First Equity Property Management & Leasing

I worked with Vincent exactly one year ago. I was looking for an apartment and contacted an ad on a rental search site. Around here, it is so hard to get anyone to simply contact you back about apartments as they are rented out faster than they can be posted! Vincent contacted me promptly and within a day of contact, I had already gotten an appointment to check out the apartment and all of the forms needed if I wanted to move forward with renting it. He was flexible with his time from showing it to emailing me back at any time of day. Nice that I wasn’t hanging around for days wondering if I would need to keep up searching! He was up front and honest about the landlord, the rent and whether it would increase or decrease in a year, the neighborhood, the pet policy, my neighbors, etc. normally that would all have been a mystery. I just started my second year lease at the same apartment. I love it so much. So glad I found Vincent!

Vincent has managed my rental property for the past few years and I wouldn’t hesitate to continue using his services.

Vincent Laherrere is the property manager for our HOA in San Carlos complex. He is professional and very quick turn-​around time which I really enjoyed every time something coming up and need to talk to him.
I recommend Vince for his service!
Philip

I’ve been doing business with First Equity for at least 5 years. As a HOA Board Director, I’ve been relying on Vince and FE with all our administration needs, from collections, budgeting and reserve studies to general maintenance, hiring contractors and running monthly meetings. We have never been let down.
Since we hired First Equity, our Association have a much better control in our finances and with Vincent experience and proactive demeanor, we were able to get back on track with our Reserves and move forward with many projects that has been stuck for many years prior, including major construction projects requiring engineering reviews, reviewing CC&Rs and restoring our security camera systems.
In every project, Vince pulls at least two quotes to make sure the board makes the best decision based on cost-​benefit. And in many instances, Vince would proactively suggest replacing current contractors with others with better pricing and quality of work.
I believe that the bad reviews here are not representative to First Equity and Vince’s commitment for doing good work and improving communities. My impression is that the bad reviews here in Unilocal are mostly from those who are upset or unhappy with enforcement.
FE does a good job in helping our community staying in legal compliance, up-​to-​date with local codes and protected against potentially liable situations.
I also believe that FE services fee is very competitive in comparison to similar property management companies in the area. And we never experienced any types of hidden or over charges.
I would highly recommend First Equity for any of your property management needs.

I had written an erased a review for their awful service last year because I worried I was too harsh. I was wrong. I wasn’t. Last year, they claimed I hadn’t paid my HOA. Newly pregnant, in a state of panic (as I don’t pay bills late), I wrote a check for double the HOA to cover two months. Long story short, my husband finds that we hadn’t missed a payment, calls to follow up, and is working with someone at their site. last he hears is that she will confirm with him that the issue is settled. Never hear from her. I follow up a week later and her first words are, «it’s too hard to deal with two of you.» It went downhill from there, I spoke to her manager who assured me they would not deposit both checks… and then they did. Whatever, I washed my hands of it and considered it one bad experience.
Now I’ve put in two requests via their website for help with getting rid of the woodpecker pecking at the side of my home daily. I put in one request in December and another in late January. Their website claims that you will hear back in 24 hours and I have heard… nothing. Two requests over two months and they haven’t acknowledged them at all. They just started managing my privately owned town homes last year, I think I will start attending HOA meetings to advocate searching for a new management company. Just horrible.

My experience with First Equity was similar to many of the poor work quality, lack of scheduling, and excessive delay complaints cited in the negative reviews. I’m the owner of property adjacent to property managed by First Equity. The representatives of First Equity dug a 20 foot trench across my front yard without my permission, drilled holes in perfectly good drain conveyance piping, and left their stockpiled soil uncovered for the rain to erode. I repeatedly emailed First Equity to promptly replace the damaged pipe, backfill the excavation, and replace the landscaping, but they took no action. After 3 weeks of their inaction, I completed most of the repairs and will bill them for my time and materials, with legal action to follow if the bill is not paid. You’d think a business who digs up someone’s property without permission and damages the property during the course of the work would promptly restore the site. Not First Equity.
Property owners — if you’re looking for a property management firm to increase your potential legal exposure, then First Equity may be your firm.

This company manages the individually owned condo complex I live in. They do a terrible job. They do not fix serious issues, they hire flakey contractors because they are cheap, do not apologize when they screw up, do not give notice for inspections and the list goes on. Avoid if possible. Prepare to be disappointed if you have to live in one of their properties. I certainly will not use them when I need a realtor or similar.

I leased out my condo through First Equity. Vince was my agent and I am very happy. They got me much more than I expected to be honest and the tenants are really great people. I totally recommend them for leasing. I’ve been with other property management companies and ya, they are the best I have found so far.

