We rented 3 houses on The Great Island neighborhood in Narragansett this summer and it was The Best! Durkin set us up right! All three houses were perfect. 31 Abalone Rd., 37 Spindrift and 48 East Shore. I can vouch for these three properties. All three houses were nicely furnished, the beds were comfortable, had awesome patios, the neighbors were great, each house had TVs with Roku, so that's rad. There is a separate service to rent linens for the beds, Durkin will hook you up with all that info. I have been going to The Great Island since I was a kid, it's an awesome vacation spot for us. This is the first time we rented through Durkin and we already have plans to go through them again. Durkin makes the whole process easy and stress free. 5 stars to Durkin. read more

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My experience with this realty company and its management was extremely disappointing. We rented a home for a family vacation and paid $4,555 for the week, including a $250 cleaning fee. Unfortunately, the home was not properly cleaned or prepared for our arrival. There was visible buildup and what appeared to be mold in several bathroom areas. We made the best of our week and enjoyed our family vacation, but for the amount we paid, we expected the home to be clean and properly inspected before check-in. What was equally disappointing was management's response afterward. Rather than acknowledging the condition in which the home was delivered, the focus was on the fact that we had not contacted them during our stay to have cleaners and maintenance return. Guests paying a $250 cleaning fee should not have to arrive and identify cleaning issues that should have been addressed before check-in. Based on both the condition of the property and how our concerns were handled afterward, I would not recommend this company based on our experience. read more

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Loved the walk to the beach 2 blocks!!! The house on 33 Angell needed help, I am sure they rent it to college students in the winter, so maintenance maybe not an issue but for the price we paid the house could have been in been in better condition. We even paid for cleaning and the floors were sandy when we arrived. We have rented with this company over a period of 40 years. This company needs to up their game air b+b , should give them a run for their money read more

While I did not stay at the Durkin Hotel at 87 Narragansett Ave, I toured it after 2 cultural exchange students invited me to view it as they were very upset with the condition of the rental and the owner. I heard the testimony from two cultural exchange students, and they were emphatic on the very bad living conditions they were subjected to while living in this so called hotel. In all honesty, if this hotel was part of a national hotel chain, it would have been shut down. I too could not believe a multimillionaire would allow his hotel to be in such a rundown condition. I also reached out to the Stop and Shop management as the students worked at Stop and Shop and Stop and Shop was involved in obtaining the hotel for the students. The management at Stop and Shop told me they reached out to Mr. James Durkin to clean up and repair his property, but he refused. In addition, Stop and Shop had to try to do some cleaning on their own. The young ladies were intimidated to file a complaint as they were cultural exchange students, and James is on the Narragansett Town Council. I voted for James Durkin on the Town Council, but sadly after I found out he was a slumlord, I am sad I voted for him. I any event, please watch this video. https://youtu.be/NlLpLNkRVZU?si=4j26fv6wrHx4dW4d read more

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If I could give ZERO stars, I would. PLEASE DO NOT RENT FROM DURKIN. This company and the owner, Jim Durkin is a crook, liar and unprofessional. Our daughter rented from Durkin in Narraganset (goes to college at URI). The place was a pit. They barely had clean couches, floors, the fridge was broken AND we had to replace the toilet seat ourselves. Totally and utterly disgusting. We were mortified at the condition of the house. Durkin takes advantage of college aged kids and women. Our daughter and her 2 friend's deposit was not returned. A pipe burst under their house when they were away for Christmas break. Per the rental agreement, this is not their responsibility. BUT, Durkin himself held the deposit and did not return it. They wanted the girls to pay for 50% of the pipe burst and water that leaked while they were home for Christmas (out of state). What a joke! We immediately called Durkin and he was a complete jerk. Unprofessional and frankly arrogant thinking he would and could get away with this treatment of college kids. We ended up suing him, taking him to court, going through the entire process with the State of Rhode Island. Fair Warning: The judicial system is a complete mess in RI. The attorneys are all in bed together and all know Durkin and their kids play baseball together, etc. So, keep this in mind -- even if you hire an attorney, Durkin and his attorney lack integrity-- unless you have someone not in bed with Durkin, you will lose. We spent a ton of time trying to make this right with Durkin in the legal system and with our college aged young adults - teaching them to stand up for men and companies like this. While Durkin threatened to counter-sue us, we did not back down. I am happy to provide the attorneys that worked on this case -- because they are just as misogynistic and awful as well. I am taking the time to write this review to all the parents out there. We have choices on who we can rent from for our college kids -- I PROMISE YOU -- your best option is to walk away. No matter how nice Durkin and his employees are upfront --- it will save you a ton of headache and lies! Trust us! 6 months+ in the court system -- Happy to provide all details of anything to prevent any other college kids and their parents from this mess. And, Durkin, please do not respond here -- it is fruitless. We gave you 100 opportunities in person, on the phone and in the court system and you hid behind your attorney. So, nope. read more

