I am a current renter and I absolutely adore the property that I am renting, however I have such an unpleasant experience with the employee who usually is at the front desk, Lanelle. Lanelle is rude and dismissive. A few times when I've come into the office to ask a question, she's been on personal calls outside or lingering around the front, and has not even bothered to ask any other employee to assist me. I've often made request or asked questions about the property and she's blown me off and never called back with a response. Although I am enjoying my rental, the unprofessional and unpleasant experiences are giving me reason to look elsewhere next year. read more

These guys are the worst of the worst. Their slogan, "Property Management Done Properly," couldn't be further from the truth. In my experience, they serve as little more than a middleman for unscrupulous Columbia-area landlords who capitalize on college students and a perceived housing shortage. When we arrived to move our students into one of their rental properties this semester, the home was completely uninhabitable. There was mold on the walls, bags of trash left behind, and broken, filthy appliances throughout the house. The property was a hovel and looked as though it should have been condemned. Bless his heart, Oh Billy Boy agreed to release the students from their lease. However, the company still retained the entire $2,000 security deposit, claiming that the property owner had been "damaged." Granted, the students signed the lease accepting the property "as is." I understand the legal argument, but considering the condition of the home, it's difficult not to wonder whether the previous tenants' security deposits met the same fate. The property had reportedly been vacant for three months. During that time, could they not have used a portion of those funds to hire someone to remove the trash, clean the property, treat the mold, and apply a fresh coat of paint? Apparently not. Instead, they allowed the house to sit and deteriorate through the South Carolina summer heat and humidity. As if that weren't enough, the home was littered with dead "palmetto bugs," a clear indication of a significant pest problem. For those unfamiliar with the term, "palmetto bug" don't be fooled. It is simply a Southern euphemism for the American cockroach. In conclusion, we observed a troubling pattern that begins just weeks after students arrive for the fall semester. Many have barely finished moving in and started classes before they are confronted with a collectively reinforced sense of anxiety that they must immediately secure housing for the following academic year or risk having nowhere to live. This perceived urgency often causes students to panic and feel pressured into signing substandard leases. Let me assure you, there is no shortage of available housing. In our case, we were able to find a suitable property just one week before the semester began. Students and parents should take the time to research their options carefully and avoid making rushed decisions based on fear or artificial pressure. Therefore, If you're considering renting through Canty & Company, I would strongly encourage your children to consult with a parent and you to inspect any property thoroughly whether virtually or in person before signing a lease. Based on our experience, the condition of the rental we encountered fell far below any reasonable expectation of habitability or professional property management. read more

The inspection upon arrival is extremely superficial, but they look at every detail upon departure. They charged me for a cork blind that had already been broken since I moved in, and that was reported during my inspection. They claimed that it was not well explained. They charged me more than 200 dollars for a single broken slat. The refund for the deposit insurance was made late, and they even sent it to the address of the house they rented to us. The current resident informed me that my refund had arrived there, even though I had left the address for the check to be sent. My worst experience with a real estate agency. read more

They are the Worst...When I rented one of there homes it was 1695.. a month now the home is almost 2200 stay away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do not deal with them if you can help it. When I moved in, only the front windows had shades (I bought the rest) and there was a noticeable indention in the kitchen floor where a large hole had been patched. I also bought and installed a new mailbox because the one already there was about to fall over and they wouldn't fix it. The bathroom door didn't have a latch and no painting had been done. As far as maintenance, I was left without any water for an entire weekend because they didn't know what to do about it (water was included in the rent). In the hottest part of the summer, I was also left with no AC for over a week and a half, without even an offer for a portable unit, because they were waiting for the owner's approval to fix it. The same thing happened when the roof leaked. They pressured me 5 months in advance to sign a new lease, and even though the lease listed a month-to-month after the first year, when the time came, they "were not able to offer it at this time". When I moved out, they charged me $165 for "cleaning" AFTER I'd paid to have the apartment professionally cleaned. They also charged me $100 to "replace blinds". (I'm not sure what was wrong or which ones were replaced.) To top it off, they also charged me $340 for painting! (Seriously, what reputable management company doesn't paint and change the locks between tenants?) read more

