Bartlein & Co

Literally the worst rental company in SB! I have a pretty high tolerance for awful rental companies, having lived in SB for 5 years and dealing with one scummy slum lord to the next but… This place should be ashamed to call themselves a rental management company. If housing wasn’t so hard to come by in SB, and people ACTUALLY had a choice instead of having their hand forced financially, I know this «Co.» would be out of business.
I just recently was able to get off the hook of living in one of their rentals. The rental itself was nice and spacious (no problem with the property).
My issues lay entirely with the rental company. First off, they are practically unreachable at all times. I called multiples times during different weekdays, and was never able to speak to my property manager. I think he maybe returned 1 call to me out of the countless messages left. Secondly, when it came to having new roommates move in/​out, they somehow lost our numerous roommate swap applications sent in! Then a few months later, acted surprised that the person who had applied many times (and told they had been approved) was residing in the apartment.
I had a sketchy roommate move in, without Bartlein providing any kind of background. When this person did not pay rent for 2 months, I began to feel uncomfortable and provided an ultimatum for either moving out ASAP or providing owed rent and moving out at an agreed time. When I contacted Bartlein for help on this matter, they acted as if it was something they had never dealt with. I ended up paying to have the locks changed myself. I then paid to have 3 extra copies made so I could provide them to Bartlein to be up front about everything. One of their star employees told me that I would be responsible for a charge for them to make copies of the key. Seriously, these people are useless.
This brings me to the staff… Where do you find these people?! I hope future employers of Bartlein employees look at this Unilocal page. These employees are literally all awful. Everytime I went in, no one had any idea what was going on, everyone looked just as confused (if not more confused) than I was. Never had any problems solved by going into their office.
Needless to say, I am relieved and grateful for having moved out. Of course Bartlein kept ²⁄₃ of my security deposit (charging me to repair broken stove, garbage disposal) that they themselves had no fixed, even after I put in multiple service requests. Honestly, losing all that money was painful, but I am okay knowing I flushed over $ 1600 down the toilet, but no longer have to deal with Bartlein ever again.
If you’re reading this and considering renting from them, listen to allllll of these reviews! It’s not worth it!

Please don’t rent from these awful people. They have a scam going where they demand two months security for whatever reason and you’re lucky if you get half back no matter what the circumstances. Most of the staff is extremely rude acting like you’re bothering them by trying to do business.

I rented from many different places here in Santa Barbara. By far the worst experience with property management was Bartlein & Co. They kept most of the deposit on the grounds that they had to replace the carpet because it was torn and dirty. They replaced a shower head that I bought and it was an upgrade from what they had in the first place.
That carpet was already torn and it smelled like cat pee when we moved in. We made note of that on the move-​in sheet and that there stains. They charge a tons of money just to move in. They expect for you to pay 1^st month’s rent and last and a deposit before you can move in.
I’d prefer to live out of my car than to actually rent from them again. I do remember that the staff was not that friendly either. I do remember that we got a noise complaint and we did in fact deserve it; however, on the letter I got they had a complete different last name for me and and they had a strangers name that wasn’t even on the lease. If you are going to be professional at least get my name right.

This is absolutely, hands down the WORST property management company in Santa Barbara. Only rent from them if you wish to be charged for problems you did not cause. They are extremely rude and condescending when contacted about a property complaint or repair needed. They classify all younger renters in a stereotypical category. Not all 23-​year-​olds are immature college students. I am a full-​time employed individual that respects the other tenants in my building, has never missed a rent payment, and always politely complies with any request that is asked of my unit. Instead we are treated like shit and constantly talked down to by our property manager.
It is hard to judge your decision to rent off of a Unilocal review — especially when the housing demand is so high in Santa Barbara and you finally found a place — BUT PLEASE TAKE THIS MESSAGE VERY SERIOUSLY. You will save yourself a lot of stress and anger is you choose to take your business elsewhere. Do not spend your hard earned money on these incompetent idiots.

