The Prado Group

Hmmmmm.
I’m a little surprised to see all the negative reviews on here.
Thus far (two years) renting from Prado has been pretty easy. I like that I can pay my rent online and I super love my building manager — which I think probably makes all the difference. The people I’ve had to deal with in their main office have been alright but overall pretty standard. Brian however has really gone out of his way to make sure everyone in our building is taken care of — from revamping our rooftop deck to make it look nicer, to being so polite and courteous all three times I’ve had to wake him up because I’ve locked myself out of my apartment — the guy really makes things wonderful
I really love my apartment so I’m biased. But I am really happy to live somewhere in the city where I have some neighbors that have been in the building for 30 years and where the building manager is someone who I now have come to consider a friend.

To follow up with my previous reviews, I brought up the rent issues with Prado Group again in their office. While I was conversing with the clerk behind the counter, a tall man passing by addressed me by my first name. I was surprised at First knowing this man living in the apartment above our head. I called Matt his name short for Matthew. We had had a conversation before in our shop. He came living upstairs to replace the former building manager who had already left. After the routine checking in like we usually did when we met occasionally on the sidewalk, Matt was well aware of my rent problems and promised to take care of it. He did in In such a short time you ever imagined; he reimbursed all the late fee by crediting it all back to my business rent account; along with other complaints we had before with Prado all solved in a timely fashion. I was taken aback by this from Matt. I would not imagine if this is Prado I used to know. For this, Matt as Prado deserves a five star rating for the service they performed, at least, taking appropriate steps to make amends as to correct and/​or improve customer to business relationship.

I think in general the folks at Prado Group could be safely classified as slumlords. In the lower Nob Hill where we live in one of their properties (and in similar buildings they own, scattered in this area) it just appears to be a matter of providing basic housing without any meaningful effort to improve the quality or aesthetics. Our building has a recurrent elevator problem (elevator is an ancient sliding-​grill type), horrendously ugly and dirty carpeting, recurrent issues with heating. Moreover, security issues — we have had over $ 500 worth of goods stolen from the common mail area and we now just have packages mailed elsewhere. There is not a whole lot of empathy for these issues among the management. We just deal with them and move on. The landlords of this city are riding a tsunami of high rents… «making hay while the sun shines» so to speak, but hopefully this bubble will someday burst. Honestly, the bottom line is that these properties are not places one could call home, and we are waiting for the day our lease ends and we can move out.

Prado is the worst. During our 1 year lease they lost our rent checks numerous times and had no way of accepting reissued payments digitally or by phone. On one of those occasions when we physically handed them the check and received a confirmation number, they still managed to lose that payment. They’re a total shit show. They lack any customer service, not to mention bait and switch you with already exorbitant rent prices. On our second year renewals, they raised our rent by 35%. I recommend you find ANY OTHER landlord to rent from unless you want to experience first hand, everything that’s wrong with the San Francisco housing market.
Their only saving grace is their property manager, Pete, who was a total class act.

Just finished a 3-​year stint at the El Granada building across the bay in Berkeley, and it was great. Any problems were dealt with very quickly by maintenance, and Sarah was a very accommodating landlord who was always friendly and easy to get in touch with. Never had an issue with her at the helm and it made staying both a breeze and pleasant experience!

I put in my 30 days which put me at the 23^rd for my move out date. But considering I had another apartment I moved out and turned in my keys on the 8^th. When I recieved my deposit back they charged me for utilities all the way up in the 23^rd even though I had no way to even access the building and use anything! Please tell me how you factor that I am responsible for other people’s water usage??? Totally rediculous!

Sarah is great manager. I’ve never had a better landlord. She takes care of everything and is always around to check in. She’s easily reached and always get back to me. She genuinely cares for her tenants and I really enjoyed living in the El Granada because she made it a pleasant experience.

Working as a relocation consultant, I find their one leasing agent.. . apparently the only leasing agent that can show properties. .. to be relatively unavailable by telephone, unresponsive in returning calls, and/​or to show properties unless it is convenient for her. I have very qualified clients — Apple, Google, Price Waterhouse, etc. who want to rent the properties Prado lists. I called on two separate days during the week — one day she did not return my calls at all — the other day, she said (by text) she was not in the office. Therefore, I was not able to schedule any viewings either by her or apparently anyone else at Prado either. Ugh!

Worked with Jessica Pebet to get a unit at 38 Dolores. She found me a stunning penthouse 1 bed 1 bath with views to Dolores Park and Twin Peaks. And, she was able to get me a parking spot which is hard to find in this city. Thanks so much Jessica!

Jessica was extremely helpful and kind throughout the hunting process during this chaotic housing crisis in sf. She showed us our first & favorite place however an application previous to ours was accepted for the place. Because we applied she kept us in on new developments & we were able to view & apply before the rush. Amazing! Our financials were accepted around 4:30 pm & the business office wanted our signatures before the next business day closed. We were under a little pressure since we had another application pending. We saw three apartments from Jessica and were highly considering the last 1 bedroom, however the timings was a little abrupt for our moving date. Jessica wholeheartedly made the experience easier to tackle & we regained hope in attempting to move within city limits! Although we didn’t end up signing we were very happy with Jessica’s help!

