I have been cleaning a large scale building through First Service for 5 years now (6th year here with this site) with my business Glass Castle Services (5 stars on yelp, I know right) :) and this last year was very smooth. They have a lot of great tools and a productive team. I would like to give a shout out to Paula Manriquez for filling some big shoes of a manager that left Fs, we get a lot of projects and things done. Things are rock solid and taken care of quickly, efficiently and the building owners are very happy. I also am so impressed with how quickly the accounting department pays my small business. Crystal Johnson has been very helpful with the vendor department providing an amazing platform on when building cleaning bids come up. Catherine Litke, Jessy Nickolas, Hanna Litke, Marci Halldorsson are top notch on helping us with guest suite bookings and moving schedules. It's been such a good flow of communication so we can keep our clients happy. Brenda Briant is by far the most wonderful front of house first service representative I have ever worked with. She deals with a lot of different energy's and always keeps a calm, professional and caring administrator. I am so happy having such great people to help me with my busy cleaning business and even though first service is a very large national company; they do well because we work together as a community. Thank you. read more

This business has some of the worst customer service I've ever encountered for a major property manager. There's no way to get in touch directly with the Calgary office. All calls are routed through a central call centre, where the agents are largely unhelpful and all they're allowed to do is pass along messages. I would give this business zero stars if I could. read more

First Service is by far the worst property management company I have ever experienced. They will say that they will call you back within 48 hours and there is never a call back. They will not take accountability for any issues and have created tons of red tape to make it harder for them to do any actual work. First Service is basically a call centre that push you to the next person on the phone only to never provide any solutions or support. It's the worst service I have ever seen from any company. read more

This residential property management company loves to gain new clients immediately after builders have completed the condo complex. They accept bylaws written by the builders (builder advantage) and therefore are able to expand their holdings by "being in bed with the builders". I truly wish there were a law against this as most condo boards are volunteers and don't have definitive or long standing knowledge and or experience in condo management. This allows the condo management corporation to gain great portfolios, make lots of money, however it is a kin to having the same realtor sell you a house when they are the representative realtor for the seller. read more

The front desk is just rude, try to listen what residents struggle at least following so many rules and learn and not be grumpy and try to smile at least. read more

I have been renting from them and I can attest to their poor management. https://globalnews.ca/news/5256123/airdrie-condo-carbon-monoxide-lawsuit/ read more

Desirae has been managing our building and it has been nothing short of a nightmare. Valid concerns are dismissed, her responses are unprofessional and ignorant. Clearly not there to help but just collect a nice paycheque for doing nothing to get issues resolved. I do not recommend this management company, beware! read more

TL;DR - The low reviews here are all correct, there's a reason that FSR has such a poor rating. Never rent or buy from any place that uses them. Builders and industry folk, do not ever use them to manage any of your products; your reputation will suffer greatly. Do not be deceived by first impressions or a good word, after all these low reviews since 2012 show that FSR will never let go of their ego. FirstService Residential is infamously unresponsive no matter if it's an email or phonecall, and regardless of the representative. They also seem to constantly violate bylaws and disregard the Condominium Property Act. We have already gone through a couple of their staff in our building, and their latest building manager who goes by 'Liz' is even worse than the last one. At least Marcus tried to show that he was somewhat serious about his job and made efforts to communicate monthly about goings-on in the building, such as cleaning schedules or just reminders to keep our community safe. Nowadays, we randomly lose power or water without any warning and only get lip service when everyone complains. Marcus would usually respond if you followed-up a second time and takes time to logically explain why an action was taken, whereas you better thank your lucky stars if Liz responds at all. Even worse, Liz never takes responsibility for her job, instead taking out her anger on you and making nonsensical excuses when you explain how unprofessional she is being. It also seems that Liz is showing favoritism towards fellow rental companies while snubbing the owners whom she is supposed to be accountable for. The same typical issue about parking, noise, or maintenance is blatantly ignored when it comes from owners but when it comes from the rental then suddenly the alarm is sounded and a so-called 'important notice' gets blasted to everyone specifically about a rental's complaint. We wouldn't be surprised if there is some $$$ and bribery involved to cause this. Finally all condo owners have the right to attend AGMs and request board records, however all the FSR representatives seem to purposely hide this information and never give a straight answer when anyone asks about it. I have never seen a notice about AGMs in all the years I have lived here, and nobody knows who is on the Board. An amenity that was one of the selling points of our building got removed without any notification or reason, yet this isn't reflected in lower condo fees. Who's pocketing the savings?? The lack of transparency only seems to prove that FSR is hiding the abuse that goes on and erroneously believing they have a monopoly on the industry. read more

