Main Street Renewal
reviews and complaints

I wanted to leave a positive review for this rental agency because we had a very goid experience with them and would like to offer a high recommendation to anyone considering renting a house from them. At the end of 2019 we learned we would need to move to Kentucky and would have to find a rental home. We had never rented from an agency in the past, and had no credit rating, so this made the initial application steps extremely difficult since we were moving from out-of-state. We found a house that was perfect and in a great location for our family of 5 with 3 pets. It was listed with MainStreet Renewal. I looked up online reviews of the agency and found most were negative, but felt that could've been a bias in reflection of disgruntled renters retaliating since few people go out of their way to write reviews when they're happy (that's why I'm writing this). So we took a chance and went ahead with the application thru MainStreet & decided tobtake that risk. I give 4 stars mainly bec this initial application process was extremely onerous, and they charged us one and a half times the deposit due to having no credit rating. Part of our frustration was their requirement to get a cashier's check cut & delivered in 5 days, which was difficult bec we didn't have a local bank at the time, were out of state, had to take off from work, drive several hours to get the check at a bank, then overnight it so it would get there on time, and the *** delivery got delayed, so we nearly missed their deadlines. They also insisted on background checks on everyone over 18, and our oldest had just turned 18, but had no I.D.s, so we had to rush to get him a state I.D. in time for that. Luckily we cleared all the hoops and got approved. These were one of the only rentals that allowed pets- that was a huge influence on our decision to go with them. We did have a big plumbing trouble the first week and had to stay at a hotel a few days. We had to pay initially out of pocket for that, which was a crunch on our budget, but the maintenance team came quickly and on time and successfully resolved the main plumbing problem. Mainstreet reimbursed the hotel stay with a deduction in next month's rent. Another bonus was that the Agency offered incentive deals. Make sure you screenshot all Offers to enter into a lease. I will say that as long as you document everything and keep good records, take plenty of pics to document the move-in conditions, take care of the property, leave it in better condition than you found it, take pics to document that, and treat everyone with respect and mutual integrity, they will reciprocate. We rented in a 4 bed, 2 bath home in a suburb East Louisville area not far from Chamberlain Ln & Westport Rd. We enjoyed the home and multicultural neighborhood very much. We had good neighbors, a fenced-in backyard with a creek behind it, a 2 car garage, fireplace, and more. We got it at a discounted rate bec we moved in the winter during the off-season, so it was $1600/mo at that time, which was comprable to other similar homes all around Louisville at that time. In the summer, the rate was more like $1850/mo here. When we moved out, we spent $650 on a maid cleaning team and carpet cleaning and left the receipts. The place was sparkling clean, even though there was some damage, which I pointed out when an inspector for the agency dropped by the day before move-out. Also, I needed a couple of extra days at the end to coirdinate the move, the cleaners, and carpet cleaners, but Mainstreet never charged me for the extra days. It happened over the New Year holiday, so there wasn't a great urgency I suppose, but all of our stuff was out on time and we kept them informed of everything as we went, so communication is important. I was careful to go over all the closing terms & requirements of the lease at the end and meet all the requirements to the best of my ability. The best part is that we got ALL of our security deposit back in the end- which is a rarity. So my advice is to: document EVERYTHING carefully & diligently, communicate professionally & promptly keep the property in good condition leave it in better condition than you found it always act with integrity & honesty make sure your banking and identification is all ready to go ahead of applying for a house be prepared to have upwards of twice the rent ready in reserve for procedural fees and unforeseen issues that may arise in the first two months. Invest the money in cleaning at the end to leave the property in move-in ready shape.

