Cornerstone Property Management

We had Cornerstone as our landlords for 5 months, and they’ve done everything to earn their 1 star rating. Here were my issues:
–We were told by the rental agent when we moved in that the property owner would plant grass in the dirt backyard. We kept asking about it, be told it wasn’t done yet all the way until 2 – 3 days before the move when we were told the property owner didn’t approve. Come to find out, he was never even contacted.
–When we got here, we were told by the super that the previous tenants had just moved hours earlier, and that the cleaners wouldn’t be here for several hours. We were here with movers. We were given credit for having to clean it ourselves. Cleaners finally showed up at 5 days later at 7pm.
–Took a day and a half to have electricity in our unit after a fuse burnt out. Why? Because they couldn’t get a hold of the one person who had a key to the padlock they put on the fuse box.
–We gave a list of problems to be repaired, from broken closet doors to ripped up window screens. We pushed, submitted forms, but nothing ever got done. Even when they sent a kid to come list all the things that needed fixing in November, we never got a single thing fixed. Not one.
I wish I could give them a zero star rating, because they have done NOTHING for us except lie and delay until the property manager FINALLY let them go last month. Since then, things are actually getting done, and it’s not the usual Cornerstone excuse of «Property manager won’t approve».
RENTER BEWARE!!!

Cornerstone Property Management IS A NIGHTMARE!!!
This company has been a total nightmare to me expecially a lady named Linda. My first experience I was meeting to see a rental in Covina. The receptionist calls me and tells me someone by the name of Linda will meet me there at 1pm and says «and don’t be late» which I felt was rude. So I get to the house and I walk in and this lady says to me «who are you» really? I said, I am Gloria and she says I am Linda, my husband is around here somewhere. So unprofessional. Her husband Tom comes in, nicest guy ever, I look around and let them know the house is very dirty and I am not interested and Linda seems insulted somehow. Tom very nicely says he understands and has something coming up that he thinks we will like in Glendora. He describes it to me and I tell yes sounds like what we are looking for. A few days later Linda calls me and says I can see the house and we make an appointment but of course in her rudeness says «you are interested right?» And I let her know yes I am. I go there and I love the area and the outside. Tom and Linda arrive and I say oh I love it so far and Linda says «well you have to qualify» and I say yes I understand. I see the inside and I love the place. I let Tom and Linda know that yes I want the place and again Linda in all her rudness says again «well you need to qualify» so now I’ve had just about enough and say well Linda I didn’t think I would get it on my looks. Well low and behold I never hear from Linda or Tom again. They now have someone else contacting me and of course I did not get the place in Glendora. Which now I know I dodged a bullet and am glad I did not lease from these people. I did leave two messages requesting a copy of both my husband and my credit report and of course no reply UNTIL I send an email giving them 24 hours before I contact the California Department of Realestate and low and behold I had my credit report in 20 minutes. Funny how that worked.
RENTERS BEWARE! ! !
Gloria R

I am an air-​conditioning and heating contractor and have been doing business with Cornerstone Property Management for the past eight-​plus years. I’ve been in business over 25 years in the San Gabriel Valley/​Inland Empire area and have worked with many property management companies during that time. Cornerstone takes pride in taking care of the needs of its property owners and their tenants by making sure any issues with the air-​conditioning and/​or heating systems are promptly and properly taken care of. I would highly recommend using their company for your property management needs. Tom and the employees of the company are professionals and work diligently to make sure the property owners and their tenants are happy with the service they provide. Their clients have often commented to us how pleased they are with Cornerstone’s responsiveness to their needs. I would highly recommend them as a property management company.

After my mother had a stroke she needed assisted living. I called Cornerstone and met with Tom at her home. He appraised the home and advertised the home for rent. The home was rented quickly. Tom took care of all maintenance, collecting rent, and any problems that occurred. The house needed to be sold after a year and a half. Again Tom took control of bringing in sub contractors to prepare the property for sale. He listed and sold the home in 35 days. If any person is looking for a great company and an outstanding person I would highly recommend Tom Johnson and Cornerstone Properties.

