HSM

HSM clearly has two halves to its business — the people who help you buy and sell houses and the people who do property management. I can’t comment on the second part, at all, but have spent a lot of time with Tracy Dearman working to buy a house.
Tracy was extremely helpful — even though we ended up not buying a house with her (ended up going in a different direction), she was wonderful in walking us through the process, helping us place four offers on places we really liked, and going above and beyond to make sure we had a great experience. For reference, we looked at houses near Glen Park and Balboa Park in the two to three bedroom range — including Mission Terrace, Ingleside, Outer Mission and Glen Park.
For example, on one house, it was in rough-​shape (basically a foreclosure), and she brought in a general contractor who she had done work with before who spent over an hour walking through the property with us, answering our questions on how much all of the repairs and changes we needed would cost, and then put together a bid on the job for us – Tracy organized the whole thing, and there was no charge.
She was also very good at helping us be as competitive as possible in our bids, and putting together the best possible packages. Also, she wasn’t shy in giving us great strong opinions on what was and wasn’t a good buy, and helping us hone in on what we should put offers in on. She had a particular expertise in how much work fixing properties would be, since she also buys properties for repair and resale.
I’d be glad to refer her to any friends who are looking at homes.

Tracy Dearman helped us get our first home here is San Francisco. We found out that showing us the homes we were interested is important, but just part of the whole process and, yes, she was very responsive and prompt to show us houses even with our hectic, 7 family members’, schedule! We were not easy clients; we had a budget, large family and wanted to stay in SF! Well we did it and she helped us by staying positive and persistent. Always returned our texts, emails and yes, phone calls. She is knowledgeable about what type of loan we could put together to make our offer standout. She has longevity in the field and repertoire.
During our search, she would pick our brains in a way that I thought was clever. Instead of asking what we thought of the house, if she saw any signs of interest, she would prompt us to make a bid. If we said no, we would need to provide reasons. This was also her way of encouraging us to «Go!» if we liked the house. Here in SF, if you want something you have to act especially with our price range, also, if she knows your tastes, she can prevent a waste of time. She also empowers the buyer by providing a website with accurate information regarding whats available, open houses and sales history. So how did this all work out…
We started 8÷22÷11 and we signed the documents on 2÷22÷12. Six months exactly! Awesome!!!

I had a huge flooding issue inside my unit and HSM was quick to get someone out to repair the flooding. They helped work with the insurance company, they returned all my calls within two hours regardless of the time of day. Their property managers went out of there way to find vendors and contractors to get the issues I needed fixed quickly and with high quality. I felt everyone at the office to be very helpful and would strongly recommend working with this company. Thanks HSM.

HSM’s co-​owner Jonathan Dearman helped me buy my first condo, and the experience was exceptional. His response time was almost immediate, which is a big deal when dealing with a nervous first-​timer like me. After providing me with listings, he’d walk me through the pros and cons of each, and was never pushy or «salesman-​y.» Plus, every third-​party he recommended I work with (mortgage broker, housing inspector) also provided amazing service. The kicker — when I closed, he had my locks changed as a housewarming gift. Great service!

Its my first time moving out of parents home in sf, i heard about hsm from a friend of mine and how they helped him rent out his property. So i called up and spoke to Rajan and he was able to find me a place where i plan on moving to next week. He was patient and kind, respected my view points on things and took care of me the whole way.

One star is far too generous.
I read a positive review here on HSM, and immediately suspected that someone from the company wrote it. We were forced to work with them when I lived in Fort Mason and every neighbor agreed that this is clearly the result of the NPS selecting the cheapest bid.
They are neglectful, disorganized, and unresponsive. Their emergency phone number (ie the one they say to call in case of flood, etc.) sends you to their general answering machine. I’m curious how many times they’ve been written up by the BBB.
Be warned…

steer well clear of this bunch!

