Cornerstone Properties

I was calling to inquire about one of there properties and when I talked to a guy named James, his attitude over the phone was rude and very unhelpful. I won’t waste my time with this company. Thanks James!

I lived at their apartment complex for 27 months. Outstanding service. You call if there is anything wrong and they send someone either the same day or next day depending on the severity. They stay out of your business, and they help you with everything. After 27 months my deposit of 1300 $ was reduced to 620 $ and not because of stupid charges, but legitimate reasons the we knew they would charge for (paint, screen door, wirings, etc). We expected no deposit back but we managed to get roughly half back which was awesome. I will always look for a cornerstone property in the future. Jaime and Dennis are awesome and very helpful. I highly recommend using cornerstone properties.
Oh yeah, they are open on Saturdays. Which is AWESOME

Dennis and his team are very good at managing both the property and the tenants. They will take care of any repairs as time goes on and can handle the cleaning and repairs needed in between tenant. They collect the rents, pay the utilities and handle any evictions that, unfortunately do happen from time to time. They handle screening and selecting, with my input all new tenants. I highly recommend Cornerstone Properties for any property management service you need.

I have had a pleasant experience with this company so far. They have been helpful with my request. I am not a demanding tenant by any means. They handle stuff how you handle stuff. They stay out of my hair and I stay out of theirs. Any request that I have asked they have helped.
I was asked to take pictures of the place before moving in, any issues that needed taken care of to submit them. Any issues that were there before moving in, note them to place in your file. So i did, I took pictures of the place how it was before, sent them in, and they put them in my file and we are both on our way.
It has not been an unpleasant experience at all. To keep this review honest, the only issue is that sometimes they can take a while to respond to emails, but not longer than any other company (usually respond within 48 business hours) that does property management. Overall decent company and Jayme has been a pleasure to talk to.

Worst apartment complex management company ever! I’ve never heard of a apartment complex that gives the tenant a check list of repairs to do before moving out. That is the apartments responsibility. These people are crooks. They returned $ 300 out of $ 1150 dollars security deposit. My dad left his place in better condition then when he moved in. There was mildew and there was chalky paint on the kitchen cabinets. Paint was peeling and the door wouldn’t even closed. I will be reporting to better business bureau. They charged $ 95 for a set of the smallest cheapest $ 15 blinds. These people have something else coming if they think they’re going to get away with this!

Pro:
Very responsive to requests for repairs. If something breaks they are by and large prompt in getting it fixed. In the years that we rented from them there were only a couple times we had to follow up. And this was mostly for smallish things like worn out fixtures. They even were able to get someone to come out an d fix our broken tub on a national holiday. Really great. On the way in we dealt mostly with Jayme, who was very down to earth and reasonable. The process of getting into the property was one of the easiest I encountered during my many years of being a renter and that had much to do with him.
Con:
Long-​term maintenance is not a priority. The house we rented was over 80 years old, with termites, cracks in the interior and exterior walls, dry rot and visible light in the attic. It is a nice house but is falling apart. from neglect. The deteriorating condition was the catalyst for moving. Prospective owners, take note.
With the exception of Jayme, the staff are indifferent at best. Remember tenants, you may write them a monthly check equal to half your income but you are not the customer, the owners who hire them to manage the property are. Don’t expect a warm reception when you call the office. You get a very strong impression that you are a nuisance. The lowest point of customer service (oops, remember tenants are not customers) came when I got locked out of my house and called for help. I was told «we don’t do lock out service.» I had to beg and plead to get someone to come. Their office in Pasadena was less than 3 miles away.
Keep thorough records of the condition of the place before you sign, On the way out we got dinged for things left behind by former tenants that we didn’t note during our initial walk-​through. Years later we can’t prove that it wasn’t us and this cost us money. And your deposit is not a security deposit it is a prepayment of the costs associated with getting the unit ready for rental again. For example, they will hire a cleaning service and take it out of your deposit, regardless of how clean the place was when you left. Don’t waste your money on a cleaning service like we did. We wound up getting charged for cleaning anyway.
Two stars seemed unreasonably low, but I disagree with Unilocal’s classification of three stars as «A-​ok.» Overall you can do a lot worse. Just keep good records, don’t expect too much and be persistent.

I agree with many of the previous reviews and I’m surprised there aren’t more, given Cornerstone’s considerable presence in Pasadena and South Pas. Cornerstone is a classic example of getting what you pay for. They do business in the low-​end rental market, and while their rates may seem attractive (they did to me), you’ll quickly realize that the properties leave a lot to be desired and the customer service is virtually non-​existent. The people at Cornerstone are not there to make sure you’re comfortable in your apartment; they’re there to collect your money. Interactions with them, while often civil, are rarely pleasant. I’m sorry for anyone who has to deal with Brad Tucker, the maintenance superintendent, as he is particularly nasty. I only lived in their property a little over a year and on two separate occasions all of the toilets in the building spontaneously overflowed and the tub filled up with sewage. Cornerstone’s reaction? Rather than fixing the root of the problem (very old plumbing) they blamed the tenants and threatened that if it happened again we would be billed for repairs/​damages. Incredible. Also, the stories about them nickel and diming you for your security deposit are true. Watch out for the «item removal» charge – we accidentally left an empty duffel bag in a closet – which amounted to $ 60 for the arduous task of transporting it ten yards to the dumpster. In summary, don’t give them your business. They don’t deserve it, and you will regret it.