Update: Cleaning out my emailbox I found a month’s old email from this company. So, sorry for the delay in updating!
Anyway, email said «added the hours of operation to our home page.» While this is admirable, the other issues were not addressed. But updating to two stars just because they took the time to respond.

First equity helped me rent out my condo. They gave me a great tenant and fast. I’m a busy dentist and had no time to do it myself. I recommend them. Ask for Vince, he will go out of his way to help you, even if its after normal hours.

UPDATE:
So the owner wants to leave a comment saying that he messaged me and tried to resolve the situation, true. Did I send him back «nasty remarks»? Untrue. More than likely it was not the response he was looking for.
Here are the unaltered messages in their entirety: (without Vincent’s address, at his request)
Hello Christina,
My name is Vincent and I am the Vice President of First Equity. My father started this business in 1980 and over the last 5 years I have slowly been changing the way our company operates by modernizing our overall approach and doing everything I can to help the business grow and earn the best reputation possible. I read you review and I want to apologize for what happened. Our Agent Larry Fisher has been with the company for over 20 years and honestly it may be time for him to take a walk. I have reprimanded Mr. Fisher based on not only your review but others specifically naming him. I want to let you know that we are all individually licensed and do indeed do a good job for those who employ us… The owners. I asked larry about this dog situation and he said that the owner originally ok’d the dog but changed their mind. This is not abnormal and anyone can change their mind BEFORE a contract is signed. I am aware of how hard it is to find the right place to rent and I know how tedious the application process can be. I am sorry you feel Larry was rude or «Shady». I want to assure you that Larry would gain nothing from hiding anything. You see Larry is 100% Commission and does not get paid unless he rents the place. That being said… Most likely Larry did everything he could to get you approved. Why not right? He made nothing on the deal. All the correspondence, all the paperwork, and the communication with you and the owner. That was all done on his time and unpaid.
I feel that Larry could have been clearer with you and perhaps not gotten your hopes up. That is the part that makes me upset with him. When talking to new tenants or applicants I always tell them first off… Pets most likely will not be accepted.
I want to offer you my services. If you have not found a place yet, let me help you. If you need a place in the future please call my office or my cell () and allow me to make this up to you.
Please consider removing your harsh Unilocal review and understand how much I want this company to succeed. I am going to be the owner soon and I do excellent business. It is only fair that you allow me to correct this. What do you think?
Also keep in mind that we only actually get paid by owners. Most of our bad Unilocal are by people who were not approved for a place, evicted, or charged a late fee. But all of those things are actually signs that we are doing what we are paid to. Filter applicants, evict non-​paying tenants, etc…
Please work with me. Call me for anything. You now have an excellent agent on your side.
Vincent Laherrere
V.P. First Equity
My response:
Hello Vincent, While I am happy to hear that you take pride in your business and want First Equity to succeed, I believe that a negative experience is a negative experience. To say that you do a great job for those that pay you (the owners) as if to imply that applicants or potential applicants experiences aren’t nearly as important is shortsighted. People deserve to be treated with respect and professionalism, regardless if they are the ones who «employ you». If you truly want to build and grow your business then make sure everyone has a positive experience when interacting with your company and encourage them to share their experiences.
Best of luck.
Original:
Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.
I saw a listing on Craigslist for a place I was interested in so I called First Equity to ask about it and set up a time to see it. At first, Larry was very helpful, accommodating (set up last minute showing, for which I was grateful) and seemed to be a knowledgeable guy.
During the showing we (my boyfriend and I) tell him we have a dog and asked if this would be a problem, he said no way. Just write a letter/​bio about our dog and sell him as part of our family. Great! So we did.
We loved the place, so we applied for the property a couple days later, and Larry said he would get right on it. He did, 1 day later he emailed me saying sorry the owner said no to the dog and was «steadfast in his decision.» I was a bit surprised because Larry made it seem like a sure thing. Larry even offered to give our paper work back, so my boyfriend went in to get it.
While my boyfriend was at First Equity (before talking to Larry) he overheard Larry on the phone talking to someone inquiring about the same property, they must have told him they have a 5lb puppy. He tells them «5 lb. puppy? Shouldn’t be a problem». Are you kidding me??? According to you, the owner said no to dogs (that very morning) but now you’re telling someone else «no problem». Shady.