Like most others on here, I wish there were «negative» starts to rate what an awful and unethical company HSM (or «Haight Street Mortgage») is.
I could write a memoir about my long list of very negative experiences, after being their tenant for over 7 years but, to sum it up, just a few examples:
–they try to scam you with repairs and maintenance until it is almost illegal. I lived with a molding, rotten bathroom cabinet for TWO YEARS. It had gotten to the point it was affecting my health yet they never got around to properly deal with it until I threatened to call local health authorities. They kept doing minor cosmetic fixes and never addressing the real problem until they could no longer avoid it
–the condo I rented was in dismal state of maintenance: the wallpaper (original, from the beginning of the century) was peeling off and they had painted over many times. In seven years of tenancy, they only painted ¹⁄₃ of the house, after dozens of requests and never got around to finishing the work (to be noted, the place had not been painted in probably 30 – 40 years when I became a tenant). Whenever I would ask for painting, they would say that the place was not generating income despite they were getting over $ 28,000/year from me and there was no mortage on it (per a public record search I did)
–the office is the most dysfunctional group of people I’ve ever met. It used to be a «family» business and I saw it grow with time into a bureaucratic mess that prompted repair requests to go unattended or get lost in a maze of «property managers» and «senior staff»
–once I finally moved out, they tried to keep the security deposit from me claiming it was not properly «spelled out» in my original lease. Had I not have written proof of everything, they would definitely.
have scammed me
I could go on and on forever. My advise is: STAY AWAY FROM THIS PEOPLE
By the way, I have proof of everything I claim. Ask me more if you need.

Unilocal needs to add stars that are in the negative!
Calling HSM a property management service provider is a stretch of the imagination. The «service» is awful, and their management of our building is even worse. We have had issues in the building that have gone on for months, and even a year in one case.
Two thumbs down! The next time I move, if I find out HSM is the «property manager» — well, that’s a deal killer for me. They are that bad.

This real estate management company doesn’t just charge a monthly fee to manage your property. In addition to that monthly fee, they also charge you a substantial fee each and every time they dial the telephone to send one of their plumbers, electricians, cleaning services, pest extermination, washer/​dryer repair, a painting or roofing estimate, etc. out to your building.
I feel that it was their negligence which resulted in our coin operated washing machine being broken because they failed to collect the coins (as they had agreed to do), the coin box became over-​filled, and the coin slide jammed to the point where it is very difficult to make it operate. They denied fault.
HSM is no longer our property management company.

I had a great experience with HSM from start to finish. Super nice people, very helpful and respectful, and always answered my questions. They were very personable and I would absolutely recommend them to my friends.

HSM is one of the best management we have for the past four years. They often go extra miles for everything they do. Specially Chris and Rodney, They are super nice guys. We will stay with them for many many years to come.

They should have a zero star option. but since they don’t, one will have to due.
HSM is entirely unprofessional. From improper rent increase valuations, to completely ignoring tenants– they take the cake in being the WORST property management company I’ve worked with. The main drain line to our house has been broken for 4 months now… leaving the basement in high risk of flooding (after it already flooded once 4 months ago). No reimbursement for damages, no compensation for hotel when we weren’t allowed to run water in the house, no reimbursement for loss of livable space (¹⁄₃ the square footage of the house… which. yes, they include in the «valuation» for what should be charged to rent the place).
Chris Baillo particularly is unprofessional. His average turn around time for responding to an email or phone call (repeated phone calls) is 2 – 3 weeks. His answers– always vague and indefinite. Additionally, he goes back and forth on what he says (i.e. «we won’t reimburse you for any rent due to loss of livable square footage because the basement is not considered «livable»… yet… 3 weeks later in the valuation for our rent increase, we see that the basement’s square footage is INCLUDED in the «livable space» of the home. When confronted about this, Chris responds with analogies of «just because the basement had the risk of flooding again doesn’t mean it wasn’t livable while the pipe was broken.») First its NOT livable, then it IS livable– WTF?
I strongly discourage property owners from using this management company. You will have extremely high turnover of tenants and many complaints.

ZERO stars.
Can only speak for the property management. Can we say, completely unprofessional and dysfunctional — truly, unbelievably bad.
«Just Say No!»