FirstService Residential Reviews 347

In a disheartening tale of unfulfilled promises and professional neglect, my wife and I began our journey at Arriva Condominiums with bright eyes and high hopes, lured by the allure of a serene, urban oasis. However, this dream swiftly turned into a harrowing ordeal, punctuated by a series of distressing setbacks and exacerbated by the dismaying conduct of our realtor, Ryan Kearns of CIR Realty, and property manager Shelly Hammerli. Their approach was not just unhelpful but laced with rudeness, disrespect, and unsettling racial insensitivity, particularly grievous given my wife's grave illness.

Our ordeal began with the bizarre and inconvenient directive to refrain from using our own toilets for extended periods at night due to maintenance issues. The alternative offered, an external facility, was a mirage, non-existent when most needed. Imagine the despair and indignity of being denied such a basic necessity in your own home.

The challenges escalated with a critical failure of our heating system, a calamity in the relentless grip of the Canadian winter. It took an excruciating seven months for the necessary parts to arrive, and even then, communication about the restoration of heat was as cold and absent as the comfort of our home. The warmth we take for granted in a dwelling became a daily uncertainty, a relentless reminder of our vulnerability.

Yet, the most piercing blow came from the indifference and lack of empathy displayed by Ryan Kearns and the property management. Our pleas for assistance and resolution were met with a chilling apathy. Any attempt on our part to assert our needs was twisted into false narratives of aggression, a hurtful echo of racial stereotyping that no individual should endure. The intersection of my Black heritage and my wife's Ukrainian identity seemed to color our interactions with a bias so blatant and discomforting, it was as if our humanity was questioned.

Recounting this ordeal weighs heavily on me. The true essence of a home extends far beyond its walls; it is fundamentally about the reliability, service, and respect provided by those responsible for it. In this regard, I am compelled to caution others against engaging with Ryan Kearns or considering a residency at Arriva. The facade of professionalism and hospitality they present is just that—a facade, masking a reality starkly devoid of genuine care and support.

A home should be a sanctuary, a place of refuge and respect. The disregard and disdain we faced have left an indelible scar, one that I share in the hope of driving change and reminding those in real estate and property management of the paramount importance of accountability and respect, regardless of one's background. It is with a clear conscience and a heavy heart that I must advise against any association with Ryan and Shelley, for their service was not just inadequate; it was, regrettably, dehumanizing.

If I could give NO star that would be fine. I have tried to work with them, as a resident and Newsletter Managing Editor for over 2 years, since our Board hired them and got rid of Leland (an HOA) with great ratings. That was a mistake but our BOD and President of the Board are uneducated and power hungry. I was terminated (fired) by EMAIL Thursday, Nov 15 by the Royal Highlands HOA manager Keneshia Shepherd for NO reason. Only that they thought they knew better and made working with me impossible. Never returning phone calls, not answering voice mails and rarely making any common sense in emails. I was a great Editor and did a great job. They said they had some complaints, but they could not produce them in writing, as it was office gossip. They are now attempting to run our place like a Nazi Dictatorship sending out e-blast emails everyday with new rules; although a small group and Directors have no rules. The BOD and Management does not allow residents to speak their mind at Board Meetings and much more. I pray we are able to keep up our property values. I have lived here over 20 years and never had any problems until First Service came in; as they have screwed up every endeavor from how they treat residents, to the Guard Gate, to the auto payment, overwhelming paperwork to only borrow a meeting room for a meeting or etc. It is apparent they do not like old people, so why are they in business for FL HOA's and sending in inept staff that do not respect residents and also they do not respect or like Veterans. This is just the tip of the iceberg - they are horrible at everything they do. Do NOT ever use this HOA and now we are stuck with them, or fighting them. At this point - it will probably only get worse. Royal Highlands community, Leesburg, FL D. Binder

Terrible company -- only cares about money and steals your money in a brutal way. It was a nightmare going through the management of this company as a tenant. Will stay away from anything and everything this company involves. It is a shame this company is still running.

A MONSTER COMPANY THAT SPREAD ALL OVER THE US AND HAS A BUSINESS MODEL DESIGNED TO STEAL YOUR MONEY. JUST CHECK THEM ON FACEBOOK

FSR is a company whose management, regional directors and supervisors do not care about your community, enforcement of bylaws, DCCRS, requests for access to records, or state laws. I have seen them apply members to annual meetings ballots, who did not qualify per the documents, and wouldn’t respond once confronted. They will pick and choose who they will apply late fees to or send letters of notice for being behind on assessments. I’ve seen them, in open session of the meeting, give advice to violate state laws regarding notice of meetings, due process and enforcement of the documents, talk about the members they are there to help, and speak poorly of their own supervisors while in open session. They get kickbacks for using their own lists of vendors, who are overly priced, even down to family or extended family. This company is unprofessional and could land your association in litigation. Be careful, do your due diligence and look elsewhere.

Terrible company! My wife and I bought a townhome in Minnesota that is within an HOA run by these criminals. We’ve emailed them for over a year to fix our garage door as it falls within their required fixes and now they’re just straight up ignoring us. Last response I received was over a month ago even though I email and call weekly. Do NOT buy or rent if these people are involved. They’re running a laundering scam and do not follow through on their agreement to take care of the residents within the HOA.

