We just stayed with Bailey Vacation rentals in Rio Del Mar. Their simply the best. Lisa in the…read moreoffice really took care of us. The place was clean and ready. Great location. They have great recommendations on places to eat just really great service.

This has been the worst experience I've had moving into a house in Santa Cruz in my 24 years of…read moreliving in this town. Beware of this company, they do not take care of their tenants, or do their job, which in it's most basic form would be to make sure the house is ready to be moved into on the agreed upon move-in date. I feel like I've been fighting with property management since the day I moved in a month ago, and it will probably take another month of back and forth ridiculous communication before I get all the things I paid $11k for to be done before the agreed upon move-in date. Here is a list of things I've dealt with, I am leaving them here so that others know what to look out for. The entire house was filthy on move in day, had not been professional cleaned for a move-in. It still has not, over a month later, partially due to them not getting communication right with the cleaners they finally sent, partially due to me being busy and out of town and not having the time to deal with it. They did illegally send cleaners into my home without my permission while I was on a trip, and still not clean. The landlord had agreed to moved out a bunch of his old furniture to make space for my stuff, and half of what was agreed upon to get moved was still in the house on Nov 1st. I moved it to the deck, for him to come and get, then told property management to get a tarp to cover it, so it would not get rained on. They never took care of the tarp, so it did rain on the furniture, one night I had to dragged mattresses into the house by myself. I went out and bought a trap the next day and they are now refusing to reimburse me for the tarp. The house was advertised with a hot tub, and it is broken, come to find out it has not been turned on for 2 years, which PM did not know, but the landlord did know. They put in the lease, that if the hot tub breaks down while I'm here they would not replace, but that was based on the fact that it worked to begin with. Then they said they would take $50 off the rent for each month the hot tub is not working, and when it came time to deduct that from rent they said "that is only if we can't get the hot tub working at all." (They are currently trying to get it working - so fingers crossed the can deliver on something they promised up front). The hot tub cover that was left behind, and the condition was disgusting, they said it was ready to use, though it is covered in black mold, slugs, and water is soooo dirty. There has been a dead rat under the house with rat droppings for this entire first month, and the landlord has stuffed old boogie boards on top of it twice, despite my request to take away the boards, which are mostly garbage. They left several large pieces of furniture for me to "deal with" after saying the landlord would be happy to take anything away I did not want to keep. cupboard drawers broken, closet floors need a carpenter to fix random floor boards, shower drain clogged. I am not going to get detailed about everything that has been out of integrity, but I'll close by saying, if you do rent a house from this PM be sure to go there a few days before your move in date and make sure you are getting your moneys worth and that the place is actually ready to move into. I like the house and the location, and I'm a really easy going person and fantastic tenant - worked with Portola PM for 13 years, no issues - so it's really been unfortunate to have this completely unnecessary experience, because it's tainted my view of the house, and left me questioning keeping it. My hope is that I can get everything worked out in my second month here and stay. And hopefully get to a place where I can stop communicating with PM about the house, they have been frustrating and terrible communicators. We shall see.....

Pacific Appraisers did an outstanding job establishing the value of a residential property that I…read morehave in Santa Cruz. Their charges were very reasonable and I was able to get the appraisal scheduled quickly and they turned around the valuation report just a day later. Both Shain Holden and Brett Marshall were a pleasure to work with and provided meaningful market analysis. I wouldn't hesitate to work with them again and would highly recommend Pacific Appraisers to others.

This is probably the best AMC in the mortgage industry. They answer the phone, respond quickly to…read moreemails and get the job done. Don't waste your time going with another appraisal company.

My partner Becca and I were looking for a place to live for a few months. After going to open…read morehouses and responding to many ads we realized that even if we found the right place the market is so competitive we probably wouldn't get it even if we applied. One day we walked in to the Wilder Associates office and met Drayah their accountant and office manager. She also has an awesome puppy named Jill who greeted us at the door. We told Drayah what we were looking for and gave her our information. Drayah was very nice and understood our frustration with how difficult the rental market is for renters. Sure enough weeks later Drayah reached out and told us about a rental she thought would work for us that wasn't on the market yet. She sent us information and pictures about the perfect place with everything we were looking for. Well we just signed the lease and we are thrilled to move into our new house. Thank you Drayah!

