ERA Preferred Properties of Venice

I feel the first person we meet in a business should be the director of first impressions.
I did not have a good visit
I may be leasing today but buying tomorrow. This will not be one of my stops when it is time to purchase.

Was looking for An annual… realtor was pleasant but issue was with how the company handled my application… we lost a large business during down turn of economy: CLEARLY explained our situation!!! Gave documentation to prove income could easily manage monthly fee. CLEARLY explained credit would not show well but have been longstanding credible family who came upon hard times but now stable. Took my $ 125 no problem with application said might have to explain in a letter. Then denied us with no request for that letter. We offered to pay more on security… denied. Very unfair as the world knows MANY are in our shoes. Felt led on… lousy feeling.

I never write reviews but felt compelled to do so after the experience my wife and I had with «ERA Preferred Properties» in Venice, Fl. We were looking for a short-​term rental during what is referred to as «in season». Someone suggested ERA as having reasonably priced properties available so we contacted them and were shown several condos and private homes. I must say that this agency seems to specialize in musty old claptraps at exorbitant prices and demand to be paid in advance for the entire term. We signed a 3-​month lease on a condo since we had few choices on short notice and paid nearly 10K for the privilege. Upkeep on the property was non-​existent and the place smelled so bad we had to run out and buy air fresheners for each room. In addition, the day after we moved in, we noticed a particularly funky odor coming from the kitchen and discovered that under the sink was a plastic basin that was overflowing with water from a major leak. Every time you ran the water, it leaked into this «catch basin». We called Lauren and were told to simply «empty the basin into the sink and put it back in place». Naturally, this was not acceptable to us and was a violation of the lease and Florida statute. Later that day, a plumber was dispatched who could not believe what he saw, but did fix the leak, which turned out to be a major job. A week later, we opened the sliding door for some fresh air but later that night we were unable to get it to lock properly thereby compromising our security while sleeping. We called Lauren who said in a nasty tone that «it worked fine when she was there» and proceeded to hang up on us.
I could go on and on, but to make a long story short, if you are looking for a decent place to stay in Venice, FL avoid these people at all costs. To add insult to injury, we recently received only a small portion of our security deposit back. They even have the gall to add sales tax indiscriminately. For example, our cable bill for February was $ 58. They paid Comcast $ 58, but deducted $ 58 plus a «tax/​service fee» of 12.5%, presumably for paying the bill. Simply Unbelievable!!!

Wanted to book a seasonal rental. The Realtor in charge of the rentals is named Laura. When I called a month ago she was on vacation and was told to call after labor day. Then after labor day I called and she was sick, and was told she’d be in the next day. I was told that same excuse for a week and a half. All I had were a few questions and asked her receptionist if she could find out the answers for me and call me back. Unfortunately her receptionist never called me back either. Finally I called again and Laura was back in the office but unavailable. Again I left a message with no return call. I was referred to her by another company but after doing my own research I found better seasonal rentals from different companies with more of a user friendly website. Because
is a HEADACHE to look at and read. I guess I am slightly grateful she never called back but jez what a crappy way to run a company.

Jan. & Feb. of 2012, we rented a house on Pineland Ave, Venice Fl from Era preferred properties. Our agent was Lauren Meadows. SNOW BIRD RENTERS BEWARE!
A friend of ours living in the Gulf saw a sign on a house with her name. Called her and explained we wanted to rent a home for a few months in the winter. She told us about this cute little bungalow, gave us the site to see the pictures. Assured us the place was very clean and we didn’t have to deal with well water, (like another home she told us about) The home was from the 60’s and looked clean on the pics. Almost died when we pulled in on New Years Day. The home was not clean, ceiling fans had layers of thick dust, black dirt coming down from the registers in the ceiling. The shower only trickled because the pipes were so corroded. And yes there was well water. The water tasted so bad we had to buy gallons of water from Walmart. But the worst part was cock roaches. Called her on New Years day, but she was already gone from the office. My cousin lives 3 hours away and she came here and we spent several days cleaning and spraying inside and out side of the home for the dreaded roaches. Our grass was a mile high. The yard hadn’t been cut since the pictures we saw of the property in July and we got there in Jan. The sun porch was so dirty we could never sit out there. Finally Lauren Meadows got our message and contacted us. She said she spent several hours at the home with the cable guy, and the house was clean and free of bugs. But if we weren’t happy we should of called and she would of had a cleaning crew come in. (Found out later from the cable company that they weren’t at the home for more than a year. The first month the cable rarely worked so no tv. Called cable company several times. They tried to fixed it from the office, but it didn’t work. Finally they sent someone out. The man was so shocked how frayed the wires were outside the house, he couldn’t believe that we ever had tv working. I told him «they were here with our real-​estate lady a month ago, why didn’t they fix it them. He called the office and they said the last time they were there was Dec. 2010. So how Ms. Meadows could of spent several hours with the cable man is beyond us.)
Honestly a house from hell, but what can you do, when all the payments were made. We made the best of it and found a beautiful place to rent this winter. This time we got to see the home first hand.