Cournale maintenance staff are very good. When ever I have a maintenance issue Vicki & Dora always get someone here to address the issue in a timely manner. TY read more

I would say this company is your standard property mgmt company. They were friendly upon move-in, etc. We didn't have really any issues while we were there with the mgmt. We did get Fiber installed and needed mgmt's approval to do so. The timeframe and ask from us was reasonable for the installation with Sonic (Best ISP ever btw). When we moved out we got charged a bit excessively on the move out (so think paint, etc.) This seems like a small thing so it's very gray in the rental market on what is right and appropriate. We stood there with their painter and he said the place was pretty much immaculate; better than he'd seen in any other unit. Surprise; we still got charged for random little things. When we moved out the mail got lost as well; this was particularly frustrating. We got the 2nd letter with our security depsoit before we got the 1st letter. That 1st letter was clearly overstuffed and someone tried to open it en-route. I've been asking for a reference letter ever since we moved out a year a go and haven't gotten one. My last landlord shot me a reference letter within 2 hours of me asking... read more

So...the apartment needed service a few times since the last review...I have to thank Cournale for taking care of the situations quickly!! I had an issue in the bathroom where I thought it was mold on the walls. Submitted the request online...they were able to get someone over to assess and repair within the week. Fortunately, it was not mold!! The paint on the ceiling was starting to peel. Unfortunately, it has the popcorn material. I was told that the popcorn material contains asbestos and should only be handled by a qualified professional. The contractor called to schedule a time to come and repair the ceiling. On the day of, he came with his crew and informed me on what the repair would entail and how long for everything to dry. They sealed off the entire area so no particles would fly around the rest of the apartment. He said He was going to patch and seal the popcorn ceiling than scrape it all off. He was down with the repair in a few hours and the paint was dry by evening. Just want to say...Cournale is a lot quicker with the more important matters. read more

Been asking for the machines to be fixed, replaced anything for MONTHS, nothing has been done. John and Matt do nothing! Now we have a shelter in place for the next 3 weeks and this is the fun the building tenants gets to deal with. Cournel and co does not care for a clean safe environment for its Tennants. Just keep collecting rent and everything will be fine... read more

Cournale & Co. - Been asking for the machines to be fixed, replaced anything for MONTHS, nothing has been done. John and Matt do nothing! - Property Management Near Me - San Francisco, California

@Curt--look how many 1 and 2 star reviews you have, yet you still reply to these comments with "Huh?" You run a shady business and then troll comments on Yelp. You're a joke and if you'd actually like to discuss this like a professional (doubt it), maybe try allowing your employees to organize phone calls between us and yourself. To anyone who is considering renting from Cournale, take note that I have to pursue legal action to get my security deposit back after MONTHS of their games. read more

Toured a unit they had listed, was pretty awful. The ad was deceiving and the unit was nasty.

Obscene security deposit policies make this landlord tough to recommend. $500 to clean blinds after 5 years of living in an apartment is untenable nickel-and-diming. It's especially frustrating when maintenance requests to repair aging drywall went ignored due to the pandemic. read more

Over the last few years water has leaked into my garage. I contacted John M. @ Cournale & Co the property management company managing the rental property next to my home. I informed John of the leaking problem and arranged for a roofer to make the necessary repairs for our two properties. I provided the estimate and photos of the area to be patched. It rained heavily the week after the repair and no more leaks. Today I received a check from Cournale & Co for my neighbors share. Smooth process. Many thx John! read more

I cannot say enough wonderful things about this company and Erston in particular. Erston worked with me and my family to get me into a lovely spot in the city. He helped us through the application process in a very thorough and professional manner. I highly recommend this company to anyone looking for a spot. Thanks again guys. :) read more

Just left my apartment after a long tenancy. The Cournale team processed all of the administrative elements, executed the various walk-throughs and made it an entirely positive experience. John, Josh, Erston, Dora, Johnny and everyone else was fabulous from start to finish, including the return of my deposit. Most important, in my many years as a tenant, they always responded to questions and problems in a timely fashion and would dispatch a capable, competent and thoroughly professional group of contractors to address issues in the building. Top notch in all ways...straight-shooters and good human beings. read more

