Their apartments are great but the management is not. Out apartment was spick-and-span with my roommates & I taking triple the effort to clean every inch of it. Still, everytime the inspection lady came, she had only bad things to say. They charged us a whopping $150 from our security deposit for just a missing bulb and the burner covers! I had no idea they were notorious in charging tenants money over cleaning/maintenance at the end of the stay. In our defense, the patio bulb was already missing when we moved in. read more

I'm not sure where all of the bad reviews are coming from. I lived with these guys for about 4 years, and out of all of the rental companies, I've ever had PPM, has been, by-far, the best. If I ever had complaints, they were there to fix them. Twice during my four years, the water went wonky and started backing up from my sink. It was almost always in the middle of the night, though, but I called their emergency line, and they had someone there within a half-hour both times. Both times, the problem was resolved that evening. The repair guys were always friendly, and I ended up with a pretty good rapport with many of them. It's not that things were always breaking - it's that PPM was great about doing regular maintenance and replacing older appliances. The dishwasher detergent "door" stopped latching one day. I submitted an online maintenance request to see if they could fix it. The repair guy came by, looked at it, said my dishwasher a couple years older than some of the other ones in the building, and brought in a new dishwasher and replaced the entire thing that day. While I was living there, we also got a new oven, new toilet, new water heater, new air conditioning unit, and new light fixtures. They keep their apartments current and pretty. Common areas were vacuumed and cleaned on a regular basis. When it snowed or iced, it was shoveled and plowed before noon the next day. The garbage can for the mailboxes was regularly emptied. Despite the laundry being "Free", the laundry machines were always working great, and they even work way better than the "paid" ones I have to now pay for at my new property manager. Turns out I had been overpaying my rent for a couple months. Instead of just pocketing the money, they let me know and told me I could underpay the next upcoming month. Great service. Move-out inspection was pretty uneventful. Keep your own cleaning supplies around. The inspector let me know what things needed a "bit more", and she let me clean it then and there to avoid any fees. I didn't clean the oven, so I was charged three hours for that, but I consider that reasonable for the interior of it. They offer a utility guarantee for some of their apartments too. They have a number what you "should" be paying. If you pay more than that for utilities, they refund you half of the difference. Every year, I submitted for this (you need to submit for it, so keep your paperwork!), and every year they submitted my refund with no problems. It's good to know that they have incentive to make sure heating/electricity/insulation is as perfect as possible. The only downside is that they DID raise the rent every year on lease renewal. As this was happening to my friends renting with other companies, I think it was happening (and is) happening throughout Ames and PPM was just trying to stay competitive. From when I first signed the lease to when I moved out, I was paying about $75 more per month than when I first signed. All that said, if I would have known earlier that I would be staying in the area (silly job search), I would have re-rented with them in a heartbeat. They are, by far, the best landlords I've ever had. read more

Property managers are always hit or miss. PPM looked like a big hit for me: free laundry, a picnic area, an affordable apartment in a college town, and a repair guy second to none. However, they seem unwilling to allow people to get too comfortable. The one apartment of theirs I have experience with was clean and somewhat spacious, with an older fridge and stove that are functional, but no frills (the clock on the stove probably hasn't functioned for a decade), and a couple drywall issues gone unfixed from the last tenant. The building itself is in pretty good shape, though the garage seems a tiny bit worse for wear. It's also nowhere near CyRide. But I was wiling to overlook those things for their original asking price. Maybe that's how they rope you in. My first clue was this: the day after I first signed with them, I noticed that their web advertisement for my apartment said it came with a free garage space. I asked about it--too late, they said, I'd already signed the lease and would have to pay more per month for a covered space. They state--in letters to their tenants no less--that their real customers are their property owners (sorry renters: you're just there for the money). They've raised my rent every renewal period, and the fraction has increased each time (2.2%, 6.5%). While most companies reward loyalty, PPM seems to punish it. It's almost like they want people to stay for only one lease period and then leave. Overall, I think PPM just has too much on their plate. Too many properties means they've lost touch with their renters. So, if you're looking for personal service from the company itself, I'd look elsewhere. If you're a fan of being treated like a dollar sign, maybe they're right for you. read more

Ppm is a joke. Gary, the landlord, tries to evict you for anything. I have been threatened with eviction for smoking in my apt and I dont even smoke. Both Gary and Tracy have come in my apartment to do an inspection and said it smelled like smoked. I just finished grilling on my George Forman grill. In another instance, Gary took a picture of a cigarette butt laying outside my door and accused me of smoking. I have had friends stay here and Gary have accused them of the same thing. They smoke outside and was told them that it smelled like smoke. They never have any proof of any of this. The are supposed to give you 30 days to get out, they don't. They gave my friends 10 days. They do not go through the courts, like they are supposed to. Gary seems like he is trying to prove something. He does seem to want to work with anybody. This company lacks professionalism. read more