Im going to start with the facts and then get into the details. I have had nothing but pure disrespect since the moment my name was signed on a lease with Main Street Renewal MSRenewal. I want to mention that the issues Ive had/having with this company are not ones that should be taken lightly nor things that should not be constituted as an emergency. Lets start with move-in day, the day where it should be filled with pure hate for the moving part but joy for the start of a new chapter (especially during a pandemic, life changes). This day for me quickly turned ugly as I was approached, in my own living room, by a couple who had said I was in their home. They mentioned they signed a lease; they paid their deposit and THEY HAD A KEY TO MY FRONT DOOR! Now youre asking yourself, was this a *** scam they bought into, or me? Did I, the real tenant, make a mistake? No. Main Street Renewal is so poor with communication that they in fact had two leasing agents leasing the home I had already SIGNED AND PAID FOR. Why would they do this? Im sure partly to get more application fees, but they also took it as far as to lease it to two different people, myself included. This family was rather confused and extremely upset as they had moved their entire life across state lines to find their what was soon to be home was already rented and being lived in. I do want to also mention that the self-touring option on Rentlys and their website was still active THE *** I MOVED INTO THE HOME, therefore allowing anyone to access the front doors lock box (oh yea and that wasnt removed until 2 weeks after I moved in). I had made several attempts to speak to a real person, on the phone and in a calm manner as I work in this industry and know how difficult residents can be. I was able to get some emails sent, and my hopes as a resident was that the locks being changed (the main issue) would have be handled as an extreme safety issue. I mean considering someone had keys to my home and they were aware of this that it would be handled in less than 24 hours. I want to fast forward to about 2-3 weeks after taking possession of the home. Yes, 2-3 weeks has gone by and the locks are still not changed, the lock box containing a key to my home is still hanging on the door AND I have yet to get a call from a supervisor or manager to express how extreme this liability is to not only their company but MY SAFETY and a breach of the rental contract. I want to table the lock issue for a second and list some of the other items that also went ignored and left for myself to resolve. -The home was inhabited by squatters prior, they had to be removed through the proper legal channels (this I understand). The squatters not only defecated in the toilets but I was able to locate dozens of areas where urine was prominent on the walls/flooring. I brought this to their attention. It was PROMISED that it would get a light clean before I moved in, yet I told them it's going to need to be severely disinfected for my safety along with their reputation as a company. I was then again promised it would be taken care of (red flag number 2) and yet I moved into the home in the exact same condition as it was viewed, reported and promised a resolution. -The home did not have a stove, not a huge issue as most dont really *** right when they move-in so I wasnt too concerned. I was told the stove was ordered, it would be there in 5-7 days and I was okay with this. I was contacted by an outside contractor who was hired to install the stove when it arrived and I was told to contact him when *** contacts me for the delivery. I got a call a week or so later about my DISHWASHER coming in and it would be on my porch when I got home. Yes, another red flag! So, I called the company (obviously no answer) then I emailed maintenance and finally got a maintenance supervisor that was so helpful! It was further delayed as they had to return the dishwasher, order a stove and then come install it. It took almost a month to get a simple appliance installed into my new home even though I had mentioned the missing appliance 3-4 weeks before my lease even started to ensure they would have plenty of time to get one. I also want to mention that the contractor then labeled me a liar, accused me of stealing the stove that was originally there because MSRenewal told him there was a stove there and he was to take a photo of said stove to prove he removed the old and put in a new one. This is yet again a prime example of their poor communication. I want to mention I gave them plenty of time to fix said issues, and these are just a few of them as I wanted to talk about the larger ones with the most impact on my ability to actually enjoy a home, I am renting for almost $2,000 a month. I was told I would receive compensation once the issues were resolved. I had mentioned that I felt a months worth of a concession seemed warranted as it took almost a month to get things fixed, along with the possibility of a legal issue for the locks taking so long to be replaced and my safety being a huge concern (concern to me, not to them). All I want is the money I lost and I will move forward with my life.