all these reviews made me laugh — too frickin’ entertaining. we didn’t read reviews on property management companies because we had no time at all. these are all spot on! good to know that renters look out for each other!
the good thing about going in blind is that you get a good understanding of what the market offers, and it makes the other apartments that had previously not stood out in your mind suddenly seem amazing. so in the end, it’s so much easier to make a decision because all you need to do is conclude that: you are not renting anything from bartlein, and anything else works!
this company doesn’t even need to try because there are all these unsuspecting college kids who just need a cheap place. we put $ 60 down to see 6 apartments total, 3 each time for each deposit.
1. crack den with fireplace. how can you not laugh out loud at this and every other Unilocal review written on bartlein? smelled so bad. we laughed our way through the 15 seconds we spent here.
2 – 3. incredible mold, low kitchen bar area, cramped, toilet with disgusting rust stains, looked like it would flood the apartment after like 3 days of light use. again, the mold, huge health hazard. the strange thing about everyone else stating that they include a paint policy at move out was that none of these walls looked newly painted. this is obviously a hilarious scam company. i hope they log on to Unilocal every day to read these scathing reviews.
4 – 5. actually not half bad if you were really desperate. on ellwood beach drive, nicer neighborhood. one kitchen had a burnt cigarette stain and huge knife marks on the kitchen counter. either a carrot or… something else got a good chopping. small toilet, like for a 4 year-​old. bathroom mirrors mounted off center from the sink. so anyone who is washing hands and brushing teeth needs to adjust their body every single time. again, hilariously thoughtless! who does this!
6. the only one we could even consider living at for $ 1635 behind a dried-​up creek. i bet if we only saw this unit, i would have described it as quaint, quiet, near nice creek. instead, after units 1 – 5 of ex-​crack dens and mold-​infested cabins, i could only picture this as: hella weird quiet unit next to haunted creek. it was on the second floor. while we put the key in, i looked down and saw an abandoned ice chest with a huge rusted saw. mmm, some woodwork or. more? the kitchen counters were re-​done, cabinets looked brand new, new fridge. either the ex-​tenant completely destroyed this place and they had to re-​do it, or bartlein was really stepping up their game! the lighting was amazing, but all windows looked out to other people’s balconies and dish networks, plus the creek that looked like someone had died in it. and it looked too suspicious, knowing this was a terrible company, something must have been up with this average unit.
we went and signed a lease elsewhere, that had monthly bug spraying, great management, and 2 parking spaces.
bartlein is a smart company, because it knows it doesn’t even have to try, and idiots will still rent from them. the biggest clue is that they don’t have agents or appointments set up to view the units. can you imagine a lady inviting us into the crack den and trying to get us to pay $ 1400 for it? lololol!
what a great business model: unethical, irresponsible, and profitable! here’s one star for being able to pull off the biggest rental scam in the santa barbara area!

If I could give negative stars to this company I will. Worse than the DMV or Social Services nightmare stories that are out there!
They charge 15.00 just to look at your application and KEEP the money even if they don’t accept your application because they are just being hard headed.
For a self employed person they only accept taxes. My dad has several businesses and is behind in taxes 2 years (I know that is bad, but give him a break)…they won’t take current proof of income UNLESS it is a 1040! What?! we have deposit slips and bank statements to prove there is money and they don’t care!
I even offered to pay 3 months of rent PLUS security deposit and they could care less.
I think they just make money off the 15.00 application fee and keep their dirty business going off that.
They are funny. When you call, they pretend the office is so big, they don’t know who just called you. Here is a tip: put me on hold and get your A$$ up and find out! but no! they say that I have to search through my voicemail to find the exact person that called me.
Oh! and don’t forget your 20.00 cash per unit you want to view and don’t be shocked if you see condom wrappers in the units you view. They are dirty and smelly.
As a landlord, I am beyond shocked as to how they do business.

This place is miserable.
Another reviewer had mentioned the DMV and yeah that’s close but this place is much more miserable than that. The employees look like they don’t want to be there, that your presence as a person inquiring is a problem to them.
It is unfortunate that the rental market of Santa Barbara and Goleta allows Bartlein to maintain its place in business here — despite resembling a blood sucking leach. If you have other options, I would save your time, money, and effort.

