Desert Wide Properties

I rented a home in Tempe Arizona in October 2008. Through out our rental we experienced extreme lack of responsibility and organization from Desert Wide Properties. Many maintenance and repair issues were ignored, phone calls and emails were never returned. Finally after refusing to pay the next months rent Desert Wide got back to me with the decision to reimburse me for half of what was needed. Broken water pipes, faucets, oven burners, and toilets were a few of the essentials that were never taken care of. After a few months in the house myself and my two roommates started to experience server allergy like sickness. After a visit to the doctor we discovered it was a Mold caused allergic reaction. We notified Desert WIde with in 24 hours with a notarized letter stating the need for a mold expert to examine the home. Thankfully the property manager got back to us with an email letting us know a mold inspector (of Desert Wides choosing) was being sent to our home with in 24 hours. Personally i was there to speak with the inspector while he conducted his inspection. After he concluded his inspection he told me and my roommates that the homes condition was an extreme health hazard and he was sending Desert Wide a report stating unhealthy/unsafe living conditions. We were told directly from the inspector to leave to home as soon as possible. The following day we got a phone call from our property manager letting us know we had been released from the lease and to move out by the end of the month (04/30/09). Everything and everyone was out of the home by the next morning (04/24/09). 4 months after leaving the home i received a phone call from the city of tempe notifying me that i was being ticketed from the unkept condition of the yard at my previous rental home. I told them to contact Desert Wide properties for i had not been living there in over 4 months. 7 months later i applied to an apartment complex with little time to find a place to live. I was denied my apartment for the sole reason that my rental history reported that I owed over 2 thousand dollars to Desert Wide Properties. I immediately started calling Desert Wide to find out what was going on. No phone calls were answered by the manager. I left many voice mails stating the urgency of the situation for I had no place to live due to being rejected from the apartment complex. No response or returned phone calls. Finally I went to the office in person. Not only was I belittled and spoken down to, the manager refused to come out of her office to speak with me. I then told the receptionist that I would not be leaving until i spoke with someone. The manager then came out, she was rude right off the bat and wouldn't even shake my hand in introduction. She let me know my issue was not on her list of things to get done quickly and that it would be at least over a week to come up with the research needed. I emphasized the fact that because of their wrong doing I now have no where to live until the issue is resolved. She had little to no respect or understanding for my terrible situation. This company needs to be stopped.

Charges I WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF From Desert Wide Properties:
(7 months after being 100% released from the property due to unsafe living conditions)

Cleaning - $360
Trash Removal - $80
Carpet & Tile cleaning - $400
Lawn Clean-up - $225
Key/CC&Rs - $75
Re-paint walls/ - $2,250
Drywall repair
Broken Towel Rod - $50
Electrical Faceplates - $50
Re-install closet door - $30
Garage Remotes - $150

Total Charges - $3,670

Posted 12/04/09 | Report Abuse

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I have had Desert Wide Properties manage my property for five years now. I think that they do a great job. I really do not understand some of the reviews that I read about them. The one thing that I do know is that there are always two sides to every story. They have been very accomodating to me. When need to have someone manage your property, you can count on them as I have for a very long time.

In the world of rentals it is very easy to get taken advantage of. Desert Wide has been a friend of mine and protected my interest all along the way.

Cassie

Posted 12/04/09 | Report Abuse

0 out of 51 people found this review helpful.

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We had mold in our home due to a water leak that wasn't noticed by the tenant while he lived there, but by one of their cleaners. They responded very quickly, providing economical prices and worked very well with our insurance company. The repairs were excellent and by the time everything was done, the house looked better than before the tenants moved in. Desert Wide was extremely helpful, providing multiple estimates when we asked for them and their maintenance department answered all our questions fully.

Posted 12/04/09 | Report Abuse

0 out of 52 people found this review helpful.

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It's shameful how DW has taken advantage us! I live in California, required by AZ law to have my AZ property "professionally managed. But with DW Ive had to perform more services for myself than DW has ever done for me. They over-charge, double bill (the owner and the tenant), then lose the records of ever having done anything! Now my AZ house is a wreck and they wont give me the money they collected from the tenant.

