sign driving by one day, made an appointment to see the house, the CHA agent didn’t show up or let me know someone would be stopping by, I showed the tenant around the house, we chatted and she loved the place, her family moved in), and all has been right until summer 2015. When I realized that I wouldn’t be able to rent the place at the start of August 2015 due to what CHA considers my restrictions with the house and a rent that they said was too high (1st, $1000-then, $985-then, $970 for a 2/1.5 bed/bath newer house with a fenced in yard walking distance from downtown/campus/stadium…it seems this is the going rate in town…$450-500/bedroom), I decided to put the house on the market for sale. I don’t like paying for my own rent in one state and a mortgage for an empty house in a different state.I contacted CHA at the end of August 2015 to let them know I no longer wanted to rent the place, and I would be selling it. That’s when the communication practices of CHA changed dramatically from what I had experienced over the past two years…like overnight, it seemed I had done something so terribly wrong that constituted:-no more email communication what so ever,-no notification that they’d be calling GA Power to shut off the power in the middle of the Georgia summer heat,-no notice of what to do to formally terminate my contract with them,-no notice of how they’d handle getting me their copies of my keys back to me,-no information about how much security deposit they'd charged to the former tenant,-no final banking report…nothing (and I'd inquired via email about all of these things!).When I followed up with Tina on the phone about the power shut off, she informed me that it was not her responsibility, that I should have asked my seller’s agent. When I called the office and spoke to Terry about the keys, she said they’d been sitting on the front desk for weeks waiting for someone to come by and pick them up, but it wasn’t her job to notify me. The way CHA chose to end their working relationship with me speaks volumes. I know they don’t like the idea of not making money off of my property, but it was only one, little house. What’s the big deal? Why did CHA's actions have to be so ugly and unprofessional? What’s the point they’re trying to make by treating me so disrespectfully?And speaking of disrespectful treatment, I am friends with the people that own and work in the painting company I hired to repaint the house interior in August (hence why I chose their company). When they returned the house keys to CHA's office, they told me how incredibly rude and disrespectful CHA treated them…your tone, your giving of directions of where to leave the keys. CHA, I think you are snobbish, rude, disrespectful, nontransparent, classist, schmucky business owners. If I own property again in your market, I’ll be sure to use a different agency. I hope others read this review and use it to help make an informed decision about their own rental agreements. I no longer own the house and am thankful to be off of both the renter and seller markets.Hey, Athens…Don’t do business with C. Hamilton and Associates.
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August 2023 by Scott
Thieves.They undertook an unauthorized expenditure and sought to make me responsible for the cost.CH&A managed a single family property for me. They informed us of some tree work that was required and they'd provide pictures and estimates of the work.Months went by and I had not heard from their office. I reached back out and they said they'd be getting a quote ASAP. They came back with a quote $3,500 - an astronomical amount.I proceeded to obtain other quotes for the work and found a company who'd do the same job for $1,800. I had the new contractor all lined out and called CH&A to inform them. They told me that they'd already had the job completed and it was above the amount quoted ($4,100). **I never approved, provided consent, gave permission or otherwise green lighted them to proceed with 'their' contractor.** I wonder what connection the contractor has with CH&A.I reached out to their office and explained that we were not planning to use their contractor and had obtained a much more attractive quote from another company in the area. They went on call it a 'miscommunication' and they 'figured' and 'presumed' we wanted them to proceed since they had not heard back from us. I offered to reimburse them the $1800.00 that was quoted by my contractor as a gesture of good will. I never heard back from them.I began watching my bank account for our monthly deposit of rent that comes from CH&A office. It never came. On the 16th I wrote an email to Gay Silva, Claire's accountant, to ask when I should expect our deposit. I haven't heard back from her and we still have not received our deposit for March-April.CH&A proceeded to use my rental income to pay the contractor they hired without authorization or consent. I immediately fired her. She stole rental income and escrow monies in the account.This company is as shady as they come. Look elsewhere for your property management needs.
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July 2023 by Todd House
I garentee that the only good reviews about this company are surely false. Before you move in to any of these properties, ask the people that live in the apartment you're interested in. I garentee what they'll say and what's being said in the reviews are not that same. When you've done people the way these people have , and understand it's the owner not the people who work there ,they're only puppets, the owner is the one pulling the strings . One would have to expect carma to come back around. You can't treat people this way and expect everything to be peaches. If you rent from this company, I garentee, you'll be left with a sour taste in your mouth .
