I held off writing this review until I had at least six months of experience with this management company. Many of us home owners were hoping for an improvement going from a one person management company to a larger one that appears to have 10 or more people working for them. Sadly I can't say there's been any improvement. Rancor in board meetings is allowed to run rampant with no oversight or attention to allowing members to speak freely without being interrupted and shouted down. This is most certainly the duty of the management company but it gets ignored in most case A lot of the anger in this community against the board and the management company relates to our security system which was paid for with our own HoA dues. We are paying $500 per unit on average which went up with the addition of the new management company entering as they are more costly than our previous. Anyway, Crime such as vehicle break-ins are on the upswing most likely because people walk into this ungated community and see that there is no sign of cameras except for ones that are disabled and unplugged. When we report these things to the HOA and the management company they are ignored. That is until somebody brings it up on a board meeting and then a condescending email is sent out saying essentially "be sure to lock your car doors and windows! If you have any issues to report just go to law-enforcement don't bother us with it". The cameras were dismantled by memebers of the HoA (no fault of DeCamara in this case) 24 cameras that were creating deterrent to criminals trying doors and finding ways to climb into vehicles are now gone or disabled. we have no record of crimes or HoA rule breaking like dumping which is now also on the rise. DeCamara often fails to return mails or communicate in any useful way about meeting times. Meetings went from being on a regular day each month to being scattered all over the place. it's almost impossible to realign the dayplanner and move one's own schedule to be able to attend these meetings. Construction is constantly underway and I will say that DeCamara has not done anything to impede that process but it was already in motion when they took over. Why construction? The buildings were erected in the 1980s so they are now 40 years old and parts of them are falling apart in certain areas. As homeowners we have to pay assessments to get these things fixed. But I do blame decamera for is these fees are not delineated on the statements or the invoices. Due dates are not specified either. One day you just get a bill with a giant past due notice and a threat to take a lien out against your home for your delinquency. There needs to be a line item for assessments and another for standard HOA fees. Of course our HOA fees go up every year about 20% too and none of this is communicated on the statements. so we are left to try to figure things out using the Facebook group and talking to each other in person I have had to move all of the communications from the previous management company into an AI service called notebookLM by Google so that I can ask you questions when this kind of confusion comes up. Biggest problems: meeting oversight communication. I have under condo here for over 12 years and thought I would be here through my retirement. Having seen the writing on the wall these last six months I have sold my condo here and I'm moving away for a while. I will definitely not be coming back to Baywood at Northshore with this current HOA membership and this management company in place. read more

De Camara Management - entrance to de camera. plenty of parking and a receptionist on duty. - Property Management Near Me - Aptos, California

We have been living in our home and working with Al and his team for the past 21 years and they have always shown my husband and I a great deal of respect. De Camara Management listens closely to our concerns and are experts in their field. If you and your association haven't been working with De Camara Management, you are just working too hard. Give them a call for any and all of your future HOMEOWNERS Association needs. read more

They want us to live with termites and ants. As well with rats and rodents, 1 star construction company's do their work for them , they only let people over the age 70 on the board , wonder why look Joe They polish your unit like a .. but it's diplodated is that a new word... read more

So many bad experiences - since the day they handed us our keys. Not enough words to express distaste and disdain for this management company, employees, owner. The verbal and borderline physical harassment during an in-person meet was unwarranted, unwelcome, unacceptable by any standard - yet hands are tied. Extremely small pool of property management companies available on this side of the hill - so they monopolize and take advantage of their position. Most first time homeowners trying to stay in their hometown can't afford much in California... didn't know all we could afford was this kind of neglectful, abusive, mediocre service to represent "OUR" homes in our community. BUMMER read more

Al and his staff are completely incompetent and are trained to lie. They run out of money and do not know how to mange funds.

I've been in an HOA managed by this company. I have no idea how they are in business. This does not appear to be a legitimate business. They sub out the most basic things, then up the price; zero explanation of budgets; no management skills whatsoever; and it feels exactly like the companies that own the real estate, the cheap unqualified workers & the management company. All making money off each other and usually one owner who's a slumlord. I have no confidence in this company at all. read more

I live in a complex managed by De Camera. I am really happy with all of them, each time there is an issue, I can call or talk and they respond right away. A couple of years ago, I was not happy so I ended up getting in the BOD. I realized that the management have to get the BOD approval before repairing or spending on anything. So if you are not happy with things not being fixed, get to the board of directors. De Camera reps are very responsive and know the rules. So, if you are not happy about they ways the association respond, get in the board and change things. read more

