DO NOT RENT FROM SLATE. I lived there for one year and had a horrible experience. It started bad right from the start. They were impossible to reach and when you did reach anyone they would not have the answers and said they would need to get back to you but never did. Throughout my stay, my roommates and I had multiple issues. Some were fixed with but the big / costly ones were ignored. I warned Slate that I saw a leak starting on my bedroom ceiling in October. It was ignored until I called and called about it. The little leak blew up into a full blown issue. Slate never appropriately addressed the issue and kept trying to do cheap fixes instead of solving the issue. I had a leak & hole in my ceiling from October-January. There were periods where they were ignoring my calls and emails. I ended up getting a rent credit because I fought so hard and had put rent in escrow. Also the issue was never truly fixed as the girl in the apartment below me started having leaking due to the quick fix they did for mine. George is a smooth talker but do not let that fool you. He is like a politician. He may genuinely be a nice guy (although I don't think he is) but he definitely is a HORRIBLE landlord and business owner. He did not even have a valid rental license for my apartment when he rented to me. The city of Philadelphia contacted me and issued him warnings and fines. And no we did not get the security deposit back. They actually said we owed them money that they would not be pursuing. Ha! Save yourself the time, stress, and money and stay as far away from Slate as you can. read more

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UPDATE: A COMPLAINT HAS BEEN FILED WITH THE BBB 6/30/21 I would give zero Stars if I could. SLATE negligence could have killed my son and his roommates - not being hyperbolic - gas was leaking into the house. I am cosigner of lease - 224 Wendover. Feb 2020, gas bill was $17 each; March was $130 EACH. Didn't pay b/c obviously something was wrong. Slate did not even notice the jump in the bill; My son and his roommate were waking up with headaches. Slate did nothing. My Roommate called PGW - Slate did not. PGW came and inspected all pipes and connections. PIPE ENTERING HOUSE WAS RUSTED; GAS WAS LEAKING INTO THE HOUSE. Told Slate I was not paying the outrageous gas bill due to their negligence. THEY HAVE BEEN PILING ON LATE FEES SINCE FEB OF 2020. I have lost count of how many times I've called; they DO NOT CARE ENOUGH TO RETURN THE CALLS. I wonder if this will make a difference. I am sorry for the owner of the unit, this is not his fault; Slate has been negligent and every time I think I might pay the bill, I recall how SLATE ALMOST KILLED MY SON. read more

SLATE Property Management Group - THIS IS THE RUSTED PIPE. OBVIOUSLY SLATE WAS NO INSPECTING THIS. NEGLIGNCE - Property Management Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Slate Property Management Group is terrible at everything. I thoroughly regret signing my lease with them because I saw there were plenty of warning signs from the start, but I had to make a quick decision and clearly I made the wrong one. When it comes to responding to emails and calls they are incredibly unresponsive and most times you will have to follow up with them to get any single question answered. They don't call back, even if they say they will. If you call their business, the only menu option that will get you a live person is their emergency maintenance line, but that just connects you to an outsourced answering company that only passes the emergency messages along to Slate who then will continue to ignore your requests. Their online application is annoying, outdated, and convoluted. The real estate agent who helped me find the apartment also had a ton of trouble trying to contact them after I signed the lease. I had to do a tenant walkthrough before my lease started so I did it the exact day before my lease started. Of course I had a hard time trying to confirm a day to do it, but eventually after emailing them several times, we agreed on a date and time. The employee who was supposed to give me my keys that day and confirm my findings at the walkthrough was over thirty minutes late to open the door and when he arrived, he had to go out again to make bad copies of the keys to my apartment because the management group was supposed to have left several key copies there for me, but didn't. When I walked through the apartment for the checklist it was filthy and filled with trash, I had to call the group multiple times and threaten to exterminate the lease to get them to clean it so I could move in when I was supposed to, the next day aka the actual first day my lease started. Their office in Manayunk is unattended, there is a pile of mail outside an empty office. I have lived in my apartment for less than three weeks and I have multiple issues already. During the walkthrough I pointed out there was a part of the living area floor that was incredibly weak and is basically caving in. I put in for maintenance that day and all this time has passed with nothing done, but I just got a response from someone at Slate yesterday in the portal saying "they'll look into it". I'm afraid to put anything near that floor because it feels so weak and creaks at the slightest amount of weight on it. The shower drain of course was incredibly clogged when I moved in, I have tried pouring in enough drain-o, but I need a professional's help. Not a peep on that front either though. About a week into me living here, the bathroom sink fell off the wall when I just put my hand on it in the morning. It brought some pipes out of the wall with it and water was accumulating around the sink on the floor. I immediately put this into the portal, but I didn't receive a response. I called their emergency line at 1pm and they passed the info along, but I never heard anything. I called the office later that day but again, no response. I slept that night with water coming out onto my bathroom floor. The first thing the next morning I called the emergency line and they finally transferred me directly to a maintenance guy. He came in an hour or so later and worked on the bathroom sink for hours. He left that afternoon with the sink barely hanging on the wall, it needed legs (that I shouldn't touch or it will fall), but he couldn't figure out the pipes anyway so there's just open pipes in the bathroom. He texted me to tell me that and said that I should hear from the plumber "later that day" to get everything working. It has been a week and I still have not heard from anybody. I have sent emails, I have called, I have texted, but nothing. Today, as I write this, I still don't have a working bathroom sink. After googling things and consulting with some lawyers, I emailed Slate over the weekend that unless everything was fixed I'm not paying rent. They took a couple days to acknowledge/respond this with an answer basically saying they'll get to it. I have filed a complaint with the city government at Philly311. STAY FAR AWAY FROM SLATE, THEY ARE REALLY BAD read more

