Belser Thompson Real Estate

Repairs were long overdue on the historic house I rented from Belser Thompson. The porch was rotting beneath my feet. The maintenance man advised that I don't have any company up there. When I asked him what Mr. Thompson thought of the decay and the risk of someone getting hurt, he told me Thompson said ""that's what insurance is for"". When I moved out, I cleaned meticulously and left the place in much better condition than when I moved in. My security deposit return check was docked for the following: $30 for batteries for smoke detectors (there were 3 of them). $20 for an air filter (standard size ran around $5 at Walmart). $115 for ""cleaning"". If you feel like being treated as nothing more than a cash cow, rent away, I however will never do business with this company again. more

I highly recommend Bill Thompson and Belser Thompson Real Estate. Belser Thompson was first recommended to me several years ago as a property manager for a horizontal property regime . Besler Thompson did an excellent job managing the regime, including lining up contractors and addressing regime related issues. We have also rented a property managed by Belser Thompson. We found Belser Thompson to be extremely prompt and courteous in handling our requests and concerns. \r \r Our experience with Belser Thompson was excellent, and I know others who have had a similarly positive experience when dealing with Bill Thompson and Jaye. \r \r more

I think anyone reading these reviews can tell that each 5 star review is a plant from the staff at Belser Thompson. Its probably Jay, because Bill Thompson is WAY too lazy to do it himself. To say Mr. Thompson is condescending is being polite. The man believes if you are not from Charleston or born into money then he is above you. Any request for work done on the property is scoffed at. I finally got a direct line to the handyman myself, it was the only way to get anything fixed. Belser Thompson managed properties are crumbling messes held together by a fresh can of paint. I feel sorry for the owners if they ever try to sell and a home inspector has to come through the place. It is sad that a Charleston company does not care enough to help preserve and take better care of the city's historic homes and buildings. Best of luck renting from this company, and plan on being on your own for any repairs or requests. more

I too would give Belser Thompson 0 stars if possible. The staff is rude and Mr. Thompson is condescending. Their maintenance ""staff"" is highly incapable of making quality repairs. All necessary repairs are done via the cheapest means possible, if done at all. I feel sorry for the homeowners who are unaware of how poorly their properties are managed. I feel sorry for the renters who are bound by leases to work with such a company. Do NOT rent from them. The reviewers who gave Besler Thompson 5 stars have questionable judgement and are likely members of the Belser Thompson staff. My lease expires soon and I will post more exact examples of this company's lack professionalism and concern. Best of luck finding a rental/property management company who respects you and the home in which you dwell. Besler Thompson is NOT this company. more

I highly recommend Bill Thompson and his staff at Belser/Thompson Real Estate. They are extremely courteous and respond to issues promptly. My family and I have rented from Belser/Thompson for the past 3 years and highly recommend them for your rental search or property management. more

Easy to rent from. They take care of everything that needs to be addressed. The communication with me as a tenant is good, not like another management company that I dealt with in Charleston who never communicated with me whatsoever. more

I have been a renter with Belser Thompson for about 3 years since 2008. I have never had any issues calling them for problems or things that need attention. everything is always handled promptly. more

I've had personal experience renting from Belser Thompson and can attest that they do not value the properties they manage. This creates problems for the home owners as well as the tenants. Several items in our home have never been fixed causing severe damage to the house. In Charleston old homes need to be maintained properly, Belser Thompson is terrible at this. The handymen that come never fix the problem, instead they chose short-term solutions to save money. Beyond the repair problems, everyone at Belser Thompson with whom I've spoken to is rude and mean. They treat you poorly and like a bother. All in all, our experience has been terrible. more

This management company was very attentive and quick to act when there was a refrigerator that went out. They were on the situation and offered quick and practical solutions. more

If possible, I would give Belser Thompson 0 stars. The company NEVER makes repairs and when they do they won't divulge the HVAC company whom did the work. We've had several issues with our rental, nothing has been taken care of correctly or in a timely matter. On top of the that, Belser Thompson does not treat tenants with respect or dignity. They are condescending and completely rude.I highly recommend avoiding Belser Thompson at all costs. more