Own a condo in a DeCamara managed complex. HOA dues are just shy of $400/mo, and for that you cannot get even basic repairs or maintenance completed. My balcony had some rot (their responsibility). After repeated calls they finally came out, knocked my balcony down, put caution tape over my sliding doors & screwed some very attractive plywood over the slider, and LEFT IT THAT WAY for over a year. Literally. Holidays guests were treated to that view twice. They finally came out again, put up a new balcony, slopped paint on it, put a temporary coating on the floor of it to get us thru the heavy rain, and haven't been seen again. The temporary coating has been there over a year now & no one responds to my inquiries about finishing the work. Oh, and they live on special assessments. We had one for roofing several years ago. Now we've been notified that in addition to the nearly $400/mo they get now, they need another $500/mo for the next year to repair fences. 1) WTH kind of fence costs that much money, and 2) how is fencing an unforeseen cost requiring a special assessment? Update: I've since sold my condo, taken my money and moved into a house where I'm no longer held hostage by HOAs and property management companies. read more

I would give these people half a star if I could. They are notoriously bad about returning phone calls, as in they rarely do. They also go through staff like crazy. Just when you start to develop a relationship with one of the women, they leave. That says something right there! and then of course their e-mail address doesn't work anymore , and they don't have the courtesy to tell you the new address..... Nor is it forwarded. For example, my garage flooded on Wednesday 2/13/19. I immediately had a friend come over luckily and help. On Thursday I called Rose, the brand new person at Decamera, and told her the situation. As of Saturday I have still not heard back. Fortunately my friend was able to adjust the downspout, but it needs to be extended. I also had a question whether the seal on the garage door was my responsibility or their's, since the association had installed the garage door years ago. When my backyard tree fell in January 7th , they were responsive to a board member who asked they come out. However my chimney cap, which had blown off in November, was not repaired until mid- January, and it still doesn't have a screen in it! Neither does my neighbors'. We both have told Deamera in this as well, to no Avail. Honestly I think the company is way too busy , and it seems that they only respond to emergencies. Previously we had Shoreline which were also terrible. Does anyone have any recommendations for competent, responsive and stable homeowners management companies? read more

It is 2020 and De Camara Management is still trash. These individuals are gone during the COVID-19 pandemic and do not answer phone calls or emails. But hey, they are very good at cashing our $400+ HOA payments every month right? As a homeowner at Apple Hill (Green Meadow & Silver Leaf in Watsonville), these individuals do not enforce parking rules, noise curfews, break-ins, or repairs. There are apartments with up to 7 cars and blocking the entire street. Everyone double parks, including on fire lanes which is a major hazard. Driveways are blocked every night and it keeps happening. I am going to stop paying my monthly bill and whoever wants to join feel free starting this June. I will reach out to all homeowners and see if they want to do the same thing. I grew up here as a child but now as a young adult in his 20's, I see all the issues here. Best! read more

"Management"? No, afraid not. Dysfunction, yes. Incompetence, yes. Inaccessible, yes. Disorganized, yes. Try to call them to talk directly to someone right away. No. Expect them to attend to serious issues immediately. No. I never know who is who at this place. There are so many things I could detail but why bother. (Ok, one example: their contractor withdrew every penny in my bank account; six times the HOA dues. Thankfully my bank stopped the transaction at my request.) If you can at all avoid living in a development managed by these people, do so! De Camara should be embarrassed to have his name attached to this company. But of course it's money in the bank for him, so what does he care. read more

Don't let your home owners board use this group; accounting mistakes, billing mistakes and worse the investor and lawyer for this group are all friends so if you ever have to question something they do (like making up election rules) you will have to retain an attorney. You get the feeling they will side with the president of the HOA against everyone else including the board just to keep the President happy and keep their contract. Their planning is awful and they have an amazing ability to consistently select below average people for their subcontracts and upkeep. I think they want to improve but they they are in over their heads when then try to grow to quickly. read more

Echoing everything that has already been said but here's something classy. My "manager" or contact from dacamara flipped me of, real high school class act, during our meeting the other night. I basically told her I may as well do her job since shes not doing it. She proceeded to scratch her eyebrow with her middle finger nail because. Why are they still in business???? read more

Giving them 1 star is being very kind. It should be zero! It's one thing after another with them. Never returns email unless it's moved up to the CEO. I have been trying to get a piled of shit removed from the carport, next to my balcony for a MONTH now. As you all know, there are a lot of cats roaming around the complex. YES, I'm a renter, I had my landlord email them and they lied to him, saying it was taken care of. It wasn't! He lives over the hill he's not going to come here to check up on it. I had to send him pictures (pictures are time and date stamped) Needless to say - the shit is still there and no response from the management team to when it will be removed. My next step will to call the proper authorizes. read more