Alone they wont listen to us. Take your claim to court and theyll likely just pay you off. They dont care because they make than enough money from this scam and they play the odds knowing that only a few will actually put forth the time and money to take them court. Theyll never change their ways at this rate. We must band together! Only collectively will we have a chance to send DW a clear message. Write to ClassActionDWP@yahoo.com I did. And log a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, as well. Post your message at this site and also at: http://phoenix.citysearch.com/review/1675676?reviewId=50569991

Posted 11/09/09 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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My experience is much like everyone else's, HORRIBLE!!! Lived in the house for 5 years. The house was in not in the best of shape, was not thoroughly cleaned, had previous issues. I filled out their addendum paperwork because their inspection did not reflect pre-existing issues. Turned it in according to their time frame. I had the carpets professionally cleaned and the home professionally cleaned. The house was in better shape when I moved out than when I moved in. When it came time to move out they wanted to keep most of the security deposit ($950) for those pre-existing conditions. Kept calling the office asking them, do you have a copy of the addendum in the file which would show that they were charging me for pre-existing conditions. They were also charging me for additional outside yard work, reseeding the backyard. The house was being sold so I was able to go back to the house and take pictures of the backyard that showed that nothing had been done. I took them to small claims court and won. Luckily I had two witnesses who had helped me move in in and had seen the pre-existing conditions as well as having the addendum. The problem is that there are always changing personnel, one person does the move in inspection, another person does the move out inspection and then it is turned over to someone to evaluate it who has never even seen the house. The inspections are so subjective. The owner of the house had moved to Australia and believe that they were telling him one thing and working him as well as working me. They are CROOKS!!! There is so much more to tell but it would take too long to tell.

Posted 11/07/09 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Unethical sales/leasing practices.
Weak management team.
Very poor customer service.
They do not manage; DW simply pushes the request from tenant to owner without screening for relevancy.
To keep others aware of DW's shady business practices, YOU SHOULD FILE WITH AZ BBB. http://www.bbb.org/central-northern-western-arizona/business-reviews/property-management/desert-wide-properties-inc-in-chandler-az-24287/

Posted 11/03/09 | Report Abuse

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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If you have had poor dealings with desertwide and would like to be a part of a class action against them, please email: ClassActionDWP@yahoo.com. Please read all the previous complaints and then send a brief email here. Please keep all your records, receipts and emails and we will work together to stop this company from their abusive and dishonest business practices of simply ~ ripping people off!

Posted 10/29/09 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Fraud! Hidden behind incompetence and poor record keeping, Desertwide is at work in taking, overcharging, double charging all they can to make a profit, while providing very little in return. Repairs have been poorly done and then when the tenant moves out, they want to repair again the same things, then when questioned on it, they say their invoices don't explain well enough the charges for the original repairs and so have to re-work and re-charge you again - then stop responding to your question's on this. I have many, many complaints, Class-Action Lawsuit - yes! I have documentation, all documentation and with enough people in on this, we can show Fraud where poor management skills and record keeping won't be a valid defense for Fraud!

Posted 10/27/09 | Report Abuse

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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I wish i had read reviews like this before ever dealing with desert wide properties. upon moving out, they not only kept our 800$ deposit, but they want 750$ more to removed trash that wasn't there, clean up weeds in the backyard , and clean the carpets even though we had them cleaned after we moved out, etc... after being very unhelpful through email, they sent us to collections. i would NEVER recommend them to anyone. they love to rip people off!

Posted 10/23/09 | Report Abuse

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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I agree...Desert Wide Properties needs to be put in their place for ripping hard working people of their money. I've rent from them a couple years ago and experienced most of what individuals are speaking of. They took my deposit and charged me for outrageous thing. For example a battery, A/C filter for 300.00 dollars. I've kept all my email etc on these people. We as consumers need to use DesertWide as example that these company can't do this to us.

Posted 10/16/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Everyone needs to file a complaint with the Attorney Generals Office "the more the better." you can file it online!!! Also, look up the home owner on Maricopa County Assessors Office and send the home owner a letter and a copy of all letters they send you, "we are," they need to know they were not willing to help us make a payment arrangement or even gave us time to clean, paint and fix up the place before we moved out! There is no excuse for not giving tenants their money back and being treated like this! I would never recommend this company to anyone..

