Castle Breckenridge
reviews and complaints

Castle Breckenridge is a total mess! They lack professionalism and their communication skills are just terrible. I mean, seriously, they can't even follow through on anything. It's a complete disappointment and I definitely do not recommend them.

Castle Breckenridge does not have the HOA's best interest in mind. They don't respond to all my emails and ignore financial questions unless I give them a $200 check upfront. They lied or were unaware about the financial status of bills paid. I strongly advise against using their services.

I gotta say, I agree with a lot of the comments here. Castle Breckenridge Management Company has really dropped the ball. They're supposed to be serving us residents and the Board of Directors, but all we get is outdated and wrong info. They do respond to emails within 24 hours, but the answers are often dismissive and just plain wrong. If I were the owner, I wouldn't want to be associated with this HOA anymore. Maybe it's time to cut your losses? bparker

I got the same problems as everyone else. Terrible management. This company ain't got no integrity, accountability, or pride in their work. They don't follow the law or the rules of the Association. JK is rude and defensive when you call him out on his managers not being educated or professional. Lots of the Board members don't know how to manage HOAs, and they shouldn't have to. But they should feel sure that they're being led by people who know what they're doing, managing HOAs.

Terrible management and hardly any communication with the office. Since they took over as our HOA management company, things have gone from bad to worse. It's like pulling teeth to get any response from the office. Emails, messages with office staff, and messages through their web portal are all ignored. The only thing they seem to prioritize is sending out their monthly bills, which are always on time! It wasn't until I threatened to report them to the ComplaintsBoard.com that I finally received a phone call, but even then, they provided me with incorrect information. They change the rules without informing the homeowners. I can only hope that our board will fire them as quickly as they hired them. I wish I could give them zero stars, but one star is the lowest rating I can give.

Horrible managment. They dont respond to safety issues, break-ins of common area mail boxes and garages. Pool and hot tub is unusable and growing algae in our complex. Not every owner gets logged into Zoom meetings because they prefer not to hear about ongoing issues. Ive lived here over five years, while the complex has turned into a run down ghetto from being a nice place to live. The parking area in back is full of runoff from rain two years ago. Theres garbage in the back, doors do not lock and gates stay open. Homeless live in the stairs and they do not help the HOA get security people or cameras. They do not step up to manage the property and oversee safety for the board. Our HOA board needs help, but this management company does nothing to help.

As a HOA member, me and my husband have been frustrated by Castle Breckenridge management. I wanna list some things here. Now we are trying to do everything via email and Zoom. (1) In our HOA meeting last January, they couldn't set up ZOOM properly or maybe they wanted to leave most of us waiting in the waiting room for the whole meeting. The conference call set up we had for February was posted in a board hallway, and we had to call at 5 PM to get the password. I'm not even sure if it's legit to run HOA meetings in such an unwelcoming way. Why don't we get emails about HOA meetings? (2) HOA board election is coming, and they will send it via mail with stamps and envelopes to return. Can we choose e-vote instead? We can use the money we spend on papers, mails, monthly color-printed Bluffs newsletters, etc for something else. (3) During the pandemic, our swimming pool was closed. In hot weather, we couldn't use it. Now, our swimming pool has green algae because of poor maintenance. Dianne says it's the fault of the vectors. Well, it's the management's fault for not maintaining it. If we swam, we would have noticed. We were never asked to choose anything and found out later. Lack of communication.

I've been living in The Bluffs in Mission Valley, San Diego for a long time, and I've noticed a clear decline in the landscaping, security, and overall maintenance under Castle Breckenridge's management. Many of us Bluffs residents have repeatedly brought up various issues to their so-called "president," John K. He usually runs our board meetings because our actual board president, Marc du S, is weak and ineffective. Sometimes, K even brings his own security guard to these meetings because he knows he's not well-liked by many of us here. K treats frustrated homeowners like they're children, and his attempts to fix things are often empty promises. He hardly ever responds to emails or phone calls, but he still expects respect. Instead of taking responsibility for his poor management skills, he blames the board of directors and boasts about how many properties he manages in San Diego. The truth is, he spreads himself too thin and can't provide the quality management that this large property needs. Additionally, he's not transparent about the contractors he hires, some of whom are unskilled workers who do terrible design projects. Do these contractors work for him? Are there shady deals going on? Since our board and K don't disclose who they hire for certain jobs, we're left to guess. This company is awful and only cares about making money. Stay away from them at all costs.