If I could give a 0, I would. I rented through Durkin my junior year at URI and to say I felt disrespected and walked over is an understatement. Once it came down to the returning of the security deposits and closing remarks going into the summer, Durkin did not return the deposit nor give a valid reason as to why other than a pipe bursting in January conveniently over winter break (however he did not tell us until JUNE when the deposit was to be returned). The reason behind the "why" was stated by Jim saying, "maybe you cooked too much in the kitchen or took too long of showers," (as all three of the residents are girls). In my opinion, if you can't cook in a house, it should NEVER be allowed to live in. The point of a house is to use it. The house came with a broken couch and we asked for a replacement which came the following week and was NOT a couch but instead ... two chairs. Durkin I have very specific choice words for you. This company and owner is solely in it for the money. read more

Where do I begin, these people from the get go provide no communication, are disrespectful, unprofessional and borderline crooks in the way they maneuver their business. The two bricks in the office they call employees have 0% professionalism and do not know how to do their jobs whatsoever. papers are scattered in the office like it's 1985, just outrageous. Security deposits barely get returned if returned at all,random workers will come in and out your rented house/cottage without any warning or reminder from the company. Jack, the owner, is basically a borderline conman that runs his business very unethically, taking advantage of young college students renting out homes. Rentals are dirty upon arrival, and I know this review sounds very harsh but I am not the only one outraged. These people will do everything to drag every penny from your pockets, avoid at all costs. read more

Extremely rude and unprofessional, zero communication. Would not recommend them to anyone. They like to double book and then give you the attitude when your upset. read more

Customer service is awful.they continously lie to try and defend themselves when it's a clear lie.they illegally do things without notifying people ie landlords and renters. Expect their company to try and screw you over if not they will just try and lie their way out and gaslight customers read more

If I could make one suggestion it would be to not rent through Durkin Cottage Realty! My roommates and I received only half of our security deposit back and it turned into 6+ months of going through the RI legal system. We received only half of our security deposit back because there was a supposed "burst water pipe" that occurred at our rental while all three of us were home (out of state!) for winter break. I, the point of contact, contacted Jim myself when I saw that only half of our money was returned. I was told that it was our fault for the "bursted pipe" because of the fact that we didn't go underneath the house into the crawlspace to turn the water off before we left for break. I asked for pictures of this supposed burst pipe, and the response was "I thought they were sent to you." Nope, never got them! I was also told that we overused our water limit due to "washing our surfboards" - FYI, my roommates and I don't own surfboards, we never once used the outdoor shower, and nowhere in the lease did it mention there being a water limit. It was obviously just a knee-jerk reaction on his part to blame us for his lack of mention of a water usage limit in the lease. My roommates and I are nursing and pharmacy students who don't party at all, and we kept the house in very good condition. In fact, it was written on our security deposit return paper that we only got charged for half of the "bursted water pipe" bill because of how good of residents we were! It just goes to show how good people get taken advantage of, especially college students! My advice to any college students and their families looking at off-campus rentals in the Narragansett area: look around, do your research on the landlord and read reviews before signing ANYTHING or sending any money over! My roommates and I got told in Aprill 2022 that there was no space for us on campus for the following academic year so we had to quickly find off-campus housing and this is what happened. Don't get screwed over by Durkin Cottage Realty like we did! There are many other rental options in the area and I would recommend looking at those options instead!!! read more

