Bartlein & Company, Inc

"I've lived in Santa Barbara for 8 years and never realized how much a property management company matters. My wife and I moved to a new property a few months ago that is managed by Bartlein and it has consistently been an unpleasant experience dealing with this company. Our previous apartment was managed by Meridian Group and they were way more responsive and professional. No one chooses an apartment based on the management company but if you are looking for a new apartment and have your search narrowed down to just a few, try to avoid any that use Bartlein."

"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."

"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."

"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."