FirstKey Homes

All I can say is can't wait until our lease is up they couldn't pay me to rent from this company again 3 years of wasted money been a nightmare.

For two years now, my fiance and I have been renting through First Key Homes (FKH) and I can't express how pleased I am with their level of professionalism and the way they truly show us that we are not just another renter. Our maintenance requests get handled in a timely manner (we've only had a few in 2 years - nothing major) and the staff has been exceptional. We have been fortunate enough to have a fantastic property manager in Christine Mash. Chris has been wonderful to deal with; she is always available for us should we have any questions or need anything - even if it was early in the morning, late at night, on the weekends, or if it went beyond the scope of her position, she's always lending a helping hand. In my mind, Chris has been the perfect representative for FKH. During Covid-19, FKH has helped us tremendously in offering alternative payment agreements beyond the standard plans surrounding the moratorium and has allowed us to make partial or deferred payments due to us being laid off. I truly believe that if it wasn't for Chris and FKH, our rental experience wouldn't have been as pleasurable as it has been. While the need to rent a home is necessary, FKH has our business and we will always be advocates for Chris, the staff and FKH.

Just so everyone knows... during the Covid-19, Firstkey home decides to increase rent by almost 100$, then shaves 20$ off... after I pleaded that my hours were cut and couldnt afford to renew. This is a joke to me. I feel that every one should know how unsympathetic they truly are and to avoid renting with them. I'm not so sure I am renewing. This is just sad and inhumane. Firstkey... you're a piece of work and you disgust me.

Just so everyone knows... I have never been late or missed a payment with this place, but forget customer loyalty or any empathy.

days before move-in, November 7th, we found that the bathroom sinks did not drain wellWe were told, "I wouldn't worry about it, I know a guy" by a guy named ***Of all the issues with the house that we could overlook, this was not one of them In addition, the company really fumbled the ball with how they explained the cost for the rental agreement (First months rent, security deposit, the actual deposit and their "special" of a month free! [supposedly in December])After being explained it several times by the agent, we still had no idea so we asked the company by emailThey couldn't get it to us straight either but we needed a place so we took itBoy DID we take it The drainage issue was never repaired and, in actuality, was worse than we thoughtIt drained slowly and sometimes not at all We tried clearing the drain ourselves but it did not seem to affect the flow in the slightestWe contacted them several times over the course of two months before they finally had someone come out to fix itEach time they told us that someone would be in contact with us to setup a date and timeObviously, they either lost our appointment or did not care to do it Even further with the maintenance, there are issues we contacted them about the first week that, months later, still have not been looked at They are not minor in nature eitherWe have no problem doing any maintenance at our house because we can fix many things ourselvesYet, we won't risk it when we know BLT could charge us for damages or liability As far as the money situation went, we paid the security deposit and the rest of the deposit plus the pro rated amount for NovemberEverything seemed fine but close to December, we paid the rent and checked it onlineIt showed that we actually received the credit towards the first month, with the pro rated remaining amount as being used towards the second monthWe were told, to start with, the credit would work towards the December amountWhen we paid towards December and checked it out online, it looked like we were squared away until February 1st! That looked ridiculous so we attempted to contact them times over weeks before they gave us a call on the 3rd week [redacted] the finance guy said we were good until February and that we didn't have to worry, it came up on his sideWe were somewhat perturbed by this but saving money is never a bad thing so we just moved on January 4th comes along and BLT deducts the rent out of my account for billsWe were not expecting it so the account did not have anything close to the amount stored inThey did not try to contact us until a couple days after we noticed it ourselves, around the 9thMy roommate, a music teacher at a local school system, had to stop his class so that he could make an emergency payment (to avoid eviction)So we had to deal with overdraft charges and potential evictions, all because a guy named [redacted] told us "Not to worry" All in all, we've had a pretty rough experience hereI was cut off on the phone by people in the home office and the people at the local office are so incompetent that the home office took control of practically anything that did not NEED to BE local They may be rude but its only going to work against them