If you are a property owner, do not use this company. You will be missing out on good tenants, and possibly missing out on rent.
Called Bartlein office about going to see an apartment. Discussed the apartment we WERE interested in seeing. Went to their SB office to get the key, paid the $ 20 and gave drivers license. The guy walked away, came back and gave me back my drivers license, so I’m guessing he photocopied it (without my approval). Apartment was OK. Went back to the office to return key, and was told we never gave them the $ 20 only gave them my drivers license. After arguing that we had in fact given them $ 20, he unhappily returned our $ 20. SERIOUS? Are you that hard up that you need to try and steal $ 20?
If this is how they handle potential customers, I would hate to see how they handle tenants.

Why are the employees so mean? I walked in to see a couple of properties and was met with a, «NEXT!» There was no line, just a sloppy circle of people standing, so I approached the «rental Nazi». She was so rude it was almost comical. She didn’t know if she had a key for the place, and told me there wouldn’t be enough time to view the other (I had 2 hours before closing). She found the key and I didn’t have the $ 20 cash on me, but I had already made up my mind about this place… Ciao!

Yikes! Should have looked at the rest of the reviews before trying to view properties from here.
First of all, in order to make sure the property we wanted to view was available, we called ahead before driving to their office… 3 times. No answer. Red flag #1. Once we arrived at their ugly, cold looking building, we waited in line to get a key to view the property. They don’t show properties, they let you roam around them by yourself if you leave $ 20. That should have been my second red flag. Some customer service that is. When we walked up to the counter, the grumpy lady asked us how many people would be living in the house. Instead of kindly informing us that 3 adults (my fiancé and a family member) is too many for a 2 bedroom, she pulled out a piece of paper. She said with a monotone, blunt manner, «That won’t work», and proceeded to mark with an X and underline «2 BEDROOM-​MAXIMUM 2 ADULT OCCUPANCY’.
Without much further interaction, we walked out. The only reason businesses like this survive is because they are in a city like Santa Barbara where many people rent. If you are looking for any sense of customer service, do yourself a favor and avoid this rental company.

I have nothing but horrible things to say about this place. They are absolutely terrible. Terrible customer service. Horrible attitude. They are worse than the DMV!!!

If I could rate this company a zero I would! Our current landlord switched over to Bartlein (Slumlords and slum property managers!), 4 years into living at our place. So the manager DORTA, who I think she be fired, asked us to come in and sign the a new lease. She said that the only changes to it was that we had to be notified about the led paint in the walls. So after reviewing our lease, she took out that we had a washer and dryer (which is free!) So a few weeks later they notified us that we would have to start paying for our laundry. We quickly notified our old landlord and he said he did not approve that! They also raised our rent, for the 10 years of living there, we NEVER had a rent increase!
So when we finally moved out, we even gave them the keys 2 days early, we paid to get our carpets cleaned and had someone to clean our house. Spending over $ 300. We then get a voice mail from DORTA that it looked great and she thanked us! Then we get a voice mail saying from DORTA that we she needed our address so that she could mail us a check (our security deposit) So my husband kept checking for this «check» that we were going to get and then we called DOrta and she finally wrote us an email a week later stating that we owed them money and that she was sending us to collections!!! That our bathroom sink was clogged and that they also calculated the move out day wrong and that we owe them for two days of rent, even though we moved out 2 days early. Because we didn’t have a security deposit, they tried everything they could to take our money! Don’t ever rent from them! Especially using DORTA! WORST COMPANY EVER! SLUMLORDS of SANTA BARBARA!
IF you do rent from them, don’t expect to ever get your deposit back!!!