Like so many others, I have had nothing but problems with Cornerstone Property Management. Before you take possession of any property from them, inspect EVERYTHING. When we first moved into the place we leased with them, the property wasn’t even cleaned. There were loose tiles right at the staircase, which was a safety hazard. The washer hook up wasnt working and needed to be replaced. The oven was completely burned inside, which if the place was actually cleaned, then they would have known this, and should have been replaced before we moved in. We sent SEVERAL emails back and forth to get these things taken care of. It took 2 MONTHS for them to finally get the estimate over to the property owner, who during this whole time had no idea there were any issues. He was the only saving grace for their complete lack of competence. He called us himself and handled the oven replacement within a week. They did take care of the other issues (cleaning, loose tiles, washer hook up, etc), but the process left us knowing that they are incapable of handling such things in a timely manner. Any other issues we had, the property owner asked us to speak with him directly, as he was now aware of how Cornerstone works.
We stayed there for 5 years, and finally, the owner decided he was moving back at the end of our lease. He was nice enough to give us a minimum of 90 days if we needed. So we found a place and moved within 30 days (we didn’t want to wait, and thought it would be best for all to move asap). The same day we were moving, the owner started demo in the master bedroom and bathroom, so it was a little difficult to clean the place as we intended. We did clean the place, and left it in better condition than when we moved in (because it was actually clean, not like when we moved in, with dirty floors, windows, stove, and a completely disgusting unusable oven). Now, after 21 days of waiting for our security deposit back, of course comes the part where they want to charge us for cleaning, carpet cleaning, and repair to a wood cabinet drawer face that was damaged during the install of the oven (you know, the one that they were taking 2 months to even get an estimate, so the owner replaced it himself). I have sent them several emails regarding these erroneous charges, and so far they only have accepted the return of the charge for the cabinet drawer (only because I spoke to the owner and reminded him how it happened to begin with. Even though Cornerstone is trying to say they are giving the refund themselves). When pushed on how they came up with charging for cleaning and carpet cleaning (btw, over half of the carpet was replaced, by the owner, less than 1 year ago due to a flood), they tell me the invoice they charged me was based off a estimate. Carpets get dirty, that is normal wear and tear, since people normally have to walk on them. The only thing that wasn’t cleaned was a mirror on the closet in one of the bedrooms, that we simply forgot to wipe down. But they want to charge for that? After the place wasn’t even clean when we moved in? Yea, this is the kind of company you would be dealing with.
You might get lucky and get a property owner who values their tenants, and wants to make sure you are happy, like we did. Unfortunately, you would have to first deal with Cornerstone directly, and that is not worth the headache. Run as fast as you can, away from any property managed by this company. You have been warned.

Hello everyone, I wanted to place a fair review for this company. I have always thought people do a dis-​service to companies and potential customers when they review them based on feelings and not factual data.
We rented a property from this company in Duarte, CA. We were there from ⁰³⁄₂₀₁₃ to 03/​29/​2015, dropped of the keys on 03/​30/​2015.
the company People are easy and nice to talk to, when you can get a hold of them on the phone, honestly about 40% of my calls were answered by calling their company number, We got a better response via email. We got responses to about 99% of our emails. The only emails they did not respond to were when we requested to have a dog on the property, around ⁰⁴⁄₂₀₁₃ when we first moved in (still have the email) and when they claimed not to have received my return address, recently in ⁰³⁄₂₀₁₅ (again, still have the email). Again I want to give facts and not feelings.
The contractors they use for repairs are reliable and timely. We requested repairs many times and the contractors were always able to fix the problem.
The major problem came with the disposition of our deposit. We scheduled a final walkthrough with cornerstone on 03/​19/​2015. The two people that came out were very nice and stated to me that (please note that at this point we have moved out about ¾ of our personal items from the house and have already left 2 bedrooms and the kitchen completely empty) if I left the property in this condition, the condition that they had just witnessed, that I would receive my complete deposit of $ 1750. Today on 04÷20÷15, 21 days after we returned the keys, (California state law dictates that a management company must return a security deposit within 21 days of a tenant leaving a rental property) we received our deposit and it had a charge of $ 186.00 for «General Cleaning». A couple of days ago, the company accidently emailed me instead of emailing the owner and the email read:
«just following up on our preparation of the tenants security deposit disposition. we can only charge for items beyond «reasonable wear and tear». At this time our plan is to charge for general cleaning. We wondered if you noted any other item you feel we should charge them for. *note-​if we make a charge we are requeired to provide receipts for the work done. Thanks. «