Posted 10/14/09 | Report Abuse

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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This company is one of the WORST company's in the U.S. I have never dealt with a more unethical company in my life. I had the house cleaned spotless when I moved out and they took my security deposit and asking for 56.63 more to cover house expenses. And if I don't pay they will report this to the credit bureau. They are awful. Also read a review about a class-action lawsuit. I notice they have 65 complaint's through the Better Business Bureau. I think some legal action in needed. Actually. I am looking into it. I also noticed that people are thinking class action. I am thinking we all take them to small claims individually. They don't have poor record keeping because they don't keep any. They play dumb and make up lies. GET THE WORD OUT. POST MORE COMMENTS ON http://local.yahoo.com/info-43993640-desert-wide-properties-incorporated-chandler?tab=reviews#reviews. I WAS THE FIRST.

Posted 10/13/09 | Report Abuse

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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I used Desertwide a few years back, maybe 5 years ago, as a landlord to manage some rental property I owned. The best word I can use is "horrible." If any of you are landlords, stay clear of this company. If you are a landlord go somewhere else. I only wish I had reported them to the AZ Dept. of Real Estate for some of thier actions.

Posted 09/15/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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OMG this company is a JOKE! They are trying to get over $4,000 out of us after we moved out. Its BS $3,000 just to paint the inside, do they think we are stupid?!?!?

Posted 08/11/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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My husband and I have been renting a property through Desert Wide Properties for a year and a 3 months and have NEVER been late on rent and my husband is pretty handy so if we need something fixed he does it.

But when the pool pump cracked it took Maintenance 3 weeks to come out and fix it. It was very un professional how they handled it as well.

*Second we have to pay for pool cleaning services in our monthly rent and our pool man had stopped coming for a month and when I addressed our leasing manager about the issue she would not credit us for that month. They are extremely rude, and all act like they are in some sort of power over you because they are leasing mangers.

*Third, the owner of this home was interested in selling but the leasing company would not give our info to the owner so that we can negotiate we had to talk through e-mail to our leasing manager then she would talk back for the owner. Its like they didnt want to loose business if we bought the house. So who knows what the leasing manager told the owner it was very frustrating.

We have 9 more months in this home then we are not going to resign for a third year. This company is rude and acts like it is a burden when they actually have to do there job and fix something or answer the phone. They Suck so all people stay away. They are extremely expensive! They list homes for x amount but once the lease is signed you pay at lease 50-60.00 a month more then the listing price because of all there fee's! Our home is 1,495.00 and they would not renegotiate the price when we were getting ready to re-sign the lease because we are in a recession!

Posted 08/05/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Desert Wide Properties is terrible
Took them 7 days to fix water heater
ALways a delayed response, when asked for repairs, they never showed up at designated time
Don't rent from them and don't rent your house through them, they are supposed to inspect your house every 6 months, I've lived in this house for 4 years they have been here twice.....Rude, Unprofessional, very un-organized and overall clueless....and when I moved in the house was filthy, not to mention the property manager was 2 hours late to give me the keys..

Posted 08/01/09 | Report Abuse

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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I agree with most of the comments on this site.
I am a property owner and used DesertWide Properties for 3 years (2006 to 2009). I didn't have any problem with them (I got rental money on time). However, it seems that my tenants were not treated right. They didn't get their deposit back and were overcharged. Later, I found out that my home was damaged by mold because Desertwide was negligent in repairing leaks in home. The damages have cost me about $6000 to repair!!!! They were supposed to inspect the home every 90 days. Have they done their job the home would have been fine!!! Hence, if you're a landlord who want to list your property don't use this company. The other thing I didn't know before reading these postings was that they let potential tenants (including some criminals for sure) visit the property by themself !!! (what if they copy the keys and come back to harm the tenants????). That's why they have B- (should be a D) on BBB website.
SO DON'T TAKE A RISK AND USE THIS COMPANY.

s.n. North Phoenix

Posted 07/30/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Thanks so much for your reviews and helping me to dodge a bullet! I was recently considering listing two rental properties with Desert Wide. My first clue was that they never seem to answer their phone. Glad I looked a little further into it. Thanks!