This is by far the worst company I have ever dealt with I cannot even find a place to begin telling my awful experienceThere is so much to tell it's sickeningFrom day one it has been miserableWorst part is the unprofessional and highly unethical Indianapolis area managerShe has no business managing anything with her infantile schemesI felt like I was dealing with a teenagerNot to mention the lack of understanding or compassionI cried to this woman begging for helpI was pregnant in July with no air conditioningThat is just one of the many issuesThe last year has been endless maintenance problems that have went unresolvedI have paid out my own pocket to fix things and it has literally been a year since I was promised several repairs to be doneNever happenedThe contractors that came to my house didn't have anything nice to say about this company eitherThe company won't answer or return my callsI just hope and pray that I can end my lease and never experience a company like this again

Let me just start out by saying, moving and finding a nice/friendly rental home in a different state is never easy, especially between work and the upcoming holidays. If you or anyone you know that is looking to rent for the next year or so, stay as far away as possible from FirstKey Homes!

Complaint description:
Unreasonable denial of application for rental less than 24 hrs after submitting and before requested documents could be provided.

On Monday, Nov 25, 2019, around 3 pm CST, my fiance and I submitted online a joint application for the rental home 7809 E. 49th Street in Kansas City, MO, after paying the $70 fee. Given that I work in the Airline Industry and my fiancé is an Attorney, we were willing to sign the 16 month lease agreement, as I might add that we have NEVER had any problems with a previous lease agreement in our life. At 4:05 pm my fiancé received an email from Marissa Heart-Harper in FirstKey's Georgia office requesting additional documentation from Bradley. My fiance and I were driving back to Western KY from Kansas City when he received that email and was going to upload the requested documentation the next morning, Tuesday, Nov 26. However, Tuesday morning, I logged into FirstKey's application portal only to discover we had already been denied, with no explanation given. Bradley called the leasing agent in MO (Chanel Cox) twice on Tuesday, Nov 26, and never received a call back. Chanel Cox is also the same person I spoke with prior to looking and applying to the rental home via phone. After we couldn’t reach Chanel yesterday, might I add, trying multiple times, Bradley called Marissa Heart-Harper in the GA office twice on Tuesday, Nov 26, and have yet to receive a call back as to the unreasonable denial of our application BEFORE we were given the opportunity to provide additional documents, including the documents specifically requested. At this point, we have no desire to do any business with FirstKey Homes and only want the $70 application fee refunded since we were NOT provided the opportunity to provide the REQUESTED information before being denied.

We will be contacting the RevDex.com's Online Complaint System, and once we do have a home in Kansas City, we will be informing everyone and making it certainly known to NOT waste their time doing any business with FirstKey Homes. It has wasted our time and I have never been so disappointed in my life.

Do NOT rent from this company! Horrible. Our rental house is a mess. Mold in basement, rodents living in the basement and water pouring in the sliding door. They could care less. You can call and call and call them and nothing gets done! Again, DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY or you will be sorry!

I am getting ready to start a class action lawsuit. This is the worst company ever. Allllll the workers are hateful and evil. I received a call from Darlene form South Florida Andrews office off Cypress Creek. She returned a call because I'd explained to her I would be late for rent because my employer retired amd I found anotjer job which paid way more less. When I started renting with First Key Homes 5/2018 I was making $19.00 an hour. Now my new job only pays me $15.95 which is a huge decrease. I reported this to first key homes in July of last year (2018) and nothing was done. Fast forward. I began being late for my rent because I had to always borrow money from people and they always charged me an extea $200 for late fees whenever I was late. I thought it was strange. So, I missed some days from work earlier this month because I was sick and couldn't go in and I have not accrued any paid time off as of yet because I am still new. I called them to see if they would take what I had which was $1600 and I would bring them back the other portion I. september 20th when I get paid. They said unfortunately they cant accept partial monies that it had to be all of it. Fine. So, I called First Key again to ask if I could have a one time courtesy of paying my rent on Today, September 20th 2019. They young lady Darlene (I pray this is her name) called me back last week and said yes why not we do it for some of our renters. She then asked me how much was I being charged for late fees and I told her $200. She said WOW! Are you serious. I said yes I am. She said well not anymore after today. She said your late fees will now be $75 like they should have been in the first place. I said your kidding me right. She said no. I'm serious. She said also, I am looking at your account and it seems as if they have been crediting your account back all the $200 I'd ever been charged. I said oh no they didnt because if that is the case then why am I still being charged over $2000 for my rent? She said she had to call me back. Low and behold, Esther send me an pre-eviction notice on the 13th. I thought nothing of it because I was told I could go ahead and pay on the 20th. I log into my account on cafe rent and it shows how they were crediting my account the $200. I screen shot all of it. So my question is who is stealing the money. I just find it so strange I get the eviction notice right after I am told about all of this. So, I wake up and go down to the office this morning at 9am. I had the full monies. I was told they could not accept the money because First Key has already been to court and filed for eviction on me. I had the money order with me and they turned it down. They say the only way I could pay is if I give them an extra $800 to stop the eviction plus turn right back around and pay my October 1st rent. That's a lot of money. I have no where to go so now I am just going to be homeless. They never fixed anything in my home since I lived here. My kitchen sink has been linking since May 2018 and all they do is come out, halfway fix it... It stays for a couple days and then floods all ovwr again. They ate the worst. Now only will they have my security and my last month which I paid last year to move in but they also will have this eviction on my credit so I'll never be able to find my kids and I another place to live.