My girlfriend and I have had an excellent experience with the Prado Group so far. Notes:
— We were looking for a place and moving from NYC, on a tight timeline. This clearly makes everything from viewing apartments to the actual move a bit more complicated. Jessica was superb — responsive, flexible, and did her best to accommodate us.
— The application /​signing process was smooth, professionally handled, and fast — we managed to do everything (from viewing the apartment to signing) within 2 days, with one of those being a Saturday.
— Whenever any issues came up (technical glitches, different options for paying deposit and rent), Jessica pro-​actively called us and went our of her way to find an option that worked and didn’t cost us unnecessary time or hassle.
We’ve only been at the building for a couple of weeks, but so far, we’ve been very happy. All of our move-​in-​related questions were answered promptly, and the building itself seems to be well run on all fronts.
Will update if anything changes, but so far, it’s been a great experience. Definitely recommended.

Our experience with the Prado Group via the 38 Dolores building was good. Our rental process was seemless and we moved in only shortly after signing our papers. The Prado Group also provided an onsite manager whom we loved working with whenever we had any minor issues.
Our building ended up winning some sort of building award in San Francisco, although like everywhere in San Francisco — places have their quirks. The famed butterfly habitat (directly above our roof) never actually existed. Anyone who lives their for even just a few days will know that it’s way too windy for a butterfly to survive. So technically speaking, the habitat was there, just no butterflies, ever.
With regards to Prado group themselves, they’ve always been available either through telephone or email.
There was a rare occasion where I canceled my credit card and never updated my payment settings in their Payment Portal (I believe it’s Rent Café). It locked me out from paying after «being late» (there is a 3 – 5 lockout of some sort). I called them and they were able to re-​open my account and allow me to pay with my new payment details.
When it came time to move out (and breaking our lease (unrelated to Prado)), they were helpful in speaking with clients who wished to rent our old place and work with us on the final moveout details. As it appears in other reviews, a lot of folks have burned their bridges with the Prado Group, but I’m glad we kept everything professional and I wouldn’t mind living in another Prado Group management building again.

If you can find another building to live in, do so. They send you bills and give you no personal service.
Also, do not Air BnB if you rent from Prado Group. They have moles who will track you and evict you instantly. Heads up.

I had an amazing experience being a tenant at 704 Bush street. It was a nice and well kept building with lots of great history. My studio was spacious offering plenty of storage space but also, surprisingly, a full kitchen with stove/​oven, large sink, large fridge and a full sized dishwasher! It was a great place to live as it was literally in the heart of the city and just a short walk to all of the great amenities living in San Francisco provides. The CoffeeBean Café, Uncle Vito’s Pizza and 1^st Quality Cleaners made life much easier by having great food and an awesome laundry business a few steps away from my front door. The BART and other transportation options made getting around the city a breeze, not to mention the convenience of having Zipcars in garages all around me. The building had great neighbors who were all respectful of everyone’s space. Bob, the resident property manager, was extremely helpful in helping me get acclimated with the property but also to provide some helpful insight on the neighborhood. Prado Group, as the management company, was great to work with. I was always informed every step of the way of anything new or building related that required action on my end. Whenever I had questions or needed maintenance help of any kind, which was rare if ever, Prado Group was very quick to get things fixed so I could continue the enjoyment of my apartment. Prado Group has skilled, professional teams on call to handle everything from being locked out, electrical or plumbing needs. If it weren’t for me changing jobs and no longer being in the area of 704 Bush street, I would continue living there as a happy tenant. If anyone is looking for a cool, convenient place to live that is centrally located in a great neighborhood, i would totally recommend looking into 704 Bush street (if you can find an open spot). You will not be disappointed.

Really disappointed with the service, or lack there of, from Prado Group. I am relocating to San Francisco from Los Angeles and came across the Prado Group and their many properties during my search. I emailed about several of the properties and after getting no response, decided to call. The woman I talked to acted like she couldn’t wait to get off the phone with me; I doubt she heard a word I said. After telling me she’d have one of the property managers call me back, I got no such call. I called again a couple days later, same girl, and she didn’t remember me calling and just gave me the same spiel. If this is how they treat prospective renters, I can only imagine how they treat their tenants. No wonder there are so many 1 star reviews! Thanks for making the relocation process even more tedious and frustrating than it already is.

They are slumlords who are dishonest, greedy, and show no respect for their tenants. Beware!