Posted 07/13/09 | Report Abuse

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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We used Desert Wide to rent out our home as we had to move to another state. This was the worse experience we have ever dealt with. As others have said, we have had several properties managers and they were all very rude and unprofessional. They do not return phone calls or emails. It took them 2 months after the tenants have moved out to return our maintenance money. I would NEVER use this company again, and would not recommend them to anyone!

Posted 06/25/09 | Report Abuse

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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This is the most unprofessional, incompetent, rude, unpleasant company I have ever had to deal with. I have given up trying to get items repaired (they once took 3 months to fix a broken water pipe) and am scared to death to leave because I'm terrified that not only will they take all of my deposit but they will charge me additional fees. The last straw was this response after calling in to have my locks re-keyed after a robbery. After being told that I was responsible for the locks because it appeared that someone had used a key, I discovered that you could unlock my back door with a car key, master lock key, swiss army knife and a pair of nail clippers. I called back to say that it was apparent that a key was not used and this is the email response I received from Jeff in the maintenance department: "We are not sending a locksmith out to change the locks. Kay has already had this discussion with you and since the break-in was by somebody with a key, it is your responsibility to have the locks changed at your expense and then provide us with a copy of the key. It doesn't help your case that you waited until Friday afternoon at 4:30 to report the issue to maintenance."At this point, I don't even know what to say. It doesn't matter what the request is, what the circumstances are, what proof you have, or your history as a tenant, if it involves the outlay of money, Desert Wide Properties will do whatever it takes to avoid their responsibility as a management company. If someone provides contact information, I would be more than happy to act as a witness in a class action suit.

Posted 06/08/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Part of the problem is that they have one person come and do an inspection and they submit that report to someone who hasn't even seen the house. I'm not sure how you can come up with charges when you don't visually inspect a home? For example, I was charged to clean dust on a vent fan in the bathroom. I know it was not that bad. I used their list to clean items in the house -- I even wiped down all the baseboards! I had the carpets professionally cleaned and I cleaned the house from top to bottom. It was in better condition than when I moved in. I was refunded part of my deposit but only after writing a letter disputing their charges and calling them. Definitely rude to deal with. They were a part of why I moved out after being at the home two years.

Posted 06/08/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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After i refused to pay the charges that they fabricated they sent the account to collections. this was not unexpected but the amount the posted as being owed and the amount they told me is owed was very different. I contacted the collection agency and they did nothing although they admitted they knew we were disputing the charges. So I sent a letter to the Credit Bureaus with documentation that showed that the charge that was reported was inaccurate (i asked them to investigate and DWP and the collection agency told them it was right) and asked thrm to re investigate because it makes no sense that they tell me i owe one thing and report something else. This is a big deal to me. If they tell me i owe 800 but report I owe 2100 then thats a big difference. They couldn't even be truthful in that regard. Also, You can place a consumer statement on your credit report which basically acts as an explanation for why this charge is on your account due to non payment. It may not seem like much but at least if someone where to pull your credit they would see an explanation of why you have this smudge on the account. DWP is the only smudge on mine so I am content to leave a statement addressing the issue on there until the matter is resolved.

Posted 06/03/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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I have a house that has been managed by Desert Wide Properties for the last 2 years. The first year, I didn't have any major complaints. The second year I was receiving the tenants rent months after they collected it. They told me they need to keep a larger reserve for emergencies (OK that kind of made sense), but it has got to the extreme where they now owe me 5 months rent. They won't return calls, won't return emails. If the reviews are right, it looks like I am headed to court.I wish I would have seen this site before I hired them.

Posted 04/29/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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I cannot believe this place is still in business. I have had nothing but problems with Desert Wide Properties. They think because they manage 1200 properties (so they claim) and that there are only 20 or so complaints on here about them, that they are doing a good job. So I asked them, "How many people actually get ALL of their deposit back?" I was promptly told, "that's none of your business."

After doing some asking around and acting like a property owner interested in having them handle my property, I would never let them represent my property. They get a pretty nice percentage of the rent and they "can keep all the deposit and bill additional charges". (Found a website that says this company generates over $1 million a year in revenue. I also found a former employee who told me they get bonuses based on how much money they keep.)