SLATE Property Management Group - This is my sink for the past week. I can't touch it and it still doesn't work. - Property Management Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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As a homeowner, I was looking forward to not being involved throughout certain processes. This is an awful company that is unresponsive, unreliable, and not worth the stress. My tenant has been more than understanding which I can't be more thankful for. I don't recommend renting or using them to manage any property. read more

There has been nothing but issues with this company. It took them months to complete maintenance requests and we still had multiple unfulfilled requests by the time we moved out even after multiple attempts to get them fixed. We got late charges when we were not late on payments and had to constantly reach out to resolve it. Finally, they reached out to us to get an address of where to send the security deposit and now, 3 months later we still haven't received it. Per PA law, you should receive double the deposit If it's not returned to you by 30 days of moving out. The manager(George) has never once contacted us directly about any of these issues even though we have requested to speak to him. I would never recommend this company to any renters or homeowners looking to hire a property management group. They will not take care of your home and do not expect to get any of your security deposit back even when you're entitled to it. read more

Horrible set up apt to see room/ sharing home. Scheduled apt for 4 pm. My husband and son left work early and there were 5 people who were pissed. They could have given people their own apts. your not giving anything away for free. Low brow company! read more

So I haven't given Slate a chance to manage my properties yet. But I was given the tour and informed on all of their systems and operating procedures. After seeing how this company operates, it really gave me the confidence in doing what I do best, which is finding and buying good deals to produce income. While someone else can take the stressful part off of my plate and managing tenants, repairs and bills. Instead of trying to develop systems and processes to manage units , can't wait to give these guys a try. George really knew his stuff, carried himself in a professional but down to earth and approachable manner. Was honest that the company isn't perfect, but always looking to fix any short comings and always educating to get better. If anyone has anything bad to say about these guys please be sure to check the facts and the paperwork. read more

Frank was the absolute best leasing agent my wife and I have ever worked with. He worked hard to find a place that met our specific requirements, and always worked around our schedule. He negotiated on our behalf and found us some great deals. I would highly recommend Slate. read more