Do Not Rent here - unless you are willing to get scammed out of your security deposit. Our apartment was immaculate- even the property manager stated so during the pre inspection walk through- Was then hit with a ridiculous price for paint and cleaning. Be warned you will be scammed. read more

DO NOT RENT their apartments, mice walking around like they own it and you can hear noises from upstairs, downstairs and manhole noise from cars driving by. very loud, you can't sleep at all. update: do not rent from them, they won't return your deposit! i will sue them until i get my money back. i moved out because of the mice problem. i hired a cleaning lady for a 4-hour cleaning and a contractor to patch the holes on the wall and cover marks on the wall with new print. cournale is absolutely insane and deducted $2,590 credit from me. if you don't want to lose your deposit even though being a very good and responsible tenant, stay away from them. cournale, see you in court! read more

I've had a good experience with them. When I needed repairs, like when the dishwasher went kaput, they promptly got it replaced with a new one. They were also helpful when processing the Emergency Rent Relief during COVID. read more

3 years living here now and I'd like to write an update. Erston is still professional and efficient with new sub-occupants I've signed on to the lease. I don't think the owner is Bob anymore. Dave, our building manager, is a very nice guy and helpful for when we're locked out. Elizabeth, the new front desk person, is very proactive and prompt with replies. Matt was quick to address my maintenance requests through the site portal. And Jojo from Mike Ferrell Construction was quick to fix any issues with no cost. The reason that this is not 5 stars is because I absolutely LOATH that there is SF seismic retrofitting happening for the building right now 7am-7pm loudly for the next 6 tentative months. One of the MAIN reasons I chose to invest in this apartment was because of a free safe indoor parking spot. Now, tenants have been given notice to find their own residential street parking or etc until year end. I can't risk keeping an $80k BMW out on the streets. What's even more annoying, finding an indoor spot in the area averages $300-$400/month and Cournale is only giving up to $150/month! Obviously, I'll take what I can get, but this is an absolute pain. Please speed up this construction, please. Thank you. read more

Cournale has provided the best renter experience from start to finish (Erston was great), very nice properties and well maintained. Payment online is easy and website is easy to navigate. The staff is responsive to maintenance requests and there are plenty of people available to help. Would recommend to anyone looking for a solid renter experience in San Francisco. read more

They've been decent and we've lived in one of their buildings for over four years. Our agent went to bat for us to get a lower price from the building owners and maintenance has always been done, usually in a timely manner and occasionally requiring a little extra pressure. We cleaned up the backyard they promised to take care of and neglected so they included it as a selling point for renting another unit which was a real bullshit move. And don't talk to me about slumlords until you've lived with a rusted out, leaky water heater, a bee infestation and a creepy dude illegally occupying the basement. Cournale has been just fine. read more

My husband and I lived in a wonderful apartment for more than two years. The only reason we moved was because we are expecting our first child and needed an extra bedroom. When we moved in the unit had just been remodeled so everything was beautiful and the rent was more than reasonable. The tenants in the unit had been there for years, some as long as 30, and it was a lot like a family. When we went to move out we received the move-out report that seemed very extensive and had me worried since we had lived there for so long. I went on Yelp, saw all these reviews and freaked out thinking we wouldn't get our deposit back. I spoke with the owner, Bill, and told him my concerns. He was calm and fair and said it sounded like we did everything right. We took care of the place, hired a cleaning team ($200 to deep clean was the best money I've spent) and we just received our report back and they only kept $270 for paint and repair which we feel is more than fair! We are both very pleased with the transaction. I am not sure the state these other tenants left their apartments in, but if you deep clean it and didn't do anything crazy, then you will be treated fairly. I would definitely rent from Cournale again. Thank you!! read more