At this time I decided to contact the company and ask them to elaborate on their reasoning for charging a «general cleaning fee», since the two gentleman that had come out for the final walkthrough had stated we would received our complete deposit if we left the property the way they had just witnessed it that very day. I also suggested that in the future that if they add the fact that they will charge you for a «general cleaning fee» on the original lease, people will expect the fee and not be surprised. They stated that they cannot place it on the lease since sometimes they don’t charge a cleaning fee, well now i was confused at this point. They stated in the final walkthrough that the property looked good and we would receive the entire refund, they stated they dont always charge a cleaning fee and in the end all of our tireless cleaning in an effort to avoid a fee, we still got charged. Personally I think even if I would have sent my own professional cleaning company the day after we left, we still would have got charged. (I know I said I would only state facts, sorry, but that is the only opinion I have.)
I would not recommend this company, solely on the fact that they feel they can just «plan to charge for general cleaning» an any given time, without even seeing the property after it had been vacated, the reason I know that they never visited the property after we left is that we asked our neighbor to watch for anyone entering the property after we left, note the neighbor is retired and never leaves their property. They stated noone have been there after we left expect for 2 ladies with cleaning supplies.
Other than that I think the company is average, Im sure they work very hard at what they do and have to deal with many problems, but what I am concerned with is a companys’ honesty, word, and integrity, also in the end, my money.
Any of this information is verifiable, please let me know if you need proof, just reply.
thank you.

After reading a few of the reviews on here, I had to put a positive review myself and possibly speak to a few items others are having.
Cornerstone manages a property for me, and I couldn’t be happier with them. They always take care of getting the unit rented, handling repairs and dealing with tenants in a professional way. I never have problems getting a hold of them, but I am realistic. I do not expect them to be able to return all calls or emails in 5 minutes, but it’s never more than a day. Tom has been in this business a long time, and usees his knowledge to always provide me with excellent guidance in the areas of maintenance and upkeep, marketing, successfully renting the property, as well as future plans of expansion. Their staff has always been nothing but prompt, courteous and professional. This is why it pains me to see their business have negative reviews.
Now, a few items to comment on from other reviewers:
— If each one of you is calling and emailing 5 times a day and leaving messages, and they manage many properties, imagine how much time it must take just to keep up with them all. Be patient and be realistic. I know you like the property, and you really want to rent it, but calling them 5 times a day is probably not the best policy. When multiple people from the same party wanting to rent a property does this, it only compounds the problem, as they do not know who to respond to, and can’t know that you are all in the same group.
— They have a locked front door and will not always meet face to face? They are in the business of renting and occasionally evicting tenants. You may be a good person, but when others are evicted for being poor tenants, them may wish to cause them harm. For this reason, they need to be cautious.
— As far as upkeep on the properties, this will vary by owner. CPM does not own the property, and cannot make decisions for the owner on some items. It is unfortunate that some owners are not willing to spend the money on their property to keep it comfortable and attractive, but again, this is not always the fault of the property manager.
Again, I have had nothing but great luck over the years with them renting my property, and I would not hesitate to urge others to give them a chance.