Yeah this is the worst HOA management in Santa Cruz County. They hire one star contractors like they are. They dont have have any one competent to check on work being done. They waste money on painting no park zones over and over when they don't need it. The Painting crew they hired missed so many places and they mixed so much water in paint to make last longer.There caulking didn't stick it all coming off and every body is getting leaks around there windows. There gutter guy can't clean out a gutter properly.The board members he get dont even live on property or there his friends, They also let people run business out of there garages.There landscapers are the worst they use a weed eater to trim around sidewalks and looks like a drunk person did it. They mow even if it raining and leave ruts everywhere. The can't trim a bush properly.The security won't even come out if u call them. They dont do the security rounds like there paid too. Also most of water softeners dont work and over 20 years old. They keep allowing people to install washer and dryers in there units so know we have no water pressure. They allow owners of condos to use unlicensed contractors . If you call them they just have a attitude.. Everybody go on google and post your reviews with pictures of there work.. Vote them out and get somebody else . Let's get together and end this.... Class Action is what needs to happen ...... Also they keep raising dues and do less work to keep our condos looking nice or livable. Pictures coming soon on all 22 of HOA they are in charge of right now....... read more

My condo in Capitola is managed by De Camara. According to HOA rules, we are not supposed to store items in front of our condos. Two of our neighbors have a large cat scratching post, a stroller that hasn't been used for years and numerous other larger items. I contacted a representative at De Camara six months ago and was told that they would write the owners of the two units and have the items removed. Since then, I have contacted De Camara numerous times, including a different person who I assured me a month ago that it would be taken care of. I don't pay $547 a month in HOA dues just to live in a place that looks like the projects. Terrible!!!! read more

De Camara replaced a common fence between my house and the property that is part of their HOA. They never finished the job: leaving a gap at the bottom that my dog could access with very little effort. I piled some pavers over the hole and left it. A few months later, the fence is pulling apart between the panels and the fence shakes more now than the old fence did. I contacted them and they quote me their HOA procedures. I am not part of their HOA. They created a problem on a property that is not theirs. They are taking their sweet time to resolve. Apparently the HOA president looked at the fence and didn't see anything wrong. I sent 8 pics which they said they couldn't open. I suggested since the President lives 100 yards from me that she come by, I show her all my issues, and she can take photos for herself. This was refused. Shady!! read more

I was very dissatisfied,lousy service, poor management and They are the worst. You practically have to beg them to do anything and get attitude on top. They know about issues but do nothing preventative. Usually if you have a problem nothing seems to happen and no one cares. Seriously they do not even seem to have any training On CCR,s and what to do. The little HOA leader is in Kahoots with management and only wanting real estate referrals. Seems fishy, well it is! read more

I'm a homeowner with one of Al Decamera's managed properties, in Aptos CA. I've been here for 20 years. Al Decamera couldn't manage any worse. Do NOT rent anything from him. read more

When my tenant lost my door key, Wendy proceeded to interrogate me as to why the key was lost, and then proceed to tell me they didn't have any. As I live out of town, I called ahead of time, to let them know when I would be in town ahead of time to pick up a door key. She was so slow getting back to me, that I had left town by the time she called me. When I called again, she proceeded to get irritated that I had not picked up my key, at which case I had to explain that I had been out of town by the time she got back to me. Clearly they don't think that they work for you. read more

This Management team is the absolute worse. They have no email on their page to get ahold of them, and then everyone that works their is very hard to understand. I have left several voicemails and have yet to be called back and this is very unprofessional. I hope that everyone sees these reviews and thinks again about going through this absolute terrible business. read more

The worst!!! I called to have them fix our web portal 2 weeks ago. Still does not work. No contact email. They probably do this, so there is no email trail of their incompetence. read more

