Southern California Real Estate Management - Valencia, California

Diana C.

I do not recommend renting from this company...we moved out of our rental in April of this year and have YET to receive our security deposit. The initial check they mailed us was made out to both of our names which my partner's bank (Wells Fargo) would not accept to deposit since we do not have a joint account. I addressed my concern to Christy Baca & asked for a new check addressing only my partner's name to be mailed and she has since been giving me the run around as to where our check is...finally, after going back and forth regarding the status of our check, SHE suggested that a new check would be issued for pick up at their office since there have been mailing issues to which I agreed back in July. I asked her to please let me know when the check would be ready for pick up & she responded "will do." It is now September & we realized we haven't heard from her so I followed up (YET AGAIN) only for Christy to offer no apology, and told me to take it up with someone named Todd as the check that was supposed to be picked up was "mailed" again LOL... Mind you, We initially received the first check at our new address with zero issues, why all the sudden are all these "checks" they've been re-issuing not making it to our house? Christy should have CC'd Todd or reached out to him for an update if this was his responsibility and at the very least apologize or take ownership of her lack of communication and organization. If you have to deal with her as your "property manager" oh boy.. I apologize...
Aside from that headache...while we were tenants, we had mold issues inside our kitchen cabinets in which all they did was paint over. My partner was a tenant for 10 years that paid rent on time and within those 10 years there were zero upgrades or maintenance yet the rent kept increasing lol...typical. If there was anything that needed to be replaced or fixing, it was band aid quality / cheapest materials possible. You've been warned.

Carolyn D.

Landlords they represent are very unprofessional. Warning to tenants:
I recently vacated a property that I rented for 2 years. Never more than a few days late. A full
Deposit on file. After giving a 60-day notice and let me say again consistently paying rent on time throughout my two-year tenancy and the owner saying himself that I was one of the best tenants he’s ever had and there were no complaints when he showed up to inspect the home completely clean with upgrades done to the property.

Unfortunately, I experienced the following issues with the landlord:
* Multiple unresolved repairs.
* Unauthorized Lockout: The landlord changed the locks without my permission during the move-out process. Mother, daughter and disabled adult locked out while loading moving truck.
* Pressured Move-Out: The landlord pressured me to vacate the property earlier than the agreed-upon move-out date.The 60 day notice with a specific date was presented and accepted by landlord. Yet in still, daily harassment to “hurry up and leave” started after I paid my last month of rent.
* Unresponsive Communication: Following my move-out, or shall I say “put out” the landlord has not responded to inquiries regarding my security deposit return. Apparently Craig Bernstein, the owner does not have the refund. I will see them in court. Meanwhile....

Recommendation for Potential Tenants:
Hold your last months rent unless you are confident the owner has your deposit. Hindsight…Be aware of potential issues and plan accordingly when giving notice and expecting your security deposit return.
Recommendation to landlord
Once a move-out date is set, honor that commitment. You expect timely rent. You should reciprocate that with timely return of rental deposits. Don’t go from harassment to move out earlier than agreed- to ghost when it’s time to return the deposit.
Terrible unprofessional business dealings!! No excuses for representing this type of illegal and unethical business.

Ponyboy C.

I used SCREM to rent out my property and I was very happy with there services. They always communicated with me and if I had a question they would get back to me quickly. They found me a great renter by a good screening system. I will always used them for my rental properties.

Amber T.

This is the most unprofessional company I have ever had the displeased of having to deal with on multiple occasions. Not only do they heavily discriminate against their clients they will choose to not respond to applications for over a month. It's unfortunate they're one of the main rental companies in the area. Especially with how poor their reviews are.
EDIT to response: the owner litterally lowered the rent in that time proving they were struggling to rent this property. It had been on the market months before we even applied. The excuses we get are just to cover their extreme lack of communication. I have tried renting with SCREM multiple times filling out multiple applications, even when actively trying to contact them to answer questions they originally asked me they chose not to respond. On top of this you could assume we were just poor matches but we are a family without kids who make OVER 10X the rental price. But not getting any property from them is not the problem here and it is the 100% lack of communication that they give. The proof is in the reviews who claim the same thing. I'm not angry I'm just trying to warn others because something in the way they run their business needs to change.

Michelle G.

After being a home owner for over 24 years divorce led me to renting, SCREM has been very diligent in their follow up to maintenance and overall communication.
Their communication has been spot on and the property manager ( Francis) has been professional in all aspects
Renting is hard , knowing things get handled lessons the stress load.

Michael M.

Horrible experience. After paying the $50 application fee ($250 for 5 people), we were strung along for nearly a month with little to no communication about the status of our applications. It took multiple email and phone call attempts on our end to finally get an answer. Afterward, the property manager, Donna, refused to give us refunds for the applications and told us to transfer our application fees for another SCREM property. At that point, we had 6 days out of the 30 day application transfer period to find a property and there were none that fit our needs or budget, so our money is gone. Total waste of time and money. DO NOT RECOMMEND.

Trish S.

First, I do want to clarify that this review is solely from the perspective of a prospective renter. I cannot comment on SCREM from a landlord perspective using SCREM as their Property manager.
My husband and I moved to Santa clarita a couple months ago from out of state. We had approximately 45 days to find a rental . We are both in our 50s, we have superior credit and own several properties ourselves.
First, SCREM will not allow you to apply to a prospective rental until you have toured the property. Since we are out of state we tried to request a virtual tour. We tried multiple times to call and speak to someone to explain our out of state situation . Rarely does anyone answer the phone or an email and if someone does it's the receptionist who will refer you to someone else who never returns your call. Since we got no response for our request we asked friends to tour on our behalf. We were then allowed to apply. Note also, you will pay an application fee for every adult applicant in the household. (This is all automated by the way. ) After applying you will hear absolutely nothing . The automated system will tell you to expect to hear in 10 days, but in the California real estate market you can't sit and wait 10 days . The biggest problem waiting the 10 days is that you also cannot apply to another property until you have been notified that the first property is no longer available . That is 10 days of completely wasted time that in the real estate market right now you do not have.
As qualified applicants we hoped to have SCREM help us find a home. This is clearly not part of their service. You apply, you pay and you wait. This whole process was incredibly stressful. We believe very strongly that SCREM very intentionally sits back and collects application fees knowing very well that the properties are no longer available. Thankfully we realized this quickly and found a rental listed privately and the process was seamless.
I would strongly recommend, especially if you are in any kind of time crunch to find a home that you steer very clear of SCREM.

Correna D.

Nothing but positive things to say about the SCREM team. Everything from reserving a time to see the rental house to dropping off my security deposit was made simple and around my schedule. The website was easy to navigate which made the experience a breeze. I work crazy hours, but Todd and his team worked with me to make sure I was taking care of and found the perfect place for my daughter and I. Their office staff was friendly and easy to work with. They make renting simple. Thank you Todd and Team!!