Cournale provided the best renter's experience I've ever had. Honest. From viewing and applying for the apartment (Erston was great), to the quality of the property, responsiveness and professionalism in communication (Ruby was great), courtesy and clear communication to tenants for building maintenance and upkeep, convenience of rent payment and repair requests through a simple online tenant portal, right on through to the process of moving out, it was a wonderful experience. I had a different experience from other reviewers with respect to maintenance. I had my kitchen sink drain fixed twice (new apartment and something wasn't right with draining), my oven fixed (new oven that had a factory wiring deficiency), as well as my garage door fixed (old tension spring that finally gave out). For all four maintenance requests it was easy to make the request (online), and I was contacted promptly, with flexible and timely solutions. The repairs were done by quality and professional contractors, and I was very satisfied. And it seemed like the property was always being improved (laundry was added, door function improved, building painting, floors redone, etc.). I'll also say this: when moving out they were so generous to me; it was a shock and registered as a blessing. I would definitely and highly recommend. read more

If I could do give negative stars I would. Very unprofessional, rude and scheme artists. If you look up the definition of slum lords- this company should be in there. I should have read the reviews before renting with them. Do not bother to expect your security deposit from them- and please please please take a picture and document EVERYTHING before moving out. But if you can avoid renting from them- do so... it is not worth the months of back and forth and headache when you decide to move out. read more

pros: Cournale & Company does an excellent job in providing professional service and good maintenance, up keep of the property. The Staff there is efficient and prompt in resolving fixes to the property, pleasant to deal with. I am satisfied with their services. Since my last post new building manager changed the intercom to accommodate everyone in the building and it works! Additionally, the carpets were replaced to new! although I would have preferred the color to remain, but heck! I'm happy building manager cares! So far, everyone there is doing an awesome job! Great team work!!! thumbs up! read more

They are absolutely terrible at responding to maintenance requests. We had a non functioning sink faucet (the only bathroom sink, mind you). Plumbing issue are meant to be resolved quickly in the state of California. However, they took their sweet time, claiming they were waiting on the replacement faucet. After 10 days of quite literally begging for repairs, they finally agreed to fit a temporary faucet. Fine. Emailed them back asking for an ETA on the when the faucet will finally be repaired. Was told the temp faucet was "in good working order", so they didn't need to replace it with the original. Wait, what? What were they waiting for then? Why couldn't they have put in a temporary faucet sooner? What was all that nonsense about having to wait for the replacement part? Later, there were some mold issues in the bathroom. They sent someone to check it out quickly this time! Hooray! But... weeks go by and I hear nothing. Email them back. Nothing. Email them again. Hear that they are sending another contractor to check out the place. Still waiting to hear from them on when they will fix the issue. Also, Sara is the absolute slowest person in the world. I simply can't imagine how it can take someone so long to respond to an email. Oh, and she'll only reply after you email her a few times first. It's about a 3 to 1 email to response ratio. Be prepared to write a lot of emails and make a lot of phone calls. read more