Recently, we’ve had some plumbing issues at our house managed by Cornerstone Properties. I found a leak under the sink one evening and submitted repair application online right away. The next morning (7:30 am), I got a call from a plumber to set up an appointment and to come and fix the leak. Really impressed at how prompt Cornerstone Prop was to respond to our service request.

I have always browsed Cornerstone PM when I was looking for places, because it seemed so organized, and the properties were in my area.
When I was recently looking for a place, I started looking in the beginning of January. (We were moving February 20). I figured that if I found something I liked, I could keep an eye on it.
I saw a property pop up in early January. On January 10, a Saturday, my boyfriend and I went to go look at it. We loved it from looking at the outside, through the windows, and into the backyard. We immediately called to set up an appointment to see the inside.
There was no answer, so my boyfriend left a message, leaving his information and asking for a call back.
The next day, (Sunday), I called again. There was no answer, so I left a voice mail, this time leaving my own information. We both also e-​mailed about the property, saying we were interested.
The next day, Monday, neither of us had heard anything. There are no hours listed anywhere, so I assumed that maybe they weren’t open on the weekends. I called Monday morning again, around 9AM, and got no answer. I called back around noon, and someone finally answered. I inquired about the property, saying I wanted to see the inside. The woman let me know that they had shown that property on Friday, and accepted applications already for it. She told me that if they were all denied, I would get a call back. She also said there was another property in that complex opening up, and to call back and check on that one in a few days.
Later that day, at 3:15 PM, I got an e-​mail from them saying «That property is still available. We ask that you please drive by the property first, then contact us again to set an appointment to view the interior.»
Imagine my frustration at being told to request an appointment to see the interview, when they were RESPONDING to a request for an appointment. Obviously, my e-​mail was not read, nor was my boyfriend’s — he received the same e-​mail an hour later.
Since I was confused about the availability, I called back. I was told that this e-​mail was a mistake, and no, the property was no available.
I called again on Wednesday. It took two tries, but I finally got someone, who told me she was not the agent for that property, and she would have that agent call me. I got no call, so I called again, later. I got the agent, who said they hadn’t decided yet.
I called on Friday, and was told ‘Sorry, we have accepted people for that property, and also the one we told you about.‘
I checked back on the website for a few weeks, hoping to see another property come up. I noticed that they didn’t update that those properties until the second week of February, when they finally said ‘Application Pending’. I can only imagine the amount of people who did what I did in those four weeks — drive to the property, get excited, and finally get into contact with these people to be told that it’s already taken.
So, yes — good properties on their website. BUT — VERY slow to respond, very hard to get ahold of, and apparently takes four weeks to update the website when things are no longer available.

Upon inquiring about a particular property, I received an email back giving a day and time for a viewing asking me to confirm. I immediately replied that we would be there for the scheduled viewing and made special arrangements to leave work early to make the viewing. Upon arriving at the time given, no one was present. After 5 – 10 minutes we attempted to call and received no answer. Since they say that email is the best way to reach them, we sent an email as well. We waited over 30 minutes with no one showing and again attempted to call and email a few times to see if something had happened with no response. After the weekend, I attempted to call again and got a voice mail leaving another message. We have still received no follow up or response regarding the no-​show viewing or our interest in the properties. All we are looking for is a follow up as to what happened and how we could schedule viewings. However, if this lack of responsiveness is an indication of their customer service, we are hesitant to lease one of their properties.

I am a resident of theirs and I have good and bad points so let me start with the good… They ALWAYS answer my emails in a timely manor and have things repaired quickly.
As far as calling, other reviews are correct, they do not answer phones so the best bet is to email.
The bad… My apartment, in the warmer months (that’s more than half the year in Cali) is in the 100’s, as far as temperature. I have complained about the air conditioner not being large enough for the apartment size but their response is/​was «air conditioning is an added bonus, not a necessity. *****WHAT???***** That’s just crazy talk!
I even emailed them with a photo of 105 degrees and they didn’t care one bit!!! I truly doubt they would personally live in such conditions. I feel that air conditioning is necessary in California and the unit should be replaced with a unit that effectively and efficiently cools the apartment to a livable temperature.
Please note, I am looking to move only because the apartment I live in is not very good and they will not force the owner to update the air. I’m assuming they have other rental that have better qualities.
2 stars = I dont love them but I dont hate them. I’ve had better and expect more.

