Rentals To Avoid (Savannah, Mitchell: real estate, apartments, renters)

[Kingfysh]

Just a heads up to anybody considering moving here to Savannah, avoid Lewis Mitchell Real Estate managed properties. We have been renting a house managed by him for the past four months and every dealing we have had with him have been unpleasent and generally unproductive. He refuses to answer his phone, does not accept email or faxes, and requires that any work requests or other needs or questions be put in writing. He also requires that the rent be paid in certified checks or with a money order and refuses to give a receipt for them.

If I had to do this over again, I would prefer to live under a bridge than rent a home from this clown.

Aside from this guy Savannah is great though.

[Padgett2]

I hope that you didn't sign a long term lease. He sounds as if he has had such bad luck with renters that he doesn't trust anyone!! I agree, there must be better landlords around.

[bellhead]

Originally Posted by Kingfysh

Just a heads up to anybody considering moving here to Savannah, avoid Lewis Mitchell Real Estate managed properties. We have been renting a house managed by him for the past four months and every dealing we have had with him have been unpleasent and generally unproductive.


He refuses to answer his phone, does not accept email or faxes, and requires that any work requests or other needs or questions be put in writing.

Being a landlord myself I do not blame him, This is needed from a legal standpoint many management companies do this. All requests must be made in writing. No exceptions.

He also requires that the rent be paid in certified checks or with a money order and refuses to give a receipt for them.

A little odd, the receipt is something I would have no problem with. As for payment with a certified check or money order, is your credit score low. If I take a tenet on with a bad credit history usually below 550 or with a bankruptcy or a judgement against him/her then I will either require a credit card or money order/certified check for payment. Not giving them a chance to screw me on bank fees.

If I had to do this over again, I would prefer to live under a bridge than rent a home from this clown.

Well if you don't pay your rent you might be living under a bridge when the clown puts you out.

Aside from this guy Savannah is great though.[/quote]

[ellie]

It sounds a little strict for Savannah, though. I think the fact that this is a property management company rather than a single owner who is renting a home makes the rules much tighter.

It's a good thing to know.

[NCnomad]

Lewis Mitchell is THE most unpleasant, uncooperative property manager I have ever dealt with. As far as the m.o. or cert check thing, my credit score is 740 and I supplied numerous positive former landlord references. This clown makes you drive downtown to do ANYTHING! I've bought houses w/o face to face contact! Do whatever you can to avoid this outfit!

[finnfighter]

I just experienced dealing with this "gentleman" recently. I needed a rental until my family and I purchase a house in this area and this guy was not only rude, but as impossible to deal with as the above posts say. We were ready to rent a house, until we met him and he reviewed his rules. Glad, I saw this website and saw it was not an isolated incident.

[Just Plain Al]

"Aside from this guy Savannah is great though."

Amen! Brother
Just made another friend by accident.
He dialed a wrong number, and got me.
We talked, now we're "friends".
That's what I'm talking about in all of my previous posts.

[mickspace]

I rented from Lewis Mitchell
He is very detailed and straight forward, decent.
I understand his wanting everything in writing, as legal issue, he can then prove any claims in court, if there is ever a need to go to court. This protects both him and his client. If I owned rental property, I would want him to manage it.
The one time I had a problem, I wrote a letter, left it at the office, the next day it was taken care of.
He has been around Savannah for 30 years, I am sure he has figured out a way to not get screwed, no matter what you claim your credit rating is. He has been around that long for a reason.
If I should ever move back to Savannah, I will go to him again.

[emerald912]

There is a guy named Adam that lists downtown properties on Craigslist. The pictures look nice but the apartments are nasty and ghetto. Dont bother calling!

[mickspace]

Originally Posted by bellhead

Being a landlord myself I do not blame him, This is needed from a legal standpoint many management companies do this. All requests must be made in writing. No exceptions.

He also requires that the rent be paid in certified checks or with a money order and refuses to give a receipt for them.

A little odd, the receipt is something I would have no problem with. As for payment with a certified check or money order, is your credit score low. If I take a tenet on with a bad credit history usually below 550 or with a bankruptcy or a judgement against him/her then I will either require a credit card or money order/certified check for payment. Not giving them a chance to screw me on bank fees.

If I had to do this over again, I would prefer to live under a bridge than rent a home from this clown.

Well if you don't pay your rent you might be living under a bridge when the clown puts you out.

Aside from this guy Savannah is great though.

[/quote]
"He also requires that the rent be paid in certified checks or with a money order and refuses to give a receipt for them" He always gave me a reciept, and your money order should have a a reciept attached to it?