After about 4 months, hours of my time, probably around 30 emails sent, and a couple trips to the court house, last week Curt Cournale agreed to pay me the entirety of my security deposit, AS WELL AS OVER $700 TO SETTLE MY LAWSUIT OUT OF COURT UNDER THREAT OF ME PURSUING PUNITIVE DAMAGES FOR HIS BAD FAITH BUSINESS PRACTICES. The first 20ish email were met with 'lol go f*ck yourself'-level engagement and honesty, with them just repeatedly pointing to my move-in checklist as proof positive that the home I moved into was immaculate at the start of my lease, despite it being lived in for 3 years before that. Curt Cournale's offers (and after the first few days, I was dealing with Curt himself throughout all this) increased little by little as I spelled out his laughable failures to abide by the laws that any property manager should be familiar with. I tried to contact the property owner to tell this poor woman that Curt was putting her in this precarious position of playing chicken with her renovation funds, and Curt reeeeally didn't like that, lol. Demanded I stop trying to contact her, likely out of fear that she'd become aware of how he manages these properties. Eventually, his offers stopped increasing, with his deduction number still being more than $1000 higher than what our pre-move out walkthrough estimated. Then he went silent. Took me a couple months to do the research and draft up some docs to file with the court, but when I did reach back out to him and make it clear that he stood to lose MORE THAN TWICE THE FULL DEPOSIT FOR ACTING IN BAD FAITH (google CCP 1950.5 if you're in this situation), he immediately offered the full deposit. When I told him I was unwilling to accept any $figure that didn't punish his dishonest bullshit, he actually agreed to pay me more than $700 above the full deposit. I write all this for a few reasons - 1) if you're reading this is a prospective tenant, and think these negative reviews about security deposit refunds are just par for the course with a mgmt company, think again; this man was willing to pay hundreds of dollars more than the FULL deposit refund because he knew the court might award me over $10k as punishment for his business practices - so do you really think these reviews are embellishing? Or is it his petty, overly-defensive responses that are likely full of shit? 2) if you're reading this is a tenant who Curt has screwed over, don't give up. Do your research. Google "bad faith security deposit CA" and go from there. Look up CA Landlord Tenant guidelines to help you out. This company is garbage, and they deserve to be punished for their shady, greedy practices, and 3) because I can, lol; that twit is somehow so ignorant of the law and so unwilling to consult someone with knowledge thereof that he didn't ask me to sign a release or NDA when he sent me that settlement check. Like, I could still sue this guy if I wanted to (and my word was as meaningless as his), he's that brilliant. This is a dishonest company, run by dishonest and not-particularly-bright people. Don't let them push you around, strong arm you, gaslight you, etc just because they're bigger than you. You got this. Good luck all. read more

We had an awesome experience with Cournale as our property manager. They were always professional and prompt with their communication. If we ever had an issue they were very helpful. Our house was consistently maintained and cared for. We also liked that rent was so easy to pay online. When we moved out the expectations were clear and precise. The process was smooth. I would highly recommend working with Cournale as a property management company. read more

I just received an email from Cournale & Co. asking me to write a positive Yelp review as they feel they have been the subject of several unjustified poor reviews. This email appears to have been sent out to all property owner clients. I am a former client and property owner and cannot write a good review of this company. Cournale had several thousands of dollars of work done on a building we had sold and was in escrow. Cournale had specific written instructions not to have the work done as this had been an AS IS sale. Cournale then lied about the nature of the repairs and why they had been performed. The purchaser of the property remained a Cournale client and received all the benefits of these repairs. I can only speculate as to the benefits Cournale received. If a company has to write letters asking for positive Yelp reviews, you might think twice before doing business with them (see letter below). "HELP" Wanted 12/22/2016 Dear Valued Client(s), We have been paying closer attention to the Yelp website and are concerned about our current rating. Unfortunately, some tenants who disagreed with a security deposit refund, or had a maintenance issue, have publicly "vented" on Yelp. We feel the reviews exclusively done by tenants don't accurately reflect how we conduct our business. If possible, we'd like to have our owner-clients post a positive review on Yelp. If you have an account on Yelp and have submitted reviews in the past, we would appreciate your consideration in submitting a review. Thanks for considering! Cournale & Co. read more