5 years since dealing with this company... not improvement at all. 1. not given proper advices / guidance to the naive condo board ( 3 years no AGM) 2. Wrong invoices/Billings 3. ignored residents/owners complains read more

My experience has been a nightmare. Our complex (Killarney Manor SW) has balcony repairs from 3.5 years ago which are still not completed - no contractors have been hired - and no estimates if or when the repairs might be completed. There is water damage to units from 2.5 years ago - still not addressed - and the company does not respond to the affected owners (that I've spoken with) to address their concerns. I have personal water damage to my unit from the improperly sealed balcony repairs, which is now getting worse with each new rain storm... there could be mold growing in my walls - but the company has not responded nor sent anyone to assess the damage. FirstService Residential has not returned a single phone call to date (only voice mail available in Calgary), citing that they need a paper trail? then - they only respond to easy emails that do not deal with building repairs. The Condo Docs and Financials are behind on their website which prevents owners from being able to sell their units in a timely manner - and with no disclosed plans to finish the balcony or unit repairs in the building, owners are basically held hostage - unable to sell - while we watch our property values decline. Whether it's Go0gle Reviews, Better Business Bureau, Yelp - or others, this company has a plethora of 1 Star Reviews with long descriptions of the problems faced - I find this to be more credible than the few "too good to be true" 5 star reviews this company has. I absolutely would not recommend this company! And please do not comment below with your Duplicate "Cut and Paste" Response - where only the Name changes between each complaint... This only magnifies the lack of empathy and caring already mentioned by others. read more

Wish there was a Zero star option. TERRIBLE property management company. I own a few condos and this management company is by far the worst. They don't respond to phone calls, emails and have no way of being able to contact them. They don't even visit the condo building ever. Every time we have to contact then about something, they want us to send a picture cause they're too lazy to drive over and look at it themselves. We've recently complained about landscape issues - they turn on the sprinklers 5 times a day when it's raining so the ground is soggy and has been destroyed by mowing equipment. Now it's started snowing and they didn't salt the walkways or parking lot, so everything has turned into black ice. But of course, you can't get in touch with them. Avoid this company at all costs if you can! They continually defer the emails to someone else and don't ever solve or acknowledge the problem. That's how the company runs, they constantly defer or ignore emails - and do nothing for the money they are paid. read more

First of all if you're thinking of renting First Service property, don't. Just walk away, don't even be tempted in assuming that ohhh, maybe those bad reviews are just angry people that give everything low reviews. I assure you all of the bad reviews are substantiated. When I first looked I read the reviews and thought, oh it can't be that bad. Well, sorry it is. After 4 years living in an FSR property and having to deal with them I implore you to just walk away and look at something else. They happily promise you things, lie to your face when showing you a property and very happily take your money and give you nothing but grief in return. At first, your first little while things are ok. You think this this awesome, no stress, the minute that something goes wrong and you (heaven forbid) bring it up you're pretty quickly branded as difficult and given the run around. Right up until they can bully you and make you feel like you're crazy. So again, just don't do it, this company should be audited. Happy to share my experience if it helps keep other people going through what I had to. So, just walk away from FSR. Don't rent from them or hire them. Trust me. read more

Wish I could find words to express how angry and disappointed I am. This company and their service is worst. Worst is too good for them. They are horrible. Just bought a condo in a building that FirstService Residential is the property management company. I have been trying to contact them regarding cracks showing up on wall and a crazy 24/7 noise from facilities. Although I have contacted them numerous times via email and phone they have provided, they have never got back to me. Horrible service. I hope they go bankrupted. I hope they go out of business and pay for all the dirty money they are making for doing nothing. read more