My review is to warn any student looking for an academic rental with Durkin Cottage Realty to think twice. My daughter and her roommates were withheld their security deposit based on an alleged "burst water pipe" that supposedly occured while they were home visiting their families on Christmas break. They were never informed of this "burst water pipe" even though the rental laws in RI clearly state that the tenants shall be notified in writing within 2 weeks of any such issues. On a separate note, the 70's style furniture was gross, like something you would find on the curbside waiting for trash pick-up. I hope Durkin is happy and sleeps well at night knowing that his successes are based solely on taking advantage of and ripping off college students. read more

awful! these people target the young male students... do not rent here they kept our security deposit and said they needed to replace the kitchen floor but nothing was changed the only thing they did was remove a deck and added a huge overhang on the back porch and added a new outdoor shower! BEWARE they will also stock the kids we recieved emails about the boys putting trash in the dumpster! I mean lol they were taking trash out these people are awful. Mold in the vents kids were sick constantly. the fix it guy broke the front glass window and durkin didn't fix it it was left that way throughout the winter. they are awful thankgod I dont need their rental anymore. we only rented in that disgusting place because the boys couldn't get on campus. read more

I came across this company in my search for a winter rental in Rhode Island. I am not a student, so naturally I browsed their "Non-Student winter rental section." I scheduled an appointment to view a property and they had someone show us around. They explained that we would have to fill out an application that we could retrieve online (along with submit a 30 dollar application fee), so that is what we did! Upon submitting our application, we were asked to send in a second application for my Co-applicant (all of his information was already included in the first application, so I found it rather redundant that we had to fill out an entirely separate application for him, but I suspect it is because they want to cash out on the "application fees.") After some hesitation, I sent them in the application with the exact same information on it... After a couple of days I received a call from Durkin telling me that all of the non-student rentals are looking for people who are older than me (I am a 23 year old working professional), and that it wasn't going to work out. I was baffled considering I literally met them in person and they showed me the property, and they decided to make no mention of the fact that the property they were showing me was not going to be available to us because of our age. And the fact that they made us jump through hoops to submit multiple redundant applications and application fees, was just ridiculous. Overall, trying to work with them was a major waste of time. They demonstrated little to no knowledge on the properties they had listed, and really just did not seem at all willing to help. I highly suggest not wasting your time with this unprofessional business. read more

If you're looking for a ripoff, this is the place to get it. Friends and I chipped in for a rental and we were quoted one price and charged a ton fees that were not disclosed. I noticed the charges on my card a month after the rent. These are not solid people. Stay far away. Instead I recommend the aqua blue hotel. It's cheaper and upfront about the charges. read more

Terrible landlord. Very aggressive with fines and fees. You will certainly not get all of your deposit back. On more than one occasion, they were willing to pass along fees that are actually compensating for mistakes they made. For example, broken toilet that they failed to fix caused excessive water use that we then got fined for. Or how about being charged a removal fee for a broken chair abandoned in the basement by previous tenant? And then the final act? Once the lease is up, any residual issues that come up - like getting your deposit back - they excuse themselves from any responsibility. If Durkin Realty is renting it, find something else. read more

These scumbags harass students, their maintenance guys will accidentally break something and try to blame it on you. Watch you on the cameras and email you for literally nothing. House I rented was riddled with mold, called them daily and emailed them with loads of proof and they ignored me. All my roomates and I were sick with lung infections for months and one of them has documentation from a doctor stating it was due to mold inhalation. After all this it took them 4 months of living in this health hazard for them to clean it up. Heather and the whole durkin family are low life scammers who have taken advantage of the pandemic to charge ridiculous prices for unsafe houses because upper class URI students all got sent off campus due to housing space in the dorms. Try Narragansett properties if you want to get treated like a real human being. read more