*Zero Star Review* I rented a one bedroom from Cournale and Co. a few years back. The apartment was quaint and the building maintained well enough...until one of our neighbors began experiencing a leak in their apartment below us. A notice was put on the building entrance that the apartment on the first floor was being repaired for water damage and that the contractors may knock on other tenants' doors to simply take a look around their bathrooms. A week or two passes, nothing much had happened. There's some construction done downstairs and it seems all is well. And of course, it isn't. I come home one day to find someone's been in my apartment while I've been at work and they've demolished my bathroom and kitchen!! The bathroom was stripped to its boards, drywall & tile removed, with a huge HOLE between the shower and toilet. The bathroom is right above the building's front steps, so with this hole there - I can actually see right into the foyer if someone is ringing the doorbell!!!! The kitchen was also stripped in a similar manner, exposing the beams and pipes for view and debris everywhere. Mind you, I'm still living in this apartment while all of this has gone down. I am beyond upset. All of my belongings are covered in layers of dust and wall debris. And because my bedroom door was open during the demolition, my bed is covered in a film of white dust as well. And what is Cournale and Co's reaction to this? "OH, we thought we told you guys about this?" How the hell does someone forget to tell you that they are tearing your apartment all asunder? WTF. They also did the same to my neighbor's place across the hall! My neighbors and I were forced to stay else where as no one at Cournale and Co returned our calls the same night. And when they did, they refused to take responsibility on the matter (they actually told us to simply use the bathroom of another building they had across the street!). The company also did the bare minimum to make amends. Simply hiring someone to vacuum an apartment isn't going to cut it in this case. In the end, I was forced to contact a lawyer and the SF Tenants Union in order to leave before my lease was over. I have no idea what they expected us to do without a kitchen and bathroom, on top of breathing in construction debris everyday as the walls stood bare. From what our neighbors above us recall, it took them another two months or so to repair my apartment once I left. If all of the above hadn't happened, I would possibly still be happily living there but alas, at least I am rid of some irresponsible, uncaring property managers. If you can help it, avoid Cournale and Co at all costs. These guys get no stars at all. read more

If you want some one to take over your property management and forget about it other than spend the proceeds, this may be the company for you. If you may be interested in being able to compare monthly statements and have them tie to the annual summary; or have all the lease terms enforced in a timely fashion, or negotiate leases without giving commercial tenants all that they ask for and more...yes, more. Then you might be better considering alternatives. My personal feeling is that managers should lose their license for the negligence in enforcing lease terms in a proper fashion. But, hey, that is just my opinion. I must confess my bias, I've spent the better part of 20 hours in the last 72, after having monthly statements converted to excel spreadsheets in order to make adjustments to tie with the annual summary. And then trying to tie income so they match. On one property income was overstated by over $5,000 on another understated by $1,000+. How can they call themselves professional? I have to wonder. I was incredibly disappointed that they did not carry forward one of the most basic terms: Leasehold improvements - tenant responsible for any taxes imposed as a result. From existing lease to their lease terms. Save yourself headaches and disappointment, find a higher quality manager if you have non-residential tenants. read more

Cournale & Co. are basically crooks when it comes to returning security deposits. My roommate and I lived in our apartment for 3 years and Cournale tried to take $1,000 when we moved out. You would think that they would expect some minor wear and tear if the unit was occupied for 3 years--we actually did a pretty nice job of cleaning before we moved out too. Highlighting the ridiculous invoice we received was a $100 charge for a missing plastic wheel for the bottom rack of our dishwasher that wasn't even there when we moved in and $200 for a "missing" window screen that also never existed. After a really annoying correspondence process, we were able to get about half of what they originally tried to take, but I still feel like we were extorted. Only move into a Cournale unit if you're prepared to lose your deposit and/or fight tooth and nail to try to get back what you deserve. read more

Never never rent any property from them. They are very nice and reliable at the beginning , very responsive too specially if you deal with John. On the long term, you realize they are complete procedure freaks and inflexible. But the real nightmare begins when you move out. They totally take advantage of your deposit! You don't exist anymore, they ignore you and are very rude. If you still want to rent from them, be prepared to fight! read more

