Southern California Real Estate Management

Update to my review from 2019

Since my last review for All Valley Leasing, they have taken over SCREM. We found ourselves in the need of a larger place less than a year after we secured our last rental through Tamar and her team. I was so very thankful when the house we decided to apply for was listed with Tamar and her team because I knew the process would be so much smoother than with other leasing companies we had previously applied through. They have the process extremely streamlined and I appreciate that I can always get ahold of someone and they work quickly to get me a quick response.

Once again this team worked hard on our behalf to secure the home we were wanting to get into. Everyone from the leasing agent, Todd, to the maintenance manager, Walter, were friendly and professional. They addressed concerns and helped bring resolutions to anything we brought up which made me feel valued as a tenant as opposed to some other companies that make you feel as though they are doing you a favor. SCREM may not have had the best reputation prior to Tamar and her team taking over but I can attest that they are of the utmost professionalism and I would not only use them as a tenant but as a property owner as well. I fully intend on using Tamar when we are ready to buy!

Warning to tenants:
I recently vacated a property that I rented for 2 years. Never more than a few days late. A full
Deposit on file. After giving a 60-day notice and let me say again consistently paying rent on time throughout my two-year tenancy and the owner, Craig Bernstein, saying himself that I was one of the best tenants he's ever had and there were no complaints when he showed up to inspect the home completely clean with upgrades done to the property.

Unfortunately, I experienced the following issues with the landlord:

Multiple unresolved repairs.
* Unauthorized Lockout: The landlord changed the locks without my permission during the move-out process. Mother, daughter and disabled adult locked out while loading moving truck.
* Pressured Move-Out: The landlord pressured me to vacate the property earlier than the agreed-upon move-out date.The 60 day notice with a specific date was presented and accepted by landlord. Yet in still, daily harassment to "hurry up and leave" started after I paid my last month of rent.
* Unresponsive Communication: Following my move-out, or shall I say "put out" the landlord has not responded to inquiries regarding my security deposit return. Apparently Craig Bernstein, the owner does not have the refund. I will see them in court. Meanwhile....

Recommendation for Potential Tenants:
Hold your last months rent unless you are confident the owner has your deposit. Hindsight...Be aware of potential issues and plan accordingly when giving notice and expecting your security deposit return.
Recommendation to landlord
Once a move-out date is set, honor that commitment. You expect timely rent. You should reciprocate that with timely return of rental deposits. Don't go from harassment to move out earlier than agreed- to ghost when it's time to return the deposit.
Terrible unprofessional business dealings!! No excuses for representing this type of illegal and unethical business.

These leasing companies do not value customers there agents are rude Screm Leasing agency Donna in finance to kind your just a number and a credit score they take your deposit on a place and never communicate with u on ay other prperties avalanche they do not help u they take your 50 deposit and then u hear nothing back

I had been using SCREM to lease my condo for many years. I previously worked with Victoria and she was great. She would get my place rented quickly & efficiently. This time around, unfortunately I had a totally different experience.

After my last tenant moved out, I had the place painted & cleaned & fixed some items. It was listed for rent for 3.5 months. I don't live close by so I didn't go there until I did a walk through with my new tenant. When I got there, a few items were broken & there were some blue scratches down the stairway on the wall. The only people who had access were the agents at SCREM & anyone they allowed into my condo.

They refuse to take any responsibility.

Since Victoria left, now they have Jackie who is unresponsive & doesn't return emails or phone calls for many days, if at all. Then there's the "Vice President" Todd who is not helpful & just wants to argue. From the looks of many of the prior reviews, it sounds like the owner of this place is similar to Todd. Henry is the only one at SCREM who was friendly & helpful.

Real estate is based on relationships.
No relationships = no customers. I won't use them again. I can see why they only barely have 2.5 stars.

Save yourself the hassle and don't use this company.

Beware. Unauthorized charges. Southern California Real Estate Management has poor customer service and communication skills. They will incorporate charges that are not in your lease agreement. Do your research reading others reviews before you sign a lease with them.

EDIT, response to Steffannie:
My communication with SCREM was not handled on Yelp. Yelp is for reviews, so your recommendation for reaching out is unnecessary at this point.

I would not recommend Southern California Real Estate Management to anyone looking for a property management company. Find a company that will foster a relationship with tenants.

Due to the recent rains, my home had a few unexplained leaks. Destiny jumped right in to assist and has been in constant contact with updates. It's a difficult situation to navigate and a huge inconvenience to me but Destiny provides the reassurance that all will get taken care of. Without her, I'd be stick in the middle of HOA & what to do next.

A big THANK YOU to Ellie Gould.
The entire leasing process can be exhausting despite what you think you know . Ellie Gould, you are such an amazing person to go to the lengths you did to make our new lease and move so much easier. Always available and knowledgeable you are extra appreciated.
You made everything to the last detail so smooth! From us to you - your the best!
I would recommend California Leasing to anyone looking for true professionalism and a friendly attitude.
Ellie won't leave a detail unturned, and was available for every call and for every question.

Tracy H.

Screm.com is very very bad company, they should call it scam not screm , they keep holding the rental place for month or so , so they can collect as much money as they can , while the owner will lose a month of rent , and the people get scammed by them , if. You call they'll say we are waiting respond from the owner , we submitted all the application for them , such a trash company

Waste of time with this company. They just try to gather as many applications and fees as they can and waste your time. As a couple with an almost perfect credit score, wonderful rental history, long term employment history, and make far beyond 3 times the monthly rent, SCREM routinely just ignored our applications (I'm talking several over 7 years). Look elsewhere and stay far away from this disgusting company. Even if you are one of the "luck ones" who gets chosen to lease with them, looking over the reviews of people who have rented, it seems like they have just as terrible as an experience leading with them. Really this company survives off application fees, and hiking up leasing charges on renters. Look elsewhere and run far away from SCREM.

can we say unprofessional? can we say "what a racket..." do not, and i repeat,do not use screm!! i'm sure there's legitimate property management companies that are professional and do their job but screm is not one of them! shame on you screm for the way you conduct your business bad bad company!!!