KMG Property Management

KMG got my roommate and myself moved into a house within a week. We called one day and that same day they had us walking through all of their available properties in our area, along with a group of other people in a similar situation. The next day we started the application process, and within two days we were moving in. Even before we had enough people on the lease to pay the full amount of the bill Lauren let us move onto the property. She even sent us potential candidates to meet to help us fill the empty spot.
Now its the end of the year and we want out of our lease early because I planned a summer trip to backpack europe. Most management companies would not even consider the idea. However, Lauren helped us find a solution so that we could help new renters into our house so that we could get out early.
Throughout the year, all of our requests were quickly managed, at one point a screen fell out of a window, they had to specially make a new screen and install it and they did that in a timely manner. We could call the office almost any day of the week and if they didn’t answer immediately (which they usually did) they always returned the call within a day. They always gave us forewarning if the city was doing any kind of inspection, and never came through unannounced.
Overall I’ve had a very pleasant year under KMG management. Especially having lived in locations where getting in touch with a real human (not an automated voice message) can be a struggle.

The management is non-​existent. It is impossible to talk to anyone but the receptionist. The address listed on their website is actually the address of a shady storage space and I don’t believe that anyone from KMG actually works there.
That being said, I went back to renting from them even though I knew all of this. Some of the Dolphin Street Apartments are really nice and fairly priced. They have huge windows, wood floors, and allow pets.

I lived in one of KMG’s rental properties from ⁹⁄₂₀₀₉ — ⁸⁄₂₀₁₀. They weren’t the best property management company ever, and the house had some issues, but I was still ready to give them an «OK» rating once my lease ended.
Unfortunately, KMG decided to screw me over by refusing to refund my $ 900 security deposit. They acted nice to me right up until I had vacated at the end of my lease, when they suddenly stopped returning all my phone calls and emails whenever I asked them about getting my money back. I had to go through the formal complaint process with the BBB and the MD Attorney General to finally get them to explain why they were keeping my money: KMG claimed that, because I had not given them 180 days’ advance notice of my intended move-​out at the end of my lease term, I broke part of the lease and they were entitled to keep my entire deposit as «damages.»
I also did some digging around this same time and discovered KMG had been pulling this exact same scam on its tenants for years. In fact, they screwed all four of the other tenants who were living in my rental house with me.
I took them to small claims court in March 2011 and successfully sued them for the return of all my money, plus treble damages. They didn’t even bother to show up to defend themselves, which is ironic since KMG’s owner – Seth Price – is a lawyer.
BEWARE when dealing with KMG. You will be getting a lower-​quality rental property and run the risk of having them swindle you. They will try to blow your faults out of proportion (You once broke the rules by smoking inside the rental, you didn’t give them 180 days’ advance notice you were moving out, you didn’t perfectly clean the rental before you moved out) and use it to justify heavy penalties against you. They will keep your money and then just ignore you and hope you stop complaining and go away. The sad thing is, these unethical and illegal tactics usually work.

This company pressured me to place a full deposit down for an apartment, then denied me the apartment, then lied and said my credit check-​check bounced when they never deposited it. So they kept a bounced check fee ($ 50) for a check that was never cashed and an additional credit check fee. I had to cancel the check so they couldn’t get two security fees out of me. When I tried to resolve the issue, I was treated with rudeness and, «I don’t have time for this.» Isn’t THIS your job? I have done all I can on my part with bank statements and emails, but they continue to ignore me and keep my $ 50.

KMG Management is HORRIBLE. My roommate and I have lived in one of their properties since late July of 2011 (lease started in August but moved in early). They’re really responsive when you’re going through the application process, viewing apartments, etc. But once they have you locked into a lease, all customer service goes out the window.
Maintenance is hard to reach, emails are not responded to (they have at least 3 different variations on the main email, none of which produce a response), and when you call, no one can tell you anything. Apparently, Joseph, the property manager is the only one who can answer questions about anything and if he’s out or away from his desk, you’re screwed.
What took the cake was when we received a lawsuit summons in March saying we owed rent. WTF? We’ve always paid on time and had receipts to prove it. Upon calling KMG, we were informed that an employee had made accounting errors and several tenants were being falsely sued. Joseph said the employee was fired and the cases would be dismissed. We still went to court to be sure. Case dismissed, we think everything is okay.
To further safeguard ourselves, I start sending rent by certified mail. Of course, they don’t pick it up and we end up in court in June 2012. We bring all receipts and the returned rent checks and the lawyer dismisses the case. However, she then notifies us that we owe back rent for 2011. WTF?!
I again call KMG and they claim that yes we do owe for 2011. When I point out that the «accounting problem» from the first lawsuit might be the problem, I’m ignored. Joseph says when he finds which months we owe for, I’ll be contacted.
It’s been 2 weeks and of course they haven’t contacted us because WE DON’T OWE ANY RENT for 2011 or for any other month.
July’s rent is due soon and we’ll be taking the rent check to their lawyer. It’s pretty much the only way you can guarantee that it won’t be «lost».
Bottom line: Don’t give KMG any of your money. Many of their residents are elderly or poorly educated (at least in our building) and they prey on this fact. They met their match when they messed with me.
P. S. I’ve been advised that I can actually file a suit against KMG for missed work, stress, and the fact that our current housing search is hampered because of our names being in the court system falsely. I’m seriously considering it…
Update 6÷21÷12: Per the terms of the lease, I sent my 60 day notice to vacate via certified mail. Of course it was returned to me.