DeCamera staff don't respond to emails from homeowners who pay their dues, their posted hours do not correspond to actual hours, the turnover is insane, and they shift work onto the homeowners. Example of how I lost two days of my life: With 1-2 days notice via email to 1/10th of the homeowners (?) DeCamera tried to make homeowners all go pick up parking passes so they can *just* get to their own home during an event, then after one day they say they "ran out" of passes (I guess that first come first serve thing was not a good idea). So then the homeowners (me) have to contact the "big event" coordinator to get passes delivered to DeCamera - (enter fun here) - and now we have 8 hours to get a parking pass, again, so they can just go home. What about those who are out of town? They are SCREWED. So now I get an email from DeCam (bronze it cause that is a rare event) that I have to contact the County Parks Dept?? to get my pass?! Okay so let's say I feel like being an idiot and doing their work....lets just SAY, for the sake of argument, that that sounds like the most amazing way to spend my time off -- that still does not help all the other residents who can't go and get them. UNBELIEVABLE. Let the 'voting out' process begin. (P.S. We went to the DeCamera President and he took care of this issue. We got his direct phone number if we have any other issues. We got the parking passes DELIVERED, we got two parking passes each (another battle). I was exhausted once the weekend began.) read more

I called to ask why my vehicles kept being reported, left a message for the manager and my phone call was never returned.

Where to start. First of all, often don't answer their phone. Secondly, once you have a conversation w someone, they don't follow through (on repairs etc). Or they're just wrong about a regulation or standard. Same story and over and over for the 10 years we've owned our unit. Somehow nearly everyone I've dealt with at this company exudes an air that the condo owners are minions, and we will be lucky if they give a crap. From signage to general upkeep, they seem to have a "cheapest & least effort" standard. read more

Horrible, horrible experiences with DeCamara Management. Repeatedly terrible treatment and interactions. Staff turnover is ridiculously common, and still nothing changes. I found this article from the Sentinel in 2008 about poor management and operations at DeCamara and absolutely nothing has changed, except the attitude of the staff--and the owners as well--are even more flippant and entitled----which is weird since you'd think they get paid to make us, the customer's, issues resolved. Nope. Absolutely no care about the people who actually LIVE in those associations and pay the dues. ONLY attention they pay is to the board members, who vote to authorize DeCamara's contracts and pay them. Warning: Watch your HOA statements for repeated, overpriced billing to certain individuals/vendors. " Capitola condo residents steamed by loss of heat By JONDI GUMZ | jgumz@santacruzsentinel.com and SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL | Santa Cruz Sentinel PUBLISHED: December 30, 2008 at 12:00 am Residents of the 172-unit condo complex at 1925 46th Ave. have been shivering since the heating system broke down on Christmas. By Tuesday morning, Al De Camara, whose company serves the homeowners association, said, "Everyone has hot water. We"re working on the heat." The heating system in the 37-year-old Villas of Capitola experienced three failures at a time when De Camara"s staff was on vacation. Two staffers have returned to work to answer calls from condo owners; ordinarily when staff are not available, calls are answered by a 24-hour service based in Illinois. That frustrated residents paying $420 a month in homeowner dues and expecting a quicker response. Resident Steve Kern, who reported cold water on Christmas Eve night, said he bought a space heater at Home Depot to stay warm. He said Home Depot sales staff told him they had sold three pallets of space heaters. He e-mailed the Sentinel on Saturday, worried about people using their ovens to heat their living space. "We went to San Francisco Saturday night," said resident Mark Howe. "That made it better." The system"s main boiler as well as a backup boiler broke down, according to De Camara, who said he learned about the problems Friday and had a crew from George H. Wilson Plumbing start repairs Sunday. De Camara said heat and hot water was restored by Sunday night, but a major break in a supply line Monday morning recreated the problem. "Of course it"s frustrating," he said, comparing it to a situation where a homeowner finds the furnace on the blink Friday and can"t reach a repairman until Monday. "This wouldn"t happen in the middle of July." The repairs are complicated, he said, by the need to have people certified to work on boilers as well as a technician from PG&E. Tuesday afternoon, De Camara said the second boiler was fired up and should be operational. The management company will reimburse residents who purchased space heaters, he said. This wasn"t the first time condo owners lost their hot water. "It happened before we were the management team here," De Camara said. His company has been managing the complex for 10 years. It was converted from apartments to condos in 1981. " Article Link: https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2008/12/30/capitola-condo-residents-steamed-by-loss-of-heat/ read more

I can't even give them a one. They lack consideration of the tenants have poorly managing financials and do not seek the needs of the owners. read more

My husband and I recently bought a condo and have only been dealing with DeCamara Management for a few months. Unfortunately, our experience thus far has been very challenging. We first experienced lack of responsiveness from staff regarding two separate issues. I then followed up with our HOA board, and got a prompt response from Al, the owner. I initially felt encouraged but have since realized that nothing has changed. There has been miscommunication of information, where we are told one thing only to receive totally different information during subsequent conversations. We are feeling very concerned given that this is our experience with DeCamara in only a few months, and we're not at all sure that we will be able to do much work on our condo given how incredibly difficult and stressful the process has been. read more