This is one of the worst real estate companies I have ever experienced. They continually look for ways to nickel and dime their tenants, who are generally students. For example, they refused to return approximately $200 of my security deposit. They cited cleaning as costing $75, despite me and multiple other people spending hours doing their cleaning checklist. they charged me around $125 for paints out of my security deposit. Painting listed a "wear and tear." I lived in my residence for two years. I find it hard to believe that these costs are actually justified. I would advise any students or parents to stay away from Cantey and Company. read more

If I could give them negative stars I would. You would have to search hard to find a worse landlord in Columbia than Cantey and Company! Do yourself a favor and don't look at any properties this company manages. My problems began upon taking possession of a home they manage near the staduim last summer. I viewed the property when it was occupied but did not get a chance to really see it until I picked up house keys and moved in. The property was filthy dirty and required a deep cleaning and I quickly had a list of things that needed to be repaired. Per Cantey's move-in policy my room mate and I furnished a list of items that required repair along with photographs. An oven that does not work, ceiling light fixtures that were broken, electrical outlets that don't work, windows that don't open, window screens that were ripped with wasps and bird nests in the openings, closet doors that were not attached, missing and broken towel bars, and more. Worse than all of that a funky moldy odor began to permeate the house after the smell from bleach and house cleaners dissipated. I have contacted Contey's management by email and phone at least a half dozen times since August without and any resolution. Cantey's representatives tell me they will send someone to make repairs but their maintenance people don't show up and when they do show up, they do not complete the repairs. We had a clothes washer break and get replaced around Thanksgiving, the old washer is still in the middle of our kitchen! Try preparing a meal, or sitting in your kitchen while you navigate around a clothes washer! Cantey and Co. takes advantage of the fact that most of their tenants are students and they don't give a shit about the property they are renting to you or the quality of life you are going to experience when you become one of their tenants! Don't rent from this company! read more

f I could give them zero stars I would. I've been calling this property management company for almost two months about my broken air conditioner. The best response I've gotten was from a smart employee stating that "they don't own the property" so they don't know what to do. Maybe they forgot that they are the ones signing the lease with the tenant. I had a bug problem that I had to resolve on my own because I was told there's nothing they can do, but hey the bright side is that water bugs don't infest your home. They sent out some workers that broke my crawl space door and now I have all kinds of wildlife living down there. I have no water pressure and yet they have someone call me about the dishwasher, but a week and a half later still no call from a plumber. The absolute worst company out there, with employees who have absolutely no idea what they're doing. read more

If you can avoid renting from them do it. They do not care about their tenants at all. I have rented here for about a year and am searching for a new property so I don't have to deal with them anymore. When I moved into my house it was a mess. No cleaning had been done, it smelled like cat pee, the yard was a mess, holes int walls, uneven paint. They said there was nothing they could do.... Me and my parents spent the whole move in day scrubbing the walls to get the smell out at our own expense. They said they would reimburse us for cleaning supplies and did not. They also take a very long time to solve any maintinence issues. Do not recommend to anyone. read more

I have been dealing with Cantey and Company for 3 weeks now getting ready to move into my new home. I have experience nothing less than professional, can do attitudes with everyone in the office. Amanda has been extremely helpful with my transition. I would recommend this company to anyone looking for a nice rental!! read more

Broken heat or AC? "Nothing they can do." Broken washing machine? "Nothing they can do." Water dripping from the ceiling from the apartment above? "Nothing they can do." Dead former renter's car still in the driveway a year later? "Nothing they can do." Drywall wet to the touch from exterior siding leaking? "Nothing they can do." Mold inside the drywall? "Nothing they can do" Sadly, the State of South Carolina does not require the State Health Department to regulate rental properties in South Carolina. So shame on Cantey and Shame on SCHD. My Lesson Learned from my son attending USC for 4 years...... I should have sent him and my money to University of Virginia. read more

DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE....FOR YOUR OWN STRESS LEVEL...JUST NOT WORTH IT We lived at this property for two years. Never complained once until a Cantey associate entered our home without consent, and it was all downhill from there. First, they allowed people in my home to view it when we were moving out without any notice. When I noticed cars in my driveway and my front door open, I called Cantey to see if by chance they had someone at my house. I was told no, then guess what Cantey was in my house with strangers. They will enter your home without consent with strangers. Second, the yard was never done when we moved in. Most of the backyard was unusable. I spent months getting the yard looking decent. The next door neighbor even came over and said it was the best she has seen it in 40 years. Well, when we moved out, we were charged $200 to do the yard work. I called to discuss with Katie, who said the the $200 is payment for yard work done before we moved in. When I asked for pictures that the yard work was done, she said she didn't have to provide me that. Good luck asking to speak to her boss, the owner, he is never there. read more