Stay away from this property management company. They treat their tennants horribly. Unfortunately, I live in a building maintained by Cournale & Co., and many, many bad maintenence issues have come up, which were dealt with in a very rude, and untimely manner. The only good thing about my place is that the rent is comparitively cheap for the market, but that's it. At signing the lease, the windows of the unit we (me + my then bf) were renting were discussed; they were old with metal frames, and these frames had multiple holes in them so air and small insects from the outside could come into the apt. Living by the ocean, it gets very cold, and the old gas heater could never heat the place up enough, because it would all escape through these holes (I could see through them to the neighbor's parking lot). We were told they would be replaced. They weren't. I contacted Cournale and was told "We're not responsible for giving you new windows." I explained that there was nothing keeping the elements out, to no avail. Our gas bill was really high. This was one of the first incidents that went wrong with Cournale; the reason I don't move is because I cannot afford to move. I had to coerce them to come and fix an overflowing storm drain located in the middle of my parking spot, which was flooding the garage with tennants' cars in it - they wanted to wait and see if it would go down by itself. When I asked they come immediately, because it was actively flooding and at least 4" deep, they said it "wasn't an emergency." How is flooding not an emergency? They finally acquiesed, but it took mutiple phone calls and the threat to call a lawyer to have them send someone. When they finally did look at the problem, they had to pump the water out for hours and then tear up the sidewalk and replace pipes in order to fix it - not a minor thing. And this was something they wanted to wait on and see if it went away. Another time, brown water was coming out of the sinks and shower, I called and they said that they had shut off the water momentarily during the day, and to let the water run. Note that they hadn't made any type of contact to alert us that the water had been shut off at all. Anyway, I let the water run for about an hour, and there was still sediment in it. I called and said they needed to fix it; they said it wasn't an emergency (brown sediment in water - not particularly drinkable) and they'd send someone in a few days to look at the water heater. A few days??? Days??? Well, when they finally did come, they sent a handyman with a flashlight. My bf was there at the time, and he said the guy shone the flashlight on the outside of the water heater, and without doing anything more, proclaimed, "Nothing wrong." My bf asked why he wasn't going to look inside it, or do anything but look at it from the outside without touching it, but the handyman kept repeating that there was nothing wrong, and left. Note, he was not a plumber, and he did not touch the water heater or look inside it, So, we still had brown sediment in the water. My bf, the pacifist, said to just leave it alone because they weren't going to do anything. I was pissed and made follow up calls to which they replied "it's been fixed." A few days later they shut off the water without any notice. No letter, no phone call, no knock on the door. I called to find out why, and they said that the water was shut off because another tennant in the building had an emergency water issue. What was it? Sediment in the water. Great. Just great. Don't they need to let you need to know they're going to shut the water off, anyway? The water was off for days. I called again and asked how we were supposed to bathe or get drinking water. I was told there was nothing they could do about that, and we would just have to deal with it. Those a**holes. Because of the incident that had been going on before, we had bottled water in the apt. to tide us over (we were taking showers at my bf's mom's house). So when they finally got that fixed, what was it? The water heater. They had needed to replace the water heater. This is just the tip of the iceberg of issues with this company, but hopefully sharing that little taste with you will help you decide on doing business with them. Buyer beware. Stay away from this company! read more

Do not rent an apartment owned by Cournale & Co if you can avoid it. I had more issues with their customer service over the years than I can count. I experienced everything from them mixing up my apartment number and making repairs to the wrong unit to them hiring unprofessional contractors that got into a fight shouting offensive obscenities on the job. In general I am a low maintenance tennant that won't complain about a problem unless it is seriously bad. Whenever I contacted them about a reasonable issue like water leaking from the ceiling I was always met with a negative attitude. They need to treat their tenants with more respect and provide better communication. If I had the choice to rent another Cournale apartment again I absolutely, without a doubt would NOT, even if the rent was dirt cheap. read more

