Wilbur Properties

Never responded to my inquiries. I saw they were trying to lease property in Palo Alto. So sent email requesting contact and giving particulars. Looking elsewhere now

I have been working with Wilbur Properties for the last several years and have had a great experience. They are patient, thoughtful, and always put my need as a tenant first.

Anne Wilbur was my agent when I bought a commercial property. She was efficient, courteous, and willing to go the extra mile to make my offer attractive to the sellers. In fact, if I hadn’t had Anne representing me, the sellers told me they would have sold to someone else because they really liked and respected Anne. She was able to make excellent recommendations as to the best financing and was able to patiently explain all the details on how commercial property sales is different from residential sales (with which I had much more experience). I also got help from some other Wilbur staff and they were great, too.

Don’t count on a verbal agreement from them and keep looking for other properties! I would give them zero stars if I could! I was told over the phone that we passed the credit check and were being offered the lease, he just needed to write it up. He was taking his time and while he was obviously in no rush, received another offer, slightly higher and took it. I didn’t know this and didn’t look at another property since I thought I had the lease. I emailed about the lease and was told they regret that they can’t offer it to me anymore since they got another offer. When I spoke to them in person, I was told nothing is final until signed, well I wasn’t given anything to sign. I also lost out on another property. Not good business in my book.

The fact that the owner of Wilber Properties took 4 ½ years to respond to my Unilocal review from Nov 2011 should give you a glimpse of how I felt when she did not respond to me when I was going through my nightmare of dealing with Wilber Properties.

We have been renting our duplex in Palo Alto through Wilbur properties for the past year and a half, and have been very happy with them. Our property manager is Scott Spaulding. He has been providing such excellent support for us. Anytime we have any issue, small or big, all we have to do is send him an email or call him. He responds immediately and makes sure it is taken care of right away. He is also very kind and easy to interact with. So, once we have raised an issue with him, we simply rest easy because we know he will take care of it. We also really like our handyman John, who fixed various things in and around the house when we first moved in.
Besides this, they do regular pest control checks; the gardener comes regularly, uses a blower, cleans the yard and collects foliage, etc. Overall, we are very happy with the services, and feel that we are well taken care of by Wilbur properties.

I rented a property from Wilbur this past year in Menlo Park. Although there were a number of things that ended up needing to be fixed, I still wanted to give 5 STARS because Scott Spaulding, the apartment manager, was always quick to respond and have things taken care of right away. He is a super nice guy and easy to interact with. I really enjoyed living at this location and would definitely rent from Wilbur again :)

As a resident, I’ve been extraordinarily impressed by the professionalism with which Wilbur handles maintenance. For anything from a squeaky door to a cantankerous garage door, we could email Scott and within a day one of Wilbur’s super-​knowledgeable handymen would be on the job. This level of service far surpasses anything I’ve ever experienced from a property management company, and makes Wilbur a definite 5 stars in my book.

I have been a tenant under Wilbur Properties for over 3 years now, and I have nothing but good things to say about our property manager, Scott. He is prompt to respond to any concerns/​issues, and is always genuinely friendly when doing so. Thanks, Scott!

I’ve been a tenant of Wilbur Properties for 1.5 years, renting a SHF in Palo Alto. I’ve had a good experience with them. Our POC at the company (Scott) has always been very professional and quick to respond to issues. They’ve been a good go-​between for working out lease extensions, etc.
I have one suggestion for Wilbur Properties: it would be nice to be able to set up an auto-​draft or have a way to pay the rent online. Paying the monthly rent is one of the only things I use physical checks for anymore. But other than that small issue, no complaints.

This review is for Scott Spaulding. He worked with my roommate and me for 2 years and he was great! He warned us about work being done on the property at least a couple days in advance, responded to our texts within 24 hours, and overall is very easy to work with. Would definitely recommend Scott if you’re looking for an apartment to rent in Palo Alto!

Estrella at Wilbur properties was amazing I had a few questions on properties for rent she was so helpful to my family and myself. She helped translate in Spanish to my family so they can understand. I appreciate her and the company 100%.

Scott Spaulding is A+. He is a knowledgeable, trustworthy, patient, hard-​working and also, a great person.
Every time I text him, he promptly responds. He always takes time to explain me every step of every process.
Scott is highly organized and takes care of every single detail. He always gives me heads up about every single maintenance that will be done in the house. I never have to worry or plan anything. He is really great!

Scott Spaulding is awesome! Literally can text him at any hour of the day, 7 days a week, and get a polite, prompt response. Definitely what I would consider going above and beyond. Easy to work with and accommodating; always sends me a text before window cleaning or maintenance.
He made my move and living situation in Palo Alto stress and hassle-​free. Give him a raise because he is a clear asset to the Wilbur Properties team.