I found a rental property on Zillow that I was extremely interested in. Perfect rent amount, perfect location, nice looking property on pictures. So I contacted the property management company to schedule an appointment to go view it. I received a response a day later from Cornerstone Property Management indicating that the property was still available and that they already had a group showing scheduled for the following Tuesday at 4pm. I immediately responded to their e-​mail and let them know that I wouldn’t be able to make it to the 4pm group showing because I get off of work at 4:30 and it would take me about 30 minutes to get to the property from work. I followed up by asking if I could schedule a separate appointment for a showing. I never received a response to that e-​mail. The weekend went by and since I didn’t get a response to that e-​mail I figured rather than ask to reschedule the appointment for another day maybe they could just stick around for an extra 30 minutes and show me the property at 5pm right after their group showing. I received a response from CPM that said the showing for Tuesday would only last 20 minutes and the person couldn’t wait till 5pm for me to arrive. At this point they didn’t offer an alternative date or any other solution for that matter. By this time I’m frustrated, I tried calling them several times to actually speak to someone… NO ANSWER! Left voicemails… NO ONE CALL BACK! I finally decided to send them another e-​mail asking them why they’re being so difficult? All I want is an appointment to view the property. At least offer an alternative! Their response was this:
«Right now the next appointment to show the property is scheduled for tomorrow at 4:00 pm. That appointment was set with people who inquired prior to you. They have the first opportunity. That is why we are not scheduling other appointments right now. If no applications come from that showing we will schedule another appointment»
So basically since these other prospective renters had already scheduled an appointment for Tuesday at 4pm they were not willing to give me a new appointment. Rather than do what a NORMAL property management company does… which is to show the property to several possible renters, take applications, run credit and determine who is the best fit, these people at CPM are turning away prospective renters because they have ONE applicant that may or may not work out. It makes absolutely no sense to me!
I really liked this property so I sent one last e-​mail asking them to just send me the application information and I’d apply for the property without even viewing it, I’d just go based on the online pictures. They NEVER responded to my e-​mail!!! That was the last straw… I finally threw in the towel and gave up. I guess it wouldn’t be such a big deal if I didn’t like the property so much, but it was literally exactly what I’ve been looking for. I have excellent credit, and its frustrating that I didn’t even get a chance to view, much less apply for this property. After reading all of the negative reviews about this property management company I guess it may be a blessing in disguise that they didn’t respond. If they’re this difficult to deal with when just inquiring about one of their rentals, I can’t imagine what they’re like when you’re actually one of their tenants.

We hired cornerstone to manage a rental property and the entire staff was very professional and diligent. They provided expert advice as well as many contacts for home repairs and made the process easy. A company that has been in business this long obviously knows the market and the key to success. I would highly recommend Cornerstone for any property management needs.

As potential landlords, my husband and I were concerned about finding someone experienced to handle our property. We called a few organizations, and Cornerstone was the only one that replied promptly and responded to our questions knowledgably. The others just seemed unprofessional and unconcerned with getting back to us when we had questions. Tom arrived on time for an appointment at the property armed with comps and other information. He also helped us find the resources we needed to prepare the property for rental at very reasonable prices. They found excellent tenants, so rent comes every month on exactly the same day. My emails and phone calls are always promptly returned — either the same day or early the following day. We are very pleased with the service that Cornerstone Property Management provides.

Not impressed. They appear to take several applicants $ 35, deny all the applications, for the same property. They post rental properties on the market for several months and never accept an applicant to rent the property. No one ever answers the phone, they do dot return ca

Cornerstone Property Management managed my property in Pomona, CA. The owner and his professional staff exceeded my expectations. I found the owner and his staff to be very professional, courteous and responsive. In addition, they have processes in place that ensure that problems are fixed in a timely manner. And you can count on them to always do what they say they will do with impeccable follow up.
I am a satisfied customer and I think very highly of Cornerstone Property Management.