If you're looking for a property to rent DO NOT rent from these people. This company took over my house 2 yrs ago and it's been the most terrible thing that I experienced. They are a big corporation and don't care about their customers. I called the maintenance a week ago for my washing machine that locked out on Sunday with all the wet clothes and my kids' uniforms. So when I called them to explained what happened they told me they would call me back to schedule an appointment. It is now Friday and I've yet to receive a call from them to fix this issue. However when the rent is due if you go over a single day they are quick to charge you a late fee, yet they do not keep the same work ethic when it comes to taking care of their customers. Frankly either rent from someone else and save yourself the hassle. FL resindent.

0 stars for this leasing company. They NEVER respond on time, if at all! I never met a single person from this company until the last day of my lease for move out inspection. They were very responsive during the application process, but after I signed that lease I was on my own.
The lock box was left on my front door for weeks and I removed the For Rent sign from the front lawn myself after a few days when I realized no one was ever coming. No move-in inspection or anything. Maintenance was an issue and wanted to charge me for plumbing issues that were finally resolved after the 3rd time the kitchen flooded. Told me it was the tenants fault because of hair and grease build-up in kitchen sink drain. I had only been in the home for a couple of weeks. Oh and I caught 2 mice within that time period. First rental EVER with mice! I'm currently trying to contact this company to find out what charges I am being charged for and subtracted from my security deposit. I've been transferred several times, hung up on, and no response via email. I'm sure they wish I would just give up already, but I would like to fight for my security deposit back.

Dont rent, they are expensive to rent from charge you for everything. They never asked me for my tenters insurance which I had charged me extra for 3 months when I proved I had it they never paid me back. they never fix anything and even make you fix things yourself or will charge you for it if they do it or you can do it yourself. stating thing like a broken toilet are general upkeep and ip to renter to fix. I have never had so much problems with a leasing agency, they are the worst company I have ever rented from. I cant wait until my lease is up so I can leave. They are horrible.

If I could give this a zero I would. FirstKey bought the rental property next door from my neighbors for cash. The property sat vacant for a significant time and the lawn was often allowed to grow tall.

The recent renters moved out and complained the entire time about the management company. I'd had no interaction with them at that point. A few days after they moved out my 7 yo son left his bike in the grassy area between our homes prior to going to camp. I saw where he placed it because I asked him to move it from the front lawn. We noted the next morning that it was gone. I saw the company had been there and posted a new sign and made the assumption they took it by accident.

I left 3 messages with the NC office with no return call. On the 4th day I spoke with Tracy who was extremely condescending. She asked how I knew their contractor had taken it. I explained someone had come to remove the left behind appliances which they'd offered to my neighbor along with my son's bike. So yes, I knew they'd taken it and I just wanted it returned. She states she would contact the manager.