I would rate 0 stars if I could. I only made an acct. on yelp to try and warn people. Ever since I moved into my dilapidated apartment, which has seen 0% upkeep since it was first constructed in the 1960's. There was mold in behind the fridge, the basement fire escape was broken, and this wasn't even the bad part. For being called "Professional Property Management" they are neither professional nor good at management. I was told that I needed to add more money to my deposit on multiple occasions, I was threatened with eviction after THEY lost the rent check (which fortunately I had a receipt for), and I was never given notice prior to them coming over. Terrible people, terrible management (0/100). BE WARNED. read more

Just shy of counting as criminals What stikes me the most, is how they managed to let 130 terrible reviews disappear from google! This place had a lot of really bad reviews and they all vanished! First off, the apartment I lived in was fine for the most part. This review is just based on the property management. PPM is by far the worst landlord, I've ever had. Maybe I've been mostly lucky with landlords so far, but this is beyond anything, I could have imagined. While they don't care about problems that arise in the houses, they are quick to charge you for anything. You usually have to bug them multiple times and also then it is rather doubtful that they would actually lift a finger. When someone comes, most of the time they fix nothing. The hot water wasn't reliably coming, until the day I moved out. When I indicated on my check out date that this issue persists they said: "yeah, that's just like that in this building". In general, I am a very comfortable tenant and I am not a constant nagger. However, I do appreciate hot water. At my move out date, they came and were baffled how clean my apartment was. They said "this is the cleanest we have seen this move out period". They still charged me for cleaning the apartment. According to them, the window blinds were dirty. That's interesting, because I have not once (!) had them lowered. Not once! We had curtains and therefore didn't use the blinds at all. They couldn't have been dirty, unless they gave them dirty to us. They charged 4h of cleaning for $40 per hour. Firstly, I doubt they had to pay someone $40 per hour to clean empty apartments. Secondly, the list they had was work for at most 1.5h and at least 75% of that list was just a lie (window blinds being a pretty good demonstration for that). In conclusion, avoid them at all costs. Don't be fooled by the friendly smooth talking staff, that are seemingly nice. read more

ROACHES ROACHES ROACHES EVERYWHERE! goodness. and the office will try blaming it on you so that they can evict you (and still force you to pay thousands of dollars of the remaining lease eventhough they have forced you out) to make easy dirty money off of you. read more

There is nothing wrong with the apartment per se, but the management itself does not meet my standards. The employees treat my roommates and I like we are stupid and know nothing about renting... WRONG! I assume it is because most of their renters are college students (like us), but that does not mean they have to be impolite. We went into the office to dispute an email that we had received which said we owed them about two months rent. When we went in to discuss this email, because we had not only paid on time each month, but usually months in advance, they did not apologize or clear things up nicely. We were met with snippy remarks saying that everything was fine and they were getting more people with complaints like this... Every time we go into the office we are met with sub par customer service. The first day I moved in I paid my rent in full, and my contract said that was the day my lease started; However, they did not give me the keys to the apartment because they weren't working... WHAT?!?! read more

One of the worst and most unprofessional leasing office/management I've ever met. A couple employees are great and very helpful, but the manager is a nightmare. She tried to illegally keep our deposit and was very disrespectful and unprofessional both over the phone and in person. 0/10 would recommend. read more

This is the worst property manager in Ames, and I would give them negative stars if Yelp would let me. They are extremely difficult to work with and they find every way to keep your deposit. For example, before moving out, we cleaned for two days straight and the place was spotless. However, during the checkout they found a crumb in the refrigerator seal and we forgot to clean the drip pan on the back of the refrigerator! I didn't even know there was a drip pan! When we received our deposit they charged us for 3 hours of cleaning and for the carpet cleaning which totaled about half our deposit. I was furious and wanted to take them to small claims court, but we were moving out of the state, and it wasn't feasible. My advice is to stay away from this property manager even if they are offering to pay your utilities and provide you with free laundry. read more

I have lived at Riverbirch apartments, Ames, IA from 2012 -2019, and I have nothing but excellent reviews. The management is excellent, very kind and understanding. The apartments are maintained in an impeccable manner, and management is extremely prompt when it comes to repairs. The rent covered everything--utilities, laundry, snow removal, cable, wifi etc. It's ideal for graduate students--and its location is perfect. I highly recommend PPM to everyone. Thank you so much :) read more

First, in summary, this is a horrible company not responsible for what it has done, and is out of good management. Last year, we bought a property, and transferred the management from PPM. In the lease, they signed that the tenants pay $685/month, and also pay the utility. But PPM has never collected the utility, and only collected $670/month from the tenants. I am not sure whether the previous owner knows this big loss. When we and our agent talked to PPM, first they found many ways to postpone the meeting, and didn't respond. Finally during the meeting, they agreed on this mistake, but refused to inform the tenants of their mistake. This leaves a big loss to us. I warn all tenants and property owners: this company is not trustful and countable. read more

The worst rent company ive ever seen they come and fix stuff when you ask them to be shocked at the end of the rent that every thing is taken from your deposit i willl never ever take any property under this company name read more