This review only speaks to my experience from a property owner's perspective, and doesn't speak to how the company deals with its renters, but I would be cautious doing any type of business with this company after the experience I've had. This by far has got to be the WORST experience ever, I would give this place negative stars if I could!! These people are crooks and have no regard for their customers. They fail to perform the services they're paid to do, and the customer service is HORRIBLE and just non existent. I took over the management of a problem property in Philadelphia from a family member earlier this year in hopes of getting everything straightened out. I'm from out of state, so I was looking for a local property management firm that could help me get everything straightened out. When I initially contacted George James Realty and spoke to George, he was really helpful and offered to help with getting the property on the right track. This involved getting all the proper licenses in place first. I was going to apply for the licenses myself, but George said it would be easier for him to do it since his office is located near the courthouse. I was more than happy to pay him to get all this done for me. George told me it would take about two weeks to get the licenses. This was over FOUR MONTHS ago, and he still hasn't finished obtaining the licenses!! I've called and emails numerous times, and the worst part is, there's no direct way to reach him for an update. The website only has a main number, which goes to a receptionist / assistant, and every time I've called, it's the same response - George is either "out of the office", "has this on his calendar", "had something else come up". How convenient, huh? Considering how I was able to talk to him right away during my initial call, but he hasn't been available since? The receptionist / assistant can't answer any questions without having to ask George, so every call ends with "I'll ask George and get back to you", which he never does. I've been calling and emailing them every week for the past few months trying to get a status update, which just ends in the same cycle. When I asked about scheduling an appointment with George, I got a BS answer that George can't commit to any scheduled appointments b/c he might have emergencies that he needs to attend to, which is just ridiculous!! Are they saying that no one can ever make an appointment?? Sounds like a total BS excuse to me. BEWARE, I would NOT trust doing any business with this company!! read more

Property owner here - Just an awful, careless company. My tenants just moved in today and I had to let them into the property as Slate never got back to them on move in details. The property was not cleaned and nothing was ready. Luckily, my tenants were understanding. I will be firing this company as they don't botherto even return phone calls. read more

Poor communication via the management staff to tenants!! Unless, they need something from you. [i.e. deposits, rent, etc] They only care about their properties. And it would seem they care even less about the impreasion they leave with the people who occupy their properties. Forget trying to get them on the phone for discussion about anything. I recenlty moved in to one of their properties and their were some issues with leaks and rotting dry wall on the ceiling not even a day into me moving my things in. I left messages and sent emails but not one reply. The only person I could get a hold of was the lady who showed me the apartment, and post me signing the lease this wasnt her problem, but she was kind enough to relay my dismay to the management team and their supervisor. I havent even mentioned to them that I am in direct communication with Jim Kenney and am in my right mind to see what he thinks about this and what I should do. I hope they see this and test me further. read more

We have not received our security deposit back from Slate and the office is very disorganized and unresponsive. We have called and emailed many times over the past few months and no one has been able to give us the details of if or when our security deposit was ever sent to us. I would not recommend renting from Slate property group! read more

We never got our security deposit back and by law we was supposed to get it back within 30 days from our move out date but we never did. It had been more then 70 days now and we still haven't got our security deposit back. We called and emailed but no response. Crooked ass company. I had also stop by their office multi time and no one is there. read more

The worst real estate company ever. They did not refund our security deposit on time. The property manager George couldn't be touched through phone for more than one month since our lease expire. Never reply emails. They held us two-month rent as deposit and deducted two-thirds of the total ($3200/$5200) for normal wear and tear problem such as some tiny stain on the wall. They will charge your deposit simply because no one rent their house. They count every loss on our security deposit rather than their poor marketing and manage performance. Probably just because we are international students. Do not expect to get your security deposit back if you sign a lease with them. read more

I utilized George James Property Management to manage my rental property. I couldn't be happier with George and his teams service. George and his team handled everything from finding quality tenants, prepared the lease and handled pre move in inspection (which he videos for both the tenants and landlords protection.) We have had a number of issues that required repairs both scheduled and emergency. George and his team were responsive, knowledgeable and able to get qualified professionals in to fix the issue quickly. GJ property management is a first class organization, fair, attentive and professional. I would highly recommend GJ to other real estate investors and to anyone who is looking to rent a property in the area. read more

