Total Property Management

This may not be the agent to rent for young professionals, family, or grad/PhD students based on our experience in terms of customer relations and professionalism. We moved into a unit that was not well prepared after the previous tenants. That was still fine, considering ~every unit moves in on same day Aug 1 and it could be hard to keep up with it. Snow removal is included but we mostly ended up doing it ourselves when needed. Other maintenance/requests were relatively dealt timely and deserve credit. Lastly and importantly, good luck getting your security back in full. My wife and I were very careful in cleaning before check out and they still took part of our security deposit with casual reasoning and we felt it pretty unfair. They seem good people, but we just missed the professionalism or whatever that leaves a satisfaction.

Great experiences with this company. Going on my second year living with them. They bent over backwards to have my apartment available for a time that worked best for me. I recommend renting through this company if you are a student at ISU.

Susan and the other ladies in the front office were often helpful and kind. Maintenance was hit and miss. Cory was a rockstar maintenance technician, but the other maintenance techs and contractors they hired for other work were shady at best. Mark, another maintenance tech, tried to enter our unit without any advanced notice or even knocking. The main issues came about during the moveout process. The unit was cleaned numerous times and was left much cleaner than when we moved in. Our checkout was done by Brad, the owner of Total Property Management. He focused on a single hair in a drawer and polymerized grease stains in the oven that could not be removed. When I asked if there were any issues with the state of the apartment, he said that he found "a few things." When I asked him what those things were, he got defensive and very aggressive. He raised his voice and got very hostile with me for asking what the issues were. I did not respond back with defensiveness or yelling which is why I was confused at his continued aggression. I deescalated the situation to the point where the moveout inspection could be finalized. The real fun came when I got the bill for the moveout cleaning costs. I received an itemized list of expenses. The list included the fridge, toilet, tub, and cabinets for items that needed to be cleaned. There was never any mention of these as being an issue. There was also mention of a stain being dealt with in the master bedroom which was present when we moved in. I showed the picture of the stain from move into Brad, but it was still listed as an issue. I sent the photo that I took of the stain during move in, and that issue was finally dropped. When I asked for more details about the fridge, toilet, tub, and cabinets, they only told me that those were issues that the "inspector" noticed during the process and that the charges are from the cleaning company. I was then told "We do not negotiate returned security deposits." I was then asked to send them all of the photos that I had of the fridge, tub, toilet, and cabinets to compare them with the photos that they had. I was also told to include the date stamp. I am glad that I took a complete video and thorough set of pictures after cleaning as those photos were my proof of the nonexistent "issues." 1 week after I sent the photos, I finally received a response back. I was informed that half of the charges would be refunded. I decided not to continue any further as the money remaining was not worth the hassle and the trips to small claims court would have cost more in fuel than the money being taken from the deposit as we had moved to a new city. I believe the act of them refunding a portion of the money shows that they know the charges were not fair. They had never mentioned most of the issues that were being charged for and they did not have any photos of the supposed issues. The main lesson is to take extensive photos before you move anything into the property as well as numerous photos when you move out. Without the photos, I would have been charged for things that were completely clean already. Better yet, avoid Total Property in general. Brad is the owner, and I would do everything possible to never give him any more of my money. He was incredibly rude, aggressive, and downright unprofessional. There are numerous other landlords in Ames that will not try and take your money. I would suggest you look anywhere besides Total Property Management for a place to live.

I have never lived somewhere better. The apartment is beautiful and well cared for. They are beyond prompt with maintenance requests responding, within a few hours and are at my apartment by the following day. The management is kind, respectful, and considerate. I would recommend this complex to anyone.

I have lived in my apartment for 10 years. I guarantee I wouldn't have been here this long if I didn't fully appreciate the TPM crew. They are very responsive to maintenance requests. They have also responded to requests for updating paint & carpet after 10 years and modifications a handrail on my stairs that they definitely didn't have to do. They have been accommodating on 2 or 3 occasions over the years where I ran into financial hardships and needed some time to get rent all together. I am sure the maintenance guys are always trying to clear off a never ending list of things to do, but if I see one in the complex and bug one to pop in for something stupid they always do without hesitation. I am certain if I ever move to another apartment I will look at TPM properties first.

Susan has been super helpful, she has been working with my brother and I to help us get moved in earlier then expected to our new apartment with them! She responds fast and is super nice! Looking forward to renting from TPM, if the rest of the team is anything like Susan I’m sure we’re in good hands!

I live with Total Property Management and I have never once had a problem. Our apartment was in perfect condition when we moved in and they were very helpful making the whole process so much easier and less stressful. They have always had a very quick response to maintenance request and are always happy to fix the problem. The office staff is always quick to get back to you and help as much as they can. Susan in the office is amazing. They own so many buildings and have a ton of tenants but it is a very personal experience and feels like each tenant is made a priority. She has to deal with so much already but is always happy to help. The rent is a super reasonable price especially for such a high quality apartment and everything it includes! The experience has been the best one that I have had and I wouldn’t recommend any other company. Thanks for all that you guys do!!