My wife and I booked a week vacation for the end of July with Durkin Cottage Realty, due to the Covid-19 pandemic we asked Durkin about canceling our reservation because we did not feel comfortable traveling especially staying in a strangers home. We were told they were not changing their cancelation policy and that we would lose our deposit and they offered us a 10 day extension to pay the balance. We told them that 10 days was not going to change our mind but we would accept that. Also, during this phone call with Jim (the manager) he hung up on us 3 times, laughed at us, told us that we were not in the age range to worry about it (apparently he is also a doctor), and told us that we were not giving him a big enough sob story for him to give us our money back. He also said that he saw we have not done business with Durkin before and I told him that we had not and I wouldn't be doing any with them again, his response? "Good" Fast forward 10 days.... our feelings about traveling still hadn't changed, Narragansett beaches were still shut down, out of state travelers were still required to quarantine for 2 weeks and still no cancelation policy change. At this point Jim have us some options. 1. Pay the entire about and cancel and hope that they can rebook the property and IF they rented it for the same price we get our money back -10%. If they rent for less then we get our money back -10% and the difference, if they don't rent it we lose everything. 2. Pay no more, and they will refund us $583 dollars of our almost $1100 deposit. 3. Another 10 day extension We opted for #2 because I don't think he will be able to rent it out because Covid isn't going anywhere and I believe that there are still going to be restrictions come July. And 10 days isn't going to fix the problem. While I am happy that I received some of my money back I was totally disgusted with the unprofessional and childish actions of Jim. Also, during this unprecedented times I would have thought that this type of business would be understanding to their customers. read more

Good Luck to anyone who is renting from this company this year. No wonder they don't have a good rating on Yelp. I had to pick a number of stars otherwise I would have said ZERO. The response from the owner regarding refunding money if it's not safe for folks to go on vacation is completely tone deaf. I was told that he is sticking to his cancellation policy. There was no reassurance that if we paid our final amount due of $5K that we would get it back given the state of the pandemic. This information came after asking several times what their plan was in the event it's not safe. The answer I got was "We don't deal with what ifs and are taking it day by day" Another response I got was "maybe we will know more closer to April 18th" when our final payment was due. Apparently, they don't watch the news because we are in the middle of the peak on April 18th!! So we opted to cancel ourselves and lose out on the initial $2K. Hopefully they are using the money to pay their employees but we will never rent from them again and neither should you. read more

Horrible customer service, horrible ownership, horrible staff and horrible to do business with. Will never rent anything from them again. They treat their customers awful and are money hungry. No compassion or empathy during a pandemic and could care less about anything unless you are making a payment. The owner Jim is the worst of them all, no wonder why his staff has no customer service skills. Simply disgusting to say the least. read more

Be very careful booking Summer rentals through this company. It's stunning how poorly this company has responded to the uncertainty around the COVID pandemic. After putting down $1300 with a 2nd deposit due of roughly $2500 we asked for some assurance that we could get our money back in case beaches were closed. We were told we could still come to the house. Even if beaches and restaurants were closed. Jim Durkin had zero empathy and kept defaulting back to the owner's concerns. Unless you can get a guarantee in the contract, I wouldn't book a trip to the out house let alone a summer beach house through this operation. #zerostarsfordurkinrealty read more