I moved out of this apartment after a few years living there. I paid the extra charge to have it leased for the summer.They found people to lease it. I gave them notice, moved out and cleaned the place. Before the month was out I came back to make sure everything was done and there was an eviction notice on the door. I told them I was leaving, had moved everything out and they still went through an eviction. What? PPM claimed I "skipped" out. OMG. How can they get the early move out fee, see my stuff is all gone, and then claim I skipped? When I lived there they barged in all the time without proper notice. They were very bad mannered and made me feel like a trespasser in my own home. Very bad for tenants. I agree that we are not their customers. The property owners are. Maybe if enough of us complain people will avoid them. Stay away. read more

DO NOT RENT FROM THESE CRIMINALS. They took more than 60 days and several attempts by me to contact them before they would even talk to me about my deposit. After two solid months with no deposit (Iowa law requires your deposit be returned to you within 30 days. Criminals) only to be sent a BILL. When we left the apartment, it was clean and in good shape. Even if we missed a few things (unlikely) there is NO WAY that it required SEVENTEEN HOURS of cleaning. When you dispute the charges, they will send a rude, snotty reply, basically calling you a liar. I hope that check is worth it to them, as I will be posting a negative review on every site I can find and telling all of my Ames friends (I have a lot) to stay FAR AWAY FROM THESE CRIMINALS. read more

Be careful, they will try to keep your deposit. Make sure you are there for the walk through when you move out and make certain that everything is 100% good FOR SURE WITHOUT ANY DOUBT before you leave. I was at Cross Creek in Urbandale. I wasn't there for my walk through. When I turned in the key, I asked the girl I'd been working with if everything was good and she told me yes. It wasn't until I got back to my hometown that I found out another girl did my walk through and she found it to be "dirty." I cleaned swept and mopped so I'm not sure what their idea of dirty is. They kept my deposit, and when I disputed it with the main office, she responded by saying she didn't believe that I "not once asked" about my walk through. I hope they choke on that deposit money. read more

Horrible management company to live with. Worst in ames, they are super shady. They charge you late fees because they dont check their drop box, then dont tell you and continue to charge fees on top of fees and you dont find out until you get an eviction letter. They want your money also be there for the walk through gurantee you can have professionals clean your place and they will still keep at least half your deposit. Also they will straight up ignore you, gary is rude and wont email back. I found out my neighbor had bed bugs and they would not respond to my email or re assure me the issue was taken care of! read more

Don't be impressed with the free laundry and electricity. I signed for lease and a carport thinking I could drop it at any time. Turns out I cannot drop the carport on my rent and must sublease it. PPM lead me to believe something that was not true. If I could put a picket sign in front of PPM warning potential applicants I would. read more

When checking out, the ppm guy said your apartment looks good, however, they charged 9 hours labor for cleaning from your deposit. However, 9-hour is absolutely a cheating, as my previous neighbor (who is my friend) knows when the cleaning group went into the apartment and when they finished up. It seems they would like to make some more money from your deposit. read more

The only reason PPM gets any stars at all is because the property we rented from them was super cheap for how attractive and spacious it was. The actual people at the company are horrible. The office is VERY unorganized...multiple times they lost paperwork or weren't timely about it and blamed us. They would schedule showings and not show up, then come at random times insisting the showings had been scheduled. Not very friendly either. I suppose you get what you pay for. read more

This is the worst place to rent specially if you have kids. The management has no consideration of your comfort. They do not know the lease terms and dont explain them properly to you and later on since you signed bunch of papers with the test so small to read, they force those terms at you with no room for any flexibility. I agree with the other review by ppm_s. The similar situation happened with me except it was when we were leaving. They did not explain that we have to move out 1 day before the date on the lease (first of all, why the F*** they write the date and then ask you to move 1 day before that date on lease, why can not they write the date when you have to leave the property premises) and then forced us out. We have a kid and my kid was all crying and my wife pulled her muscle (she was alone and I was out). Management lady name Rochelle was stading there and did not give any flexibility and forced my wife and kid out. Later on they charged for a broken bathroom rod which we did not recognize. After several calls and big arguments they realized that it was already broken when we moved in and it was listed out in the previous tenant's move out report. They also charge unbelievable high hours for cleaning (9 hours). We almost cleaned everything except kitchen. It is Bu******* that it takes 9 hours to clean mostly kitchen for that kind of rental place. read more

ppm is the worst place I have ever lived at. we lived there for 3 years, when we first moved in there we were paying 605.00 a month and then july it went to 665.00 a month. our dishwasher didn't work like it should even though the maintence man said it was supposeably new, the basement leaked in the windows when it rained, we just started having way to many things going wrong in it. when our lease was up they told us that they wouldn't renew it because we didn't have our rent paid on the 1st for 9 months even though they still got their rent and plus the late fees each time. the day we had to be out when they scheduled the move out inspection, a guy came to our door and was mad because we weren't out of there yet and had an attitude, then calls Rochelle the propery manager and tells her, then she calls me and yells at me telling me that she wants us out now even if we have to put our things out on the grass and don't even bother cleaning the place. needless I have 4 kids 1 of which is in iowa city and just had a bone marrow transplant back in april. i'm sorry these people have no feelings for others, all they care about is getting their money. if you need a place I wouldn't recommend this company. read more