I been here 5 years and never missed a payment. The rent increases every single year. This time it went up 13%. The average increase in my area is 5-8%. I asked for a reduction, longer lease for same price, and asked if there was any other options to work out a reduction. Their answer was no we are firm on our prices and we do not negotiate. I asked if there were any incentives for a long term resident with good history and their answer was no. There are no incentives. There is no reason to stay with first key homes. They will charge the highest amount possible for the market and raise your rent as much as possible every single year and will never consider your situation to help you. Also they never check the condition of the property, after they fix one thing the next thing is broken and they have no idea what the house is looking like. Terrible service. If all rental companies are like this, it's best to rent from private owners. read more

I notified First key of mold growing in my kitchen, they came out in two weeks and cleaned the mold off with a cleaner and said it wouldnt come back. After evulating my health with my doctor we determined that something in the house was making me sick so I decided to move. I put in my early termination and told them I was moving due to the mold. I noticed the mold had returned to the same place five days after I put in my termination and made them aware that it had returned and it was showing up in other spots throughout the house. I asked who I needed to contact to prove I was breaking my lease due to the mold, the health inspector, the county inspector or hire a professional for documentation. That was 15 days before my last day in the home. I moved out of the home 14 days before the lease was over for my health. They did not contact me until yesterday to tell me that "they did an extensive investigation and they would not be waiving the termination fees, as I didnt give them time to address the issue." I told them about the mold and instead of inspecting where the moisture was coming from in the wall, they wiped the wall down. I gave them time to address the issue and refused to live in a moldy house so broke the lease. Now they want to charge me over 4K to break the lease when I only did so because of mold and uninhabitable conditions. I will be taking them to court to try to recoup the damages to my health along with the fee's. I have let the community know about the problems I have experienced and they have lowered the rent over 500$ from what they originally asked for because no one will rent the home. Would not recommend. It took over one month to get a reply and if they would have replied within the 15 days I still had access to the house I would have done what I needed to do to prove the mold and reason for moving. read more

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They rent out these homes that barely passes expectations. Once the rent gets bated with affordable rent and a insane lease your locked on a roller-coaster of events. You almost need a 2nd job to make up for the days you will miss off work dealing with the maintenance issues. Everything is your responsibility as a tenant with First Key. I have had my personal property damaged no one in higher management has ever addressed my complaint. They number one trick is for you as a tenant to repair there Gutters this the thing they love to get tenants on says maintenance. It's a never winning battle because you so desperately need to move in you over look the neglected things on the property. Needless to say I don't have anything nice to say about how they handled me and I pay rent on time try to stay low until something breaks again. I will not put mesh layers on your gutters because I don't own the property. read more

I recently just moved into to this property and put in a maintenance request. Chance the maintenance guy was very professional and knowledgeable about his job. He fix everything on my list and in a timely fashion. I'm truly grateful for his patience and understanding because I was a little frustrated and he was very considerate. read more

May 18 of 2025 I moved into a property owned by FIRST key homes. The properties located in Chelsea Alabama in deer Ridge LAKES the only property for rent. from the very beginning communications with FIRST KEY STAFF is impossible. when my stove suffered an electronic failure in the circuit board, I was told I could not use the stove. For 11 days I had no use of the stove. They never offered any kind of credit for my inconvenience. The property is nothing but hassle. It's located on the corner. You'll get HOA violations every other week and trying to communicate with FIRST key staff is impossible because you will be dealing with call centers in India. We finally found a house that we bought. I gladly paid the early termination fee of $3500 but they still managed to charge me $350 for landscaping fee that I was told all I had to do was trim the hedges and not worry about cutting the grass. But I was still charged. They are liars and a very bad company. Trying to get them to send me a link to the property to rate them and they wouldn't do it. Stay away from FIRST KEY HOMES. They are horrible. They really do suck. we will see how much they suck out of my deposit state of Alabama should look into them. read more

Please don't waste your money with Firstkey Homes! Very unprofessional they will try and scam you out of your hard earned money they will change move-in/out dates to get extra money for these raggedy properties with leaking ceiling and flooding floors. You're family deserves better keep looking. read more