This review is for all student renters at URI who are renting through Durkin Cottage Realty. I'm sharing my poor experience here, and I know of many other students who have gone through Durkin who have had similar problems. Me and 4 of my roommates were living in a Durkin student rental this year. Upon moving in, there were many things wrong with the house (ex: house wasn't 100% cleaned beforehand, headboards weren't attached to beds, mirrors weren't attached to dressers, etc). We made sure to take pictures and contact Durkin about things that needed to be fixed in the house (which thank god we documented as much as we could). Upon moving out of our rental, we began to realize how unprofessional Durkin is as a rental company. A few days after moving out, we were told by Durkin that there were multiple things "damaged" our home. This came as a shock to all of us, and our parents (as they helped us all move out) because we made sure that everything was in good condition and that the house was spotless upon moving out. Apparently a couch in our home was "completely broken" to the point where it had to be replaced, and other miscellaneous things in the home that were "damaged". When we contacted Durkin about this, we asked multiple times for proof of this "broken" couch. However, every time, they beat around the bush with us and would not send us any proof provide us with any kind of info as to how or what made the couch break. They finally sent us a grainy picture of the couch in a dumpster (???), as it that justifies proof of a broken couch (just bc it's in a dumpster???). On top of that, Durkin charged us an absurd and overpriced amount of money for having to move the couch out and dispose of it. According to our lease, we are not responsible for having to pay for a service like that. Long story short, each of us got back only almost half of our security deposits. Durkin has tried taking advantage of us, to their advantage, after we left the state of RI and moved out. Suddenly there are multiple things wrong in the house that never were an issue during the school year. Between emailing and calling, they constantly were giving us answers that weren't legitimate and didn't add up. They genuinely don't care about their clients when they're in the wrong and only care about the money. We weren't even given a call back as a courtesy for someone in their office to explain anything. I guess what I'm trying to say here is if you're renting from this company, beware. Take pictures of every little thing upon moving in, no matter how small. They will try to suck all of the money out of you at the end of the year and try to blame you for things that are either out of your control or things that you simply did not do! read more

There is a very good reason the rating for this agency is only 2 stars and you have to give it 1 star in order to leave a review which says volumes about the quality of this agency. This is by far and away the worst agency to rent from. They have absolutely no regard for their renters welfare and only look to make money in the process. Horrible customer service with an attitude as well. Their academic rentals for students are sub standard at best with locations that are falling apart which they look to fleece the students for by keeping their security deposits with no justification or proof as to why and then wash their hands of it. There are other agencies in the area to rent from. Don't hesitate to use other options. STAY AWAY FROM DURKIN !!!!! read more

We are now enjoying our third year at Durkin. A few observations. First, I think there may be a difference between the properties they manage and those that they own. They own this one, which is behind the office. Near the pool, but not on or as near the beach--it's a trade-off. We've only stayed here, in one of the properties that they own--and have loved it (three years, and plan to book for next summer). I'm not trying to deny or discount the experience of people who've rented at a property that Durkin manages, but we've really been treated well in every way. If you want to be at this end of South County, my advice would be to stick with a property they own. In the bargain, you'll get the pool, great outdoor showers, we've met super-nice people, it's just awesome. Plus, the women in the office are outstanding, funny, even-keeled. Love this place. read more

I go back to Rhode Island every summer and rent a place by the beach. For the last few years, I've been renting from Durkin... they're awesome. The houses I've rented have always been clean, well maintained, and better than described on Durkin's web site. The Durkin staff is support helpful. They go above and beyond in terms of helping, being timely about stuff, etc. I heartily recommend Durkin for summer rentals. read more

Denied housing despite providing additional documentation requested on 10/18/18. Provided official documents from University of Rhode Island department head and academic advisor stating intent to graduate within two hours of documentation request. Denied housing 10/30/18 with inconclusive results on applications despite official documentation. Would provide no stars and simply a description of my experience if possible- strongly urge you find another housing authority. read more

We have been renting from Durkin Reality for over 18 years. Heather, Karen and Jim are great people that have over the years always taken care of us and our family vacations always. We've come for our anniversary every year and it's always a great time. They always accommodate us at mostly the last minute. The memories we have gotten from staying here are plentiful and ever lasting. To think when we first came here we stayed in 5 Durkin which had a heater grate in the floor and very dated. Now, it's completely remodeled as are the others. Such an amazing improvement over the years and the surrounding units are clean and up to date. The cleaning crew cleans tirelessly before each new renter comes in. They all work so hard to give the guests the best experiences. In closing, It's been a crazy few years for all of us as we try to survive the stresses of day to day life, however I truly hope everyone would appreciate you all as much as our family has over the years! Thank you a million times over for all you do!! We'll see you soon. Paul Taft and Family read more

