FirstKey Homes

***Everyone who Firstkey Homes neglects call your city! I have so many horror stories. I have wasted so much of my life stressing, calling and emailing getting nowhere! I called the city of Deltona they were so helpful and easy to talk to on the phone. At my door within an hour apologizing it took them so long to get to me. Insane!
Now they will do all the work and if Firstkey Homes does not do what they are suppose to they will pay and the city will deal with them, not me.

A petition has been posted change.org
“Demand Better Maintenance and Tenant Care from FirstKey Homes”

I have read through the comments below and can honestly say that I have experienced EVRY SINGLE scenario mentioned. First Key should be ashamed of themselves and especially for having tenants live in these conditions and steady going up on rent EACH YEAR! I am terribly disappointed.

We had pest control come out and there is a huge ant problem at the home.

1. First, the front bedroom with the carpeting, the sheetrock under the windowsill is wet so water is getting in somehow. And there are holes where masses of ants are continuing to come in. I have included pictures of the inside sheet rock and the outside picture of the window.
2. The windows in the kitchen area near the back door are leaking water. Every time it has rained the sill on the left side has a puddle of water.
3. The doors in the laundry room are rotted at the bottom and there is black mold. Which is allowing bugs and ants to come in. The biggest issue is the black mold which is unacceptable. I have included pictures.

June 9, 2021 I participated in a zoom walk-through of the property that I was approved to rent in Fort Worth Texas. During the walkthrough the leasing coordinator representing First Key Homes, Syndey, and I noted that there was a lot of odd white substance in the hot water heater closet in the utility room. I told her that I had seen this previously on visits to the home and wanted it cleaned prior to move in later that week. She agreed. The following day started the first of roughly 35 contacts made about this particular issue. Within days I realized the home had a bird infestation issue that had been present for years. Birds gained access to the home from an outside vent where they would flutter around in the closet (24/7) until they made their way out or died, which unfortunately many did. From June 9 2021 through April 3, 2022, I repeatedly created work orders and emailed about this issue. FKH would send their own Maintenace men who stated they were unable to get on a ladder to the vent. Outside contractors were sent who stated this was a bio hazard situation and refused to work on this matter. A city code compliance officer came out and advised my family to leave this home due to the hazardous conditions. After notifying FKH of this issue, they still continued to stall or simply close out my requests once they were made. Most of my tickets were closed due to "Tenant is responsible for pest control."
Mind you, an issue that was present prior to move in. Which I later found out was also the reason the previous tenants left. At the end of March I notified FKH that I would have no other choice but to move out if it was not corrected immediately. I was told that I could leave without penalty, which I did. I did not hear from FKH. In November 2022 they added a collections for nearly $8,000 on my credit. I hired an attorney and filed a case which I won on April 11, 2023. FKH reached out for a settlement offer which they presented, then never followed through with.

We see the FirstKey people working on the rental house next door to us. They've been throwing their trash down the hill and into our yard. My husband went outside to clean up their mess and stepped on something that cut through his shoe and left a deep wound in his foot. He had to have a tetanus shot and 5 stitches and can't drive now for 10 days. I wrote to ask FirstKey to have their people come back and clean up the trash but have had no reply. Meanwhile my husband is injured, they've left metal and broken glass in our side yard and we're going to have ER and dr bills to pay. Next step: find an attorney. Some of the trash is pictured below.

No one has called...not even CHRISTIAN BLACLOCK ...I don't even think it's a real person...AND actually speaking from a script...AND yes in Philippines.