Same BS over and over they won't do anything to help you. It's like you're enslaved to continue paying for the HOA meanwhile it's worthless because everytime there is an issue in the neighborhood they hear it through one ear and it immediatley goes out through the other. Most dumb HOA ive had to deal with ever. People should stop paying their HOA fee to this damn management so they can listen to what people have to say. read more

I owned a condo in a complex under DeCamara's neglectful management. We had some flooding in our downstairs due to worn siding issues. They called in a "restoration company" who came into our home, tore out the wet floors and walls, and set up some driers for three days. There was no other response from DeCamara aside from that. We lived with torn out walls and floors for six months in spite of pleas for the job to be finished. NOTHING was done at all. No advice, no communication, NOTHING. We were trying to short sell our condo during this fiasco, but of course, who wants to buy a place with missing walls and floors and a clearly negligent management company. I finally called my insurance company and they determined that the HOA was responsible for about half of the repairs but DeCamera never did anything. read more

Absolutely trash management company. I own a condo in a DeCamara managed complex, not only is Al DeCamara the scariest human alive, but it takes MONTHS for any repairs to get done. In addition, they have increased our dues TWICE this year without clear explanation. Increasing dues that many times in one year shows a clear mismanagement of funds and should be looked into by the HOA. Getting ahold of anyone there is impossible and the employee turnover rate is incredibly concerning. I once got a huge bill in the mail with no warning because I had a roll of carpet in MY driveway for about 30 minutes while repairs were done to the house. They are VERY quick to punish and dish out bills but whenever we need anything we get no response. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BUSINESS. I know a few people who work for other property management companies and they have told me that De Camara is notoriously the worst option in the county. read more

DeCamara was more of a mis-management than management company. I am a townhouse owner and our HOA used them for several years. I found Tasha and her revolving door assistants most unprofessional. Their many statements not based upon fact, negative attitude and lack of performance on even the most basic tasks was incredible. If you needed something taken care of, you might get it done after several follow-ups, or maybe not. They may be cheap but as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for." read more

They are the worst. They do not communicate effectively. We send in our HOA payments and they do not cash the checks and then hit us with a late fee. We would prefer to sell our townhouse rather than deal with them. read more

These people are the worst management company I have ever dealt with. We own a condo in one of the complexes these people manage. We have been trying to get a repair taken care of for over 7 months! These people have done nothing! They put you off, change employees constantly, no one knows anything, lose your file, talk down to you,etc. When you finally get ahold of the owner he makes excuses for his incompetent staff, assures you he will take care of it and goes on to DO NOTHING! Don't bother calling them!! If you are in this situation and get the runaround, send DeCamara a sign/return-requested letter and then send a copy to the HOA Board member ( you can find this online). DeCamara refused to provide me with this contact information, but it is public information you can find online. They also encouraged me to hire a lawyer, whom they would refer to the Association lawyer (the one I pay for as a unit owner). I cannot believe these people are still in business. read more

Poor company has pretty bad reviews, but I have had a successful encounter this holiday weekend, and thought they should know. The sprinklers were left on and flooding all night at the townhomes where I live. I called early Sunday morning, and within a couple of hours, Rose had the problem resolved. It was hard to find the phone number, with their disabled website. But, before De Camara management company took over, our HOA rates were raised every few months---and that was hard to live with. read more

If there were a negative star option, De Camara would get it. I recently moved into a complex managed by De Camara. We were told, in no uncertain terms, we were NOT allowed to have a DISH network of any kind per the HOA. Upon moving in, we noticed ALL buildings in the complex have DISH's on them...several DISHes on each building in some cases. Only after asking, was told in fact we CAN have DISH installed. REALLY? In addition to FORCING US to miss work to have the DISH installed (as De Camara INSISTS on being there when the DISH is installed and God forbid they have to work on a Saturday) De Camara also charges a $50 "administration fee" for this privilege. BEST OF ALL....when the installer came, De Camara could not be bothered to come out (let alone return any phone calls). So, let's review.....a $50 charged by De Camara for literally doing NOTHING while I miss 4 hours of work which I do not get paid for. Not to mention the additional fee I get to pay for signing up with Charter Cable (and we all know how much Charter cable sucks) when I didn't have to (that will cost me a good $200) but DeCamara couldn't care less. This company is obviously poorly "managed" and should be sued for charging "administration fees" for doing nothing. That is called FRAUD. Good luck with that De Camara. read more