I will be filing a complaint with the Arizona Department of Housing and the Attorney General about this company. Collin C. had the right idea. BBB did absolutely nothing. Writing letters to the company owner: Larry Toppenburg, did nothing. (He's obviously too busy living the good life off other peoples misery!) I will be filing a small claims suit as instructed by a Landlord Tenant Attorney. I highly recommend finding one. (I found one on ATTORNEY4HIRE.COM)

I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY! I WOULDN'T EVEN RECOMMEND MY WORST ENEMY! THAT'S HOW BAD THIS PLACE IS!
(Pam W. is obviously an employee post)

Posted 04/25/09 | Report Abuse

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Yeah we helped one potential customer from making our same mistake!
We actually didn't have too many problems while living in the rental property but moving out was another story. Our rental property went into foreclosure so we had to move out before the end of lease.
We were fortunate to have no difficulty with our security deposit which makes sense, how can they keep our money when they don't even represent the home owner anymore once it is foreclosed upon? However, the foreclosure date was 1 day before the end of the month and I am fighting to get my last day of rent returned. For some this may seem trivial but in my opinion we should not let this company get away with one penny that is not theirs.
I am currently in the middle of a BBB complaint, I'll let you all know if my 1 day of rent is returned.
I may also file a complaint with the Attorney Generals Office.
The representatives were unbelievably ignorant, apparently a high school degree is not even required so it seems. My advice to anyone on the fence about this company GO ELSEWHERE. If you have no choice then document EVERYTHING before moving in with pictures and written description. Make sure this is done WITH a DWP representative and have them sign it. Find out in writing what the move out policy is on security refunds, for example perhaps they automatically shampoo carpet no matter what. If so get that in writing and don't do it yourself at move out time. If not then keep all records of cleaning so you have that to support your claim if they refuse your refund.
Be prepared to fight but don't give up. This company deserves to be put out of business with their unprofessional practices so plan accordingly for a fight at the end of the lease.
Thank God we will never have to rent from this unethical and unprofessional company again.!!!

Posted 04/24/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you for all these reviews. We are on the other side of the fence. We are looking for a management company to take on our house so we can relocate. All of them look great on their website. So we decided to act like renters and see what the story was and how our home would be marketed to potential clients. What an eye opener. If I saw these pages, I wouldn't rent my home from this company. This is not how I would like my property represented or managed. Thanks again!

Posted 04/20/09 | Report Abuse

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Anyone who gives this place more than one star is obviously an employee of the company (Pam W).

My experience was very similar to that of Collin C. They refused to return my $950 deposit and are charging me $850 more and I have move-in paperwork showing the things they are charging me for as existing prior to me moving in. I contacted the BBB and they were of no help whatsoever.

The $850 has now shown up on my otherwise clean credit report and I'm curious as to what my options are now. Does anyone have any advice? Small claims court? Organize a class-action law-suit?

Collin C. - You said to contact you if we wanted to file a lawsuit as well but you didn't leave any contact info. How can I get a hold of you?

Posted 04/20/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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I have found this company to be the best and they know what they are doing. I had several legal issues and the manager helped me resolve very quickly. Maintenance was on top of all my repairs and they were completed in a timely manner. At move out I received my entire deposit back, I followed there move out checklist that was a big help in receiving the security deposit back. I will refer all my friends and family to this company.

Posted 04/17/09 | Report Abuse

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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We have had bad experiences with this company from day 1! We were told they never had a scorpion problem on the property. Come to find out from the neighbors next door, 2 previous renters moved out due to the scorpion problem! They have lied and tried to get money from us in any way possible for the past 3 years we have rented from them. We have turned to speaking with the home owner directly instead of going through Desert Wide because nothing gets done right!
Two years ago the toilet upstairs malfunctioned flooding the house. After THREE MONTHS of slowly sending people in to fix things, and hundreds of phone calls, the house was fixed....half ass. I'm sure when we move out we will end up paying for the new carpet that should have been installed then!!

FIND A DIFFERENT COMPANY TO RENT FROM!