I would give them negative stars if I could. I honestly agree with every negative review below. They definitely lack professionalism, and I believe not sure how they even manage to stay in business. Half the time they either don’t respond to emails or this Ray guy is never around to answer any calls. I had a leak in my unit since Feb of this year and to this day (8+months), they have honestly done nothing but maybe claimed to have sent a guy to inspect the issue. First of all, the guy never stepped foot in my condo, so I really do not know what type of inspecting he was able to do. Secondly, his report was a written email and majority of the «inspection» was complete speculation and I think any joe shmoe could write this «report» as seen here: Upon inspecting #112 I saw a fair amount of water staining on ceiling, wall and floor. The ceiling damage appears to have occured for a while, the sheet rock has started to swell and break down… This happens when it gets very wet to saturation and then dries. I could find no cause for this any where around the out side of #112…
Upon entering #212 I saw little to no signs of water entering the unit. Inspecting the outside area {balconey} I could find no area suspect of causing a leak. How ever the way the sliding glass door was flashed to keep water from getting in, if it was not properly sealed at the bottom water could get underneath.
This is not likely the cause of the leak to #112 because water does not have a clear path to get into the wall…
Upon entering #312 I saw no signs of water entering the unit. Inspecting the outside I found no areas suspect for causing a leak. Previously reported cabnit not on deck. I climbed out on the balconey to get a picture of whats going on, I noticed sections of gutters and down spouts that return into the building. The gutters all seemed to have end caps, but that does not mean they are sealed. And kept free of obstruction… If they leak or over flow where they return to building, this could flow enough water to the inside of the wall and cause the amount of damage seen in #112
— — — –
The reason why he sees no signs of water entering in is b/​c
A. he never did a water test and
B. by the time he came it was already June 24^th, which by then of course everything was dried up since it’s been 4 months since I reported my issue. I just have to say that if these people manage your property you should seriously find someone else.
To top it off after sending them an email to let them know that after doing mold remediation, we found one source of the leak and we found more mold beyond my condo area, this is what they wrote in return: Please stop representing that we have done NOTHING about this problem. We are not at odds with you but you ARE at odds with us. And it frankly gets tiring.
The insurance company DOES NOT carry mold insurance. They no longer offer this type of insurance so let’s stop asking the insurance company to handle the mold. They will not.
… If the source cannot be located we cannot fix it.
——
Is that considered professional at all? How am I suppose to know the insurance company doesn’t handle mold for a condo building?
It’s obvious that they have done NOTHING since they’ve told me they cant fix the problem nor locate the source. How do you locate a source if you don’t even attempt to go to the condo unit of where the leak is happening to?!?
This company should not even exist! I don’t know how they sleep at night knowing that they treat their customers like this.

So after reading all the reviews from First Equity Property Management, I felt like I needed to speak up for them. I started working with employee Vince Laherrere about a year ago when my parents and I hired him to manage our property. We had been renting it ourselves for a few years, and it was such a hassle and stressful! When the old tenants left we decided to meet with Vince and see if he could help us. Vince was very polite and easy to speak with. He answered every question we had, and when I would say, «I have a stupid question,» he reminded me that there is no such thing as a stupid question. He quickly got our property advertised and then quickly got it rented. He handles anything that comes up with the property. My parents and I no long have to worry about what is going on with our house. I no longer get phones calls saying the pool man hasn’t been here, or the gardener did this, or the garage door isn’t working. Which brings down my stress level because I know that the company will handle everything for me. Our property is now rented stress free. Vince has worked very hard to keep not only us but our tenants happy as well. I would recommend First Equity Property Management, When you call ask for Vince and let him know you saw my review on Unilocal,he will take good care of you!

It was my first time renting from First Equity, and only later did I realize how oblivious and unskilled the workers are there. Whenever I have a question or concern about the apartment, Larry, the property manager, always seems to be «out of town,» «not working,» or simply just too unwilling to do his job. Property maintenance is basically none of First Equity’s concern, and I would not recommend to rent from this agency if you enjoy the proper accommodations any home should have. I agree with all of the other negative reviews, which there seems to be a lot of for obvious reasons.

After not receiving any response to an email I sent, I called this company 3 times over the course of 5 days, trying to look at a property. Every time I am told that ‘Larry’ is busy and he will get back to me. He never does. I have yet to see the property and Im probably going to move on. Not very good customer service.

First Equity manages the property we own, and they have been the cause of so much frustration over the past few years. They never ever return calls or emails, they have thrice lost invoices that I submitted and not informed me till several months later after much badgering. They are unprofessional and rude on the phone and all round incompetent. Please stay away

I was curious to see if anyone else feels the same way about this company as I do and not surprisingly, I’m not the only one and I agree with the others who gave this company a poor rating. I’ve had to deal with them for 6 years and they are rude, they don’t respond to letters or phone calls. The only time they respond to me is when I tell them there is a potential health or injury hazard with the property. Otherwise I am completely ignored. This has happened to me too many times unfortunately.

Worst Customer Service, takes them forever to respond to mails or phone calls if they decide to answer. There are better Companies out there, don’t waste your time with this …