Don't recommend doing business with these despicable people. In the middle of a worldwide pandemic.....that's not their fault... No refunds on rentals 60 days in advance! Total loser. Family of 8...ER nurse, pregnant daughter and a NYC police officer...all not able to go now due to pandemic and this Durkin jackass refuses to reimburse deposit. read more

We rented from Durkin in August and because we had a disabled elderly person in a wheelchair with a service emotional support pet they threatened us with fines and kept our deposit...this was just from having a disabled relative visit.We were told by management WE DON'T LIKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU...so I am contacting the R.I. COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS with a complaint through the R.I ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE with a discrimination complaint. We just got a text from the office stating that there was no person in a wheelchair....they also said we were not being watched..well how is he saying there was no wheelchair if he wasn't watching ...we have 4 witnesses that will state that we had a relative in a wheelchair...as for him stating we don't like people like you...got it on my camera phone, we also have photos of our relative in the wheel chair...also I have photos of fire code violations inside the property. also violations of the next door neighbor with OSHA ...so wanna open a can of worms and lie...say the word buddy , got lots of photos and video. read more

Terrible business practices . DON'T Rent from them! They are the most unethical company. During the worldwide pandemic they would NOT give back our deposit when you could not travel due to government regulations. Every other business has to adapt and make changes to policies due to the worldwide pandemic not Durkin. read more

Not at all happy. Had a beach rental for a week. Clearly not been cleaned when we arrived. Made a complaint that I had to chase three times to get a response. Response was that the $150 cleaning fee was still appropriate and 'you should have notified us upon arrival that the place had not been cleaned'! Not that easy late on a saturday night. To be honest though the biggest frustration was not that the place was dirty but the lack of communication and lack of interest from the durkin team. They really did not care. Will not be using them again. Shame really as with a bit of care and attention the house overall was good. read more

Better than nothing, and I guess if you rent the same house year after year from this company you are going to rate it higher but they will rent anything with no quality control so buyer be very wary. No AC and house missing 8 screens made for a very hot mosquito infested week. The office knew this because I ran into a person who rented this house last year and they told me that's why they didn't come back, and they complained about the missing screens last year. Also description not accurate, not all beds were queen size as advertised. Mold in the bathroom added to the experience! I'm still questioning why there is a cleaning fee if they don't actually clean. I called about a dangerous broken ceiling fan and they looked at the loose blades and said, we should fix that....but didn't while we were there, the fan was inoperable adding to our discomfort. And while there might have been working smoke detectors, there were certainly a lot of dead ones on the ceiling. Cable was not turned on either but after two calls they got that addressed. All in all too much work for a beach vacation week read more

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My grandparents have been renting summer houses through Durkin for at least 20 of the last 25 years. This year, I was hoping to book a summer rental to treat my mother to a vacation (my grandparents don't enjoy it as much as they used to). I reserved a booking online, during which I was asked to provide the ages of people staying. I was a little hesistant, but I was honest about being 26, and said how my mother and brother would be attending with me. I also mentioned how we were long-time customers because of my grandparents. Although slightly off-putting, I understand that they don't want to rent to children who just want to party, and I didn't want to spoil my vacation, so I followed protocol. I received a phone call two days later asking me the same questions, after which I was asked why my mother wasn't paying for it (I'm 26, I wanted to take her on vacation, and why does my mother have to pay?). I was offended. I'm not a "kid", am a returning customer, and I was going to put half down on my credit card on the spot. They told me they usually only rent to families (apparently my mom and 24-year old brother aren't family enough). I told them to forget it. They couldn't have been more prompt about the cancellation process, so at least that part was easy. I wanted to treat my mom to a vacation, not be discriminated against. Durkin Cottages just lost a 25-year customer. I will be taking my $1400 as well as my future business elsewhere from now on, and so will my grandparents. read more