I wait 2 more days with no return call. I call and speak with Tracy again. She states the contractor is out that week and they'd contact me when he returns. I waited 3 more days before calling again. She tells me they would not have removed the bike if it wasn't on their property. I explained I could see how he could be confused since it is a combined area.

Another neighbor spoke with the local contractor who stated he knew about the missing bike and would make it right if they had to get him a new one. Yet I have heard nothing back from him either.

At this point they are stating the sub-sub-contractor they hired was in the right and the bike wasn't where my son actually placed it while I watched him. They told me the bike had been disposed of and I could file a police report, which I've done. Needless to say, I'm extremely disappointed that after almost 3 weeks my son's bike is gone and they are refusing to take responsibility.

I will make sure that I share this message with as many reviewers as possible. As a company they didn't meet my neighbors needs and as a neighborhood company, I will make sure to let future possible tenants know what kind of company they are dealing with. I'm extremely disappointed.

No rating. This company is a rip off, first class. Just spent several irritating days supplying this company documentation they requested, in the way they wanted it, and was denied due to their associate company, which handles determining whether your fraudulent or not, asking a question which had two answers. The question was where we once lived. we lived in an unincorporated area of a county which went by one name and received our mail from another location in the same county. The answer would have been either. We paid taxes to the county but received mail from a post office located in a city, within that same county.
Due to it being an question which could be right or false, depending on the wind that day
we would have to start our application all over again, and repay the credit/background fees we just paid yesterday.
This is fraud, plain and simple.
I'm exploring my legal options, and placing this warning to others to not to go thru them, if your looking to rent.

They're only getting one star from me but only because giving 0 stars wasn't an option. I have to laugh because I was turned down by them for a house in a run down subdivision that has definitely seen better days (I'll refrain from naming it) for a house that was just about as run down, even after it was "made ready" for new tenants (trying to save money, lol), and 4 hours later was approved for a rental in Avery Park and a rental Parkside Village at $200 and $300 more a month than what their property was listed at. All they could tell me about why I was turned down was that my Core Logic score was not high enough. They couldn't even tell me how the score is configured. No one at First Key Homes even looks at the application nor do they have any idea what's on it, they simply go by the Core Logic score, period. They actually did me a favor. We'll be moving to Avery Park this weekend. Save yourself the hassle and go with a legit company that works and thinks for themselves.

I rented from this company and I give them 0 stars. The plumbing was messed up to the point that I had sewage constantly backing up in my basement, The smell was in my house and they never fixed it correctly. Lost a lot of items. Also there was bees getting in my house through the bathroom every summer!

NO STARS! I submitted an application on March 2, 2019. I turned in all of the necessary documents and was told that two applicants on the lease had to take a CoreLogic "quiz" which we were unable to get into the quiz for one applicant. The entire application process is horrific and needs to be simplified. I am still unable to complete one of the CoreLogic due to too many attempts. I made several attempts to call the leasing consultant. Finally, I contacted the leasing consultant and was told that the house I applied for had another applicant and that I needed additional info. It has been 3 days of me trying to contact the leasing consultant to no avail. Naomi Booth is the consultant. They need more customer service training!

I signed a lease in Jan, did my part deposit and prorated rent for January 2019. my move in day pushed back twice. I finally moved in. the house is very nice but the stove is very nasty and greasy in the bottom part. I have a feeling I will not like this place. Some of the most unprofessional people I have ever communicated with. so far I am giving a 3. I will be updating as the months come and go. I'll keep my head up ...I think most of the people that run this first key homes in Elmhurst, Il are African-American. WOW

We are counting the days until our lease is up!

(I would give zero stars if it were an option)

The first issue we had was was when we moved into the property in September and found that the refrigerator would not cool below 60 degrees, I placed a work order that Monday and received a visit from the maintenance person to analyze on that Wednesday. On Thursday I was informed that he would be getting a new refrigerator for the unit and it would be delivered on 10/3. On 10/3 we were then were told that the refrigerator was on back order and would not be available for several weeks. I was in contact with the maintenance tech who was then able to work with Home Depot and get a different model delivered on 10/5 which meant we were without any source of ability to keep perishable foods in the home for two weeks. However, the old refrigerator was not removed and sat in the dining room until the very end October.