I had to let myself cool down a couple months before I allowed myself to write this review. It's one of those "don't get me started" cases when I hear the words Cournale & Co. Where to start? First of all and summarization, THEY ARE HORRIBLE! I would never recommend anyone live in one of their properties. Top 3 reasons not to live in a Cournale & Co. building: 1) Unresponsive and rude, 2) MOLD, and 3) They will take advantage of your deposit. At first visit, their properties seem fine. Nothing special, typical SF apartment, pretty reasonable rent. I did get frustrated after a while with the old appliances and what not but that, to me, is pretty standard when renting and is not the reason for the one star. They deserve the minimum star for being inattentive, unresponsive, and straight-up rude to their renters! My roommate and I were quiet, responsible renters. For minor things, we'd fix it ourselves and we never had a noice complaints or anything like that. The first time I contacted them was to see if I could get an extra set of keys. I understand that a lot of apartment buildings don't allow this but it took them about a month to get back to me and in the very unfriendly response I didn't receive an answer. I responded back, still no answer. I have yet to get an answer about the keys...and now I've moved out! So, I realized they weren't the best property management company at this point and knew they weren't going to be good people to go to with issues. After a few months, I realized that we had a major MOLD problem in our apartment. I contacted them and even sent them pictures of the mold and got a horrible response. I was sent the most condescending email I have ever received. They pretty much in the rudest way possible said they weren't going to do anything about it. I ended up buying a dehumidifier for over $200. It may have helped some (the first night i ran it, it pulled over a gallon of water from the apartment!) but it did not solve the problem! There are other examples of how rude they were and examples of not getting a response but the last thing I will mention is that they completely took advantage of us on our deposit when we moved out. I realize this may look like a review of some angry person who got screwed out of their deposit but, trust me, it's not. I do admit, I should have done a pre-move-out walk through. I didn't and they took full advantage of that. They basically took everything and claimed they had to paint because it was dirty beyond "normal wear and tear." We lived there a 1 1/2 and I 100% can tell you it was not. We didn't paint the walls a different color; there was nothing abnormal about the walls, ceiling, etc. If I had just gotten screwed out a deposit, it wouldn't have led me to write this review. That would just be embarrassing. It's the mold and the a-holeness that are bigger reasons you should not rent from them! Good luck house hunting! read more

The leasing process was okay and they're pretty professional during that phase. The apartment itself is ok although we had to get the carpet cleaned after we moved in. However, like other reviewers reported they are terrible about repairs IF they even ever respond. After a few weeks might send someone over to half-heartedly fix one of the easier problems and never get to the bigger problems. However, I have been trying to get repairs done for over a month now. Would not recommend. read more

I've got to come to Cournale's aid here... I think it's probably hard for ANY property management company to to get good marks on a site like Yelp or Citysearch, as the only people who feel compelled to write are those who have experienced a problem (usually a PRETTY BAD problem). Folks who have had a normal experience probably never even think to write a review. I'm only looking at reviews of property management companies because I am debating moving into a building managed by another company (Davis Paul management Group), and noticed that it got nothing but bad reviews. This was quite disconcerting, as I'm sure you can imagine, as I really like this apartment I want to move into, and now have to consider letting it go because of all the bad reviews of that company. So I decided to see what folks have to say about a number of other property management companies - Trinity Management, Citiapartments - NONE of them got a single good review. Ironic that these companies manage most of the properties in San Francisco. There must be HUNDREDS, if not THOUSANDS of tenants served by these companies in the city; Still, we only get reviews from the 7 or 8 that bothered to write. Now, I'm not discounting these people's experiences. What happened with them HAPPENED, and it was unpleasant. But I am revealing the psychology of what might motivate a person to write a review of a Property Management company. Only those who have had a bad experience, and want to "warn the world' about it will feel compelled to write, while the others will just carry on with business as usual, never even entertaining the notion. So, that in mind, I looked at the Cournale reviews to see if there was any objectivity, as I've lived in one of their buildings for the past 3 years, and I must say that these negative reviews do not reflect MY experience. So far, every time I have had a problem (usually with hot water going out or something like that), Cournale has been quick to respond. I also had some problems with some exceptionally rowdy upstairs neighbors a few years back. I wrote a series of e-mails to Cournale, which they didn't receive at first (they apparently never checked their e-mail account at that time. CALL them if you have a problem). But when I called them to confirm that that they'd received my complaints & they told me they didn't, I re-sent all of them, and within days, the behavior of my upstairs neighbors changed DRAMATICALLY, so I think something was said. That, and they tend to keep our backyard in decent shape (though it looks a bit like Vietnam out there right now, I must confesss). They even removed a sick tree that was back there without anyone having to say anything to them. So Cournale is really not all that bad in my experience. in fact, I have found them to be quite responsive. Make up your own mind, but I don't think of them as evil slumlords, focused only on cash. Shit, you've gotta live SOMEWHERE, and these companies collectively manage most of the properties in the city. Just be aware that the negative reviews you read are not necessarily indicative of EVERYONE'S experience. Like I said - 3 years & counting in a Cournale building, and no big problems. ...Yet. read more

