Davis-Paul Management Group

Being a low-​maintenance tenant I seldom have to deal with my prop mgmt company. However, on Sat evening 8÷1÷15 a pipe underneath my sink burst spewing water into my apt for about an hour. I was on the phone with Michelle Davis, one of the principals, throughout the night who gave me guidance and support. We got the water turned off in about an hour and we are now in the process of putting in new hardwood floors, which had extensive water damage.
What was an emotionally traumatic situation was mitigated by a caring, courteous, professional employee. Based on my interactions with Michelle Davis, my experience with Davis-​Paul Mgmt is five stars.

This review is directed at the management office, itself, not necessarily the owners or landlords, themselves.
I love where I live. I love my building. It’s home, and I’m grateful for my own little sliver of San Francisco to retire to after a long day. I appreciate most of my neighbors and the general ambiance. I like the views I can see from my bedroom window and the quaint vintage-​ness of living in a building from 1906. I like that the cable car is right outside. I find the visitors to this fare city rather charming stumbling around with an oversized map asking me how to get somewhere. I thank Davis-​Paul Management for making this available to me, and not with the exorbitant price tags one may find throughout the city. I also am very glad DPM went on with painting our building and gave her a good cleaning and wash up after a century of city life. She’s a strong building, no doubt.
Now, on to why DPM is receiving a three star rating in this review…
Something is certainly amiss at their main office on Sutter Street. E-​mails and telephone calls go unanswered. Important notes are ignored. The worst of all: the misplacement of rent checks. I pay in cashier’s checks and always hand-​deliver directly to the office to avoid any postal trouble or delay, as it is a large sum of money, after all. As most know, a cashier’s check is as good as cash, and once lost, is the equivalent of being handed over cash and then losing it. It’s not the same as a personal check in which you can pay a fee and stop payment or mark void and re-​write another.
The most recent trouble arose when we were told that we didn’t pay March 2014 rent that we absolutely did pay. We wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if we knew we didn’t pay rent. So, they sent us to find the cashier’s check number and details, which we did. We fulfilled our end of the bargain. In turn, we call, leave a message with a person at the office (someone finally answered!) with all the necessary/​requested details, and also wrote e-​mail, when no one called back. No reply. We think perhaps they’ve recovered the discrepancy on their end. Then out of nowhere an eviction notice on our door for not paying June rent! Which included a rent fee higher than what we pay. Of course, we paid June rent! Two months of missing rent! No knock at the door, no phone call, no e-​mail, no response to all the research we had to do to find all the cashier’s check data from back in March of this year. And there ensues a wild-​goose chase, and cutting out of work and other obligations in order to catch the bank on time and get in to the management office to figure out what’s gone wrong. It took us a total of one telephone call and three visits to the bank, two visits in person to Davis-​Paul Management, plus two telephone calls and two e-​mails to get anyones attention. We are still waiting to figure out if Davis-​Paul Management actually found the check. Oh, and June 2014 rent? The bank said that cashier’s check cleared and was cashed on June 9, 2014.
Upon our final in-​person visit, we learn that when we hand-​deliver our rent, the woman, at the bulletproof glass/​reception desk that is Davis-​Paul Management, is not actually keeping track of/​typing into the computer that the rent has been delivered. All that computer typing she was doing while speaking with us and taking the cashier’s check? She says it’s «unrelated.» Social media page updating, perhaps? When she takes in the check, she simply puts it in a drawer and passes it on to Accounts Payable. I’m not sure what went awry, exactly, because no one at the office could articulate it, either. Michelle Davis does not work at the actual office, itself, as she does her work remotely, we were told.
This cavalier nonchalance and then sudden eviction notice is really unprofessional. I’m not sure what types of people are being hired to manage the office in the absence of the owners but it makes me lose faith in the office and no longer feel comfortable handing the rent over to anyone but Michelle Davis, the owner, herself. In addition, when you turn in the rent, no one provides a receipt. This is unacceptable. And will be addressed with the owner, as well. This all strikes me as too sloppy and bound to cause difficulty, for tenants, and the owners.
A tried and true office manager (s) with loads of experience and a good accountant is an *immediate necessity* at Davis-​Paul Management. Plus, a receipt book, a trusty pen and a PAID stamp, and other utensils for an organized, efficient and professional office setting.
True story.
UPDATE: March 2014 rent check lost; services like eviction notices are done by an automated outside service, no one spoke to each other regarding this mess until now; on another wild goose chase to get cashier’s check cancelled and re-​issued at a small credit union with it’s HQ in Redwood City. Wish me luck and good fortune!
UPDATE, parte deux: Charged $ 600 in late fees for the cashier’s check they lost.