I would rate Belser-Thompson 5 stars! Their rates are reasonable for the downtown Charleston area. The maintenance is of good quality and they dont skimp on the details. They are pretty honest as well. more

Belser Thompson is an extremely unprofessional and rude company. One of my roommates had extreme health issues related to mold in the air conditioning. Belser Thompson was slow to respond to our requests and once they did they told us they could not provide the HVAC company who 'cleaned' our air conditioning unit or what the problem was. This resulted in thousands of dollars in medical bills as we could not identify why our roommate was ill. Another blow came when Belser Thompson would not renew our lease with explanation. They could not tell us why they wanted to rent to new tenants. We have never paid rent in an untimely matter. They've been condescending and unhelpful in all circumstances. It's clear the the 'good' reviews on City Search are fake. Simply click the reviewer profile and you'll see they all review the same HVAC companies. I highly recommend avoiding renting from Belser Thompson at all costs. Also, please avoid giving BT your property to manage as they devalue buildings by never fixing repairs or maintaing safe environments. I cannot comprehend how this business can continue to operate. Also I wish I could give 0 stars. more

Belser Thompson Real Estate manages the property of which I reside. If there is a problem, it is taken care of in a timely manner. I communicate with them well. I look forward to renting from them again. more

Belser-Thopmson treats me with respect and lets me rent with dignity. Their number one priority is fair housing and anti-discrimination. more

I had a great experience with these folks, they are always so nice on the phone. My property is still well taken care of to this day and I never have a problem come up that they cant handle quickly. more

For your own sake, Charleston is big place- find someone else! Belser-Thompson has zero respect for their tenants, making renting a property from them both extremely challenging and frustrating. Jay who answers the phones is fine, and is semi helpful. BILL THOMPSON on the other hand is rude, he gets worked up and just yells over the phone. I thought perhaps he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed the first time I had to deal with him. Oh no! He has continued to be unpleasant and impolite on a regular basis. If you have any needs in your unit- don’t even bother. They won’t be fixed, because as Bill one told me on the phone “he doesn’t own anything to me”. \r \r Save yourself time and energy-bypass these people and stick with a real professional management team. \r more

Absolutely horrific ending to our rental lease. We had a rat infestation that they had no interest in helping us with because they were transferring the property to another management company. So they made us live with that for months and now they are saying that we aren't going to get our deposits back because the house is a wreck! No freaking duh the house is a wreck, rats have been living there! So it looks like I will be taking them to small claims court. Not only that but the receptionist is a total bitch, totally rude and condescending. Like any question you ask her is a huge bother. There are so many beautiful places to rent in Charleston, just cross any Belser-Thompson Real Estate place off your list. more

They do a horrible job at managing their properties. Their properties are generally on the higher end, yet they treat their clients so rudely! Never have I encountered a business like this one. They do not fix things and would rather find a cheap, temporary solution. For example, we had a medium sized rat take residence in our house. Rather than bring an exterminator and spend a little time and money getting rid of the problem, they simply put a a small metal sheet in front of the hole in kitchen that the rat used to access the house. Sure enough, within a day the rat made a new hole. The rodent ended up bringing FLEAS into the house! It was a disaster trying to get this whole thing sorted out. During the month-long ordeal, the management seemed to blame US for not getting rid of the rat ourselves, despite the fact we did everything we could to starve it off (ie, putting ALL food in Tupperware instead of the packaging it came in, not leaving any food out, sweeping twice a day, etc). This is just one of many similar experiences with them. In summary, stay far, FAR away from Belser Thompson Real Estate. I do not know how they're still in business. Pros: My lease is up soon! Cons: Everything more

They are all extremely rude on the phone. We are never treated as customers and the instructions on how the property is to be handled is different from each staff member. Cons: Tennants are not treated as customers more