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June 2023 by Lamont Barnes
I greatly appreciate the communication with Hamilton as well as the respect I receive from them. The prompt service that I've received on service call is second to none! Thank you Hamilton! ???
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December 2022 by Nathan Martin-Obst
My roommate and I have lived in one of their properties for over 2 years, and it's been a wonderful experience! We've never had any issues with requesting maintenance, who were always quick to respond, and every interaction with the people in-office has been super pleasant! I appreciate how they treat their renters like they actually care about us staying. I'm sad to say goodbye to such a great apartment, but happy that we've had so many good memories! Here's hoping the next landlord/lady will be just as great!
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June 2022 by Logan Riley
Do NOT attempt to lease through them. Leasing agent extremely condescending and unorganized. Claims I didn’t schedule the right time even though I wrote down the exact time of tour of the phone, she wasn’t even the one I scheduled through either... how would she know! Lease through the complexes themselves guys. Avoid!
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June 2022 by M A
if zero stars was an option that would be mine. the grey haired woman will drain interest from you. very unprofessional, disrespectful, and overall just a terrible experience.
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June 2022 by Logan H.
AVOID. you would be better off homeless, leasing agent extremely unorganized and rude, takes security deposits for nothing, etc.
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April 2022 by Eareana Um
I would give no stars if I could. After I moved out, they claimed that I owed more money in addition to my deposit for the place being damaged by dogs. I never even owned a dog and am allergic. I also had pictures to prove that I left the place in the same clean condition that I got it. Other than to claim that I owe them money that I did not owe them, they stopped responding to my emails, calls, and when I went into clear things up in the office because I thought maybe they had me confused with another rental, they refused to even talk to me. They take advantage of students. If you lease with them make sure that you document and have proof of EVERYTHING (pics, emails, etc) so they can't try to lie and steal your money you earn working 3 jobs to make ends meet.
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February 2022 by Chandler Harbaugh
I have lived at one of their properties for 4 years now and have loved it so much! The location and pricing thus far has been appropriate and fair, they always give me enough notice to re-sign, and the maintenance is incredible. When I moved in 4 years ago, the dishwasher was rusty so they immediately replaced it. My blinds broke when I was pulling them down one day, it was fixed within 12 hours of me putting the request in. I have not had many issues repair wise, but every time I do... they are on it immediately and have never made me pay for the repairs. Incredible management was a huge reason why I stayed for 4 years and the only reason I am leaving, is graduation.
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October 2021 by Lindsey Smith
They do not know how to manage their money, callous to any individual that comes to them with problems, not professional, and offer poor quality of service.Please avoid them at all costs if looking for a company to run your neighborhood.
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July 2021 by Stephen Jaques
We had been good tenants for two years and had no problems with Hamilton until we had a particular maintenance issue. Hamilton fixed the issue but falsely claimed we were in violation of our lease so they could stick us with the repair bill.
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April 2021 by Sarah Hendricks
I am so glad I chose this amazing group to help me find my “new to me” home!! Before moving in the whole place got a makeover with all new appliances, flooring, paint, windows, etc.! The location is exactly what I was looking for and they were able to show me the property with very little notice! The move in went so smooth and they had all the paperwork ready AND had answers to all my questions! The ladies at the office are so patient and will literally help you figure out anything!! I HIGHLY recommend using them if you’re looking to relocate to the area!!!
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April 2021 by William Ortiz
If you are looking for a property management company in Athens, I cannot emphasize enough that you should look elsewhere. I rarely leave reviews like this about companies, but my experience with Claire Hamilton was so appalling that I went out of my way to post this.I owned a property in which Claire was the property manager. I had issues with the property and tried to contact her to speak with her about it. I sent her over a dozen emails and left over a dozen voicemails with no response. She claims below in her response to this comment that had we let her know about the issues she would have gotten back to us, but had absolutely no response to ANY of my emails or voicemails when this occurred a while back. My wife also tried to contact her repeatedly with no response. We tried her, her staff, and nothing. While I was ultimately able to resolve the issues (on my own dime), Claire repeatedly showed me that she does not care about the people that live in the properties she manages.
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March 2021 by Taylor Wilson
I have been in the market to rent a home in Athens and have been in touch with several management companies. Hamilton and Associates is by far the kindest and most helpful team out there! They listened to all my concerns and what I was looking for in a home and applied it to their search. I have now moved into a beautiful home in Athens exceeding my expectations and loving every minute of it!