Rented a house in Aptos few years ago from Jim really great experience upper Encino alway right…read morethere to fix any problem very on top it.

The Strock Real Estate Team is truly world-class. During a very difficult time for our family after…read moreour dad passed away, they took on the sale of his property and managed every single aspect of the process so we didn't have to carry the burden ourselves. From coordinating the clean-out, staging, and all the preparation to bringing in the right professionals, their team handled everything seamlessly. All we really needed to do was review and approve decisions, which made an overwhelming situation feel manageable. They were so prepared and strategic that they only needed one open house weekend. We received multiple offers over asking and were able to quickly select the right new owners for the home. Beyond their expertise, the entire team is incredibly responsive, professional, thorough, supportive, and kind. I am so grateful for how smoothly they handled everything. I 100% recommend the Strock Real Estate Team and would absolutely use their services again.

I cannot say enough good things about the Strock Team. They assisted my family and I with the sale…read moreof a family member's house who had passed away, and highly exceeded our expectations. The prospect of hosting an estate sale, de-cluttering, hauling away junk, facilitating inspections and necessary repairs, was overwhelming to say the least. It turns out, Strock handled it all - soup to nuts. From beginning to end, they executed flawlessly. We put the house on the market on a Thursday, and 12 days later, had a closed deal. We accepted an incredible offer, well over asking price. I was amazed to have received 6 solid offers after only one open house weekend. The Strock team's ability to remove stress from the equation was critical at this moment in our life, and I can't thank him enough. If you are making a decision on a realtor, do not look further. Hire the Strock team.

I have been working with Dana for more than five years. We own a townhouse in the area that we rent…read moreout long-term, and Dana has always helped us find the right tenants. She is professional, reliable, responsive, and hardworking. Every time we need to find new tenants, we confidently return to her because we know she will do an excellent job. This time, I had a tight deadline before traveling overseas, and Dana went above and beyond to make sure everything was taken care of before I left. She even continued to assist me while I was out of the country, making the entire process smooth and stress-free. I highly recommend Dana to anyone looking for a knowledgeable, dedicated, and trustworthy real estate professional.

Had an unfortunate experience during my move-out process after my landlord changed property…read moremanagement companies and Rasmussen took over handling the transition. During a disagreement regarding move-out expectations, I did not feel the communication was handled in a calm or professional manner. Due to the interaction, I felt it was necessary to contact the landlord directly and have a third party involved to help complete the process. I was surprised by the difference in communication style, as previous interactions in other settings had been more composed and professional. I understand move-out situations can involve differing expectations and interests. My hope is simply that all residents are treated with professionalism, respect, and calm communication throughout the process, especially in a small community.

Lauren's calm and expertise helped guide my Mom through the sale of our family home. She was…read morepatient and kind throughout the whole process, and above all, professional. Lauren gave advice on prepping the home for sale, but she was also a great listener, making sure my mom felt ready and prepared throughout. We are thankful to have worked with Lauren and her team.

Lauren Spencer and her team were wonderful to work with when selling our house. From the first…read moremeeting, we were impressed with Lauren's knowledge, expertise, and communication skills. She made sure our home was readied for sale, coordinating all the repairs, upgrades, and inspections to ensure that the everything went without a hitch. Her team staged the house, took beautiful photos and videos, and made a stunning website. Lauren worked closely with us to determine how to make the house look its very best in order to get the most from the sale. She has broad experience in the Santa Cruz area, is very efficient, and gave us tons of personal support during the entire process. Her professionalism and genuine care made what could have been a stressful experience instead be seamless from start to finish. Our house sold in one week and for over asking price--you can't do better than that! I highly recommend Lauren for anyone looking for an exceptional real estate agent who will get you results.

The technical team at Bowman and Williams rescued us from a natural disaster in 2024. A landslide…read morehad devastated part of our hillside and we needed an emergency grading permit to stabilize things before the rainy season. These guys knew what they were doing to save the day and get through all the red tape that County regulators could muster. Professional, punctual, and courteous, I would recommend Ben and his team anytime.