The move in process was simple however we had issues while living there and after we moved out. when we moved in we noticed the AC was not cooling. It took us 6 months to get FirstKey Homes to fix the issue. Then we noticed the how water heater was leaking and took a month to fix that. It also took 6 months for them to fix the roof. The shingles were falling off and there were leaks everywhere. The move out process was a nightmare. They would call me nonstop to get me to stay. Everytime I told them no. they sent us a list of things they would charge for. I went through the list and fixed everything. They were supposed to do a pre move out inspection to let me know what needed to be fixed (this is on the lease) they did not schedule one and didn't do it. I moved out and left the place in the same condition I move into in, probably better condition. After a couple weeks I received my move out statement where they took all of my deposit They charged me outrageous amounts for cleaning and touchup paint. Things that I did prior to moving out. I reached out to them 2 weeks ago and never received a response. Long story short, DO NOT RENT FROM FIRSTKEY HOMES. Their customer service is terrible, maintenance takes forever and they will take all of your deposit and then some even though you left the home in the same condition as it was when you moved in. Save yourself money and don't do it!!! read more

Horrible company. Took my money to tour homes, that werent available! I was sent messages that homes available, went to see them had to pay fees to do self tour only to find out ten minutes later the home has already been leased days ago, but was sent email and text two hours ago that "house is back on the market". I went four times to look at this house that was "on the market, off the market". then they say, "well these houses go fast, you need to call us before you go look". I said, you sent me email and text, and rently took my money to go see the house. he replied, well they dont know if the house is on the market still!!!! Then i am paying for nothing!! DONT TRUST THIS COMPANY. IF YOU CAN GET A HOUSE THAT IS ACTUALLY ON THE MARKET, YOU MAY GET LUCKY! SCAM NO STARS read more

Had we known that First Key Homes was this shady we wouldn't have moved here , fist red flag was when we looked at the unit next door, Second red flag was we signed the lease and paid the deposit, third red flag was the leak in the ceiling that was very visible and it took 9 months for the third maintenance guy to find the leak we lived with black mold for months and had to buy numerous things to keep the mold down, then we dealt with a leak outside at the water meter which caused ice to form at the end of the driveway, next issue was the air conditioner was leaking down inside the wall so bad that a pump had to be placed in the attic , the next issue was hot water was leaking on the outside and the hot water heater had two parts that should have been changed before we moved in and it passed the inspection, the next issue was that we weren't billed for the water or any utilities until the next door neighbors and the utility company said that was our move in date and our move in date was last year, next after signing a new lease because of my health issues we couldn't move and after we paid the raised rent amount we were hit with a years worth of charges, after contacting First Key numerous times and the property manager only wanted to set up a payment plan which we could not afford with paying the current charges and asking numerous times to speak to someone in the corporate office still no contact and when we threatened to take Leagal action someone from the billing department contacted and assured me that she would work this out and we're still stuck with a payment plan that we can't afford , because we wouldn't be able to buy groceries or put gas in our cars to get back and fourth to work, I'm a senior citizen with health issues and my daughter also has health issues, renters beware do your research before you rent from this company. read more

absolute slumlords!!! they've owned the house next to mine for 6 years or so and they let their tenants live like trailer trash with broken down cars on the front lawn, garbage laying around the property, overgrown grass, a large fallen tree that sat near the street for well over a year before i could force them to take care of it, took them months to pick up logs left laying on my property from a tree they cut down. absolute scum of the earth bottom feeding slumlords!!! read more

Wish I could give 0 stars we have tries for 2 weeks to get in one of there homes with no call backs at all no emails nothing I've had to call every time to find any thing out definitely would not ever recommend renting from first key home....customer service absolutely sucks read more

Firstkey homes is terrible and we're probably going to be filing a lawsuit. Do not rent through firstkey homes.