Cleaned out the rental house & dumped everything on curb. Huge pile of trash & junk. Was told waste management was picking it up. They lied. read more

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Do not rent from this company. Very unprofessional! I stayed in one of their units for a year. On pinecrest court. The area was in the hood. The first week someone broke into my place. I contacted them about it. They did nothing! The maintenance guy is a asshole. His name is Mr. Willie he is a nasty old man. He do whatever he wants. Never fixes anything right. I stopped contacting him. Asked if I can get a different maintenance guy. They would say the owner only "wants him". When I moved in it was a lot of things that needed repair. That never was addressed. When I moved out. They took half of my deposit. I was charged for things they knew wasn't done. When I first moved in. If you can avoid renting from them. Please do! read more

Cantey and co is a joke of a property management company. They will tell you a maintenance request will take 48 hours and in reality it's two weeks. They are completely and utterly NEGLIGENT when it comes to the upkeep of the basic utilities of their homes. I don't understand why any property owner would ever let these people manes their house unless they want it ran into the ground. They could care less about their tenants and just want their rent money. How could any property management company with good conscious let three college students sleep with no heat on a 27 degree night. No morals. read more

I applied for a home thru this company and I was denied based on what they say are their rules. But because I was a victim of the flooding in SC they said if i would have told them I was getting FEMA monies then I would not have been denied. Then when I asked to see a place I was denied again because I wouldn't tell them exactly what FEMA was giving me. They didn't help me at all and I never spoke with the same person each time. They are horrible. read more

Do not rent from this company. Find ANYONE else. I was in a house that had no working heat in the downstairs for the entire winter. Called every week, emailed several times, no answers. Finally they came and said there's nothing they can do. I had to sleep in a 55 degree room, constantly getting sick and having to go to the doctor, miss class, etc. I was a student teacher making barely any money and constantly sick because of them. They gave me a space heater that sucked so much electricity, our power bill went up hundreds of dollars. Eventually an employee said they would cut me a refund check because of the stress/unlivable conditions. 1 year later and still no check. The supervisor even emailed me and said they're not going to be giving me a check anymore. Why I asked? No response. This is one out of probably ten stories I could tell about why you should not rent here. They took a whole lot of my money, hope they feel good about it! Terrible company, even worse employees. 1 star business? So embarrassing! read more

I would not rent from this company. They never fix issues in the property in a timely manner. After having an underhand sink fall through it took two month for them to come and fix; it took the same amount of time for them to fix the dryer which had a broken belt and exhaust pipe. We have experienced many more service delays such as these. When these occurrences happen they will try to pry any money from you that they can. read more

They have been my property manager for 5+ years. Have been helpful in finding reliable tenants and house rarely sat empty. Only complaint is high Staff turnover in the office and they are somewhat slow to owner requests. Billy himself has always been helpful. I'd recommend getting better staff. read more

absolute slumlords. i lived in one of their properties for 2 years and it left a lot to be desired but my complaints are with them entirely. they ignored 3 maintenance requests with pictures of mold attached, failed to do anything about a leak in our roof until we incurred water damage, and ignored my maintenance request about our A/C being out last summer and left me with no A/C whatsoever from april-july. then, they only gave us half of our security deposits back. don't ever expect customer service that isn't combative, condescending or entirely dismissive. i really wish they were as smart as they think they are, here's looking at you Al and Cindy (who told me my issues with them were "all apart of growing up"). i recommend having a lawyer on retainer to accomplish anything with these people. read more

I lived in one of their properties for a year in college. It was in terrible condition but we needed a place last minute. The first night, i was bitten by a bat and had to get a rabies vaccination. I wont say they are cruel or bad people, but they know the college market is constantly refreshing and they can get away with neglecting people that age. Not quite slumlords, but not far from it. read more