Posted 02/24/09 | Report Abuse

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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My daughter rented for three years from Desert Wide. When it came time to move because the property was foreclosed on I painted the whole house and made sure everything was in good order even though it was foreclosed on. Guess what! Desert Wide deemed the property did not meet their standards so they would not refund the deposit. Mind you they had no interest in getting the property ready for the next renter, because it was foreclosed on, but rather they wanted extra revenue for themselves. We went as far as installing new trim rings on the stove and new air filters, along with cleaning the grills, a lot of little stuff like that. Everything was done according to their "hit" list they give you before move out. It's all a bunch of lies. They are lairs and cheats. They treat you in a condescending manner. During the three years there my daughters husband died and she was there with three children and that's when I "stepped" in to help with all this. Trust me and stay clear from these people and I use the word people loosely because real people would NOT do this. My next step is small claims court.
Thanks for reading this and hopefully it will prevent someone out there from all this.

Posted 02/05/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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It looks like they have a standard practice here. They don't return phone calls, they charge you for things that aren't warranted, they aren't friendly either. It's pretty much pointless to do just the bbb. In addition, you should take them to small claims court. The more suits against them, the more likely they are to stop doing these things. We never got a response from them after months of trying to get a return phone call or email or someone to talk to us. Their attitudes stink. All I can say is take pictures before and after you live in one of their homes, They will try to screw you out of your security deposit. I promise you this. They keep your money, not the home owner.

Posted 01/23/09 | Report Abuse

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Like most people on here, I didn't have Many problems with Desert Wide Properties until it came time to move out and get my deposit back.

We rented THROUGH them for 2+ years. (I would say rented from them but they didn't do anything but collect our rent money. They don't even show you the property. They give you a lock box combination and tell you to let yourself in to view the home. If I had a rental property, I wouldn't use DWP to rent it out.)

We had 6-8 different "property managers" over the 2 years time. Hardly heard a word from them except for the 1 time we were 2 days late with rent from being out of town. Took 3-4 days to hear from them regarding repairs. (Had the heater go out 3 months into living there and we had a new born. Then we needed ceiling fans put in because it was so hot in the summer time & it was like pulling teeth. They said we could have them professionally installed, but we'd have to leave them when we moved out.) Why would I want to add value to a home I don't own? Very unprofessional in my opinion.

When we moved out we provided them with everything they asked for. (Carpets to be cleaned and copy of receipt. House cleaned, yard cleaned, etc.) They billed me for carpets, cleaning, landscaping and dirt marks on the driveway!!! They took 80% of my $1k deposit. We have multiple photos that show we left the house in better condition than we found it.

The BBB appears to be of no help in this situation.

I HAVE DOCUMENTATION THAT PROVES MY CASE AND THEY STILL REFUSE TO RETURN MY DEPOSIT. I HAVE CONTACTED AN ATTORNEY AND WILL BE FILING A LAWSUIT. ANYONE WHO WISHES TO DO THE SAME CAN CONTACT ME.
info at attorney4hire dot com

Posted 01/22/09 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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After we moved in I found all the horrible reviews on this property mgmt co. and thought it would be hell to move out and get our security deposit back. However, here are our findings after living at a rental for a 1 & 1/2yrs.

Pros: They are very quick to let you look at a rental property.
Very organized with the signing of rental properties.
Always returned emails & phone calls.
Very timely on anything that needed to be fixed.
We actually got ALL of our security deposit back after all our hard work to make the place emaculate! Very happy!

Cons: Too many different people to deal with. You get someone you sign with, problems, then when you move out.
Most employees were very short and snappy when dealing with on the phone.
Con if you are a homeowner: We did not have a property manager "show us" any properties, they just gave us the keycodes to get in. We just gave them our names and they gave us the codes for houses. Not very safe for the homes, could get vandalized.
Con if you are renting and house is on market to be shown: We had people just "stopping by" to see the house with no appointment and no property manager. Desert Wide said they don't escort people to look at the properties so that meant we "had to be home" to show people around which took away from our work schedules. Very inconvenient when it was not our home to rent out.

Overall I'd say this is one of the better property mgmt companies to deal with if you are renting. It just seems like they might have some unhappy workers there, which might explain why you deal with so many different property managers.
If you are a Home Owner looking for a property management co. I really didn't see them doing any "showings" of the properties, just giving information on them and listing them. I think a good property mgmt co. would show the property just for safety purposes for the Home Owner.

Oh and a tip, when mailing your rent, make sure it is to them by or on the 1st, not just postmarked or they ding you with late fees every time.