Hello... I would like to talk to you about what's been going on. I would like to start by saying I have been here now almost 2 years and I never missed once. This started with the OUTSIDE of house hornets, so I called trying to see what to do...FirstKey sent someone and he that it was hornets, and they killed them. I thought everything was done, Until last month when they actually put it in my rent. After staying on the phone 1 hour 33 minutes..They were not trying to talk about anything I had to say just pay your rent and said well we've already got a ticket jus pay your rent...I was hurt and I've still not heard anything. (But I figured that) I actually decided to go check and now something else added...A Window broke and now they are making me to pay it..this came from a tree..And that is an ACT OF GOD.This is horrible now, and God knows don't forget about this The AC was 85 degree.. Firstkey had someone can't fix it,someone has to come do it, he even went to Home Depot and bought an AC..He didn't even set it up,,he just dropped it off and now water everyday and that bill through the roof. I need some help, and I needbody to fix this it's too much.
I had a stroke and Aphasia I cannot write that well now, I hope the make made sense.
Thanks
Shelon Washington
3647 Burnley Ct
Lithonia Ga 30038
770-905-3277 OR Derrick Washington 770-670-1504

I pay my rent in time for the last 5 years . The only reason I still rent from them is because of the school district. Getting repairs done is ridiculous. They will say they have completed them yet no one showed up. When they finally repair anything it's half a-- done. They charge me for not having renters insurance even though I do and have never lapsed on it. Sent documents over and over again. No one responds or communicates. So we finally are going to move in April thank his.

I live in Orange Park, Fl and I’ve tried repeatedly, emailing and contacting you all about this $150 charge that was placed on my account that I am NOT responsible for. It’s for replacing MISSING MESH INSIDE THE WALL AROUND THE SHOWER LINE,,,I am a RENTER, NOT an owner and I am NOT responsible for this. Also, it’s leaking AGAIN, so it is NOT even fixed, BUT, I will NOT be putting in another work order to “fix” the same problem 3x…nope…so when my husband or I fall through the ceiling because you all didn’t want to repair the issue correctly, OUR BLOOD WILL BE ON YOUR HANDS! And I will be screenshotting this comment because I see you all like to delete comments like this!
First picture: water seeping through the patchwork job the tech did to cover the water stains
Second picture: black mold in carpet, side of wall, indicating water damage
Third picture: water rot, breaking the cabinet barrier.

Worst renters to rent from! They are shark renters! They increase yearly by a lot! The deposits are nearly impossible. We only had three photos of what the place looked like. We were in a big need to move in so we just did it. Been renting for two years now, we will not be by the third year a new lease. They do trickery! They were notified by our hoa, that the neighborhood has new or old requirements that the hoa is needing. First key wouldn’t tell me when this was in place, they planted three bushes, not connected to any irrigation first key and their gas lighting techniques when they speak to you on the phone they go in circles. The bushes even by me hand watering was not enough and burned this season, they will not replace and now is my responsibility. Not to mention the other three bushes in the front that are appropriate irrigation times and amount. They still died even though we had a technician come out from the company and he said that the valley is all having this issue, that the irrigation timer time is perfectly set already as it was. First key is a joke really rude and just is money hungry. We have kept great care of the home and O guarantee $1,000 we will not get from the deposit of 2,500 that we had to put down to rent. Also we are never late and always pay! Don’t rent from them!

Do not do business with this company. They have offshored their customer service, so good luck getting assistance. And their payment center has an average of 80 calls in queue. My husband and I rented a home in Forney TX from this company. We paid our rent on time. We kept the property up. We decided to purchase a home in the same town. We contacted First Key and gave notice, well within the 60 day prior to lease expiration date. Our daughter owns a house cleaning company, so to say we left this home in spotless condition is an understatement. We left on 6/30. Also side note, they called us at 5PM on June 30 asking if we had vacated the property. My husband and I were working and had planned on getting the last of a few items that day, since that was the day we gave to vacate. They expected us out at 5PM "business hours". Its a home...not a business, but anyway. At NO time did the company warn us of a "Early Termination Fee". We got our security deposit refund back today. They took $1280 for an "early termination fee". No charges for cleaning. No charges for anything else. They didn't rent out the property until 8/1. I know this because I checked it and we kept in contact with the neighbors. According to them, our lease was until 7/19. I will accept responsibility for not reading the lease to verify our termination date. But at no time did the leasing office warn us of this charge. My husband called and spoke to them in April. Again no warning. In fact, they kept calling us offering us lower rent or better lease terms. I'm disgusted by this company. They are dishonest thieves. I'm so relieved that we are home owners and won't have to rent again but I feel sorry for the naïve consumers who will be taken advantage of by these vile corporation. I will let any person I know looking to rent to avoid this company. We kept up our side of the lease. We left the home in better condition than we got it and they turn around and steal from us.