Very grateful for Tom and his staff!
Found our way to Cornerstone, as we realized we were in way over our head. We inherited a condo with a tenant already in it. We soon realized that our tenant was a professional tenant, and we were too gullible, too nice, and too inexperienced.
We were stuck in a cycle where we were spending a lot of money trying to fix things that coincidentally begun messing up when rent was due. Not only were we spending lots of our money, but the rent was no longer being paid and we were accused of everything from health problems to retaliation.
We found Cornerstone Property Management and figured we’d see if they would take us as clients, we were highly doubtful they’d take a property that was turning into such a mess. To our surprise Tom was not only understanding, but even reassuring.
Tom helped us through the ridiculous mess we found ourselves in. He and his staff took over all communication with the tenant, all repairs, and eventually all eviction paper work. As our case became a court eviction battle, Tom was professional, prepared, and on top of things through each court appearance and appeals.
Cornerstone was professional, courteous, and helpful. They responded to emails in a timely manner and kept us updated on all happenings.
Cornerstone Property Management is very knowledgeable and great at what they do. As a property owner, I could not have asked for anything more and I easily would feel comfortable recommending them to anyone.

This management is anything but helpful.
They NEVER answer their phone, or return emails. I emailed several times, called 3 times a day, (Morning afternoon, and before 5pm) left several messages, and never got a returned call.
The one time someone did answer, she was very short and rude with me, and told me eveyone was at lunch, (at 2pm) and she would have to call me back to set up an appointment to see the house that was still available, (This was a Monday) I waited 3 days and finally called again, and a woman told me they already had another application turned in on Tuesday, and accepted it on Thursday. They have horrible customer service and phone etiquette.
I am VERY glad that we got to see the true side of this company before we were locked into a lease with them. I feel sorry for tenants, just trying to have a phone conversation was a nightmare.

DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE !!!
Renters beware… property owners beware…
As I read the other reviews on Unilocal and saw what people were saying about this company, I felt I needed to add my experience so that no one has to go through what we did.
We rented from this company for over 2 years and dealing with this company was a nightmare. They have absolutely no regard for the tenants in the property’s that they manage.
Trying to get them on the phone is impossible. Going to there office is a waste of time because the door is locked and they will not see you face to face.
The water heater in our unit went out. We sent several emails and called every hour with no answer. it took 3 days for them to get back to us and send a repairman. 3 DAYS with no hot water !!! That is unacceptable.
The thermocoupler on the water heater stopped working again a few months later. we made several attempts to contact cornerstone with no success. After warming water on the stove so we could take bird baths. I just ended up fixing it myself.
We paid our rent on time every month, we held up our end of the deal, this company failed to hold up their end. They have answered the phone 4 times in 2 years!!! and when they did they seemed uninterested in our problems.
To sum it up, the company does not do what they are paid to do, which is manage property and tenants. They just don’t care. If you own a property do not let these people handle it for you. All they do is create an angry, frustrated tenant living in YOUR property.
The problems with this company became so unbearable that we packed it in and moved to a new place, it’s been over 21 days and they still have not returned our deposit. The nightmare continues …

This is written from the perspective of a potential renter. The company is awful. How they continue to stay in business baffles me.
They don’t reply to emails, don’t answer the phone nor return calls.
I was trying to contact them regarding a property that wasn’t even ready to be shown. I had no rush and high interest. I figured I’d contact them and be first in line to see the property. WRONG. I never heard back from them. I sent them several e-​mails, called, left voice messages. I just checked their web site and the property is now pending application.
I’m just glad I was able to see this side of their business before getting locked into a contract with them. I feel sorry for those who are renting with them; getting a hold of them is not an easy task.