AVOID.
if i can sum it all up, it would be that one word. My roommate and I moved into this place in San Rafael in May. We love how close it is to our college. But the ceiling collapsed in front of my roommate Wednesday night. She literally could have died if she was under it. We called the emergency number numerous times. It’s Wednesday now. Its been FIVE DAYS. A man called her saying they will be out here by 5 pm. Its 7 pm. We called the emergency number AGAIN and the woman had the audacity to say «oh yeah, you’re that number that keeps calling» and laughed. wow. I seriously wonder what that phone number even does if they aren’t even doing their jobs. We called that number probably over 10 times and it is all on record. And worst part is when we said «how many calls does it take for you guys to fix this? I’m sure its all on record.» She told us all the times we called and hung up. EXTREMELY RUDE.
This is a safety hazard not only to us but to our whole building and everyone that lives here. The hole is where everyone comes up to go into their apartment. I doubt they’ll ever come to fix it until someone moves out to get someone else into the apartment. Because right now, I’d be anywhere but here. No one would want to live where the first thing you are greeted with is a huge hole in the ceiling.
Whats worse is some Mexican came here on Saturday to clean all the debris up. When I asked if someone would come to fix the ceiling, he said «no English.» I don’t know who this man was at all. But this management group has the worst customer service in the world. We wouldn’t call the emergency number so much if it wasn’t urgent. People who work on the emergency number just needs to get fired because they obviously aren’t doing their job whatsoever.
Funny someone said they changed management to get better people. Nope. Still EXTREMELY horrible.

Right now Im giving them 5 stars because Zach is awesome! He was wonderful to work with, when he told me he was leaving for a while I was sad.
I hope when I leave the place they give me my deposit back and don’t do any ridiculous things.
I will update this once I move out… Zach you are what made this 5 star happen

If I could give no Stars, I would. I have rented wiht Davis Paul for almost 4 years. Not only are they completely unprofessional, they are seriously SLUMS LORDS!
When a busniess offers a product or service you hope that they stand by whatever it is that they are offering, however with Davis Paul, they straight DO NOT care about their properties or renters. After severaly request for a leaking roof repair, 2 years later we still have problems, so bad that the building inspector has issued them severally citations. They have a «fix it all «type of repair man, that is GREAT at bandaiding the problem. Now that we have taken them too court they have sold the building. So not only did the repairs that they never finshed and have turned into MOLD it has continued to get worse, ie my wall in the front room warped, the smell of mold, the stains and cracked lead paint.
MICHELLE DAVIS IS A PARTNER OR OWNER OF DAVIS P AUL AND NOT ONLY DID THIS WOMEN TOTALLY CON ME, SHE CAME TO MY HOME AND HARRASHED ME! SHE IS COMPLETELY UNPROFESSIONAL AND THE SLEEZEST PERSON ON EARTH! DO YOURSELF AND RUN IF YOU COME ACROSS DAVIS PAUL MANAGEMENT GROUP!

I moved-​in to a new apartment managed by Davis Paul about a month ago. I have to say that I’ve been very impressed with the service I’ve received, older buildings can be a little tricky but they got all the kinks worked out. My Property Manager, Afton is great…

I moved into a place in nob hill managed by these guys about a month ago. Zach was my contact throughout the process and I’m not going to lie, what a classy and professional dude. He has called a couple times to check in with me and make sure everything is in working order and to my liking, asking if anything needs repair, etc, and overall made my move in experience a joy. He even helped move me in! I’m stoked to have such a great landlord, and I hope the rest of the stay at their place is as good as the first month.

