jag Mortgage and Realty/Property Managementis undeniably the WORST company I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. If you look up “crook” or “thief” in the dictionary, you should be able to find these people. I rented a (then only 5- years old) house from them for almost 3 years, and can honestly say that that decision was one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made. To start, the (essentially new) house was in deplorable condition when we moved in July 2010 (huge black marks all over the walls, scuffed stairs, a birds nest in the light fixture out front, no garage door opener, filthy drip pans, broken electrical outlets, disgusting air filters with 4-inch long dust bunnies hanging down, grass out back over 4.5 feet tall, brown stains and hair from the previous tenant in the clogged bathroom tubs, toilets with fecal matter in the bowl…I’m talking the whole gamut of disgusting…and I have pictures of almost all of these as proof), but the move out experience with them was, without question, the most frustrating thing we have ever been through.
Not only did they relinquish a significant portion of our security deposit, but they added $165 of “cleaning and landscaping” charges to our monthly rent. We had to break our lease early due to a job transfer, so paid a $695 early termination fee (I was okay with that), plus had to continue paying rent throughout the term. Despite the law mandating that they must try and mitigate damages, they were not remotely aggressive in advertising our property to prospective tenants and used old, dark, cluttered pictures of the house taken before we moved in, making it look like horrible; so I found myself spending hours upon hours weekly advertising and marketing the house, along with my own presentable pictures, FOR them. They have also clearly never heard of the 24-hour notice-before-entering law, because we received numerous unprofessional text messages informing us of their impending arrival only hours before they’d show up.
Since when is a text message the way in which a professional company conducts business? Despite picking up their slack in marketing the property, moving out while continuing to pay them over $4000 in rent, plus paying the mystery cleaning and landscaping charges (only so as to not get dinged on our credit), they did not return our security deposit for over 45 days (and even then only returned a unjustified portion of it) and then took over 90 days, countless emails and phone calls, and even 3 in-person visits to supply us with a list of incurred charges deducted from the deposit. (FYI, SC Landlord and Tenant law mandates that security deposits along with an itemized list of deductions be returned within 30 days of termination of the lease!) When we got that list, we noticed that a number of the charges were present (and accounted for via the move-in checklist and pictures) upon move in.
After another month of fighting with them for a mere copy of the move-in checklist, we sent them a side-by-side photograph of the two checklists; showing that some of the exact same things charged/deducted from the deposit were present upon move in, but it gets even better than that- their list of deductions didn’t even add up to the amount we paid! They threw in arbitrary amounts on top of the faulty deductions, obviously thinking we wouldn’t notice. After bringing notice of the (for lack of a better term, complete BS) charges to them yet again, they had the audacity to try and defend them, saying we had damaged everything we had been charged for.
After 4 months of fighting with this horrendous company, threatening them with lawsuits, and personally copying d**k Hubbard and Robert Bowers on the last few emails I sent, this issue was finally resolved, but I still could not be angrier about a company that shamelessly takes advantage of all their tenants. This company is a sham and, unfortunately for them, I absolutely refused to be taken advantage of, regardless of the nominal amount outstanding. I would only recommend a diagnosed sociopath doing business with them- only someone equally unethical and mentally unstable would be able to put up with their appalling business practices.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Luis
Alabama,New Homeowner 2014 - The Truth
#4Consumer Comment
Mon, February 23, 2015
My name is Luis and I am a current client of Jo Guthrie. I would like to start off by stating that this rip-off report about JAG mortgage is completely FALSE. The ridiculous claims made in the report could not be further from the truth.
In early 2014, I met Jo Guthrie who is one of the nicest, most sincere persons I have ever met in my life. Being a first time homebuyer, I was very skeptical with every mortgage company and real estate agent that I encountered. Jo Guthrie completely destroyed my skepticism with her continuous hard work, professionalism, and HONESTY.
I am so thankful to have had the great opportunity to work with Jo as she always had and still continues to have my best interest at heart. Not only have we developed a great business relationship, we have become like family. I purchased my first home in 2014 and couldn't be happier with the exceptional service I recieved throughout the loan and homebuying process.
I have highly recommended Jo Guthrie countless times to my family and friends as I have 100% trust that she will do right by them. If I am blessed enough to have children, I will not allow them to go through the loan process with anyone but Jo. She is absolutely without a doubt in my mind the BEST in the business!
Melissa
Artesia,California,
Very Honest
#4General Comment
Wed, April 30, 2014
Hello-
I am extremely surprised and shocked!! How could anyone really say anything bad about Jo Guthrie??? My goodness, our family has been extremely blessed with the JAG company services...3 times in the past 14 years...WHAT!!! Yes, we have! We first purchased our home in the year 2000. Our first experience with JAG Realty and Jo Guthrie. It was such a blessing to have crossed paths with Jo.
Our 2nd time with this company was in 2007 (refi)..NO problems again...nothing but wonderful, honest hard work. Now, we just closed last week with Jo Guthrie again...we will always come back to Jo for our lending/mortgage needs. I have had faith in Jo since 2000, not really caring what this report says...I have the experience and pleasure of sleeping well at night..knowing Jo will work and work...to get the job done..Thanks Jo Guthrie...you are an Angel!!
Jocelyn
Orange,California,
This is a FRAUDULENT REPORT!
#4REBUTTAL Owner of company
Fri, February 07, 2014
In over 20 years of doing business as a mortgage and real state professional, I have always had a stellar reputation. Neither my Company nor myself have ever owned or participated in the business of Property Management. Further more we have never owned any properties that were used for rentals.