I know it is a little bit long and as I am not a native speaker of English, this might seem a little bit influent, but I really hope that you can read my review and not to deal with George. I wrote my review all base on my real experience. If we had seen all the negative reviews (most of them are in unrecommended reviews), we will definitely avoid George James Reality. My roommates and I rented a house from George for one year, and that was the worst experience we had of dealing with a real estate agent. 1. As a professional service provider, George shows no professional at all. He never response to our request of fixing anything, but if he thinks we did not pay our rent on time(which we actually did pay on time, maybe his internal management was so inefficient that he cannot have that information right away), he will immediately send us an email urging us to pay, and emphasizing that there might be a punishment. We even doubt that we were just communicating with some robot via email, because his emails are always confusing (not because I'm a foreigner, I promise. I have native friends who agree with me) and solves nothing. 2. When we moved out, he exaggerated what we shall be responsible to pay for, and kept all our security deposit. We were positively contacting him about arranging an inspection, but he never replied and after one month, he just replied us with a video he shoot on his own and claiming that he would renovate that house and we shall be responsible for all the expenses. We even felt for him when he replied us complaining about the bad situation of all other houses he was dealing with at one time. Sadly, it seems that not returning the security deposit is just how George does his business. I know dealing with real estate agent is always not that exciting, but what George did still beyond our worst expectation. Recalling the details now even makes me feel uncomfortable. I really hope none of you would suffer from such bad experiences anymore. Good luck. read more

Amazing Rental Management Company to work with. Professional team dedicated to take care of the tenants & also provides excellent service for a homeowner like me. They helped me to replace a tenant & go over many challenges to ensure a qualified tenant is in the house happily. Amazing work by Nicole & George !!! (YOU ROCK) Keep it up SLATE !! read more

TEMPLE University Parents! Please watch out this company! Please DO NOT submit your applications until you know your lease contract. You will find out that each cosigner (parent) is "NOT" to be responsible only for their consignee (student). Please do NOT waste your time and money! read more

This group has been very thorough and professional. As an owner, they were extremely patient with assisting me with the process of leasing my property. Each person I spoke with treated me like a longterm friend to make me feel comfortable. I developed more trust after learning how knowledgable about this process. read more

Four years ago, I relocated to Charlotte, NC. I had another company manage my rental property. They were not doing a good job. They gouged me on repairs all the time. It was a bad situation. They were taking advantage of the fact that I was a novice and not in the area. It was a very stressful situation. I went looking for a new property manager. George was very helpful giving me insight on what my options were moving forward. I hired him back in June of 2015. He helped me retain my then current tenant. He helped to negotiate two short-term renewals with the same tenant. Repairs costs were very fair. His whole team is very responsive. Nicole has always been very helpful. Fast forward to August 2018. George helped me sell my property. We had an offer within 48 hours of listing the property. The closing had some hiccups but George found a way to smooth it out. He provided sound advice. I didn't go to closing which saved me money on the flight/hotel. I got my money without any hassle. Slate property management was good to me. They allowed me to be an out of state property owner. My rental property was not the easiest to manage with a yearly inspections, monthly water bills and tenants who occasionally paid their rent late. My property was a 35-40 minute drive from their office no less. Slate took care of it all. If I were ever to rent out another property in the greater Philadelphia area, I would without any hesitation call Slate. read more

The absolute worst experience I've ever had with a management company they owe me a few thousand dollars for deposits I've had complete water damage in the house they didn't even know about they haven't communicated anything with the tenant didn't pay their rent I can't get them on the phone no one will call me back very very sad you're better off doing it yourself then paying them read more

Office staff at Slate where very friendly and efficient. They helped me every step of the way!

The worst. Do not rent from these thugs. I have now waited over two months for my deposit back. I have reached out to them multiple times (phone calls, emails) and have not heard back from them. I messaged them on the portal and the next day my portal account was deleted. The apartment was left in perfect condition (did not even live in it since March) and this business is trying to claim that they had to do a "deep cleaning" costing over $1350.00?! No way. If this is the actual case then they need to provide me with pictures or proof of damage which has not been done. Again - avoid this leasing company at all costs. read more

I never feel the need to leave poor reviews, however the lack of communication from slate has left me no other option. If something goes wrong? They won't call you back. If something breaks in your house? They won't call you back. If you have a question as to why your rent seems to be wrong every time you sign into their portal? They won't call you back. When they finally get around to responding to your concerns you'll get a text. It's ironic that the management of a property management company is so piss poor. read more

Renter's perspective = ignored. And this is at the application perspective. Cannot imagine how it would be after move-in. Atrocious!