If you live in a building managed by these crooks, be very careful. Keep copies of your contract, security deposit, rent, and all receipts. Take pictures., Document. Document. That may not even be enough. Get witnesses and a lawyer.
We had a meticulous record with them. The property manager stated that she had never seen an apt left in such good condition. They even sent us a copy of the ledger showing we paid in full on time every month for years, and we had copies of the cashed security deposits, but they kept coming up with excuses why they couldn’t return our deposit. Luckily, the second we got a lawyer, they FedEx’ed our money overnight!!!

I lived in a building for several years managed by Davis-​Paul, and they were awful. Or incompetent. Or both. I will say that I moved out of said building three years ago, so if they truly have gotten better, then I think that’s great. Honestly.
However, when I lived in one of their properties, it was awful. Another management company was in charge when I moved in, but then the building was sold and Davis-​Paul took over. After that, rent checks would go uncashed for weeks. I always paid my rent on time. I always have and always will. So when I would call to inquire two weeks after mailing my rent, I would be told that they had just received my check a day or so before I called. I’m sorry, but the US mail does not take two weeks to deliver an envelope from one San Francisco address to another month after month. They even tried to hit me with a late fee once, but when I called Davis-Paul’s owner to inform her that I had mailed my check in plenty of time for them to have received it by the first of the month, she said, «Well, you have such a good rental payment history, we’ll let it go this time.» I never had to deal with a late fee again, but my rent checks still were not cashed in a timely fashion.
Phone calls were rarely returned. I understand that the company probably manages a lot of buildings, but then they should hire enough staff to deal with the tenants. There was a leak from the apartment above mine into my bathroom that was affecting the bathroom light fixture (water and electricity: that’s safe), and it took months for them to repair it. Months. I was on the verge of contacting the rent board on that one. The water heater in the building kept breaking, but instead of replacing it, as the plumber advised, they would just «fix» it short term over and over. And heaven forbid you had a problem at night or on the weekend, because the answering service they used was instructed only to contact them after business hours for a couple of specific reasons. The lack of hot water from a broken water heater, for example, wasn’t one of them. I spent more than one weekend having to shower at the gym.
When I moved out, I didn’t receive my deposit return check for several weeks, and when I called, they claimed it must have gotten lost in the mail. I had the property manager who was responsible for it read me the address I had given her, and the address was correct. So they issued a new check, which I picked up in person, only to discover my new address had been printed incorrectly. The elements were right, but it was written so strangely that it didn’t even look like an American address. No wonder the first check had been «lost» in the mail.
The building was mostly one-​bedroom apartments with a couple of studios, and at least two of the one-​bedroom apartments had three to five people living in them. The lease I signed specifically stated that no more than two people could live in any apartment and that both tenants had to be on the lease, but then, Davis-​Paul didn’t write my lease.
Again, I hope they really have improved, but if I move again, I’ll be avoiding Davis-​Paul.

They are a nightmare of a group to work with… the most impersonal and slimey broker group I’ve ever encountered. I tried to get out of a lease less than 30 minutes after I signed it (which is my legal right, in California there is a 24 grace period) and they did not return my calls for a few days and when they finally did they said it was too late. They went on to find a different renter before the start date, but still charged me 800 bucks for their commission.
Do not work with them. They are heartless.

I’ve lived at a Davis Paul apartment complex for the past 4 years. I’ve spoken directly with Keith Robling on several occasions. He’s always come across as level headed and fair. I’ve also visited the office on Sutter and spoken to other DP staff. They all seem very nice and have helped me over the years to make sure any apartment problems or rent delays were taken care of. There have been minimal increases in my rent since I moved in 4 years ago (maybe $ 40) and I’ve always received clear instructions on all maintenance that has been done to both my apartment and other parts of the complex.
In my time spent at this apartment, I’ve also seen 4 managers that live/​lived in the building. They’ve all been very helpful and in some cases quite kind. In particular, the current managing couple are excellent. They have a child but still manage to do necessary cleaning, maintenance and all other tasks that come with managing this building.