Posted 01/21/09 | Report Abuse

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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This company was ok until it was time to move. My point-of-contact, Mia, was anything but professional and screamed on the phone and would hang up on me because I had a question.

I am also involved in a dispute with the BBB with them because they are trying to STEAL (yes, STEAL) over $1,500 from me. Luckily I took some photos before we moved out so hopefully that will help my case.

If you are already a renter from them just make sure you do your due diligence before moving out. Take photos, video and document, document, document. They will try their hardest to STEAL your hard-earned money from you.

Posted 12/30/08 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Desert Wide Properties' service sucks! They never return our phone calls and every time we need somthing to fix they don't come fix it. Don't ever go with Desert Wide Properties or you will regret it!

Posted 12/25/08 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Like others here, most was okay with Desert Wide until it came time to move out. Our property manager, Mia, was rude and cursed at us on the phone. We left our home in beautiful condition, we provided the receipt for the carpet cleaning, as requested by Desert Wide, we left nothing out of sorts. We video-taped the entire house just before we left for the last time. Good thing! Not only did we not receive our deposit back, as expected, but they say that we have a balance due! This is completely ridiculous considering that the house was left in better shape than when we moved in. DO NOT trust these people. They don't care about their renters, only the money that they can get out of them.

Posted 12/05/08 | Report Abuse

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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My experience with Desert Wide Properties was ok until it was time for me to move. My account manager screamed at me on the phone and hung up on me. They not only kept my entire deposit and so-called refundable pet deposit but had the nerve to send me A BILL.

After we spent so much time making sure the house and yard were in impeccable shape were still still screwed over. If I had known this we would not have made so much effort to make sure the property looked better than when we moved in.

Posted 11/25/08 | Report Abuse

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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I have never dealt with a company that could care less abouts its tenants as much as Desertwide does.They kept our security deposit and claimed they had to "ozone the house' due to cigarette smoke but we don't smoke. That is fraud but no one can help us. They just keep getting away with it. I too went to the BBB but they didn't help at all. Desertwide just doesn't care and laughs at all our attempts to get back what is morally ours.DO NOT RENT FROM THEM EVER!

Posted 11/19/08 | Report Abuse

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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I had many of the same problems with Desert Wide. They refused to return my deposit for a long time. I finally got sick of it - contacted the BBB and three days later I had a check in the mail.

Posted 10/10/08 | Report Abuse

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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I wish I read these reviews before we moved in. These people kept our entire security deposit and charged us more money even though we did everything on their list. We provided a receipt for carpet cleaning and they accused us of fabricating a receipt. They charged us $600 for TOUCH UP PAINT and another $350 carpet cleaning charge. DON'T RENT THROUGH THEM. THEY WILL STEAL YOUR MONEY!

Posted 09/30/08 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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5000 characters is not enough to describe the bad things DWP put us through. I've dealt with a lot of property management companies, all bad b/c it's the nature of the business I think...but...Desert Wide is by far the most unethical and dishonest company (not just prop mng.) I have ever dealt with. We were perfect tenants. Always paid our rent on time, no damage to the house, gave appropriate notice upon move out, etc... As a repayment for our cooperation, the inspector completely fabricated lies about the condition of the home. When we addressed our property manager, she ignored our first 5 attempts to contact her, then was completely rude when we finally did speak with her.

Posted 09/12/08 | Report Abuse

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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we rented a home through desertwide only to move in to find it hadn't been touched since the previous tenants moved out (we found out later there had been 5 others in the past few years)!!!

We paid to have toilet seats replaced, we cleaned the home, fixed up the yard as best as possible (the last tenants dog dug holes everywhere which we were told would be fixed before move in)
We had two broken toilets, ended up with a flooded kitched due to leaking bath tub, went without water for two days, horrible roach problem, more leaking when it rained and much more.

What did desertwide have to say? Too bad for you!!!!

We are left with a large debt as they are trying to persue us for fees and other things, the property manager had the gaul to say she never heard about any of our problems when I had spoken to her myself about them from day one, then turned around and tried to say we flooded the home on purpose!

DONT GO THROUGH THIS COMPANY!!! THEY WILL TAKE ALL YOUR MONEY AND LEAVE YOU WITHOUT A SAFE OR HABITABLE HOME!!!