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY! Horrible customer service, maintenance requests are never completed even in the heat of the summer when the house is over 85 degrees. Then they will have the audacity to charge you for someone to come out that never even fixed the issue. I was promised it would be credited back to our account & after months it still hasn't been. They rent out old homes, as is, for an insane price, then don't want to fix any issues with the house. I can't even begin to describe all the issues we've had with this house in the 2 years we've lived here. AC not working in the summer, heater not working in the winter, plumbing from sinks leaking into cabinets below, hot water heater needing to be replaced. It's been a nightmare & on top of that it's impossible to get ahold of anyone who works for the company that can help. It's a shame I even just resigned my lease because I can't imagine living here now another miserable year. Take my word & go elsewhere!

NO STARS! Horrible customer service. They don't return phone calls or emails. They are charging me an early termination for 4 days! I can't seem to get any help from them or any answers regarding my account. The maintenance people have been out to the home several times with the issues still occurring. I told them about some kittens that were abandoned from the previous tenant and I would like them to be rescued. They made it very clear, that this was my issue and I now have 5 cats and kittens living on the front porch. Worst mistake renting with them. Worst management, worst upper level customer service and worst maintenance. I am probably going to have to go to court to end this ordeal.

Unethical business practices. Standard policy is to find reasons to keep all deposits. Expect no basic maintenance and a rent raise every opportunity.

(1 star because I cannot leave 0 stars)
I’ve lived in a first key homes location for about 13 months. Take my advice, don’t rent with first key homes. Since move in I have fought to get 2 broken windows replaced, went 2 months with no heat during the coldest parts of the month and have spent my entire tenure here trying to get a garage door replaced that was also broken and poorly repaired upon move in. I have had many experiences with the maintenance staff and customer service. Nothing gets done. I open a ticket, they come out and look at it and take pictures and tell me that first key homes won’t replace it. Then they close out the ticket and I am left with no resolution, or they tell me it'll get fixed and never fix it. This past winter I was told the part to fix my heat was on order. Then they closed the ticket and left my wife and I to deal with the freezing temps for weeks. I continued to call back and another month later got the part replaced. When I moved in, I had 2 broken windows that were not secure and letting heat and air and bugs in and out. It took me over a year to get these replaced after empty promises over and over. The garage I mentioned. Yup, was told 2 weeks ago this was on order. Now it’s completely broken leaving my belongings at risk of theft and it has taken me 8 hours to get someone on the phone. Even then, it'll be 2 more days before they can even get anyone out. When I questioned Anthony Poindexter where my garage door was, he told me that would be delivered 2 weeks ago was, he got defensive and said he doesn't lie and never ordered a garage. I've kept good notes and he indeed told me it was on order and would be replaced. Again, the maint. request was closed out and to never be fixed. Now I am furious and had to take a day off work to try and resolves this and when I asked about the garage door he ordered and where it was, he hung up on me. One last thing, when/if you resign (wish I never did) be careful, they charged me month to month rent that was well over my contracted agreement and I had to pay, or they would consider me late. Took over 2 months to resolve this issue. Very poor business management. I've filed BBB claims and I am warning everyone, don’t expect a single thing from these people. They won’t fix anything in a timely manner or at all. Everyone gives me the "I submitted this and that’s all I can do" answer. Well, no one can get anything done here.

Do not rent from this management company. They do not communicate. Emails and voice mails are unanswered. My move out was a joke. They sent a single email about an inspection. I responded, but they never showed or confirmed. I ended up moving out at the end of my lease without an inspection -- I left 3 emails and 3 voicemails. Then, they send me a check for about 25% of my deposit 2 weeks after my last day. They charged me for things I'd already paid and had done -- clean house, cover nail holes, trash. I spent $500+ on getting the carpet professionally cleaned, professional house cleaners, etc. I should have just saved my money since they were going to charge me for it again anyway. I'm just one of those people who thinks they should leave it as good or better than when they got it. FirstKey obviously thinks they should milk you for every dime. They even noted outside painting that they charged me for that was on my move in inventory -- meaning it was there two years ago and noted. Didn't matter. I was not allowed to be involved with the inspection, so they could do what they wanted. In short, they cheat you. Stay away.