Thieves, plain and simple. Upon moving out we were told that there were no issues at all with the property and we were returning it in great condition. A month later when we received our deposit back they charged us $450 for a severe cat urine smell. There was no smell and we had the carpets professionally cleaned. Also, a week before moving out electricity stopped working in half of the house. We reported it then and they never sent someone to fix it. They then charges us $69 to call an electrician for that. An awful company. Do not rent from them. read more

I tried my best to work with this company, and didn't want to write a bad review but I've been left no other option since they refuse to communicate with me. I submitted an application to rent an apartment, paid the $60 application fee, toured a property and was told no one else had yet applied, called 3-4 staff on the phone saying I wanted to move in. I was told I would receive a response and they were working on "calling my apartment references," and then received no follow up or any formal response by any method after weeks of repeated inquiries by phone and email. If you want to waste $60, get a credit check run on you, and spend all of your free time calling and emailing their employees, feel free to apply to rent at one of their properties. If you're a busy person, avoid at all costs. read more

do not rent from this company, they will overcharge you for everything. and they are hard to deal with, for your own good don't do it.

Terrible company. Won't fix or clean anything on the property prior to moving in, you have to find the owner for that. We had a water leak under the house that we weren't informed of, ran up our water bill and they wouldn't fix it so we had to beg the owner to come look. Ignores all maintenance requests, again try and find the owner's contact info. Will deduct from your security deposit for things that were broken before you moved in even if it's documented. You will be charged for "lawn maintenance" even if the property is on a dirt patch, which we saw them run over the dirt with a lawnmower maybe twice in 12 months. I would've rather just taken a rent deduction than had rocks flung at my car from the useless mowing. Staff usually sounds frustrated as though you're wasting their time with any request. Tried on numerous occasions to give tours without the contractual 24hr notice. I would give them 0 stars if I could. read more

If I could give them 0 stars I would. Provided me with a house with roaches from the stove they put in, but since I didn't move in until a week and a half after my lease start date it "wasn't their responsibility". The condition they gave the house to me in was disgusting. The bathroom was unusable. The stove they put in had a burner that didn't work and the window was still broken after our lease was signed. They didn't take care of the yard like promised. Every maintenance call I have made (for things that weren't my responsibility like the previous tenant flushing a toothbrush, the door knob falling off, and the non working burner which was notified to them THE SAME DAY) I have been charged for, in violation of my lease agreement. I moved out a month early and still paid the last months rent just to get out of there. After my lease was up, they proceeded to send me a letter saying we owe them almost 1500 dollars for "cleaning and yardwork" and to deal with the infestation THEY brought in the house with the "new stove". While some of the staff is nice, some are very unpleasant to deal with. They have made false claims and honestly should not be in business anymore. This is a terrible company. Please, save yourself the headache and never rent from Cantey & Co. I will never make that mistake again. read more

If i could give a zero I would. This company is horrible, they try to charge you for their issues and stupidity. I will NEVER recommend this company to a friend. Also every person I have had to deal with this company has been extremely rude and not helpful at all. You do not want to live under any property at all that they list. They will charge you for bogus charges and never help you when their property does not work properly (e.g. AC- had to go three days with no AC and sleep on the floor). read more

I am on my second rental with this company. They have been great all around. I love that they will show apartments instead of just checking out keys - like another company I looked with did. They really seem to care about helping me find a place. I recommend them to anyone looking for an apartment read more

This company took over the lease management of a home my daughter rented last year in the middle of the lease. Our girls moved into the home and it was unpainted, many trims were unfinished. There was a closet door that didn't work and the prior company told them to "hang a curtain". They called about the numerous dirty areas on the walls and they sent painters that spot painted with a different paint, and you could see every stroke left by the painters. I personally complained and was told that with the furniture in the house, they would not repaint, however they would do so at the end of the current lease. Therefore, when Cantey took over, they never came and surveyed or inspected the house . Low and behold, upon moving out, Cantey, charged them for everything wrong with the house when they moved out; ie, the broken closet door, the walls, which they said required "excessive cleaning" among other fees. The air conditioning broke 2.5 weeks before their lease was up and it was never fixed despite several calls to the office. We moved her out with the thermostat showing 96 degrees that day. I was the person that closed the door behind us the day we finished cleaning the house. I know it was left in much better shape than the day they moved in. How can a company charge you for damages and cleaning in a house they have NEVER laid eyes upon?? And on top of that we paid for a month of rent, with no air for 2.5 of that month??? read more