First Service Residential is a horrible company to have to deal with. They charge homeowners fees that aren’t warranted and when you provide them documentation to show them otherwise they use bullying unethical collection tactics to get the money and threaten homeowners with having to deal with their attorney. If the fees were warranted and they were operating above the board and ethically with integrity they wouldn’t have an issue with providing the documentation/transparency. When you provide proof to them in writing and have the documentation and they know they are in the wrong they start using unfair collection tactics to try and scare, intimidate and bully homeowners. They lack professionalism and Integrity.

Be careful with this company-FSR has a reputation for bankrupting HOA condo budgets. I know of a condo association that was bankrupted with FSR constant fees, loans and invoicing that were told work was needed for with their many associates with their own fees and invoices. Very aggressive and not trustworthy at all-be careful what you agree to or sign when it involves them. When they walk away the condo association will be left paying for all the incurred bills! It will affect the owners!

I have been living within a condo subdivision managed by First Service for 4 years. The Rules are selectively ignored, applied enforced, and Management is deceitful, even to the extreme of concealing a pending lawsuit from owners. As a direct result of discriminatory, selective applications, enforcements, concealments of Rules I have been continually damaged. The neglect is shameful. The manager favors certain owners, permits them to rent to individuals that do not have respect for others, the property. Rodents, roaches, security issues.....there is much more I can say, but there isn't enough time or space regarding my issues with First Service its manager, and the Association.

FSR took over Sunset Pointe community Ft Myers in early 2023 completely a failure on many levels poor communication failure to correctly administer payments for HOA fees Employee s quitting thank you for taking out money and providing poor service

Terrible customer service. We pay HOA more than $1000/year. They don't want to spend money to maintain the pool & tennis courts. I have emailed them over 3 years but they haven’t taken care of it properly.
They finally fixed the tennis courts but the lights aren’t still working. I have emailed the manager Jasmine William for more than 3 weeks now but haven’t heard back from her.
Don’t ever hired this company for your HOA service.
MC
River Hill subdivision

Less than 1 star. Horrible, no responses or respect from the local district manager. She must have a cozy office where she collects her paycheck and not providing simple answers to owners in Central Florida who are uncomfortable in their living environment. Get ready to laugh so you don't get angry.

FirstService Residential became our property manager (550 units in Delaware) in January 2023. Their office, located on our premises and staffed by 3 full-time employees, stopped accepting our quarterly assessment payments. Instead, instructing our members, many of whom are over 75 years old, to "use the online portal." Their surly staff has ignored a newly elected member of our board of directors. They will not share Association records as required by law. Simple questions go unanswered. The office doors are often locked to members despite their full-time staffing. Telephone calls are never returned. Steer clear of FSR if you expect service from a property management company ! ! !

I am the GM of a Property Management Company that manages homes in a Resort that First Service Residential runs. I called to receive some help with adding some of our vendors to the security gate. I spoke to Jasmine and received friendly and competent advice on proceeding. A few minutes later, I received a call back from Jasmine saying she had already gone in and taken care of it for me. That was excellent customer service on her part. I wanted someone to know about it because it is rare in the world we live in.

A few minutes later I received a call from the Resort Assistant Manager, Kaishon Knox. He was following up on an email I had sent a few minutes earlier. He was also excellent to work with and understood and corrected my issue within a few minutes.

With employees like Jasmine and Kaishon, First Service Residential's future looks very bright!

First Service Residential does not service their paying clients, but themselves! I was charged a $25 late fee knowing nothing about it, as well as what they called a $15 monitoring fee. Who has ever heard of such BS? I immediately paid the assessment which was deemed to be late, but Marta Niwinski's customer service skills were lacking greatly and after paying $2696.88 assessment for our new roof, she refused to waive the fee which I was not even aware of! I would not trust this company with anything! Our grass looks like weeds, the trees are dead or overgrown, the dog run is piled one foot deep with old mulch, and our building is filthy! I for one will not vote for them to manage our community next time around! I wish I could give them a 0!

Absolutely horrible management. You are unable to speak to anyone other than call center who has repeatedly given me incorrect information. Alsoreps have just said they don't know, but if you ask to speak to office staff, they say that is not possible. So I have to drive 30 minutes to get info.
There, any complaints are put off and blamed on the board of directors. Office staff actually said "I don't want to hear your grievances." But she would not put me in contact with anyone else at her office or on the board of directors. "Go to the meeting," was her reply. Their name should be LASY residential service.

I recently worked with Neuben & cbounne. She created a flyer for me and was happy to do so. She nailed exactly what I was looking for!

I am an owner at Tuscany at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor, Florida. A special recognition to Gail Gendrau, Administrative Assistant, for outstanding customer service. Gail has always been polite, professional, and knowledgeable in assisting me with questions, issues, and/or concerns. I am a snowbird owner and Gail has given me peace of mind the condo complex and my condo are in great hands with Gail. Please acknowledge Gail for a job well done!

I had the pleasure of working with Gracie Moxheim who was so professional, kind and so helpful. Gracie understood the urgency of our application and guided us through until the end.
Thank you!