If you want a lesson in Chinese water torture, call the general line 403-299-1810. The Calgary office right? Wrong. You've reached the call centre in Miami. But, they must have all the contact information and phone numbers in Calgary right? Wrong again... on my 2hr45min search to reach the condominium document department I talked to, yet another layer of insulation -- which I had to email! That department charged with 'helping with document orders' had no pho enumerated or contacts in Calgary either. But they maintained they couldn't do their job and were just their to forward the request to the Calgary office -- what a run around!! In the end I tried calling in a fire or police emergency -- don't waste your time being bashful. They just piss it down the drain. This company is torture to deal with -- hope you have better luck than I do. We used to call condo first 'condo last' -- name still applies. Last company I'd hire for property management and service :( read more

I wish I could give a ZERO star rating. They have no problem collecting full condo fees, however, they will not respond if there is an issue. There is a leak from the unit above and has caused considerable water damage. The community manager does not respond to phone calls or emails. read more

I think this the worse property management I have never seen in my life. They basically do nothing. if you need assistance and call them, they transferred you to different people and eventually ask you to email the property manager who never respond to any request. read more

FirstService Residential has been our condo management company for many years and I had the pleasure of having Terry Forster as our Community Manager for the past few years. She has always been prompt in answering many of my enquires the next day, if not the same day. She has always took the time in answering my enquires in detail and follow up with my needs. She is very dedicated to her work, very pleasant and friendly to work with. With the most recent interaction with her, she went above and beyond, out of her work duties to find answers to my questions, instead of redirecting me to different departments. I would like to send a big Thank You to Terry for all her help. read more

Roselyn Clinton is our community manager and I would highly recommend her and First Service for all your condo management needs. She is friendly, caring and very efficient at her job. A joy to work with! read more

This company took over management of our condo complex November 1, 2014. We only got the notice letter today also DEMANDING payment for November's condo fees. I'm sure they could have sent out the notice letter before hand to ensure that pre auth payments were completed in time for November 1st. Also our building is located in AIRDRIE and they sent us contact info for emergency and non emergency services for CALGARY. What a lack of attention to detail. read more

FirstService Residential - City of Calgary emergency & non emergency contact info for our building located in AIRDRIE. We use RCMP and don't have 311! - Property Management Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

They don't respond to emails or voicemails! if you need them, good luck being able to talk to them! Above all, I hope you won't have to deal with this company in an emergency situation they are slow, incompetent, and do not care about you at all! No wonder the residents are all unhappy with their services and call them self-service residential! Definitely one of the worst building managing companies in Calgary! 1 star is really way more than what they deserve! read more

I've had the misfortune in dealing with this company for 8 years while living in a condo. I was part of the board and even became president (because I was the last remaining board member). No one liked dealing with our condo manager. She was slow to respond, not very helpful and very condescending. I don't see how she has kept her job all this time. The list is too long but I have certain incidents that I can share if you like (just msg me). If you're ever going to live in a property that is run by Condominium First (now First Service) then turn around and walk the other way. You'll thank me later. That being said, the documentation staff is about the only good thing in this company. They were fast, and nice to speak to. read more

After countless times reaching out to this company to fix the gaping holes on the foundation cracks where water, mice, bugs, and air enter from, there's still no response nor any follow ups on their end. For some reason all the other units got their foundation cracks all sealed up except ours, and I can almost guarantee it's because our would cost more to fix since they have let it slip by 2 years in a row now. It is now closer winter, and with today's snowfall, the snow removal crew was here ever since this morning, yet the snow on our pathway was not cleared along our side, including our neighbors. I see the snow removal guys just chatting and having a smoke break. It wasn't until my mother in law had to hound one of the snow removal guys to ask why our side wasn't done, and it was only then that they decided to remove the snow. We're paying such a high premium for the maintenance of our facility and though there have been SOME improvements, they are frugal in the way they improve things. We'll be speaking to ACMA to escalate this further, because I truly question the ethics behind the people managing our property in this area. read more