I moved in to my place in March 2008 and love it and feel that the management company is responsive to my needs and communicates effectively. What the heck else is needed?
I have needed help with my stove, bath tub and a few doors (our building is old) and they have always sent someone the next day and coordinated a convenient time with me. There were a few problems in our building with the alarm and the timer on the lights, but otherwise, the building is maintained well and this season, there was no lag in the adjustment of the light timer.
It helps that some of my neighbors have lived in the building for like 100 years and really enjoy growing things in our shared garden, but the management team takes good care of us. Reading these nasty reviews about them make me scratch my head because I have not experienced any of these type of issues, but I also note that the reviews are pretty old.
Oh! As a matter of fact, I am «that neighbor» because when I moved in, my dog (who was not used to being alone) would howl. Oh my god! I felt so sorry for him and my neighbors and the management company communicated as nicely as they could — they had to take care of the neighbors’ needs and try not to kick me out. We found a solution. Another time, I was away on business and had a dog sitter who went out for dinner and came home after midnight. My dog was going nuts and the owner of the management company called me on my cell (it was 3 in the norning my time) and she was concerned and was going to come get my dog until I got home. She was really nice and … again … I felt horrible. My dog sitter arrived home shortly after this.
I am grateful that the company has been responsive to our needs, is pleasant to us and worked with me and my situations. Hmmm … I wonder how my neighbors feel. Maybe they have written a Unilocal about me. Ugh! I hope not.

Please note: all the bad reviews for Davis-​Paul date 2 years back and the owners have apparently made changes to how they conduct managing their properties. Because I haven’t experienced any troubles with them so far, coming up on the first year in our apartment under their management.
Keith has always been extremely helpful whenever I need data from him and we have had a maintenance request. Keith showed us the property (we were the crazy types to arrive 45 minutes early to the showing) and called us within 24 hours to tell us the unit was ours. Moving in was not much of hassle, of course it’s logical that you’d have to drive and pick up the keys from the office. We were able to get them a few days early and pay our first month’s rent in person while there.
The only issue we had was that the landlord had asked Davis-​Paul to receive any first rent checks (not deposits) from tenants in the form of the cashier’s check. And it seems it was a recent stipulation to the management/​landlord relationship — Keith wasn’t aware of it 2 mos. prior when we’d first signed the least and was on vacation (which he had explained to us when we’d signed the lease that’d he’d be gone when we were moving in). Slight miscommunication, but nothing major as our banks were close by and the receptionist agreed to stay open past 5:30pm if we ran late (we didn’t).
Unit wasn’t immaculate, but I have NEVER moved into a unit where it’s been fully clean. Ever. The floor was covered in foot prints and there was dust behind the fridge, other than some small flaws, was totally fine. The unit is well maintained, our stove has been fixed as requested, any visits from the landlord or overall maintenance to the building we have been notified of well in advance. Even when the laundry machines were causing a small flood in the side garage door entrance over the weekend, Keith had it immediately addressed first thing Monday morning.
So, until something bad happens, I’m overall happy. And believe me, after all the crazy landlords I’ve rented from… owner gone bankrupt in the middle of our lease, old gasoline and flammable toxins left in the garage, paint chips all over the backyard from a lazy work crew, busted water heater, clogged garbage disposals upon move-​in that smelled up the whole house, cockroaches and mold hidden from sight until summer rolls around… I’ve been through it all since moving out to go to college. Davis-​Paul is harmless compared to the crap you could be getting into elsewhere, especially with so many tenant laws in place thanks to the city of San Francisco. Let’s just hope that when we do decide to eventually move years down the road, it will be just a smooth.

When we moved in, there was no property management, the on site landlady took our deposits and our rent, and after a couple of years, skipped with everything she’d collected over the last month or so. The next managers were two hillbillies who lived nearby, a couple of gossipy queens who were reluctant to do much of anything, told everyone else about anything they saw or heard and generally left the building to fend for itself. We then got a small firm that more or less took on the management responsibilities in a professional manner, even getting the building painted (but not saving any paint for touch ups due to graffiti and normal wear), they also got new carpeting in the public areas.
Davis Paul took over about five years or so ago and while I’ve read the horror stories, I can’t say I’ve shared any of their experiences. We were on vacation when they decided to change the locks at the front door, which led to a minor bit of hysteria with a friend who was looking after our apartment. It was resolved well before we got home.
San Francisco has very stringent rent control laws so property management companies have to be on their toes to keep tenants from moving people in as they move out, so expecting to move your girlfriend in to your apartment when you move out, can’t be expected to fly.
We’ve had a few issues since we’ve been here and DP has resolved them in what I would consider a timely fashion. There doesn’t seem to be any way to get in touch with them if something, not a fire or flood, happens on a weekend. On the other hand, when another building (not under their management) lost a tenant to carbon monoxide poisoning, DP was fairly quick to show up with new fire and CM alarms for all of our units.
Perhaps the horror stories are true. I hope I never experience them. I haven’t experienced anything bad from Davis Paul, yet.

