Beware, if you list your rental with Lauren she will list it double the comps to get her large commission without caring how long the place sits unoccupied costing you thousands. read more

Contacted Loran Meadows to list my Venice island property. She came out twice and never called back I left several messages still no response . They are making a commission and I guess it doesn't matter .No wonder Loran and her company got a whopping 2 stars that is too much. There right in there with rental company of Venice. Tim sends out a plumber then charges me more then the plumber got. Don't deal with either one. read more

****RENTERS BEWARE**** I made the first mistake renting from Lauren Meadows cal in October 2019. Property manager who is suppose to have your back when it comes to MAJOR issues with the house, is NOT Lauren Meadows. Sewage problem after sewage problem tub and toilet backing up on a monthly basis. Outrageous electric bill because our windows leaked and we're 40 years old with a 15 year old a/c that never got below 78!!! Then got the boot because now he sold it. Fast forward a little, I gave her the benefit of the doubt and went with her on my next rental......NIGHTMARE!!! We had caulked and taped windows through out the entire house rotted out back door heater on the pool went out a month after we moved and never had it fixed but the price of the heated pool was in our rent. Falling down rotted fence with missing panels cuz of the storms was never fixed. Soccer grown trees and bushes they were never addressed before moving then expected us to pay 1500-2500$ to have it cleared out. Pool issues that were never fully addressed!! List goes on.........oh a broken dishwasher for 4 months with a 'new' used one sitting in my living room until we moved out and they installed it. Hhmmmmm I'm sure I can go one!!! But that's good for now...... read more

Lauren Meadows and her team did a great job with three rental properties we owned in North Port. She was very thorough and managed all the details of renting out the properties. Lauren was very patient with my ailing father and helped him to place tenants in his properties and efficiently handled all aspects of the rental: interviews and background checks, rent collection and they even managed any little issues that arose like air conditioner malfunction etc. Lauren was readily available to speak with me as needed and quickly communicated anything I needed to know. The all important monthly accounting was always prompt and correct and sent via email at the beginning of the month. We were so happy with Lauren that we listed the three properties for sale with her. She sold the properties quickly and at or over asking price. I would recommend Lauren Meadows to anyone. read more

I feel the first person we meet in a business should be the director of first impressions. I did not have a good visit I may be leasing today but buying tomorrow. This will not be one of my stops when it is time to purchase. read more

This person and business is very unprofessional and I would not recommend them for managing my property or as a potential renter.

AGENT IS HARD TO WORK WITH We rented Feb-May 2013. We needed something right away and just grabbed the first house we saw. Really easy sale! The agent LOREN was horrible about returning calls. The house had several repairs needed and basically none were done. The cable was one thing that I was persistant to get fixed. I was specific in the leasing agreement that we had to have an internet connection. I called the agent LOREN for 2 months complaining that the internet wasn't working. Finally, more than half way through our stay the VERY nice girl (she is no longer there) that answers the phone took care of getting the cable people out to the home. The cable people were shocked that I had any reception. The wires were frayed and barely connected. We used our Verizon Hotspot and had an enormous bill because the cable wasn't working and we needed to work. With all the ripped screens and various fixes needed the agent thought to bring us a pillow protecter. REALLY? A pillow protector? Nothing we had asked for but something the agent LOREN thought was needed. Finally the end of May rolled around and I was still fuming at the lousy service but thought we'd better wait for this review until our deposit was returned. Before we left I let LOREN know the place was cleaner than when we arrived and I expected our deposit back. I asked where she was sending the deposit check to and she had planned on sending it to the house we rented to us 2 months after moving out???? OMG, I asked why she would send it there and she looked at me like I was nuts and said aren't you having your mail forwarded. I would have to guess a normal vacation rental would have a sheet you complete similar to an apartment with a check list of the items and condition of the place. We received nothing like this. Certainly any business returning a deposit would inquire as to where the check should be sent. Honestly, this rental agent LOREN was incredibly unhelpful. To top it all off, we were actually looking for a house to buy and had mentioned this to her. Wouldn't a business person use that lead since it's in her field? JUST AWFUL! read more

Jan. & Feb. of 2012, we rented a house on Pineland Ave, Venice Fl from Era preferred properties. Our agent was Lauren Meadows. SNOW BIRD RENTERS BEWARE! A friend of ours living in the Gulf saw a sign on a house with her name. Called her and explained we wanted to rent a home for a few months in the winter. She told us about this cute little bungalow, gave us the site to see the pictures. Assured us the place was very clean and we didn't have to deal with well water, ( like another home she told us about ) The home was from the 60's and looked clean on the pics. Almost died when we pulled in on New Years Day. The home was not clean, ceiling fans had layers of thick dust, black dirt coming down from the registers in the ceiling. The shower only trickled because the pipes were so corroded. And yes there was well water. The water tasted so bad we had to buy gallons of water from Walmart. But the worst part was cock roaches. Called her on New Years day, but she was already gone from the office. My cousin lives 3 hours away and she came here and we spent several days cleaning and spraying inside and out side of the home for the dreaded roaches. Our grass was a mile high. The yard hadn't been cut since the pictures we saw of the property in July and we got there in Jan. The sun porch was so dirty we could never sit out there. Finally Lauren Meadows got our message and contacted us. She said she spent several hours at the home with the cable guy, and the house was clean and free of bugs. But if we weren't happy we should of called and she would of had a cleaning crew come in. ( Found out later from the cable company that they weren't at the home for more than a year. The first month the cable rarely worked so no tv. Called cable company several times. They tried to fixed it from the office, but it didn't work. Finally they sent someone out. The man was so shocked how frayed the wires were outside the house, he couldn't believe that we ever had tv working. I told him " they were here with our real-estate lady a month ago, why didn't they fix it them. He called the office and they said the last time they were there was Dec. 2010. So how Ms. Meadows could of spent several hours with the cable man is beyond us.) Honestly a house from hell, but what can you do, when all the payments were made. We made the best of it and found a beautiful place to rent this winter. This time we got to see the home first hand. read more