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Awful service and very rude managers. They refuse to deal or resolve any issues and don't want to listen to people. I am so frustrated and feel very helpless. It feels like a big scam where all they do is try to take your money. This industry is supposed to be all about customer service, but I don't think they know what that means. This is people's residence they're dealing with, and people want to live in peace not be terrorised and bullied. read more

This is a terrible company you can get never get ahold of anyone they don't answer voicemails they don't answer your emails. I've been living in a condo for 5 years and this is the management company that's in charge of everything horrible horrible service. read more

we got a new manager named terry foster. what a difference she makes ! she is competent, smart (speaks multiple languages) and customer service oriented. unlike the predecessor who was horrible in her job, she can be reached on the phone and she answers her email. i can recommend this manager read more

This management company should be dissolved ASAP. I live in a condo in downtown Calgary. The windows in our building have not been cleaned in over a year. If it weren't for some of the owners in the building the green space would be a disaster. The company is unwilling to provide any support in the up keep of the grounds. It is an embarrassment to have visitors come into the green space. I sent an email over a month ago regarding why the windows hadn't been cleaned. Still haven't heard back from anyone. You should be ashamed to call yourselves a quality management group when you are at the least sub standard in every way. read more

When the new property management company took over one of the large buildings I clean daily I was very impressed with the manager they gave the building. Her name is Shelley and she is top notch. I feel as though she goes above and beyond to make sure things are going smoothly. She makes sure things get taken care of as quickly and efficiently as possible. She spends a lot of time understanding the building from my perspective as the cleaner and addresses the needs of the owners, allowing me to run my business more productive. communication is vital in both our business's. Thanks !! read more

Awful property managers, you will find they send frequent bylaw violations, even if you are acting in complete compliance. You can't win. They make living in your residence complete h*ll for owners. It takes multiple emails to get them to respond for anything wrong with your unit. I pay $600 in condo fee's a month (for garbage removal and cleaning of hallways???) and i've had two bylaw violations ($500) and one assessment fee ($187) in the last 6 weeks. Very unprofessional. They also wanted me to sign off on bylaw revisions, without providing a finalized, non-draft version (which seems illegal). Make sure you have a good lawyer if you plan on dealing with this company. They are exactly the kind of company worth reporting to the Alberta Ombudsman's office. https://www.ombudsman.ab.ca/about/about-the-alberta-ombudsmans-office/ read more

Worst propriety management company in Calgary area at least. Customer service 0, customer care 0, getting a hold of someone after "office hours" 0, communication 0 An example...water shutoff scheduled for 8am-6pm in the building. At 6:30pm there was still no water...tried contacting all the numbers available (even emergency line) and email address given..no response Had to figure out which plumbing company is working in the building, contact them and find out that the water will now be back "around 8pm". Cause what else to do on a Monday after work than to wait until "8pm" to start your household tasks I'm thrilled that the condo fees are going up and the customer service plummeting down. Lucky that you must give at least one star in order to write a review cause this business is complete waste of time read more

I feel SO compelled to review this company. If I could get on the news, I would. I will ensure I review anywhere and everywhere I can using every facet of social media available and reach as many people as possible. First Service Residential is the worst organization I've ever dealt with in my life. I own multiple properties, have either owned or rented 3 properties in which Condominium First/First Service Residential has managed - 2 of these properties ended up pushing them out and selecting a new management company because of their gross misconduct or lack of financial management. 1. They are a rip off. They gauge owners at every opportunity - and offer very little support for owners. 2. They are extremely unprofessional and the community managers have zero accountability - and hide behind the 'decisions' of the BOD - which are often not at all qualified to be in a position to deal with people/owners - let alone be on the board. The community managers like this though, because they can use the incompetent and power-tripping board members to push their agenda. The support staff are always very helpful - a definite positive. If I can call out one person specifically, I would love to..but I guess I should refrain for legal purposes. (SW Calgary to give you an idea) Very unprofessional, inaccessible or reasonable. I'd avoid buying any property that she had anything to do with. She tanks the budget, and then turns the board into a bunch of cronies that formulate unsubstantiated 'infractions' and issue fines that are arbitrary, inflated, and not in alignment with the bylaws or policies that are set in place - then she hides behind the board saying that she can't do anything or review disputes when they don't have proof - because the infractions never happened - but they absolutely refuse to take responsibility for providing any proof. You can message me for details, but it's like the mafia. I understand the requirement for management companies and a board of directors - but STAY AWAY from First Service residential. It's not worth it. read more