Ive been having ant issues for the last 2 months i’ve lived here. The first time, a guy came in to spray my apt. then the next 2 months, I tried to deal with them myself… but I coudlnt take it anymore when they were climbing all over my bed, kitchen counter, and even my bathroom! So i gave the propery manager, James ngyuen a call and he was so rude. He told me it was my problem, and that I should have told them earlier. He told me that he had other issues to deal with (due to the rain). how rude!!! I am totally moving out asap. Reading from the other comments, i totally agree on the insane security deposit. They charged me 3 grand instead of 1500 BECAUSE i didnt have a secure job in the past year. how does that make any sense? and I had just been hired as a rph too… Management here is horrible.

All the rental companies in the area are pretty bad but Bartlein is exceptionally slow. They cheated us on our security deposit in multiple ways. We had the carpets professionally cleaned before moving out but they said it «smelled funny» so they did it again and charged us (no doubt keeping a kick back). They also told us the walls would not have to be repainted if there was no damage. There wasn’t any damage, we didn’t hang a single thing but they repainted the whole house anyway and charged us. They also put every single tenant and every single co-​signers name on the security deposit check which makes it impossible to cash. We have spent 7 months now trying to get our deposit back which will be only a fraction of what we paid despite keeping the house in perfect shape. So if you are an IV student looking for housing do yourself a favor and please avoid this company at all costs! Hands down the worst I’ve worked with!

If I could rate zero I would. I went to the company to check out a few apartments and found one that I was a good fit. I submitted an application and later that day was informed that I would need to put down a security deposit of $ 3000 (double the rent) and first months rent in addition to agreeing to a 6 month lease! Prior to submitting an application, I asked if they were month to month rentals since I’m in Santa Barbara for a contract position in which they they stated that they were. Doesn’t demanding a 6 month lease contradict the «month to month» rentals? Luckily, I withdrew my application and got my deposit back in its entirety. After reading all the reviews, it seems like they say the same thing to everyone ie you’re a high risk renter, demand the highest security deposit, and attempt to take it at the end of lease. Hoping that others will see this prior to working with Bartlein & Co.

I walked into this place on Saturday and was very underwhelmed by the staff member at the front desk. She handed me a list of apartments and told me that if I haven’t held my current job for the past year that I may need a cosigner– and that the deposit would be the maximum allowed by law. She then said if I wanted to view any apartments I was to leave my I.D. and 20 dollars cash.
I was dumbfounded. I said, «hello!» And then I told her we were hoping to talk to an agent to see if their company had any listings that would suit us. She told me to do research on their website. I left and decided they aren’t the brokers for me.

I recently applied to rent here due to a work relocation. The application fee is $ 115, for which they only accept cash or check. $ 100 goes toward the security deposit, but that’s still $ 115 out of your pocket just to apply. I didn’t have a checkbook so I paid $ 120 in cash, and they said they didn’t have change. It takes them an entire week to process an application. As mentioned in a previous review, they wanted the legal maximum of double one month’s rent for a security deposit because I am «high risk» due to the fact I haven’t been at my job for a whole year. Sorry I just got a raise and extra bonus after being at my company for only 8 months; I must be a tremendous liability. Oh, and my income is quite sufficient to cover the rent too. They say their properties are month-​to-​month, however they require a six month committment. Umm, that would be a six month lease, not month-​to-​month, idiots. Luckily I found somewhere else to live, independently owned and managed with a security deposit $ 300 less than one month’s rent and half off my prorated rent for the remainder of the month!

I rented from this company for seven months. Everyone at the office is incredibly rude, especially Peter in accounting. One of my rent checks arrived late because the post office took a week to post mark it. I called the office to get information about when if it had arrived, how I pay the late fee, etc. and Peter started yelling at me for no reason at all.
We exchanged roommates when I moved out, which should be a standard procedure. The office was again completely rude. To complete the roommate exchange I had to drive to the office at least five times because they kept telling me I needed a new and different form.
I’ve rented from at least six rental companies over 14 years all over the country and this is definitely the worst experience I’ve ever had. If you want a no hassle rental, DO NOT rent from Bartlein.