I've been renting from Durkin Cottages for many years now and am always pleased to come back. The units are satisfactory and affordable. The staff is friendly and responsive, not that I've ever needed them for much. And you can't beat the location! A five minute walk to one of my favorite beaches, Scarborough. The kids love the pool and play area, and it's perfectly safe to let them run around, so no worries there. Did I mention each unit gets its own grill? I value my summer vacation and found the perfect place to do so in Durkin. read more

Do not sign a rental agreement. Once you sign a lease and they have your information it's all downhill. Random damage acquisitions, hidden fees, horrible service and attitude, the whole 9 yards. Worst experience I've ever had with a business. read more

2 stars for the location to the beach and bonus things in the house (beach cart, sand toys, baggies, etc...) Otherwise, I would only rate them 1 star. My recommendation is that you look on Air B&B for places first, like I should have done. There are nicer places on Air B&B for less money. Ok, now for Durkin... 1. No sheets!!! How can not 1 of the 4 beds not be made wth sheets?? This is gross! All that was on them is a dirty looking mattress cover and a quilt. I called the housekeeping number left in my cottage about it Saturday night after check-in but they never called back or stopped by. Fortunately, I found one fitted sheet to cover my kids' bed (I had them share since the bunk beds had 0 sheets). I also found a sheet for the pull out couch that was covered in holes that my husband and I used as a makeshift sheet. 2. No AC!!! It's summer and hot!!! There are vents and a thermostat but it doesn't work. We relied on two tiny fans to try and keep the house below 80 degrees. 3. Gross, old, dirty rugs. The one in the bathroom should be thrown out. 4. Towels?!! There were only 2 bath towels. Never mind they didn't match and didn't look clean, we reserved the house for 5 people. How are we supposed to dry off after showers?? We ended up using our beach towels. I'll post pics. Bottom line: look elsewhere. I do not recommend this place. read more

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Durkin is horrific to deal with. We have been trying to get a refund on our summer rental. We felt uncomfortable with the pandemic. My father died from Covid so we called to get a refund. The response from the owner, Jim Durkin, was "that isn't my problem". What a terrible human. All other real estate agencies in Narragansett are refunding. Stay away from this business!!! read more

This is the worst company to deal with. I know that James Durkin received some sort of PPP loan that would allow him to continue to maintain his business. We booked a family vacation to RI and used Durkin for this booking and 6 days before our vacation the governor of NY, NJ and CT placed Rhode Island in the state mandated quarantine list. Unfortunately my wife is an essential worker and this would not allow her to return back to work if we traveled to Rhode Island. We made multiple inquiries about a refund on our $3000 rental and they denied us. We are very disappointed in the business practice of Mr. Durkin and his company and will be looking into taking legal action if necessary. All that have experienced this with Mr. Durkin and his company, let's join together and report these unethical actions that have been taken against us. read more

If you are looking for a vacation home by the beach in RI, don't book through Durkin. Our cottage (on Eire road) was not even cleaned when we arrived and the back was full of trash. Good thing we brought our sheets/towels because I would not have used anything of theirs. The floors were so filthy, there was dust everywhere, and the table was sticky. How hard is it to wipe stuff down and clean it out before the new people arrive? The beds, oh my goodness, we didn't even last the whole week. The beds were so uncomfortable we left 2 days early. I never complain about vacation homes. It's all about have a break, enjoying family time, and relaxing. Couldn't do that here. The worst of it is that Durkin didn't care. My mother called and said we were leaving early because it's an awful home and the lady didn't care. Didn't even ask why or want info. Told my mom to drop off the key. I'm giving it 2 stars because the outside shower was the best part (even though it nearly took our skin off since the water pressure was super hard). The deck was a nice thing to have too. The whole experience with Durkin was not a good one. Look elsewhere. read more