After the 2017-2018 winter storms that resulted in Santa Cruz County California being declared a…read morenational disaster our two-mile county service road providing access to 67 residents suffered several $M in damage as mountains collapsed onto the road and several locations when the road collapsed down the mountain. The county retained Bowman & Williams (B&W) to do preliminary damage evaluations in the disaster area. We were required to obtain 3 quotes to qualify for state and federal disaster relief. B&W offered the required survey and construction design services and always came in with a competitive price. As work actually got underway an alphabet soup of regulatory agencies, FEMA, CA OES, WRCB, F&W, made various demands that impacted the design and B&W always responded quickly to keep the projects on schedule. With all the regulatory hurdles, permits, construction bids and county construction requirements it took until FY 2024-2025 to complete the last project and Bowman & Williams stuck with us thru the last bit of paving and the last guardrail.

On behalf on Daddario Roofing Company, I would like to say that it is always a pleasure working…read morewith Suzy. We have done several jobs for her company and the communication is easy and professional. We have been working with her for a while and haven't had any issues. Barbara Daddario

Please let this be a WARNING to all future tenants. I know it's hard to find housing in this town,…read morebut please do not rent from RE 831! The owner Suzie does not think of you as a person you are just a pocketbook to her. I lived in my apartment for five years and it was so sad to see neighbors come and go so frequently due to the yearly 10% rent increase. I have plenty of stories about Suzie and her employee Lisa acting as though they are beyond superior to me and my other neighbors. Stories Including the owners coming onto my property and going inside without asking, I know a few past tenants that have had to take her to small claims. But here is my doozy of a story. Buckle up because it's a good one, I have attached screenshots of emails of proof of this happening. When I moved in one of my neighbors that I had shared a wall with were sadly using drugs heavily, and there was a lot of domestic violence going on. They eventually moved out. About a week later after them moving out , I heard and saw one of the old tenants coming and going showering and bringing people over in the middle of the night while the house was empty. I called the police and emailed Suzie about this multiple times and in her emails she states that she DOUBTS I am hearing and seeing this man coming and going in the middle of the night to an empty house and squatting. Let me tell you, I spoke to him one of the mornings when he was leaving, I have video of him coming and going, and yes, I had made two police reports about this. She still "doubted" that I was seeing and hearing him. I was concerned for my neighbors safety and myself. I was shocked at the carelessness and heartless manner that Suzie was handling the situation. I'm just beyond words that people like her even exist on this planet, so please , if you want to be treated like a human being and that your concerns and money mattertake my story as a warning and do not rent from RE 831. Edit : After posting my original review above, I decided I wanted to add the screenshots of Susie and Lisa trying to cover their steps after admitting that the owners had come into my apartment with no prior communication. Mind you, they came into my apartment while I was moving out. The screenshots for this incident are from my email with the little moon symbol so you don't get confused of the two events. Sorry if they are posting out of order! Also, my building was falling apart! The termites are running rampant in this building, and Susie was notified of this matter multiple times and nothing has been done. You can hear rodents running through the walls, my light fixture stopped working because I believe rats probably ate through the wiring in my ceiling. The only time you'll ever see Susie is when she zooms up the driveway in her Porsche Cayenne to collect change from the washer and dryer that barely even works.

In June 2025, my sister and I made the decision to sell the rental property we jointly owned. Since…read morewe had never sold a home before, we were on unfamiliar territory. We interviewed four different realtors, and honestly, they all appeared to be trustworthy and knowledgeable individuals who could guide us through the sales process. After narrowing down our choices to two realtors, we requested proposals for selling our house from each of them. These proposals included information about the costs of necessary repairs and upgrades as well as estimated selling prices. During the interviews, it became evident that we were entering a buyers' market, which may limit our ability to achieve the desired selling price. In the end we chose Kaelin. Her proposal kept us within our budget for repairs and upgrades, and she was confident that she could sell the home for its fair market value. Our other 'finalist' was not so positive on achieving those goals. One of the daunting aspects of preparing to sell a home is finding reliable and trustworthy contractors to undertake the necessary work to prepare the property. Once you have these contractors, you need to ensure they begin work as soon as possible. Additionally, you must closely monitor the progress of the work to ensure it is completed on time and in the manner you desire. This becomes particularly difficult for owners selling a home that is located far from their primary residence, making it challenging to meet with contractors and monitor the progress. Kaelin truly shines in this role. She already knew the contractors we needed and managed to get them to provide us with quotes. Once approved, she swiftly put them on the job and ensured timely completion of the work. Initially, the ambitious goals we set together at the project's beginning seemed a bit too demanding, but we managed to meet them. When a buyer wanted to make an offer before the house went on the market, she made sure it was a strong and compelling offer that aligned with the high end of the sales price range she had specified in her original proposal. She also didn't hesitate to incur the cost of staging the property (she pays for this), as this demonstrated our readiness to proceed with other offers if theirs wasn't satisfactory. Long story short, she made it happen. We ended up putting in less money than we planned in repairs and upgrades and sold the property right at the high end of what she said she could do. We found Kaelin very easy (even fun) to work with over the 2.5-3 month timeframe as we went from planning and starting repairs & upgrades to closing escrow.

