Complaint Review: John Mandrano / Mandrano Properties

I am a tenant of John Mandrano.  I believe experience speaks.

John has been called a “neighborhood developer” by a mortgage lender.  He restores old homes in very bad shape to their original period beauty.  If you view his properties, you will know why they are rarely available.  I have a beautiful kitchen made from  a sleeping porch with 14 windows. The rest of the apartment has refinished original hardwoods, original molding, period door knobs, an old bathtub with claw feet and on and on.  I have up to date appliances, unique lights recently installed by John to go down my steps since I have MS, a brick patio made of old bricks that John made before I moved here, a freshly painted apartment and any problem corrected within a very short time period.

John has taken old accents out of buildings being torn down and incorporated them in his apartments. Each property is unique to its style, has different special features and is painted to have wonderful curb appeal.  Lots of homes on Chestnut St. have been redone by John.  My particular older home has a painted section on the upper outside that specifically matches the flowering plant below.  John took the plant to the paint store to match it perfectly.

John typically cleans his apartments after the departing renters have left.  When I was moving in, he spent 2 hours in my bathroom which I could not believe because he did not feel that it was up to par as left by the former tenants.  I have found John in another apartment scraping a stove that had burnt black “yuck” on it so that it would look perfect for the next tenant. He has shown me places that dirt can get that I never even knew existed. He cleans those places.

John is a very involved landlord.  He is a creator of special places and puts his heart into each restoration.  I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing his artwork when his properties open up.  He is selling one home that has the original brick chimney coming up through the kitchen.  This home also has the original ironing board that folds out from the wall.  His homes have the tall ceilings, huge windows, all refinished original floors, restored molding and special places created that one would not realize was not original but which adds storage space, etc. to older homes which did not have much.  

I respond to this original damning post because it is false.  If one understands restoration and the beauty of an older home, they will love John’s properties.  It is my understanding that the individual who wrote this letter has since regretted it but was unable to take it off this website.  

One can typically find John working on his properties from sunup to sundown and he rarely stops because he always wants them to look better.  He works along side his employees and they create together.  Beauty is one of his priorities.  I have never had anyone come to my apartment that didn’t just love it and wish they had something like it.

It is my hope that the original inaccurate letter that was written in anger will lead people to read the rebuttals and find out just how lovely these properties are. I intend to keep my apartment even though I am building outside the city. It is a fun, old, restored, unique and beautifully maintained space in the historic Aycock neighborhood. I highly recommend checking out these lovely places out...if they ever come available.

This website asks the writer to list their credentials and why they should be believed.  I am a PhD Clinical Psychologist who has been in practice for 30 years.

Emilie

Greensboro, NC

This web site claims to provide one's First Amendment rights of Freedom of Speech.  I see it as providing one the ability to slander...... I was never notified that this posting was out there so I could "rebuttal".  A similar posting was made on craigslist and I had Louis to remove it or be sued!

Louis Beratta posted here in April 2012 what a slumlord I am.  He and his girlfriend/office manager, Jenny Springs, moved into one of my historic rental duplexes in May 2011 with a one year lease.  They ran a painting and handy man home repair service name Premium Solutions and/or Premium Painters.  Over the course of the following months they were late on paying rent and then got behind.  Always "promising" they would get caught up.    

Now for the damages that their "slumlord" would not fix....  The broken window was original to the property and had the beautiful wavy glass, until their computer monitor was pushed through it!  I was standing in the yard next door when I heard the crash of the glass.  I removed the broken glass and secured the window with a board and began looking for another wavy glass to replace what was knocked out.  Their bathroom sink was working properly when they moved in until they knocked it loose from the wall which it was mounted on.  It was re-attached, then knocked loose again!  The entry door frame was broken after they moved in.  The tenant which lived on the other side of the duplex told me that he (Louis) would scream and yell at Jenny and one could hear things crashing and banging in the their unit.  Could be someone was locked out and attempted to "kick" their way in.  One month the water usage spiked and I found that Louis "rigged" the toilet flapper which continued to not seat properly instead of telling me.  For a handyman, he was not very handy.


After getting behind on rent by four months in less than a year and finding my property with metal shelving installed on every wall, in every room (LR, hall, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen) I finally started the eviction process in March 2012 for only the second time in my 31 years of renting property.   When the sheriff arrived to legally re-turn the property to my possession, Louis was no where to be seen nor were they packed up to move.  Jenny was "stunned" that she was being escorted out of the property because Louis told her that he and I had "worked things out".  Legally I could have removed their belongings and held them or later sell them for loss rent coverage, but I allowed them back in the property to pack up and take their things, including their computer and office equipment to run their "business".  Oh, use the Internet (because all you read on the Internet is True) and you will see that in 2012 Premium Solutions/Painters had four filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau in Greensboro, NC.....  or you can look up a law suit filed by an attorney Issacson for improper workmanship against Louis Beratta ie Premium Solutions.... or you can ask the store manager with Sherwin Williams on Summit Avenue about ceasing to extend credit to Louis and Premium Solutions for painting materials..... or you can find the eviction filing at the court house.  These are all outside verifications, not just my made up words.


The above indicates cash flow problems and many things can contribute to a shortage of funds particularly in a soft economy.   I commend them for being one of the best tenants with regard to recycling because their recycling can was always filled to the top with empty Vodka bottles.  They were doing their share of saving our earth's ecology!  It was surprising to find that they were apparently supplementing their painting and handy man repair business with making baking goods.  The painters I hired to repair the walls, casings and re-paint the unit after they were out ($2,500) found a glass plate in the upper far corner shelf in one of the closets covered with a "white powder" film.  Now, I am no chemist, but it looked like confected sugar powder to me.  But, why store your baking plate in such an inconspicuous place?

There is a cute TV commercial where a guy is being told by a girl that everything you read on the Internet is true while she is waiting for her date with a Frenchman model which she met on the Internet.  When the lumbering, super sized, greasy hair "French model" arrives, he greets them with "Bonjour" in his Southern accent.

You can believe everything Louis Beratta had to say about me, because you read it on the Internet.

Bonjour Ya'll,

John Mandrano - "Slumlord"
336 855-7855

I am writing a rebuttal to the attached report.  In 2006 we purchased a home in the 700 block of Chestnut St that we renovated and moved into.  
 
Prior to purchasing we checked out the neighborhood and talked to neighbors, many who rented from John Mandrano.  We asked about the neighborhood and more specifically about John since he owned about 10 houses on the block.   One neighbor said you can tell which houses are owned by John, they are the ones that are neatly kept, the lawns are trimmed and the houses are well cared for.  
 
After moving in and getting to know John it was apparent that he cared for the houses he owned and the tenants that rented from him.  John is a hands on landlord, who keeps up with the maintenance and works hard to keep his properties in good repair.
 
We made friends with a number of Johns tenants, and never heard negative comments about John or the maintenance of their units. 
 
If you are looking to rent a home in an historic neighborhood that is well maintained Mandrano Properties has much to offer.