Posted 06/11/08 | Report Abuse

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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Yes, I agree with everyone else... AT FIRST they are very helpful and make a quick move in very easy.... If I had only known!!! First of all, everytime I call they are extemely rude. Secondly, if you have an HOA and they send you a WARNING (keyword there...) about say, a tree falls in your yard, Desert wide profits from this and charges you $15. Doesn't seem like much, but it adds up... We got a letter about it AFTER we had already fixed it, but we still had to pay.

The worst part of all is that THEY make a mistake and you still have to pay for it. They sent us a letter last month to start automatic withdrawal. I sent it back before the deadline and when I spoke to an accounting person, they send "don't send a check along with it (just in case something happened) because they would take the payment out twice. To make a long story short, today is the 10th. It took them a week to let me know they hadn't set up their system to take out the rent, therefore I had not paid my bill. I called about the letter and they said I could bring in the full payment (only in a money order because my rent was "late") and not incurr their 5$ per day late fees. When I got there to voice my concerns about how I had to load up my twins, drive almost an hour to their office (Ummm, gas hello?!?!?), and waste my valuable time for THEIR mistake, the property manager was very rude, the accounting woman and I had a screaming match because I asked to speak to the owner, and basically nobody cared.

Basically, this company is very impersonal, VERY unproffessional, and want to nickel and dime you the best way they can. I can't wait to move out of this house when my lease is up Aug 1st... Apparently, there could be trouble there too...

Posted 06/09/08 | Report Abuse

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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Everything started out nice, they were very friendly in helping me find a nice 4 bedroom house in Gilbert. I had to move in quickly, so the repairs were to be done after I moved in. When they did come to do repairs from the previous renters, I was kind of disappointed. A door had what looked like a hole punch in it, for example. They patched it with just a white rubbery substance, which I didn't care too much about, I wasn't actually going to use the room for anything. But still.
When I moved out, the REAL trouble began. I had the carpets cleaned (in the rental agreement, PROFESSIONAL CARPET CLEANING). After I moved out and into a new place (Desert-Wide independent) they said that I owed them fees for the house not being clean for a total of over a thousand dollars (more than a month's rent.) This included a carpet cleaning fee. I paid the exact amount, and kept the receipt, which was a good thing! Just today 2/14/2008 I recieved a notice from a collection agency stating that I owe them still almost a THOUSAND dollars.

WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE.

Posted 02/14/08 | Report Abuse

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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Beware - the "application" that you are filling out to rent a home is actually a lease, and if you decide not to take the house, they will attempt to make you pay for the rent until they find another person to lease the house. They take forever to return phone calls, and they are extremely unprofessional. I wish I could scan a copy of the "application" so you can see all the scribbles and lines crossed out.
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!! I would give zero stars if it was an option.

Posted 02/12/08 | Report Abuse

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Everything started out great. I was looking for a home for my family to rent and stumbled upon their website. I found one I liked and contacted Desertwide. They were helpful and got me setup and ready to move in asap. And that is the end of their cordalities.

They took forever to come out and make repairs to the home. I was better off hiring someone to do it. When we moved out, they wouldn't return any of our deposit. We marked off the issues on the pre-move in sheet yet, alas, the SAME issues show up on OUR move out sheet. We hired professional carpet cleaners and bathroom specialists and cleaned the rest of the house from top to bottom ourselves. They would not return our deposit and keep avoiding our calls and emails. I would NOT recommend Desertwide to anyone.

Posted 10/16/07 | Report Abuse

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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The staff was very friendly, they really went the extra mile! I really had a great experience! I previewed the homes on their website, www.desertwide.com and then was able to see the homes on my own schedule. I found a great house and brought my daughter and my dog into the office. They were fast, caring, and thorough. I can't wait to move to my new home! Desert Wide is awesome!

PROS: Convenient, Friendly, and Helpful!
CONS:

Posted 04/12/06 | Report Abuse

1 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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Before moving to AZ from CO we found several properties we liked on DesertWide's website. We stopped in their office first thing on a Monday morning and they were extremely helpful with getting us to see the houses we wanted to see. Even gave us a free map of the area that I used A LOT!

Posted 11/10/05 | Report Abuse

1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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