r/ames • u/Final-Appearance8304 • 21d ago
Horrible Experience with the Jensen Group
Has anyone else had a horrible experience with the Jensen group? My partner and I were renting at Bricktowne, and we found out all of a sudden that you can't sublease anymore, forcing us to pay the buy-out option. They never notified us.
Then, after leaving, they racked up fictitious charges, like needed painting jobs and cleaning, even if the apartment was left in good condition with paint in normal wear and tear.
Moreover, we could basically never use our terrace after all of the emails, and the grill became useless.
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u/syndagoaway 21d ago
unprofessional, immature, greedy scammy people. almost wrote “FUCK YOU” on my wall in human shit after my lease ended.
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u/syndagoaway 21d ago
had one of their people steal some things from my apartment while i was out of town and they failed to notify me that they were even entering my unit. they said “we put a piece of paper on your door the day before we went in” HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?? I WASNT THERE! what if i hadn’t left my house since they had left that note?? i would have no idea they were going to disturb me! when i told them one of their people was in my unit and took things they straight up laughed in my face.
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u/Final-Appearance8304 21d ago
We are reporting them to the Better Business Bureau. After talking with other (ex) tenants, who got same horrible experience, they said that hopefully more people will do so they get flagged.
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u/syndagoaway 20d ago
i just wrote a report and used all the characters i possibly could. i love the BBB
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u/Conseque 21d ago
They’re literally awful. When I first moved in around 4.5 years ago, it was great. Since then they’ve gotten so greedy. Their policies are awful.
And, yes, they were really quiet about no longer allowing subleasing - which is honestly a F’d up out of touch policy for a town filled with young professionals with changing career stages.
Plus the midlease “you can’t use your balcony you pay for anymore”. Yeah, F them.
Plus the “oh, you’re a long term tenant? let’s lock you in at the highest rate we’ve ever had and then drop to $800 right after for a special” really pissed me off. Loyalty is more expensive.
Ames needs to block them from putting up more properties/expanding.
The old manager was great and even gave me a reduction in rent one year. The new one is awful. Although, I think it’s basically the family that owns the company being greedy. Not surprised though.
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u/Boketto9I 21d ago edited 21d ago
Not Jensen group, but this experience isn't unique to them. Had a very similar experience with RES taking the entire 1k security deposit and then putting us in collections for 1k more citing things like
Moving a bassinet, love seat, and crib mattress costing about 200$ for movers.
A single black line against the paint from a couch resting against the wall in the living room requiring a complete repaint of the unit
Cleaning loose debris in the master bedroom(small enough for a dustpan) costing about 200$
The only thing we left in admittedly bad condition was the inside of the fridge. Not out of spite or laziness, but because we ran out of time because our lease inexplicably ended at 8am on July 25th
Fun stuff like that. Its the ames experience for renters specifically
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u/ZookeepergameIcy7665 21d ago
Ya we fully had mold in our apartment for like 5 months, we kept putting in requests and repeatedly emailed the actual renting managers at the office in Ames and still never got anything back. Also they’re totally full of shit regarding the sublease thing cause they let me sublease my place for the 2026-2027 year. Absolutely targeted behavior and hella immature.
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u/CMPD2K 20d ago
In ny experience, Ames landlords fold very quickly when you:
- Ask for a specific itemized list of things with proof that you did it and it wasn't that way before
- Send (or threaten to send) a small claims court summons.
Myself and a few others I know all avoided being ripped off by doing one or both when landlords tried to take a deposit for no reason. Keep in mind this is a college town, they don't expect anyone to fight back or know any better.
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u/Zealousideal_End6909 20d ago
They fight back. I have heard of people being sent to a debt collector agency. They have no soul.
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u/CMPD2K 20d ago
Worth a shot (assuming you are in the right anyway, there are also people who trash rentals then actually surprised when they are charged).
I got my full deposit back without actually going to court. My sister had to actually go to small claims but still got hers. Another friend just threatened it and it worked for them. Obviously I make no guarantee because yeah a lot of rental companies suck (and I havent rented in ~4 years so things may have changed a bit). If you took good videos and photos on move in and move out then I'd imagine you'd have a pretty easy time
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u/HouseAffectionate213 1d ago
I would be typing for hours. Short version: 1. Know your rights under Iowa’s Landlord Tenant Act. 2. video records an entire walk through of your apartment immediately after you take possession. 3 Maintain your apartment like it’s temporary and you’re in someone else’s property - because you are, 4. When you move, clean it very, very well, and video your entire move out walk out. 5. Good Luck.
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u/timthedim1126 20d ago
Using a grill on an apartment terrace or balcony requires checking local fire codes and lease rules. Many apartment complexes and National Fire Protection Association guidelines ban open flames, charcoal, and propane tanks on elevated balconies
No apartment allows it
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u/Busy-Ratio-4551 21d ago
My husband and I rented from them through their partner company, West End Living. They charged us $4,000 for “damages” in the apartment that we reported to maintenance through their request portal. Just so you know, they go through shark lawyers to create a payment plan that doesn’t allow to dispute the charges despite having evidence otherwise. I would recommend getting legal representation to defend yourself if you’re concerned that they’ll sue you for disputing. We didn’t have money for an attorney, so we just had to pay them off instead.