After renting for the last 15 years, Wilbur is by far the worst landlord I have ever encountered. They are slimy, unresponsive, and irresponsible. If you are an owner looking for a property manager — they will let your investment wither from neglect. If you are a renter, you will be swindled whenever it suits them financially.
Wilbur Properties acted egregiously during our tenure as tenants at University Terrace in Palo Alto. During that time there were a huge number of issues and repairs that were needed and ignored at the apartment — despite reporting them promptly. There were moisture issues in both of the bathrooms which lacked fans. We opened windows and purchased activated charcoal to keep in the bathrooms to try to absorb moisture but it continued to cause mold and peeling paint. When we reported mold we were told to wash the walls and ceilings with bleach (which we did, and were already doing) but the moisture problems continued to cause the paint to peel and the mold to reappear time and time again. We even noticed that previous mold and peeling paint were simply painted over. Our garbage disposal worked for two months of the nearly three years we rented here. The shared washer/​dryer were frequently out of order, and when they were not we were limited to one assigned day and one free-​for-​all day. Other tenants ignored these guidelines and consistently used the facilities on our day making onsite laundry nearly impossible to use. Even if we had not reported the many issues, the Wilbur team did a yearly inspection on the unit, each time noting the issues we mention here and promising repairs which never came to fruition.
They are also currently in the process of kicking out existing tenants in order to do remodels (clearly needed) but this means there are construction crews doing work regularly causing noise, dust and debris, not to mention construction trucks blocking parking or using the four open parking spots. They will finally finish one unit and within a week or two start the next, so it never ends.
Most egregiously, upon being notified of the plan to ask us to leave in order to renovate the apartment, my husband and I decided it was time to buy a home and worked with the landlord to end our lease early. We agreed verbally, and concerned that would bite us in the end, we followed up with an email clearly spelling out the agreement. We would provide 30 days notice anytime after March 30^th and would be allowed to exit the lease early. This would provide Wilbur Properties the chance to begin the much needed renovations early, and us the flexibility to buy a home. When the time came, we provided thirty days written notice and referenced the earlier agreement. Unfortunately in the interim the previous resident manager quit or was let go and Wilbur flatly refused to honor the agreement. The legal defensibility of this position remains to be seen, but the moral defensibility is nil. This refusal cost my husband and I thousands of dollars and two months of our time. After our initial move, Wilbur began accessing our unit against our explicit wishes while we were still paying rent and had a significant amount of property on site. A month after our move out they sent us a threatening email about paying rent through the end of the lease despite the fact that we had provided rent nearly a week prior.
When they finally hired a new resident manager, she did try to improve things and suggested we end the lease 2 weeks early after all. It turns out some renovations on one of the other units were done and they could start our unit early after all. So when it suited Wilbur they were willing to be flexible, but not when we had an agreement.
The new manager asked to access our unit to take measurements for the renovation, rightfully explaining that she could not do so without our permission. We said we’d prefer to have Wilbur do this after we moved out since we did offer them the alternative to begin work early by allowing us to terminate the lease. Knowing we wouldn’t be on site, someone posted a notice on the door, entered the unit without our knowledge, and took it down before we returned. When we confronted the new manager about the large work-​boot prints suddenly littered throughout the freshly vacuumed apartment, she said they were legally allowed to enter the unit and that it was someone else from Wilbur. The civil code allows a landlord to enter a unit in one of 3 instances: inspection, repair, or to show the unit when it’s being vacated none of which really apply here. Further, how can someone defend the obvious deception of letting us believe no one would enter the apartment and hiding the fact a notice was provided? We had several exchanges providing multiple methods to reach us should they need to enter the unit, and explicitly explained we would not be able to see notices on the door.
Palo Alto real estate is crazy, so it might look like a good deal, but it will cost you in the end.

Wilbur Properties managed the home I rented for one year located in Professorville in Palo Alto. They were always timely with any requests we had and receptive of any complaints or concerns we had about the property. Anne Wilbur and all of her employees that I dealt with were always courteous and respectful to me as well as all of my housemates. Working with Wilbur Properties was almost a breath of fresh air compared to previous property management companies I have worked with for rentals! I would highly recommend Wilbur Properties!

The Group did an excellent job of securing an office rental for my company in Palo Alto. Fast, efficient, and found an office that met our location, size and communication/​technical needs.

We have been residents of University Terrace in Palo Alto, managed by Wilbur Properties, for many years. The location is terrific, it is quiet and the neighbors are respectful and, well, neighborly. We have been especially impressed over the years by the responsiveness of management to maintenance issues, and we love the contractor who does work for Wilbur, Kevin Carney.

I had a very frustrated experience dealing with this broker, Ann Wilbur, when trying to purchase the property on Waverley St last week.
She totally neglected our intention of offer and unresponsive after we made an offer. Very unprofessional!
Isn’t that sincerity and punctuality the basic quality of a broker?

I engaged Lily Pizano at Wilbur Properties to help me rent an office that my family owns in Palo Alto. She found a tenant in ONE day.
Beyond that, she was extremely thorough in vetting the tenant, making sure that everyone was well-​informed, and ensuring that the transaction went smoothly. Her communication was always clear and timely. She gave me advice above and beyond what was required which I found useful and thoughtful. She has my highest recommendation!