I have stopped to see their listing several times. Unfortunately, what they manage are mostly ghetto type properties. Today, I stopped by and asked Roger for the rental listing. He looked at me with sour face and with significant attitude that I did not appreciate. After all, they are considered a service organization, I am sure they don’t know the meaning of it.
Roger underestimated me. I came back and showed him my Fico Score of 810 with a copy of my bank account so he could see. This man, Roger, is grossly unprofessional. Has no knowledge, no communication skills he was just standing there and looking at me. There was another man just like him walking with a camera in hand and trying to close the front office door!!! He came to help Roger by saying to me that I have repeated the same story and asked me to leave. DO NOT USE THIS OFFICE. They are rude, grossly unprofessional and just because they are not trustworthy themselves they think that all of us are just like them. Again, stay away from this office. Zero, Zero, and more Zeros!!! Nothing but a «JOKE.»

My family owns a property and cornerstone is so helpful with getting it rented and improving the physical condition. Rent has increased and tenants are actually happy. Thanks cornerstone! :)

Cornerstone Properties managed our townhouse building during the 10 years we lived there. We found the staff very caring (the receptionist, Dennis and Brad) and on top of building issues. They helped get multiple bids from reputable companies for various big jobs (re-​painting, re-​roofing, re-​plumbing) and supervised closely to make sure the job was done well and the right way. They attended all our HOA meetings and provided sound advice. Thank you, Cornerstone Properties, for helping us enjoy our unit and building!

I am a former tenant of one of Cornerstone’s properties in Riverside. Cornerstone took over the apartments I was living in about ²⁄₃ of the way into my lease. We received a letter from them introducing themselves and that was it. They tried charging double the late fee that was on my original lease.
They clearly have no idea or do not care about what goes on at their properties. My neighbor would be blasting music at all hours of the night. I would constantly hear banging on the walls and heard noises I would rather not hear. There were always bums walking in and out of the apartment complex. They advertise security cameras and controlled access entrances, but the camera’s don’t record and the gates were not kept locked.
We were returned $ 2 out of our $ 500 deposit. Only $ 60 were justifiable. $ 144 dollars of that were for a battery, some light bulbs, and removing cable. Really? $ 200 for painting & another $ 100 for cleaning. We left the apartment better than when we first moved in. Of course, I don’t have any proof so that is my fault. Lesson learned.

I always found Cornerstone Properties not only professional but also compassionate. As a former tenant, they were quick to respond to any repairs and addressed any concerns I had.

f**king terrible! DON’T give them your money!!!
It’s awful living in a place where you don’t feel safe.
these people dont care about the safety their tenants! we live below a CRAZY DANGEROUS woman who plays her music BEYOND loud, had HER CHILD TAKEN from her by the state of California, CUTS herself, has had emotional BREAKDOWNS whenever police show up (multiple occasions), smokes on her patio (when the building is a no smoking), and to top it off her name isn’t even on the lease!!!
We have called Jamie a number of times to complain about the women upstairs. We were asked to call the police so there would be a paper trail of her behavior — supposedly to remove the tenant. we called the police, given them video of her screaming horrid things to her children at 1 a.m. and of her being taken away by the paramedics for a ‘5150 (mental case)’. we even wrote a letter to the owner of the company, Denis. Denis call us and said he would «work on the situation». 5 months later she continues to cause a ruckus, and as a result doing what was asked of us by the property management group, we are on the women’s radar.
To show how little they know/​care of what is happening on their properties: we were called, by the owner Denis, to advise us that the women mentioned above had been asked to move out at the end of the month. A week went by and we got another call from Denis saying he got the women confused with someone else — a different tenant had given their 30 days so he (1) takes credit by claiming to have taken action when in fact they did nothing to remove/​warn the tenant (2) shows how little he knows of what is happening on his properties as he confused, in his words, a long-​time tenant vs a disruptive one !!!
We should have seen the warning signs from week one — after going through the mail we realized the previous tenant of our unit had lived there for a little less than a year. Looks like we’ll be doing the same.
Don’t rent from them!

Rent from Cornerstone at your own peril. If you don’t mind having a property manager that takes forever to respond to any problems or make competent repairs, Cornerstone is for you. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket and don’t mind handing over a good chunk of your security deposit at the end of your lease, Cornerstone is for you. If you don’t care that you are treated indifferently and unfairly, Cornerstone is for you.
Don’t bother asking Cornerstone to do anything it doesn’t have to by law or by contract because it will refuse. We were never late on our rent, never caused any problems and rarely asked Cornerstone to make repairs for the 20 months we lived at the house we rented. When we were in escrow on a property, I asked if it was possible to give less than 30 day’s notice. Nope. We had to give 30 days notice per our lease, no exceptions. Right after we vacated the house, I asked if we could do a walk through to make sure we cleaned the house to its standards for our deposit. Nope. By law, the walk through had to occur before we left.
Don’t bother killing yourself cleaning your place before you leave because Cornerstone will nickle and dime you to DEATH for every last piece of lint, dust, or dirt it purportedly finds after you vacate. It will charge you to paint the property, no matter what, if your tenancy is less than three years. We spent 2 days cleaning the house we rented but Cornerstone still managed to deduct over $ 500 from our deposit. It even charged us to clean «water stains on bathroom chrome.» After receiving our closing statement, I complained to the owner of the house, who I had a very good relationship with. She had walked through the house after we left and even she agreed that Cornerstone’s charges were excessive and complained to it, causing it to refund us an additional $ 100.
Cornerstone gets a «F» on the Better Business Bureau because it apparently has a practice of unfairly deducting from security deposits. Save yourself aggravation and money and stay FAR, FAR away from any property that Cornerstone manages. It will unapologetically rip you off and count on the fact that you don’t have the time or energy to sue in small claims court. If this cautionary tale does not deter you, PLEASE, protect yourself. Take ton of pictures, before you move in and before you move out, and document everything in writing. I doubt that even doing all of that will protect you from getting screwed in the end but at least that might give you a fighting chance.