Gay Harris at BSR Realty, Inc.

I rarely (I mean, rarely) write negative reviews on Unilocal,lest not two for the same company, but this is an imperative exception. I cannot emphasize enough how inefficient BSR Realty is, to the point where I think their operations are meant to be seen as a joke on people.

I am not one to vent online about a poor customer experience, but BSR Management has been exceptionally poor in the way it conducted itself when we tried to rent a duplex from them in Hayward in Summer 2014. I hope this review will help others understand before possibly renting or assigning BSR to mange their home. I will try to be as specific as I remember. Our family friends have happily rented with BSR for more than a decade. They told us about their neighbor vacating soon. Our landlord had decided to sell his condo and we were looking for a new place. My wife and I visited BSR’s office and were met with warm smiles. Rosanna directed us to a home in San Lorenzo since the duplex next to our family friends still had its tenants. We visited the other home with Rosanna and we liked it. On July 31, we put in our application for that property and also the still-​occupied unit in Hayward. I n less than a week, BSR informed us were approved and we could come in and put in our deposit. However, we were not considered for the San Lorenzo home — Rosanna did not communicate that with a gentleman named Daniel Beck who made the final decision. We put our deposit for the still-​occupied other duplex with Nicole Correa on Aug. 12. She wrote our move-​in date *at the latest* Sept. 15 since the other tenants were to move out Sept. 1. We put our stuff in a friend’s garage and moved in with my mother-​in-​law for the three week gap — a tenuous but necessary arrangement. Sept. 15 came and went. I left several messages with Nicole and Rosanna. Finally, by Sept. 15, Daniel Beck informed us that the owner was overseas and they could not reach them. This interesting little tidbit was never mentioned to me. He promised she would return the following Monday or Tuesday and he would get an okay on the repairs our new home needed and quickly get it to us. Another week of promises to get the owner’s approval past. On Sept. 22, another gentlemen at BSR named Dwight Roberts informed us that the owner is selling the building and will use our empty duplex as a «model unit» once repairs are made although it was possible we could get the unit if we wait longer. To his credit, Dwight promptly returned our deposit and tried to look for another BSR property for us given our dire need to move at that point. BSR had lost credibility at that point and I looked up the owner’s phone number on Hayward’s GIS Mapping system. She was a lady named Elaine Farge who was initially dumbfounded by the way were treating. Like Dwight, Elaine was contrite but ultimately self-​serving. This whole incident was extremely stressful. Communication between staff is the biggest issue — perhaps BSR has a Mad Men-​type workplace where staff lower on the pecking order in the office are unable or unwilling to communicate with «superiors.» At this point, I leave karmic balance to levy justice to BSR Property Management and the duplex’s owner for their treatment of us. I honestly believe that the sound from God’s stick is without noise; I am certain each will receive their comeuppance. The issue is that renters are left to suffer. According to Nicole, BSR Realty Inc. is one of the biggest property management firms in the East Bay. From what I saw, they have great homes for rent and frequently have new properties coming up. The unfortunate reality is however that there is a management and communication problem that masks the initial cordialness you are met with — and that is a shame for renters for the East Bay. I hope they get their act together.

I was looking for an investment property in the East Bay a year ago, and came across BSR. The staff was very helpful, showing me a ton of different properties in my price range. They were very patient, and knowledgable. I was able to close a great deal with thier help.
I will be referring them to all my friends and family up in the Bay Area!