So far… so so
Just moved into a Prado run building and so far it’s been a pretty poor if not frustrating experience considering my expectations. It’s a brand new building in a good location and we are paying for that in rent but you’d expect basic «amenities» like a mailbox to be functional but they aren’t. The mail area is like the mail sorting room at the post office with everyone’s mail piled on one another. Add on top of that the fact that no one can get packages here yet because there is no way to let in UPS or FedEx and it feels like we’ve regressed to the Dark Ages.
Ok, I realize that in the bigger scheme of things, these are pretty minor complaints and I understand that the building is still getting finished up so there are going to be some bumps here and there… BUT… we are still paying rent as if we were living somewhere nice… so things like being able to receive your mail should probably be working… It just feels like paying for sushi and getting a sardine…
I would probably have less of a problem with this if the Prado rep (whom it sounds like some others have had issues with) had just been forthcoming with the missing services rather than say that «everything would be ready» and that packages could be «buzzed in from the intercom» (which isn’t working of course) so I could have planned the move in appropriately.
That said, the building manager who is not a Prado employee but is hired by them has been great so far. I am hopeful that things will get better and that some of the issues others have raised never become a problem. *fingers crossed*

These people are dishonest and greedy. I went to view an apartment and the woman who showed it stated that she was overwhelmed by the interest in it. I liked it, liked that the deposit was only one month’s rent, and was told to apply online.
Right after I looked it up online, the price jumped up $ 200 per month. I called the woman who showed the apartment and she said, «Oh that’s a computer glitch». It’s a computer glitch for the apartment’s price to jump $ 200 per month? That’s a lie. It says they can change the prices without notice on the website, so why not jusy be honest: you’re greedy. You saw you could make more money, and you went for it. Fine, give me my application fee back and I’ll pretend it never happened. I didn’t realise this at the time, until I ran into a girl I had seen the apartment with at another apartment late that night. She confirmed that the amount DID change online during the application process, as did my boyfriend who also was on their website. But anyway…
I called the agent a couple more times to clarify things during the application process, and to make sure I wan’t missing anything. She was courteous and professional. She had plenty of time to admit she didn’t want us to have the apartment. Unfortunately, she stated the deposit was a set amount, and so did the website. She have her word that the rental amount would’ve the lesser amount she had previously stated. So I applied. They VERY quickly ‘ran my application’ and it ‘came back’ that I needed to pay two months worth of deposit or get a cosigner. This was emailed to me by someone other than the woman who showed the apartment.
I’m 30 and make 3 times the rental amount on my income alone. My credit is good, and I have proof of that. I would be sharing the apartment with another person with PERFECT credit (with proof) who makes himself twice the rental amount. Why would I need my mother to cosign for me, exactly?
I called to ask them to explain why this could be the case. The woman on the phone (Amanda) was rude, condescending, changed her story several times, and was unable to tell me which information this was based on. She did not ask for my income verification before proceeding with the application (but did ask after it had been processed in an «oh shit» move), so I supposed she based the application on credit alone. She at first said it was indeed based on credit alone, then said we had ‘limited rental history’. We have been living on our own since age 18, so I’m guessing that this is based on the application having only two lines in which to enter landlords and her assuming these were our ONLY landlords? I asked that she ‘run the application’ with correct and full information and she refused. I asked that she consider our income verification and she said again that the application is only based on credit. I asked then if a person made $ 10k a month and had proof of bank accounts with thousands of dollars, but had «limited credit» if they would not be considered. She said that they would, but still refused to run our applications. She didn’t even ask for an ID or anything to verify we existed by this time so I got the hint that she just did not want to proceed with our tenancy.
I asked that she return the application fee due to my filling out the application based on false information given both by the rental agent and the website, and she refused. I asked that she return it based on her incorrectly processing the applications, and she again refused. She said «I don’t think so, I’m moving on to the next application» and hung up on me. I called the main office looking for an explanation and I guess they don’t care, as they haven’t and I’m positive WON’T return my phone call.
I am FULLY aware application fees are non-​refundable ALWAYS. If I was denied for any legitimate reason I would thank the person for considering my application. Problem is they declined us because they wanted to increase the rental price and I happened to get to them before they could. problem is she did NOT ‘run’ our application but instead decided to decline us without even gathering the basic bit of information such as our proof of US citizenship or employment.
How do I know this? I got an apartment at another rental agency and their agent said she knows this agent personally. She knows they use the same system and when she ran our application our credit was GOOD and we were accepted immediately based on the credit scores, no eviction history AND income being verified.
Don’t bother even applying with this company, it’s nothing but a headache. I missed out on good apartments because I put so much energy into this one. SO DISHONEST! They’re just gathering application fees to nickle and dime people. You’ll see that phrase in lots of their reviews.

I had the most awful experience during the 12 months I stayed in one of the Prado properties. Before signing, the portfolio manager (she) was rude, inconsiderate and heavy handed. While living in the property, there were many slow responses to simple requests. Finally, they overcharged my account without my authorization when I terminated my lease. Later I learned that this is their standard approach as they believe to extract as much as possible from the tenant that leave them.
I escalated the issues to the founders/​senior management and found that they were in the business and nickle and dime and petty. Customer experience means nothing here and they would try to get as much from you as possible.
I would be more than happy to give you further information (
) as we all should stop this type of bad business practices.

I don’t know who posts these 5 star reviews for Prado Group.
First year living here and they are raising the rent for next year. Then another letter comes in — they want more money for the security deposit.
Prado employees are useless. Do absolutely nothing about noise regulation. Very common for tenants to party in the middle of the night and building manager saying it’s not his problem to deal with.
Several times already heard the cops walk the properties in the middle of the night (because of their radios). I am assuming tenants are calling them because of noise complaint somewhere.
One of those companies that should not exist in it’s current state. If you can avoid renting from them, save yourself the trouble.