The second issue was in November when the heater was not working properly and there was no heat on the second floor (there are 3 stories). I put in a request on 11/12 and it took nearly a week for any type of response and an appointment for the HVAC contractor was finally made to look come out and look into the issue. They determined that a part was needed and it fell on me (the resident) to reach out to them and follow up until the issue was finally resolved and fixed in mid to late December.

Again we have an issue with the heating and I put in an Urgent request last Friday as the heater is only blowing cool air and the temperature of the home was not going above 60 degrees. This morning since I had not heard anything nor been contacted by anyone regarding this issue, I called the maintenance phone number to see what the status was and was informed it had been referred to the HVAC contractor and that I (the resident) needed to follow up with them.

I signed a rental agreement with this company on what seemed like an ideal homeOn our move in day we came Into a dirty home with the following issues;
Broken AC u unit (major fire hazard in attic)
Debris everywhere from bugs to dirt to slim Jim wrappers
Overflowing gutters
Broken and leaking dishwasher
Broken window in kitchen (not even attached)
Missing transition strip on outside door
Outside light with no working on/off switch
Home was Advertised with a shed and it is not here
Home was advertised as a four bedroom and its only three bedrooms
Major pest control issues
It's now a month later and after suffering in this home and going in no productive circles with the management of this company, we still have no ACOur kitchen window is still sitting loosely in the frameWe still have no shedContractors are here a minimum of two days a week causing major inconveniences for us and they still cannot manage to fix all the issuesWe get a different answer from BLT homes the very few times they have actually called us backThe contractors are just as frustrated with them as we are but we still get no resultsNothing resolvedBLT homes actually suggest that we give our day notice and pay the $move out fee since we have had so many problemsHow is this legal?!

Rented a home from this company on 10/28/2017 with a 1 year term. Immediately after moving in I received a letter stating that I did not pay the first months rent and that they would move forward with an eviction. My question to them was how did I move in without paying the first month rent as well as the security deposit. After several phone calls, I was finally able to speak with someone to resolve this issue. It took several unreturned calls before I was able to speak with someone. I never had a late payment and would have preferred to renew my lease for another term until I was notified that upon renewal my rent would be increased by $130 per month. My vacate date was 10/28/2018. I notified the company that I would be moving out and vacating by that date. I made several phone calls with no response from the company. I began notifying them by phone and email starting July 2018 up until I vacated and never got a response. I was trying to schedule the move out inspection prior to moving. I notified the CSR whenever I was paying rent and each time I was told that the property manager would follow up. That never happened. I finally heard from First Key on 11/1/2018 and was told the inspector would call and set the final inspection date. The inspection date was scheduled for 11/5/2018. I met the inspector on this date and was informed that he was not the person to do the move out inspection but was there to inspect the property for the owner. He did take the keys and stated he would send a report to the company. The unit was totally clean and had no damage.
Several weeks later, I received a certified letter from First Key stating that they were going to forfeit my security deposit because I didn't vacate until 11/5/2018. They were also charging me $150 late fee and an additional fee bringing my total to over $1800. Again, I made numerous attempts to contact the property manager to resolve this issue. I finally spoke with Mrs. Mushatt on 11/30/2018 who looked at the file and agreed that there had been an error and that I was entitled to a full refund. She told me to expect payment in approx. 2 weeks. One month later and still waiting for a full refund. Spoke with the property manager on 12/26/2018 and was told that a check was sent out in the amount of $1292 (less than what is still owed). The check(registered/ return receipt) was supposedly sent out on 12/6/2018 but was not delivered to me. Nor did I receive any notices from the PO. Again I was told that I was being charged for 5 days in November which was actually the inspection date not the move out date. The property manager requested that I give her till 1/2/2019(due to holiday) to follow up with me and that she would personally call me. Today is 1/4/2019 and I have yet to receive a call or have my numerous calls returned. First Key seems to have a culture of charging unjust fees and never following up with customer concerns. I will pursue the return of my security deposit legally and request the court to financially penalize this company as Illinois law allows. I would not recommend this company to anyone that is looking to rent a home from them. Only gave 1 star because the website would not allow me to give them no stars.