PLEASE WHAT EVER YOU DO BEFORE YOU LEASE A HOME FROM MAIN STREET RENEWAL READ THIS REVIEW!It all started with the leasing agent making promises to do things that needed to be done to the property. We made a list and she promised that that all those items would be taken care of within 30 days. Not one item was fixed, after 30 days I started calling Main Street Renewal nobody would return my calls I started turning in maintenance request nobody reply to my request. Upon moving in we realized that the light fixture in the kitchen would not turn on. We also realized the kitchen sink was backed up and one bathroom, I called them immediately on the first day we moved in, hours after we took possession of the house and reported the issues that I was having with the waist lines and no kitchen light, and they started giving me excuses why they couldn't come to the house because of the covid pandemic so I had to hire a plumbing company to come in and snake the waist lines. It took them 10 and 1/2 months to put a new light fixture in the kitchen so we lived without a kitchen light for 10 and 1/2 months. A few days after we were moved in I had a few friends over and the deck off of the back of the house did not have handrails or rails around the deck no light in the backyard per code in DeSoto kansas, two of my friends could not see the steps and fell off the deck one got hurt pretty good I had to convince her to not take legal action against MSR. I won't go into all the promises that the leasing agent made but there was quite a few things on the list the fence was falling down the overgrowth on the property was bad enough the utility company called me and said that if it wasn't removed that they were going to shut the utilities off until they could see the meters on the side of the house. Another promise to clean up the property not kept by MSR. Remember all along I've been notifying Main Street Renewal of the promises that were given and none of them were being taken care of. The list goes on and on I'm just going to hit on the most important issues so people be aware that if they make you a promise they will not keep it they will not return your calls. 3 to 4 days after moving in we stored our property in the garage and they failed to let us know that the garage flooded when it rained, I notified them of the flooding and all the property that was ruined because of the flooding they wouldn't return my calls and they wouldn't reimburse me for any of my property. There was a rock retaining wall next to the driveway which fell over into the driveway I informed MSR that it had fallen sent them pictures they didn't do anything about it they wouldn't return my calls or my emails. The crawl space on the home is completely full of water which causes mold and bugs like you can't imagine this is a major health hazard they've been informed and done nothing or responded to me about this problem, all of the vents for the crawl space have been covered up either by concrete or blocked off and there's no way for the crawl space to dry out it's constantly got water in it! It took 10 and 1/2 months to get a kitchen light.It took 10 and 1/2 months to get handrails and rails put on the deck and the only reason they did that was because they could be liable they knew it wasn't to code they still haven't put a light above the deck outside the door like the code says. They have made attempts to stop the flooding in the garage but to no avail, we got a heavy rain two nights ago and my garage looks like a pond.So after living here for one year, always paying my rent at least 3 weeks early if not months in advance I felt it was time to get some legal advice. Having a email from the leasing agent with a list of stuff they were supposed to take care of I was advised that if I wanted to to go ahead and take care of those problems myself being the owner of a construction company and that we would have to move forward legally to get reimbursed, so I've repaired the three decks on the property, I brought a piece of my equipment (backhoe) home took removed the fallen rock wall and replaced it with another retaining wall graded the yard reseeded the yard. Had to replace fence post that had snapped at the ground level on the privacy fence so my dog couldn't get out. Removed all of the overgrowth on the property which was 50% poison ivy or poison oak removed the trees out of the fence line that had grown into the fence and destroyed it so I removed the trees and the roots and reinstalled the fence all along they knew I had a dog I paid a pet deposit and they told me that would be taken care of within one week after I moved in because I didn't want my dog to get out of the yard.I could go on and on about the promises that the agent made but I don't believe that's the problem they get you in they're home with promises and then you can never get a hold of them and they will never return your calls.SO MY ADVICE TO ANYONE LOOKING TO LEASE A HOME DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO FIND A MORE REPUTABLE COMPANY! I HAVE CONTACTED OTHER TENANTS THAT LEASE FROM MAIN STREET RENEWAL AND THEY HAVE THE SAME COMPLAINTS AGAIN DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO LEASE FROM ANY OTHER COMPANY! SIDE NOTE: TO THIS DAY THEY HAVEN'T REIMBURSED ME OR COMPENSATED ME FOR ANY MATERIALS OR ANY LABOR FOR ALL THE WORK THAT I'VE DONE ON THEIR PROPERTY, BUT THE WORK HAD TO BE DONE IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE IT REALLY STILL IS BECAUSE OF THE WATER IN THE *** SPACE THAT'S JUST REALLY UNHEALTHY.GOOD LUCK HOUSE HUNTING!