FSR recently took over management of my condo complex. For 3 weeks I have been trying to get a new fob for the parking garage. After waiting a week for a fob to arrive I was able to go pick it up (for $100), only to find out when I got home that it was not programmed for my building. I have spent the 2 weeks since then waiting for the fob to be programmed. I get little to no response back on emails, and when I do it almost seems as though they think it is not their problem. I have still not been given a timeframe for when the problem will be solved. Their handling of such a small, basic problem with the condo makes me afraid for what might happen if the problem is more serious. I never want to deal with them again. read more

Hi, for my recent move to the condo unit, First Service is the management and reached few times for process getting keys, elevator booking, etc., I see the response from them is very very bad. even no confirmation whether they are OK with my timing etc., no confirmation, and a bit are rude in communication as well. read more

They hire managers right off the street with zero experience and go thru them like socks. If you want a young girl who doesn't know plumbing from janitorial, has never seen a financial statement and never answers calls/emails - then you'll love First Service. If you want actual management - run, dont walk, run away from this farce. The district managers are not better. Accounting will not bill properly or provide financial statements that make sense. Residents will never receive fines and god help them if First Service decides to stop billing, overbill, wrong bill .... one has to wonder if they entered a "how bad can you screw up to get fired" contest. read more

Possibly the worst property management company I have ever dealt with. Makes my living experience in my Calgary condo far worse than it need be. The staff are rude, unknowledgeable and they will levy fees to your account without notification. Surprised such a terribly run company is still allowed to operate. read more

If you're looking to rent in Calgary, do yourself a favour and don't live anywhere managed by FirstService. Some of their staff are nice, but many of them lack basic knowledge of their properties or who the go-to people are for solving different problems. Most rental companies are pretty good over email - FS is the worst I've dealt with by far. Slow to reply to emails, promises get made by email but don't get followed through, and even after a year still couldn't manage to add both tenants to their mailman list. When we rented the unit, we were promised the unit would be "professionally cleaned." It wasn't. If the unit was cleaned at all (I doubt it), it was done quickly, with little attention to detail. The unit was filthy when we moved in and we spent a week cleaning it. Then there's their problem with money. Like most places they required a first-and-last deposit. Despite paying that up front, they still withdrew funds from our account for the first month - a big no-no. Then, after we switched to a new management company, they kept withdrawing money from our account even after promising to stop. FirstService added stress, inconvenienced us in almost every interaction, and did next to nothing to make things right. I'm embarrassed to have rented with them after reading these other weak reviews, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone in any situation. Take your money somewhere else; they don't deserve it. read more

The absolute worst company to deal with! They don't answer the phone, don't return calls or reply to emails. When we do FINALLY find someone to talk to, it is next to impossible to get them to follow through with anything. We've owned our condo for almost 5 years and up until a few wks ago, they had none of our information, they still had the previous owners information, even though we have been corresponding with them by phone, email and mail all that time AND they have been taking condo fees from our account!!! read more

Worst company I have ever dealt with in my life. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. I can't get a hold of them for anything. I've been up to date on condo fees for over 8 years. I fell behind a couple months in rough economic times, they cancelled my pre-authorized payments, put a caveat on my title, charged me $375 for the caveat, and $125 for a demand letter. I'm now trying to pay them and still can't get a hold of them. I don't recommend investing your time or money in any property that this company manages. read more

Terrible communication, property managers are impossible to get ahold of and do not get back to the residents. If communications are returned they are vague and unhelpful. read more

Haven't even been in the condo for 1 month and we learn't the other day that there's no money to pay for the garbage removal fee. the garbage room is a giant mess at the moment and there's no time frame given to us as to when the fee is going to get paid. 1/5, the future does not bode well. read more

I'd give this business zero stars if I could. They are impossible to get a hold of and the condo documents for the condo I own are not up to date making the sale of my condo difficult. read more