My Dad rented a beach house from them for 2 weeks. We were so looking forward to spending time as a family. We got to spend ONE day there. Don't rent from these people. They are only after your money. The house looked beautiful in the photos. Nice interior and great backyard with a beautiful view, but unfortunately you couldn't sit or walk in the backyard without getting attacked by mosquitos! He spoke with one of the neighbors and he said the owner used manure for the lawn and that's why the mosquitos were so bad. It was a breeding ground. No matter how much bug spray we put on, they mauled us! Worse than that...... there were bed bugs!!!!!! We didn't even get to sleep there. My dad has pictures to prove it!!! I called the office myself and they said "maybe someone brought down a dog with fleas" WHAT?????? We had no dog and they weren't fleas. They were bed bugs. They denied the whole thing, yet, had someone come to bomb the place. When my Dad went to the office there were two women Karen and Stephanie. Stephanie would not even acknowledge him and Karen was a true Karen... would not even respond to his questions. He told them He would pay for the first week but wanted his money back for the second week. NO RESPONSE!! He waited and still no response by phone, text or mail. He emailed them the pictures of the bed bugs and the bites on my body. NO RESPOSE AND NO RETURN OF HIS MONEY OR SECURITY DEPOSIT. He can't take them to court because they have more money than God so he ended up eating the loss. DISGUSTING!!!!!!! DON'T RENT FROM THEM OR YOU WILL REGRET IT!!! I don't even want to give them 1 star. It's just so sad. My Dad is a hardworking man and paid ALOT of money for the two weeks at this beach house on Great Island. He was only asking for a refund for the second week, even though he was only able to stay 2 nights. I just wish they were a decent company who did the right thing. Very sad. read more

URI COLLEGE RENTERS AND PARENTS - PLEASE READ - IT'S LONG BUT GREAT INFO - When you are renting a home through Durkin for the academic year please STRONGLY consider doing the following: Go through the ENTIRE rental and take photos of EVERYTHING immediately upon move in. This means all windows, all rugs, all furniture, all tops of furniture, backs of furniture, every headboard, every cabinet, every screen door, every door, window, inside the fridge, all bathrooms, anything outside and around the house, etc. and make certain that you keep these photos in a file on YOUR phone or computer WITH DATES. Concentrate on items that are ALREADY WORN AND USED (this is key) and send Durkin this file. Anytime ANYTHING goes wrong in the house you must contact Durkin immediately via email (for proof and with photos) to arrange for the problem to be fixed ASAP no matter how small or insignificant because it will cost you in the end. Also, well in advance to move out day or when you sign the contract strongly consider A FINAL WALK THROUGH WITH THE HOMEOWNER, JIM DURKIN AND YOUR PARENTS. Your parents should be present for this! This is how professional property management does business and you should not be told this is not an option if you are requesting it. This information is not in your contract for obvious reasons. Have Durkin/owners sign off that everything is acceptable and note what needs to be fixed or replaced at that time and BEFORE the owners go in and start finding "problems" after you have left the premises. You may also find it extremely difficult to work with Durkin at this point as they have your deposit and the owner is always "too busy" and "in and out" to return calls. This is a complaint that academic renters and parents are frequently faced with as well as seasonal renters. Remember, YOU just paid upwards of 20/35k for an academic rental and you should be allowed to inquire about damages if you have questions and should receive a courteous and timely reply. Also, make sure that you have the owners direct contact information just in case you find the need to have questions answered that you will not be able to have answered through Durkin. It's also a good idea to have contact with the person (make sure they are licensed) who is doing repairs. This review is NOT about money, deposits or the renters responsibility to repair appropriate damages needed for the homeowner. That is a given. Our academic rental did not require too much repair as it was gently rented and well taken care of but.....This review is about the lack of professionalism and principal of how business is handled between Durkin Realty and the renters after the fact. Consider this lonnnnng review a gift. Have an amazing academic year 2020 - 2021. Go Rhody! We URI #besmart #besavvy #takephotos read more