Larkin Realty

Unprofessional, Accusatory, & UnpleasantnnWe rented a “Penthouse” unit in the Claire Point Condos this past year (2019-2020). Erica Smith, one of Larkin’s Property Managers, was assigned to our building. From the very beginning she was unprofessional. We had a showing scheduled to see the place and she told us the day before that she couldn’t make it but that we could let ourselves in and just look around because she was going on a ski trip with her family and wanted to leave earlier. So we walked around this $2,500 a month rental by ourselves, unable to ask questions or learn about the features of the condo. Very unprofessional. She wasn’t willing to negotiate a start date of the lease with us, simply stating “the owner would never go for that”. Nevertheless, we sorted through these issues because the condo was so nice. We finally agreed to her terms and moved in.nnOnce moved in, the unit itself was great, the building decent, but Erica continued to be a weak link in our tenant experience. She would send email blasts out about various issues as they came up: people defacing elevator doors with graffiti, residents not picking up after their animals, parking/snow issues etc. Most of the time they included some sort of threat of additional fees or fines. The management company refused to invest in any sort of camera security system, even when it became clear that would solve a lot of their problems. Typically when corresponding with Erica she was curt and cold. Nothing wrong with being short and to the point, but Erica was just plain unfriendly.nnThe largest issue we had with Erica and Larkin Realty was at our lease end. Shortly before our lease terminated, we received an email from Erica accusing us of throwing newspapers from our 4th floor hallway to the roof below. She stated a “neighbor said they saw us” do it, and that we were going to be charged for their removal. Keep in mind, my girlfriend and I had already moved out of state at this point (we vacated early), and our only remaining roommate was a Dr. at UVM amid the COVID-19 crisis. He was working extended hours, barely home, and as a 29 year old medical professional would not be taking the time to throw newspapers off a balcony. Nevertheless, Erica accused us of this and threatened to charge us for their removal. We never heard back from her after a strongly worded email back to her, I assume it was determined that they were not our newspapers, and rather than issue an apology, she went the route of just trying to forget about it. The larger issue is that she would just side with this neighbor with no proof, and accuse us without any evidence. We had been great tenants up to that point and had given her no reason to suspect we would ever do such a thing.nnAt moveout she over charged us a carpet cleaning fee despite what was clearly stated in the lease. This was after I asked her to confirm deposit return amounts prior to cutting any checks. We had to email her several times before we ever saw a check for the difference. This was an unnecessary complication that lead to our full deposit not being returned to us for several weeks, all because Erica failed to be thorough and detail oriented.nnAs for the property maintenance team themselves, they were very good. Quick to reply and fix issues. 5 stars there.nnMoral of the story: The condo itself was good, building okay, *most* of the Larkin team we worked with were great, but Erica Smith ruined the entire experience for us and for that we would not recommend renting from them.

They frequently say they will do things, then they don’t. That is, of course, if they respond to your concerns in the first place. Very common that you could reach out by phone or email and never hear back. The individual units are nice but the hallways, laundry rooms, and garage are always dirty.

Always prompt response and easy to work with.

Terrible. Charged me even though I've never done business with them.