I never write reviews but felt compelled to do so after the experience my wife and I had with "ERA Preferred Properties" in Venice, Fl. We were looking for a short-term rental during what is referred to as "in season". Someone suggested ERA as having reasonably priced properties available so we contacted them and were shown several condos and private homes. I must say that this agency seems to specialize in musty old claptraps at exorbitant prices and demand to be paid in advance for the entire term. We signed a 3-month lease on a condo since we had few choices on short notice and paid nearly 10K for the privilege. Upkeep on the property was non-existent and the place smelled so bad we had to run out and buy air fresheners for each room. In addition, the day after we moved in, we noticed a particularly funky odor coming from the kitchen and discovered that under the sink was a plastic basin that was overflowing with water from a major leak. Every time you ran the water, it leaked into this "catch basin". We called Lauren and were told to simply "empty the basin into the sink and put it back in place". Naturally, this was not acceptable to us and was a violation of the lease and Florida statute. Later that day, a plumber was dispatched who could not believe what he saw, but did fix the leak, which turned out to be a major job. A week later, we opened the sliding door for some fresh air but later that night we were unable to get it to lock properly thereby compromising our security while sleeping. We called Lauren who said in a nasty tone that "it worked fine when she was there" and proceeded to hang up on us. I could go on and on, but to make a long story short, if you are looking for a decent place to stay in Venice, FL avoid these people at all costs. To add insult to injury, we recently received only a small portion of our security deposit back. They even have the gall to add sales tax indiscriminately. For example, our cable bill for February was $58. They paid Comcast $58, but deducted $58 plus a "tax/service fee" of 12.5%, presumably for paying the bill. Simply Unbelievable!!! read more

Absolutely the worst property management company!! Don't use them they are terrible. I went with this company back in December poor communication from them. They don't get back to you in any timely manner. Also they didn't show my place to anyone!!! When I told them I wasn't happy and was ending my contract the owner lauren started yelling at me telling me my place was a mess when my place was impeccable she never even saw it until four months after I went with that company didn't tell me anything about how to place items ,what to put in it ,if I should put bedspread on beds. Then Alex took pictures of my place without a mattress and one of the platforms and put the pictures on the website and to top it off Lauren the owner didn't know he put those pictures up!! But everything was my fault I wanted out. She made it very difficult and was yelling at me and arguing with me and wanted to charge me a fee to end the contract I would stay very clear of this property manager-they are not very nice people read more

Was looking for An annual.... realtor was pleasant but issue was with how the company handled my application....we lost a large business during down turn of economy: CLEARLY explained our situation!!!!! Gave documentation to prove income could easily manage monthly fee. CLEARLY explained credit would not show well but have been longstanding credible family who came upon hard times but now stable. Took my $125 no problem with application said might have to explain in a letter. Then denied us with no request for that letter. We offered to pay more on security...... denied. Very unfair as the world knows MANY are in our shoes. Felt led on...lousy feeling. read more

I rented a house in Venice, FL, through ERA Preferred Properties of Venice and the manager, Lauren Meadows for the month of January 2016. In various communications via phone and email, I told her we needed WIFI. She indicated she would arrange for WIFI with the owner. At no time did she say that I would be responsible for the cost. There was nothing in writing about any cost. When we received our deposit back, a charge of $40 was deducted for Internet Services. When I called her to discuss this, she said that "it is normal for a customer to pay". I told her this was not the case in two previous rentals and that she had not told me about having to pay at any point. She said she sent out a notice on this before I rented and I asked her to "resend" this notice since I clearly had not received it. She did not. I asked her for my money back and she did not respond. I wrote her a letter asking for a refund and I have heard nothing back. I am very disappointed with how Lauren has handled this. By ignoring a customer and by not being "clear" about the customer paying for Wifi, she is getting a poor review on YELP. read more

RENTERS BEWARE!! Stay away from Lauren and ERA of Venice. After 4 flawless years of excellent tenancy, vacating the home in excellent condition, Lauren did not return the security deposit. In fact she created several false charges to net out my money ($1,850.00) and keep it herself. Very unscrupulous businesswoman and I will NEVER do business with her or that company again. read more

Wanted to book a seasonal rental. The Realtor in charge of the rentals is named Laura. When I called a month ago she was on vacation and was told to call after labor day. Then after labor day I called and she was sick, and was told she'd be in the next day. I was told that same excuse for a week and a half. All I had were a few questions and asked her receptionist if she could find out the answers for me and call me back. Unfortunately her receptionist never called me back either. Finally I called again and Laura was back in the office but unavailable. Again I left a message with no return call. I was referred to her by another company but after doing my own research I found better seasonal rentals from different companies with more of a user friendly website. Because http://www.veniceflproperties.com/ is a HEADACHE to look at and read. I guess I am slightly grateful she never called back but jez what a crappy way to run a company. read more