ZERO star review!! property is very bad condition when we moved in. leaking windows and mods. only found out after the first SF rain... too late, already moved in. the maintenance is very slow or no show. We end up have to paid to get the plumber when the pipe stuck and all kind gross things float my bathroom. some requests submitted more than 4 months and end up with no show. when we move out, they charge us for remove the shelves that's ORIGINALLY BUILD IN the apartment!!! that's crazy and then they totally ignore us for the issue, and took big chunk of our deposit! BE AWARE!! do NOT rent from them! read more

Excellent property managers. We rented a beautiful apartment from Cournale & Co for three years. I can't think of one complaint for the entire time we lived there. From the application process, moving in, maintenance and repairs, and moving out, Cournale was terrific. If there was ever a problem that needed repair, they were prompt in sending out a handyman to our apartment. They were also very courteous when notifying tenants of work to be done on the complex. Notes would be left at your door describing when and where the work was going to be done. The moving out process was really great. After putting in our 30 days notice, we received an itemized list of what to do next, and what their expectations are for the apartment when we leave. They don't nickel and dime you for minor things like some other property managers do. Overall an exceptional company to rent from. read more

I moved into a Cournale apartment in the summer of 2009 (back when SF rental prices were comparatively cheap) and stayed there for three years. I wish the company had been more proactive about maintaining the property (we had a big backyard that could have been a great space, but it was left wild and messy), but given the price, it seemed pretty fair. Erston, who works as a rental agent there, is a good guy, and they have friendly receptionists, too. They were good about getting things fixed--the Cournale website has an online form you fill out, and the few times I used it, it was not hard to get problems taken care of. I was dismayed by their move-out forms, which instructed me to do several things that I thought were way beyond my responsibility as a tenant (have the carpet professionally cleaned--something I'd actually done for myself 6 months prior--and get a professional paint match for any holes I'd spackled over). I was nervous that I wouldn't get my entire security deposit back, since I didn't get a paint match, but I did--I suspect it was because they ended up totally remodeling the place after I left, so there was nothing that they could charge me for. read more

watch out for rude receptionist, don't rent from them they can't communicate with tenants properly. It's like renting from the grinch. The added late fees due an error caused by their receptionist and couldnt correct it only 4 months later. read more

Love how buildings expect you to provide professional-grade cleaning of your apartment before moving out but fail to clean sewage from your garage or respond to emergency maintenance requests in a timely manner. I spent 4 hours cleaning my apartment before vacating and was still gouged for missing a few areas. Cournale has a high expectation of its renters that it does not return in kind. read more

Cournale & Co. was a great property manager for me and my needs. I rented a property they managed in San Francisco for many years and if/when things came up, they always responded with kindness and took action immediately. Responsiveness and Kindness are the two qualities I value most in property management, hence the 5-star rating. I have recently moved to Massachusetts and hope to find the same trusted qualities in my upcoming property management relationship. I highly recommend Cournale & Co.'s services. read more

Part II of my Cournale experience... I was recently contacted by Curt Cournale, the owner of Cournale Co! In an email he asked if it would be ok to call and discuss what happened with my tenancy at one of his rentals. I was hesitant and just wanted to move on with my life, but figured what the heck, here's my opportunity to finally give someone an earful of my frustrations. I did vent. Curt listened. Here is what I came away with. His name is on the front of that building and that means everything to him. He's very proud of the company he built and takes it very seriously when a tenant has an issue. We talked about the difficulties balancing company policy and customer relations (he has an experienced hand in balancing the two). We came to an agreement that I feel was equitable and fair (while not contractually required). I trust my gut and my gut tells me that Curt is an exceptional leader and will work with his staff to mirror that balance as well. The Bay Area is the hottest real estate market in the country where the landowner/landlord holds all the cards. Curt didn't have to do anything to try and fix an old problem. He could have just said "eh" and moved on, but he didn't. I tip my hat to you, Mr Cournale. I hope my last one star review is the last one you ever receive. Sincerely, Owen B read more