One of the most poorly run property management companies I have seen in a long while. The reviews our right. Countless of people all saying the same thing. George is no responsive. Countless of email and no response and the properties are poorly maintained, which says everything about the management. If you are looking for a good property management company, this company is not it. If you are considering them, RUN FOR THE HILLS. read more

What a difference a management company makes! GJ bought the building I have an apartment in, that had, had SO many problems with the former owner/managers (Wexford PM, who were worse than a nightmare!) I would have moved out but for a crazy travel schedule that gave relief from that slumlord "service" and also made a move impossible. I'm glad I stayed; in less than a year George James Mgmt. are bringing the building back from years of neglect, investing, actually communicating, returning calls, often within minutes, and today I renewed my lease. They answered all my questions and were chill, human beings to deal with. Decent people who appreciate decent tenants. read more

Incredible overall experience working with the entire staff at Slate Property Management Group. Highly recommended!

Me and my two girlfriends needed to find a house with enough space and bathrooms to keep our sanity. Not only did George and his agent Gary find us that space, they found us a house with a bathroom for each of us and room to spare. Every step of the way George went above and beyond to make sure we got what we wanted. I could recommend a business or agency more!!! read more

George and his team are very attentive and knowledgeable. I feel at ease having my property managed by thorough, competent people. Emails are responded to in a timely fashion and our concerns are always handled in a professional way. read more

I own a property in Philly but live in Arizona which makes it difficult. I've used other management companies in the past but was not satisfied. I started to use George to manage the property several years ago. Since then I have not had any problems keeping the place occupied and there have not been any issues to speak of. If you are looking for an attentive property management company or Realtor I recommend contacting George. Frank P. read more

I was having trouble renting out my property myself and was tired of dealing with problems so after looking online I decided to give them a shot. George is the absolute best! He took care of everything and was incredibly thorough. He always answered my calls and replied to my texts and emails almost instantly. More importantly, he had my house rented out in 8 days! I couldn't recommend them enough. read more

To put it simply, George and his team are amazing! In August I moved from out of state into a home managed by George and his crew and they have been nothing short of awesome the entire time! The house isn't in great condition (previously inhabited by frat bros) but George and his guys have done everything they can to repair anything broken, and replace whats needed it. These people have a lot on their plates and they work hard. I have never had an email unanswered by his office, and his people work fast. I have gotten emails answered on Sunday nights and things fixed Monday morning. George himself even came and helped me get into my house on Thanksgiving weekend because I locked myself out and he didn't want to pull any of his maintenance guys from their families on the holiday. They advocate for us to our landlord whom we have never met and coordinate everything. I would highly recommend George James Realty to anyone looking for a great company to rent with. read more

the worst management company ever! i dont know where all these fake reviews came from but they are a big scam i worked this company for exactly one year and i couldnt wait for the contract to expire. 1. they never answer the phone once you sign their contract. 2. they are very unorganized. the very first time they met me at my property. the owner lied and said he was there and he wasnt he made mistake and went to another property so they misread the address and lied so i had to wait another day. 3. my payouts were never the same. it was always short. when my renter paid their rent the company alwasy told me the rent overpaid???? tried calling them to clarify no answer as always. you will regret working with smh read more

DON'T RENT FROM THEM. Save yourself the aggravation. Rude attitudes, no desire to work with tenants. Been renting over ten years all over Philadelphia, and never experienced the attitude from other landlords or property management companies as I get with this place. Any kind request gets a rude response of "listen to me and get over it". We have lost days of work without pay, because even though someone is home all day four days of the week, they insist on scheduling for one of the three we aren't. And thats NoT a one off one time situation. Very Rude office. read more

I was looking at two of their listings online and tried to call to set up a showing. At best I got through to a receptionist who told me that the realtor wasn't available and would call me back if I left my name and number. I left almost a dozen messages over two weeks and was never called back. Well, I guess I'll be giving somebody else my money. read more

These guys are seriously awesome. Most real estate agencies don't seem to care about what renters want and if they are comfortable or not. This team of people has been super attentive with communication, and repairs I've needed, and making sure everything in the building is working as the tenants need. I actually feel like I matter as a renter. read more