This is the second time we’ve used Davis Paul, the first time Walter helped us move into a place in Nopa. Walter was great, he managed everything with flying colors, every question was answered, every concern was taken care of. Then we recently moved to an apt that is managed by Davis Paul, where Keith is our property manager. He has been extremely professional, and even though there have been some hiccups along the way (broken appliances, etc.) the process has been smooth, every concern of ours has been taken care of, and we even were able to get hardwood floors put in. Everyone in the building loves this place with no complaints so far. Thanks again Davis Paul.

If I could give zero stars, I would. I was a subtenant in a place of theirs a few years ago. I’m so glad that Unilocal was invented just so I can finally tell the world how horrible they are. Let’s see…
1) They left us without heat for four days in the middle of a big cold spell. We called every day to have someone come out and take a look at our heater. The second day, we got a response towards the end of the day saying that we should call the handyman directly. We called him right after we got word, around 4 pm. The guy answered the phone, we told him the problem, he hung up. I guess he didn’t want to work a late night. I spoke with Michelle Davis and was momentarily impressed by the fact that she called us at 10 pm after our emergency call, until she brushed us off, saying that she couldn’t do anything for us now, and that we’d have to wait another day. How thoughtful of her to say that, when she didn’t have to sleep in a wool cap, sweater, winter coat, two pairs of pants, and four blankets (including a down comforter).
But even after talking to the CO-​OWNER, it still took more than 24 hours to get our heat on. Oh, and they wouldn’t give us any credit towards our rent for the days when our apartment was basically uninhabitable.
2) The next cold spell, we have no hot water for three days. We call, we get ignored, we take either freezing cold showers or shower at our gyms. At least the handyman eventually came. But of course, we had to let him in (God forbid they give the guy a key as a goodwill gesture to us so we don’t have to miss any more days of work waiting around for their repairman). Reimbursement for the loss of function of our apt. Nada.
3) On a Thursday afternoon, they tell us they’re changing the locks on Monday morning and that we have to make arrangements to get the keys. The notice specifically said that we could only get them M-​F, 9 – 5 (or whatever their office hours are). But the note also said that they wouldn’t change the locks until all the keys were distributed. I worked on the peninsula. Since I didn’t know about it until EOB Thursday, I couldn’t ask for the time off, so I got time off Monday morning to come up to their office. Monday at 8:30 am, the guy is changing our locks. When I asked the people at the office why they changed the locks when the note specifically said that they wouldn’t until all the keys were distributed (literally pointing to the sentence in the notice, which I brought with me), they said that I was misreading it, and that I should have come on Saturday to get the keys. When I pointed out that the note specifically said that they were only distributing them M-​F during office hours, they said that someone else from my building had called to make arrangements, so they were actually in the office on Saturday. NOW you tell me!
One mistake like this, I’d chalk it up to a breakdown in process. Two, and it’s indicative of a bigger problem. But after three, I just realized that these people are jerks and don’t care one wit about whether their tenants freeze to death or not.
So, if you want a property management company who is consistently rude, denies you your basic rights under SF landlord-​tenant law, and is prone to prevarication in order to get out of their basic responsibilities under the city, state, and SF rent board laws and regulations, rent an apartment from these people.
It appalls me that a place like this is still in business. They are earning themselves some bad, bad karma.