I rented from Bartlein for 7 months in 2011 — worst rental experience I have ever had (been renting in SB since ’04). Early into my lease, a local property manager from a different company told me that Bartlein is known for being the city’s «slumlords». I should have listened to that warning & moved out immediately.
They requested 2 months rent as security deposit, the max amount you can charge for an unfurnished house. None went toward the 1^st or last month’s rent. Their reasoning? We were «high-​risk tenants» because we all hadn’t been employed at our current jobs for at least a year & because one was not originally from CA.
The house was advertised as having a dishwasher & stove. Neither was functioning when we moved in. They were replaced w/​in 2 weeks w/​refurbished ones, but these should have been working upon move-​in.
The house was also advertised as having working washer & dryer hook-​ups. It did not come w/​the washer or dryer, but we hooked-​up a high-​quality 2-​year old set. We only had 1 week of working laundry before the laundry room flooded due to old & rooted pipes.
The laundry wasn’t fixed completely until 5 months later, after many «quick fixes» by different plumbers. In those 5 months, we had to repeatedly email/​call Bartlein to get status updates & urge them to fix the problem.
We requested reimbursement to compensate us for having to do laundry elsewhere since we were paying the full rental price for a house that wasn’t functioning as promised. Laundry hook-​ups are a key selling-​point when house-​hunting — we wouldn’t have considered the house if it didn’t have laundry capabilities. Bartlein repeatedly refused to credit us for the 5 months of unusable laundry, stating that it was not a matter of habitability & that they never issue credits. We had to call, email & finally demand an in-​person meeting w/​our property manager to make any progress.
The owner finally agreed to a meager credit during our last month living in the house.
Laundry is not a matter of survival & plumbing issues aren’t always easy to fix, but the difficulty we had with even working with Bartlein to resolve the issue was absurd.
Another major problem was regarding the pool. According to our lease, all pool maintenance was covered by the owners of the property. This included filling the pool to account for water loss. Each time the pool maintenance man came to the house (every other week), the hose would be left on for hours to replenish the water to the appropriate level. Water & all other utilities were our responsibility, so Bartlein was filling up the pool on our dime, something they told us was covered by the owner under «pool maintenance». We sent our water bills to Bartlein promptly so our property manager could determine the credit & we were told it would be included in our returned security deposit. When we got our security deposit, there was no water-​use credit & our property manager stated «the owner decided not to issue a credit.» This was frustrating because they had told us we wouldn’t be responsible for pool maintenance & that we should expect a credit.
When we received our security deposit, Bartlein had charged us to clean & fix things that were clearly stated upon our initial move-​in inspection. After all, they had 2 months rent as a security deposit, so why not use some of our money to fix things that were done by tenants before us? (it seems they have a strategy… mark everything «OK» upon move-​in, even if it’s not. Then, when they move out, change those same items that were supposedly «OK» to «needs repair», even if the actual status has not changed)
They also charged us to clean oil off the driveway. Hardly a week went by during the 6 months we rented that there wasn’t some type of maintenance vehicle in our driveway. On 2 occasions, Bartlein told us we couldn’t park in the driveway — each for about a week of time — so that maintenance vehicles could park there. Bartlein had no way of knowing who caused the oil in the driveway & it was more likely to be a larger plumbing, roofing, or pool draining truck than one of the tenant’s compact cars. Bartlein’s response? We should have told them when we noticed that another vehicle had left the oil. Frankly, we were all much too busy to be inspecting our driveway after each maintenance vehicle visit.
We caught the deduction discrepancies quickly & emailed Bartlein our concerns within 1 week. The over-​deducted security deposit was the last straw, & we filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Bartlein didn’t like that & started to drag their feet w/​issuing us a revised check. Mr. Bartlein himself called me & said that if we contacted the BBB & had them delete the complaint, we would get our check much more efficiently. If we didn’t do that, it would take much longer. Sounds a bit like blackmail, now doesn’t it?
Long story short? Tear up that rental application & run to any other property management company.

OMG!!! This management company sucks! They are the worst in town and try to use harassing ways to get people’s attention. They also lie often and try to make the tenant feel as if they do not have any rights. This company better be careful that they do not get themselves in court or in hot water without a way out… Stay far away from these guys… I cannot say one good thing…