The worst company I have ever dealt with. I was a renter in one of their properties for 4 years in Philadelphia 470 Gerhard ST, and in 2018 we decided to end the lease because they failed to do any repair and fix issues that we were having with the appartment. We were dealing with a roof leak for years that they never fixed. I should have filed a lawsuit aginst which was a mistake on my part for not doing it. Our lease ended October 2018, I closed all the utilities contracts I had under my name, except for the gas contract. I arrenged with the gas company several times to come and shut off the gas service at the metter, but it did not happen. It didn't happened because the property management never gave them access to the basement where the metter was. And to this date, February 2019 the gas contract is still under my name, and they haven't change the contract to their new tenants name. I have contacted them several times and they haven't done anything. I am still paying every month for the gas being used by somebody else, and those invoices are not cheap either, every month more than 240 dollars. Maybe now is time to file a lawsuit in civil court of Philadelphia. read more

George helped me find an apartment in Manayunk quickly and efficiently. After deciding to take a new job, I had very little time to look for a place and was luckily connected with George through a listing I saw online. The apartment I initially inquired about was not available in my time frame, so George offered to put together a list of available properties within my price range. He was understanding of the fact that I wasn't too familiar with the leasing process, and was prompt in answering my countless questions. He was informative and accommodating through every step of the process, going out of his way to show me the apartments I was interested in on a Sunday evening because it was the only time I was available. I probably would not have found an apartment before starting my new job without George's help and am very thankful. read more

I rented a property with 3 roommates in Manayunk from June 2015 through May 2016 that was managed by George James Realty. After reading the Yelp reviews for this organization, I wanted to relate my experiences that are closely aligned with the encounters identified within a number of other Yelp postings for this company. Upon moving in last June (2015), the condition of the house was not very good. Contractors had recently performed kitchen and deck repairs that resulted in the kitchen floors, countertops, windowsills and blinds covered in saw dust. It was immediately obvious that George James Realty didn't provide us with the property in 'move in ready' condition as indicated on the signed lease. Whenever there were maintenance or repair issues with household appliances (dishwasher and washing machine) and fixtures, George and his colleagues consistently failed to respond or were extremely slow to return numerous phone calls or emails. In one case, we were forced to contact the property owner directly to have George respond to us in order to repair a leaking shower drain that was causing significant damage to a hallway ceiling and floor. Our lease expired at the end of May and George failed to provide any updates on the status of our $1,800 security deposit for over 45 days. At one point, George falsely claimed that he previously provided a check for the original security deposit. We finally received a check for $900 (exactly 1/2 of the security deposit) without any explanation on why half of the security deposit was not returned. I eventually received a video of George's walk-thru of the property where he constantly identified 'repairs' that would be typically be considered normal 'wear and tear' by most landlords. For example, George pointed out that an entire wall needed to be repainted due to a renter 'scuffing' a small section of a narrow hallway wall. This 'scuff' mark was most likely the result of a tenant rubbing up against the wall while moving furniture in/out of the property. At another point in the video, George indicated that an entire room needed to be repainted due to (once again) 'scuff' marks made by the renter's shoes that appeared on the bottom section of two walls. After reviewing the video, I made numerous phone calls and left frequent voicemails with George James requesting an itemized list of the deductions applied to our security deposit. George finally provided a list of the repairs and associated deductions but failed to provide a cost basis (repair cost including materials and labor) for any of the specified repairs. Some of the identified deductions were legitimate including outside trash removal and lawn care; there was a deduction of $650 to "touch up paint throughout the property". I strongly believe that the charge is unwarranted since the painting is typically performed by the property owner/landlord when a lease expires and prior to new tenant occupancy. Additionally, the cost is highly inflated based on the amount of materials and time required. Based on my experiences with George James and other Yelp reviews, taking advantage of renters by overcharging them for repairs and failing to respond in a timely fashion to address property issues seems to be a common theme at George James Realty. As a potential client (renter or property owner looking for a management company) of George James Realty, I would seriously consider other options before enlisting this organization as your Property Management company. read more