I am a current resident for first key homes in Grand Prairie, Tx. After reading previous review wanted to add my experience as well. Currently I am being told that half of my rent is still not paid and have been assessed late fee and nsf fee as well. My bank statement shows that the got paid and the debit was posted to my account. I started calling them 4/3 or so after I checked my first key account and noticed that my payment didn't post to my first key account instead it was showing a nsf fee plus the 852.50 I preauthorized on 3/31. To this date still no phone call from the local office regarding this matter instead i'm getting emails stating to pay my rent if I haven't already paid it. the emails that I received regarding the rent payment I have now I think 3 or 4 tickets open waiting for them to contact me or fix the issue. You can't call the local office directly because the calls are routed to the call center that tells you that the local office has to handle this issue so you just go in circles. I have live at this property now for over a yr and have always paid my rent on time or early. Before moving here I had never heard of a landlord not replacing screens when they have holes in them or are just not even there. the make you buy the ac filters as well and have the nerve to say you should replace them like every 3 months I think. I have been renting since I have lived here in texas and this is the first place that turns out to be ghetto management all they want is the rent and to do no upkeep on the house itself. Looks like I may need to find an attorney regarding this rent issue because if they think that I am going to pay them another dime for april they are badly mistaken. Any lawyers that read this review and are in the grand prairie area please feel free to contact me if there are any other renters looking to file a class action against this company please feel free to contact me as well. My email address is [email protected]. If I could choose zero stars that is what this rating would be. Stay away from this company don't do it you will only regret it in the end.

I am a current First Key home resident in the Clayton, NC area. Let me just say, the company is horrible when it comes to maintenance. My home has had heating/AC issues 3 times in the last year, current issue being now. I have no heat or air. Submitted a request on February 28, didn’t get a technician to come look at it until March 1. Technician could not fix the issue so they assigned a vendor on that day. The vendor declined the order on March 2 because they said they were “too busy” to come fix it. Another vendor came March 3 but stated it was an electrical issue, not an HVAC issue. They notified First Key immediately, as did I via the useless call center that can resolve absolutely NOTHING! The call center stated they cannot assign a vendor only the local manager/office can and they ultimately can’t assist me any further. I even spoke with a call center supervisor, POINTLESS!

I’ve requested a call from my local office since Wednesday, I’ve heard from no one. Even reached out to the property manager located in the Charlotte area (which controls the area I reside in), I’ve heard nothing from her. I’ve tried emailing and calling, no response. I’ve literally been texting the initial Maintenance technician that responded initially to ask him to get in contact with his manager. The manager still has not approved an electrician to come service my home. Day 5, still no heat or AC and not a call, text or email from the local manager to assist with resolving. WORST COMPANY EVER! I will be considering breaking my lease due to the failure to repair my heat/AC within a reasonable time. As an attorney, they truly screwed over the wrong person!

I was told they accept Dallas housing vouchers on in the city of Dallas though. This is not a good look to accept vouchers but only in the area they choose. If you have houses in other better cities in Dallas county all your properties should be applicable. How is it that the better areas are of limits to us but you take them in the worse ones? That right there is a huge RED flag for me!

This is the demand letter being sent to FirstKey as well as to 3 other locations. We moved in on the 1st of Feb and still to this day, no contact back. The Customer service team sucks and they block your phone numbers. So, if you call and it immediately goes to voicemail, your number has been blocked which is super illegal. This is just a small list of items that is wrong with the home that were supposed to be addressed before we moved in. My wife has been sick now for 3days, my kids 8-9 and 13 are getting sick and my allergies are through the roof. They blatantly ignore, demand all the money up front, give you bs lies and the list goes on.
We need to file a Class Action for sure.