They will NICKEL and DIME you during move out for as much of your security deposit as possible--no matter if you did everything right. Don't move out over the weekend, you will still be charged even if you sent pictures confirming the house is vacant. Money hungry SCAMMERS! read more

after 3 electrical inspections there is now a discovery of a bad switch and the company is trying to cover it up read more

If I could give zero stars I would. the company is a ripoff. they don't allow outside utilities you to go through them another ripoff. im getting billed gas and other bills from December and its April. the company sucks. they don't fix anything. havent Had my dish washer fixed and refrigerator went out took them a month to change it. THIS COMPANY HAS BEEN THE WORST. I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND THEM TO ANYONE!!! read more

moved in and paid about $5k just for them to scam and evict my family of 4 with 2 children under 10. we lived there, had a lease, used the app, paid rent, paid utilities. needed maintenance because the BRAND NEW ROOF was LEAKING. maintenance said we aren't even supposed to be occupy the home. called the police and the police verified the documents and couldn't put us out because we legally occupied the home. reached out to first key and got no help, BUT what they did do for us out of the kindness of their hearts was EVICT MY FAMILY OF 4 immediately and cleared everything out of the home. if you are willing to risk this, then be my guest. but for me and the money that was hard earned, I WILL NEVER REFER OR DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY ! waiting to see if this company is really being sued, this is rediculous. and when you call in, customer service can't help and management is "not in" even at 9am or 3pm. read more

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY! I had 3 maintenance items in ONE service call that lasted 15 minutes. One of the issues was fixed, the other two were glanced at, not fixed, and now I am being CHARGED $105 for each of the other two items! Again, ONE service call. One of the maintenance items are two well-established tree/bush that is 30 years old in the front yard. They died of old age/disease like trees and old shrubs do - not from lack of water or care. How i read more

I have an overflowing septic tank that is causing me to not have constant flowing water in my home. I called 4 times for an emergency maintenance issue and NO ONE has reached out or made a visit. I have been visited by the police and the water company because of the impact that water is having on my neighbors when its turned on. This is a total inconvenience and I'm tired of the insensitive behavior I keep getting. Earlier this year I put in a request for a molded shower issue, it took them 6 months to complete the work. This is unnecessary for a client who's never been late on rent since leasing with first key read more

This company repeatedly changes rent without warning, adds charges to your rent without cause, charges you for utilities even when you are directly paying your utilities on your own. Lots of double speak, help line people obviously trained to speak fast, not listen, and confuse you. If I were not stuck, I would find another rental. DO NOT go with First Key! read more

I rented a home from First Key in March of 2022.I had to rent online as I was moving there. It was a disaster.. No keys at all locksmith came completely trashed. garage full of junk to ceiling old refrigerators full of rotted food. We had to stay in hotel. First key did many many repairs..they had junkman come to clean out garage..we had our items in basement..big sign..do not take..went there to see gone..our things as well..first key gave us a $200 credit for well over a thousand dollars worth of things..had to re clean whole house..live there over two years never late rent..kept up place..many more repair calls. I put in n60 day notice to vacate..paid rent..paid pro rated rent for few days of next month as last day. Pre move out inspection..he said its move in ready..it looks great!! I should have full deposit refund..they charged me a late fee..no I paid on time. tried to charge me for a shelf they put up. then for carpet damage..there was none those rooms barely used. I asked for photos to compare with mine..their photos showed zero stains or damage. after too much threatening to take them to small claims court..finally reimbusing me late fee and carpet..shelf too..this company treats good paying renters like scum..i am still trying to get copies of last utility bills as i do not trust them as they took it out of my deposit.told me get them myself cant its in their name...i would never ever rent from them again..fight for yourself!! This company is horrible read the reviews read more

We have to pay our water through First Key Homes. There is not an option to have the account set up in our name. We have lived here since January 2020. This is the 5th time that our water has been cut off because of nonpayment by First Key Homes!!! read more

I tried to apply for a rental through First Key Homes. I paid $55 each for my wife and me. They pulled a credit history and criminal search and they denied my application because of a misdemeanor from 29 years ago. I called and complained but got nowhere. The person on the other end seemed like she was just reading off a sheet of canned responses. read more

Told me I have to move after I have been in this house 5 1/2 years because they sold my house and now to have aa decent house w/ good school system I have to pay more read more