When we bought our unit in Bluffs in 2015, we were really happy with the beautiful landscape and scenery behind the condo buildings. But after we finished the purchase, we realized that we missed some important things. First, the water pipes and sewage pipes run through the ceiling of the garage and they are not well maintained. This causes frequent clogs and we have to shut off our water. It would be better if they had a plan for when the pipes go out. I'm worried that we might have to pay a lot of money to fix them.

Second, the security is not what we expected. They have gated garages, which should be safe, but in the five years we've been here, we've had four thefts in our cars, either in the garage or in the reserved parking lot. We had to file police reports and insurance claims twice, costing us around $1500. When we emailed about it, Diane told us that we shouldn't have anything valuable in our car.

Third, we pay $60,000 a year for a security guard who walks really slowly with a flashlight. He seems to just check the facilities and swimming pools. John K mentioned that we wouldn't even know if he got shot in the large garages. He makes a good point. We need security cameras placed strategically so that we can catch intruders and report them to the police. Plus, security cameras also deter intruders from coming in.

Lastly, the management at Castle Breckenridge is really outdated. They're old-fashioned, don't have good communication skills, and don't know much about technology. We heard that another condo asked their HOA members for input on what to do with the swimming pools or had them sign a waiver before using them. We wish our management was more open to new ideas and more tech-savvy.

This is the worst management company we’ve had in the 21 years that I have lived here. They do not respond. I have left several emails regarding issues such as our carpet is falling apart along the baseboard. It’s coming off, looks terrible - photos of filthy pool-tree branches all over the place, it’s a mess. (Prior mgmt our place looked beautiful - someplace to be proud of, not embarrassed). I’ve sent pictures, they do not respond. I wanted to know when they’re going to fix it. There’s stains in the hallway from dog urine, they don’t respond to that. The mailboxes were broken into over a month ago, I wanted to know when they’re going to fix that, they don’t respond to that. Our pool, Jacuzzi, clubhouse, and workout room has not been open since last April. A horrible green algae bacteria is growing. I’ve sent pictures as other people have as well, they’re not cleaning it up. Since the pools aren’t being heated or in use, why are we still paying the same fees? BBQ not in use. Since they took over, our security guards are working less days, less hours. Our landscaping has gone downhill. They gave themselves raises. They doubled our storage fees. They charged a retro $50 key deposit, even though the storage was rented 15 years ago. At that time, the other management company nor any others charge for a key. It doesn’t seem ethical that they can do this. It seems it’s all about the money in their pocket. They don’t care about the homeowners. Other nearby complexes, the amenities have been open for a long time. The restrictions have been lifted. If a homeowner wants to go in the pool or lay on a chair, they should be able to, especially now since it’s not a restriction by the Governor. It seems they just want to continue to get the same amount of money from the homeowners with far less operating costs for them. They let go of our maintenance company, hired people from their own company. This is a conflict of interest. To summit up, the property is not being maintained like it used to. There have been fees and special assessments since they took over. They don’t return emails/calls. They made promises that do not happen. They hold zoom meetings every homeowner by law (Davis Stirling Act) is entitled to be in. You can’t get in on the meeting, you’re in a waiting room. Too many of us, it seems we’re getting ripped off big time! They will tell you that it’s the board's decision on many things. The board doesn’t call you back. They are supposed to call you back. They are supposed to put your concerns on the agenda when asked. They ignore it. That’s why you are paying them! Other management companies far better. In fact, a complex up the hill has had a small increase in HOA fees in 20 years. They have had the same honest MGMT company. Many other complexes that are using other companies do not have all the issues we have. However, friends that live in complexes using this company have told me they too have issues. Yes, our board isn’t good, but they are volunteers. It’s not up to them to return calls. As soon as it’s time to vote for a new board & mgmt company, many of us will vote to change all!

Horrible HOA. They lie, cheat, and steal. JOHN KALAS AND HAROLD PALMER are the worst people I've ever met in my life. I hope karma catches up to them. There is a broken plumbing main line in our units. The plumbers keep coming and telling the HOA it needs to be fixed but JOHN AND HARLOD continue to DO NOTHING about it. SEWAGE keeps flooding my unit! It is insane! I can't believe this is real life. I hope JOHN KALAS AND HAROLD PALMER get what they deserve.