Watson Property Management - Bakersfield, California

Flower

DO NOT PURCHASE HOUSING OR RENT THROUGH THIS COMPANY! Horrible management team and the President/CEO of the company, Ken Carter, does not respect his employees, tenants, or clients. Referring to the housing side: this company does not find you the best deal or work towards a great outcome, they show lack of buying knowledge and lack in proper communication, and the owner seems to be selfish, heartless, and money hungry. Referring to the rental side: this company is horrible with communication. The Property Manager, Callee Garner, is rude, defiant, easily tempered, discourteous, abrasive, and shows no empathy whatsoever. She is extremely argumentative and treats her staff and tenants like they’re worthless. The Maintenance Supervisor, April Vega, is also terrible with effective Icommunication, late at responding to issues and often does not fix problems, doesn’t like to take accountability for her actions and refers issues higher up rather than addressing them herself, she is also rude, and lacks knowledge of her job description and power dynamics.

Stephanie P.

Do not rent from Watson Property Management. Horrible, the Property Managers are extremely rude and unprofessional. Don’t waste your time putting in a maintenance request, because they do not care to fix any issues with the property.

Kelly J.

I don’t understand the negative reviews. I rented from Watson for over 3 years. Maintenance repairs were quick and easy. The application process accommodated us well and got us in our neighborhood very quickly. I loved our home and am sad that I had to leave it (for personal reasons). We primarily worked with April, who was very helpful.

Jason B.

Avoid renting a house from Watson Property Management. They are not professional, they are rude, they are passive aggressive, and they have horrible customer service. Any time I called Watson Property Management, I felt like I was in the wrong for letting them know that a water heater or air conditioner broke. It seemed like I was inconveniencing them. I had to wait five days for them to send someone out to repair a water heater that broke – five days without hot water; think about that before renting a house from these people. I ended up having to contact the landlord (owner of the house) to get the water heater and air conditioning fixed. They simply do not take the tenant seriously.

Also, they did not do a move out inspection with me. They did not give me a chance to fix anything and instead they took about half of my security deposit away. I am not even sure that is legal; it is not ethical.

Good luck to anyone who decides to rent from them. You have been warned.

Sheila M.

Horrible service and an uncanny way of not verbalizing contract disclosure. Moved into property not cleaned but was told it would be considered when lease is up. We paid $500 to have property professionally cleaned upon moving out...11 months after signed lease. Landlord moved back. Was in perfect condition. Keep receipts future tenants!” We we’re still charged $285 cleaning fee, it was listed for the “garage.” Really? Watson kept close to $1000 of deposit. Take pictures before and after lease, NEVER take verbal agreements and avoid renting.

Ashley S.

We are a military family abruptly transferring from Norfolk, VA to Bakersfield, CA. We applied to rent a house from Watson Property Management on Monday. The application was very long. And they would only accept it in a drop box (due to Covid-19). As we were in VA, we were told to mail it in with a money order. On Friday, the day after we left for CA, we called and the same lady we talked to initially told us they had received our application, that one other applicant was before us and were already declined, and that they would run our application over the weekend and we could follow up on Monday. On Monday (currently driving through AZ), we called and the SAME lady kept saying she didn't know what we were talking about that she'd have to talk to someone else and call us back. Then she called back and said they never ran our application because it had already been rented. WTH? We could have applied to more places while we were still traveling. Now we're a day away with a 7 month old in tow and we have absolutely nowhere to stay.
If this lady is any indication, these people have no idea what's going on with the status of their rentals. And their application process is ridiculous. If you don't want any physical interaction, set up a process online. Take a credit payment for a processing fee.

frankie A.

I only just recently started to deal with this company while I was looking for an apartment. I had visited several local realtors who were bait and switch types businesses, I found a place that I liked and started dealing with Vanessa Martin. She is extremely friendly and thoroughly helpful with every aspect of the application process, if there are any questions she calls and requests more information and doesn't just toss your application like so many other places that are just looking for a quick buck. I would have given them 5 stars but since I just started with them I reserved 1 star for them to show me consistency in their actions. I would happily recommend anyone I know to try their services.

Oliver B.

Do not post your property with them. This company will cost you. They do not return email or phone calls. Awful to prospective renters.