Short South Realty Group

"Things started off pleasant and satisfactory, and maybe someone with a different situation than me and a different property manager would have a better experience. I started to get a little suspicious when they took a while to get back to me to schedule a tour after my application had been processed. I'm going to assume that was the property manager's fault based off the following. Jami was five minutes late to my showing. I realize this is "only five minutes" but I do see this as unprofessional. The property manager should either be a few minutes early or right on time. When she did arrive and I introduced myself to her, she was on the phone with another tenant. She did tell me that tenant calls were being forwarded to their cell phones since their front desk girl was out, but to continue to stay on the phone as we were entering the house and trying to get into the door was rude. She had the incorrect code to get in the door, which she tried a few times and then was visibly agitated, another demonstration of being completely unprofessional in front of a perspective tenant/applicant. She then called maintenance to tell them we couldn't get in and was raising her voice at whoever was on the other end of the phone. After she got off the phone and before we were even in the unit, she looked at me and said "this property probably won't be available by the time you're ready to move". So...why am I here then? Upon entry it was very obvious that the layout of the living room was photoshopped. I'm not talking about the photoshopped furniture (which I understand; you want to make it look realistic); I'm talking about the floor plan itself. Jami knew virtually nothing about the unit. No questions I had were answered with certainty. I asked if there was central air and she told me there was (there was not). Her reasoning was "is there a thermostat? Then yes there must be". It was very apparent she was rushing through the showing and when we were back outside and I was asking her more questions, she would slowly inch herself back to her vehicle. Rude again. She also lives in Lansing and knows very little about Grand Rapids, which she admitted herself. How are you going to employ someone to manage and show properties in the GR area who is barely familiar with the area? Andie was able to connect me with the property owner themselves to discuss possibly extending the 30-day hold deadline on moving in (my current lease doesn't end until the first week of April), which I did appreciate. I connected with her by phone and she told me she would think it over and talk it through with her husband. I was asking for around a 15-day extension that I could compromise with. I imagined this would only take a couple days to "talk over". One week went by and crickets. I sent her a text just following up on day 8 to see if she made a decision and she texted me back the following day telling me they decided they could not honor my request and would try to lease it sooner to someone else. I can't say I blame them for that, but to leave me hanging for over a week and not inform me of that without me reaching out to them first was a bit rude. This is my housing we are talking about, and I would like to not waste time and be informed if I should move on promptly. Before the owner got back to me, I decided to check Short South's website to see if the unit was still available. The unit was gone. I had asked to be contacted if it became unavailable through the waiting process, especially because I said I was interested in moving in so long as the deadline extension could be accommodated, and I was assured I would be. I called the office to see what was going on, and the front desk girl had no idea why it was not being shown anymore. The unit I applied for has not been rented but instead removed from Short South's management entirely and now run by a different group. I asked for my application fee to be reimbursed because of this. They are unwilling to do so and now ignoring me all together."

"My experience with Short South thus far has been excellent. Victor was communicative regarding the rental application process, and was understanding about our unique disposition. Kaley made the hour-plus drive here through bad weather, put in the extra effort to have our agreement finished the same day, and made sure the property was in its advertised condition. I couldn't be happier."

"We moved into our apartment 8 years ago when it was owned by a previous company and the carpet was not cleaned prior to move in and multiple closet doors, handles, and kitchen drawers were broken. I submitted multiple maintenance requests that went unfilled over the years and when moving out last month they charged $510 for maintenance fees against my deposit with no explanation as to what we were being charged for so I could not even argue my case. The hot water would also go out every few months for days at a time, once it was out for almost a week. I would not recommend this property management company to anyone."