How to Start a Class Action: 5 Simple Steps
(1) Prepare you story Get your facts straight. ...
(2) Identify Common Issues In order to start a class action lawsuit, you need to identify something that ties your claim to other people’s. ...
(3) Figure out what type of law applies to your claim ...
(4) Find a class action lawyer who specializes in the area of law you’re interested in ...
(5) File your lawsuit

February 17, 2023

FirstKey Homes, LLC .
Attn: Property Manager/Corp Manager/Leasing Manager
877 Franklin Gtwy SE Ste 203 .
Marietta, Georgia. 28031 . Via: mail

Dear FirstKey Homes, LLC:

I, , demand that you FirstKey Homes, LLC, Repair/Replace all carpets minus upstairs, as the matting is saturated, and carpet is heavily embedded with animal hair. Upon walking on carpet, bottoms of feet turn waxy, sticky and black. We have ruined many pairs of socks due to this issue. Carpet in master bedroom is coming apart at the seams even more so now since the cleaning company came in and "Aeriated" the carpet. Carpet in 2nd bedroom has approx. 3in hole. We are getting bit by fleas and also starting to have breathing issues due to the hair and whatever else is in the carpets. Flooring in living room is very sticky and black, Master Bedroom toilet is broken, Continuous water running and very wobbly, needs to be repaired or replaced. Master bathroom shower door is broken and will not stay closed resulting in flooding of bathroom floor when trying to shower. Gas handle for fireplace is broken. Backsplash behind stove is bowing out and coming off the wall. The garage door coming into the home has damage around the handle and you can see through the gaps from the damage where someone tried to break in. All windows need to be sealed or caulked especially outside. There is brick missing below roof by the front door creating a big hole and entrance for rodents and birds to enter into the attic. All window screens are either bent severely, broken or missing around entire home. Second bathroom bathtub needs to be re-sealed. F.R.O.G attic door has black mold all over when opening the door. Doors throughout home that lead to the outside have major gaps for leakage and hinges are either broken or screws stripped in framing. All interior doors and window mantles and some baseboards have severe animal scratches or chew marks. These things were discussed in the very beginning before moving in and were neglected to be addressed even after we paid all monies up front for a home that was supposed to be move in ready.. .
.
I have made the following attempt to resolve the issue: Email Jan 25th, about condition of home. Email Jan27th in regards again to condition of home was provided ticket number 624289. Email Jan 30th to Ababa Francis (Resident Service Dept) and Brandi Green again on condition and outcome of home. Feb 2nd to Elizabeth Arizaga including pictures and information of condition of home. Feb 6th again to Elizabeth with more pictures including flea bites, rashes, bottoms of our feet from the carpet and other misc. pictures. Feb 8th email sent again to Ababa Francis. Several emails via customer portal, and well over 2 dozen phone calls to Brandi Green, Matia Hayes and Customer Service. Our phone numbers have been blocked at Brandi Green's location and Matia Hayes refuses to call back. Customer Service Center continues to give run around and lies.
If you fail to Repair/Replace all items that have been discussed previously, within 14 days after this demand letter was mailed, I. Will be forced to pursue legal action and seek the recovery of any damages and attorneys' fees against you. Any delay or postponement by me in taking any legal action against you should not be construed as a waiver of any of the rights or remedies available. This letter should not be interpreted as an election of remedy. I. Hereby reserve all available rights and remedies. Additionally, this letter should not be construed as a waiver of any other right, which is not mentioned specifically herein. You are further put on notice to preserve any evidence related to the demand herein. If legal action is pursued, this letter will be presented as evidence in court.
You may want to contact a lawyer about your legal rights and responsibilities. I hope you will govern yourself accordingly and anticipate full compliance with this demand letter.

Sincerely,

First key homes absolute rip-off and unprofessional at best. We rented one of first key homes and to make a long story short the air conditioning did not work. We submitted multiple work orders and it was never fixed so my family had to got through summer in 90 degree plus heat. The property managers never answer phone calls nor emails and they send you Hoa complaints without investigating so you could have to pay for a neighbors negligence. Class Action Lawsuit should be filed ASAP!