THE WORST EVERRRRRRRR.
I rented a parking space in a garage from them for over a year. When I signed up for the garage, Walter met me at the location and had paperwork to sign & the remote for me. It was a very smooth process.
First sign of trouble with the garage happened a few months ago. After getting home one night to the shared garage, I noticed that the person next to me left their door open. Someone had already broken into the garage earlier in my tenancy. I was concerned that someone might take my bike & other valuables in the garage since it was wide open.
I called the office but it was around 8pm so I was connected to the emergency line. They told me they could do nothing unless there was a flood or fire. So basically, my belongings would be sitting out in the open all night.
FANTASTIC.
Luckily, the person came home later that night because I noticed around 1am that the door had closed & all my belongings were A-​ok.
Then, a month ago I got a nice letter written by Walter where he apologized but explained that someone had moved into the building & would only sign a lease if they could have a garage space. I was fine with this because I had known that someone may move in since it was in my agreement.
Two days before I was supposed to vacate, I moved the items I had stored in the garage out. The day that I was supposed to be out, I called the company to ask them if they wanted to meet me at the garage to get the remote (like I had met with Walter when I signed the lease). If it were easier for them, they could give me the name of the new tenant who now lives right across the street from me so I could arrange to give it to them. Otherwise, they could tell me where I could drop it off.
Three options to give them the remote. Count ‘em. THREE.
Turns out Walter was on vacation so I was transferred to someone named «Keith» who was taking over for him in the interim. Keith is one of the most UNHELPFUL, TOOLIEST people I have ever spoken with. He told me that their office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am-5:30pm and I would need to drop the remote off by 5:30pm that day.
I explained to him that I have a job and they expect me to be there during those exact hours. Crazy, I know! I asked about the aforementioned drop off options and I was still given ONE option: to drop the remote off before 5:30pm at their office.
Otherwise, I would be charged a «daily rate» for the garage. There is no drop off box or anyone at the office after 5:30pm not even a security guard. Even though by law, the space was technically mine until 12am. Keith told me if I wanted to keep the remote, they would need to recode the garage & buy a new remote, all of which I would be charged for.
I DON’T WANT TO KEEP THE REMOTE YOU MORON!!!
I spoke with Keith on the phone twice and tried to get a hold of his supervisor. I was told by the receptionist that his supervisor was Lori Paul (presumably the Paul in Davis Paul). However, she was not in so I could only leave her a message. I asked the receptionist when she would be back and they said they are not aware of her schedule. I haven’t heard back from her still. NICE.
Now if you will excuse me, I need to review photos my spy took of their office to prove that they have provided no drop off location.
All Mission Impossible-​like.

I lived in one of their studio’s for 1 yr 3 months and then needed to move out of the country. My girl friend just moved into town and I was leaving the country (I know very sad) and I wanted to get the apartment for her. So I asked them if that is possible. My agent flat out refused to move it to my gf’s name (all cases, put her on the lease, get a new lease, leave me on the lease and make her an authorized occupant). Her argument was that the apartment was far below the market rate. So I asked her for the new rate and she came back with $ 1800 as the market rate and a subsidized rate of $ 1500 for my girl friend. I was currently paying $ 1080. A flat out increase of 47%. My girl friend just moved into a 1 bed room in the same neighborhood for $ 1400 including garage. Now tell me $ 1800 for a studio with a bathroom smaller than a closet (don’t believe me check out 320 duncan st. #B). This is not the worst. The lady comes on my moving day to inspect the premise (i had given nearlly 2 month notice) and she gets the absolute last day to visit. Tells me everything is alright and they will deduct $ 80 for standard cleaning. I get a check 2 weeks later with beleive it or not $ 748 deducted from my deposit. I was billed for house painting in the apartment that wasn’t painted when i moved in. Don’t trust these people. I have written proof of all the records and pictures. If you don’t believe my case I will send you the proof. Stay away from them. There are plenty other better places to rent from
Pros: Do not bother you while you live in their property
Cons: Cheats

Davis Paul: Because there aren’t enough slumlords in this city.
Bought our old building (we left within a couple month, thank god) and managed to kick out tenants who had been at the corner of 14^th and Mission since the 1980s. Charged fees for extra keys, ridiculous deposits and lax response to repairs in this unsafe and vermin infested building. When we left we were told the building wasn’t earthquake safe and had to be repaired within a year – that was two years ago. The only thing different? A For-​Sale sign just went up.