Kaelin is an outstanding real estate agent. She knows the market and can guide you in what to do…read moreand what not to do in preparing your house for sale. I can't speak highly enough of her integrity and doing whatever needs to be done to sell your home. In our case, we were not able to do the upgrades, as we had left the area. Kaelin jumped in and lined up contractors, supervised their work, and beautifully staged out home. She was always present at the Open Houses, followed up on leads, regularly communicated, and kept our best interests foremost in her thought and actions. I highly recommend her and her team. They kept us appraised the dates for the work, Open Houses, and any bills. Simply a wonderful, warm, and engaging agent with a dynamic team who will work with and for you!

Do NOT DO BUSINESS WITH I tried for sometime to rent a…read morewarehouse at 54 Old Pueblo Rd from them. I noticed the place has been available for over 6 months with no movement. I contacted Allen property and Taylor Cohan. Taylor is the most lethargic, unmotivated property agent I have ever met. After playing phone tag and him approving the use I needed it for, we agreed to a time to view the warehouse. The guy showed up late looking like he just came off a bender and didn't bring the keys, genius. So I chased him down to meet the next day and he was late again but called. I viewed the warehouse and we decided to move forward. I had told Taylor my credit score was low but I could provide stellar rental references and pay the first year in advance. Taylor said that would work and he would present this to the owner and see what we could work out. So my rental reference sent a reference to Taylor. I also sent a profit loss statement, a personal letter describing my situation. This is the first time using Taylor's email so I was looking for confirmation that he received my personal information? I send him a text on a Friday to see if he received. Most professional managers will acknowledge your very personal emails with a response, not him. So my text went ignored. On Monday I texted again to see if he received, once again crickets no response, very amateur. Then I called Allen Properties and asked for Steve Allen the owner, I left him a voicemail about Taylor's incompetence. A woman named Felicia called me back and apologized for Taylor's incompetence, almost like its a regular thing. I told Felicia I had sent personal document to Taylor and he hasn't told me he received them. Felicia then told me that she would present my info and that I'd pay a year in advance for the warehouse to the owner to the owner. Taylor and Felicia called me back together and told me the owner denied rent for the warehouse a year in advance and denied my references that were excellent. I get screwed because Taylor sucks at his job and the owner of the warehouse gets screwed because Taylor sucks at his job, and Allen properties gets this bad review because Taylor sucks at his job. Steve Allen I was told was in the loop the whole way on this? Nice work Steve good company ethics.

Allen Property Group runs a handful of small coastal hotels, including the Venetian in Capitola and…read morethe Rio Sands in Aptos. We travel to that area about once a month, sometimes more. Our long term plan is to actually purchase a home in Aptos when our kids graduate high school, so we make a point to try to be involved in the community we plan on relocating to. That said we recently had a very awful stay at the Rio Sands and it led to a pretty unpleasant and unprofessional interaction with Steve Allen. I brought my family to one of his hotels and we ended up with no heat or plumbing. The staff at the hotel was entirely unhelpful so we reached out to Steve. He ignored all calls and emails and was unresponsive. Apparently he thinks it's perfectly fine for families to stay at his hotels and not provide them with plumbing or heat in the winter. Interesting way to do business but ok. While most of our interactions in the area have been wonderful, and we've met some really wonderful and kind community leaders and business owners, there is always a random "bad apple" that preys on tourists and it seems like the hospitality branch of Allen Property Group does just that. We obviously won't be spending our money at any of their hotels and will be sure to steer clear of their real estate side when we purchase our home in Aptos.