ShipRock Management, Inc.

Just wanted to thank you gals at ShipRock for being so awesome! I absolutely love the house I am renting, and I also love the management company too! You all have been so wonderful to work with! So thank you very very much for making my life so much more enjoyable. more

My name is Carl Vandenburg and I lived in Duluth from 1992-1996 while I attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth. A few years after graduating I bought my first property, I kept \r buying properties until I had a total of 8 buildings. After this major expansion I realized that I \r could no longer manage them myself and hired a property management company. I thought that this would free up my time and reduce the amount of stress in my life; unfortunately this was not the case. I was sitting on empty properties, had unsatisfied tenants and even had some pipes freeze in one of my units. At this point I was losing money and was so frustrated that I talked to my realtors about just selling everything and getting out of the investments. They explained to me that the market conditions may not be the most lucrative to sell my properties and recommended that I talk to ShipRock Management and assured me that my experience would be different with them. \r \r Still frustrated, I was hesitant to talk to another property management company. But I realized \r that I would have to try and make this investment perform the best it could until I could get out of it. I set up my first meeting with ShipRock Management in March of 2006. My first impression \r was a very positive one; they had systems in place for every aspect of property management. \r They have really taken the time to think of every aspect of property management and have put \r that in place. Many other companies just go with a learn as you go mentality. They took the time to listen to my frustrations and tailor a plan to my needs. I signed my management contract with them at this time. \r \r Since the time of the signing, they have come through on every promise. They have started and completed the renovation of 3 units at very reasonable prices. They even rented the units before the work was completed. They are excellent at communicating with their clients. \r \r In conclusion, I would highly recommend ShipRock Management to any property owner large or \r small, because they really stand behind their motto of “Free Your Time”. They are doing such a good job I am thinking of keeping all my properties. more

ShipRock saved me from a potential bad tenant situation, took the empty rental, advertised, showed it, did paperwork, background checks, met with tenants for lease signing, collected rents and deposit and rented the garage all within 4 days! Our previous management co. had the property for 2 1/2 months, showed the unit once and never returned our calls! We are very impressed with you and your company. We will be highly recommending you to others.\r \r Linda Dobbs\r more

When first moving into the Eustone building three years ago, my boyfriend and I were very impressed because it was the most updated apartment building that we had seen from ShipRock Management (most apartment buildings are deplorable). After a while we noticed that there was a severe house centipede infestation! We attempted to exterminate them ourselves but nothing worked (they are harder to kill than cockroaches and are not a sign of uncleanliness). We noticed that there was insecticide sprayed around random areas in the building outside of the apartments so they knew about the bug problem but didn't do much about it, nothing serious anyway. \r \r The bugs were not the only problem in the building, however. We were forced to call about our upstairs neighbor because of his woodworking (hammering, sawing, sanding, etc.) at all hours of the day/night and they told us that they knew about it, supposedly an acceptable hobby in a studio apartment, and would give him a friendly call. Nothing was ever actually done about the neighbor, he continued to annoy us with his constant hammering all day and all night. \r \r We also had a homeless woman living in our ""secure building's"" downstairs bathroom. We seemed to be the only people who were effected by this scary problem because when we called about her, they had no idea about it. The only action taken against this predicament was a sign posted on the doors telling tenants to shut all doors tightly when leaving the building. \r \r And finally the moving out process is horrible. We had minor damages in our apartment, such as spots on the carpet that could be taken out with a carpet steamer and typical scratches/marks on the wall from everyday living (we did live there for three years so they should've expected it). The man who looked at our apartment for a final walkthrough claimed that it would cost at least $60 to clean the carpet and didn't even mention how much money it would take to paint the walls. Because they have the hardest paint color to match my boyfriend and I decided not to spend the extra money and effort to do minor repairs that should have cost the rental company less than $50. We haven't received our deposit back yet, but I'm sure they'll rip us off and take over $100 dollars, even though it should cost less than half of that. \r \r In conclusion, don't live in the Eustone apartments because they are overpriced, bug infested, and ShipRock Management will not listen to any of your problems. I would not recommend doing business with this rental company. STAY FAR AWAY! more

S H I TRock Management, Inc. \r Stole our money, very poor service. STAY AWAY! more

I wanted to write a letter expressing my thoughts about the property management I have received for my rental home. I have been a home owner for many years and feel the attention to detail that is offered by ShipRock Management is impressive and relieves a great deal of anxiety that often exists when owning rental properties. As an owner of a local restaurant / pizzeria I don t have the time needed to manage my property effectively. \r \r ShipRock s connection with the community of Duluth has made possible an occupancy rate for my properties that I could never accomplish on my own. The fact that all the headaches that are inherent in property management are handled by them allows more time for me to enjoy my time, and not consider it so much of a liability but rather an investment.\r \r Scott Nelson more

For more than 5 years, I have used ShipRock to manage over 30 of my rental properties. I have nothing but praise for the job they have done and continue to do. With the experienced staff they have in place, they are better able to delegate all functions of property management more efficiently than I could when managing the properties myself. My bottom line has been better and as a bonus I have been able to devote more time to my other business and personal life. It is nice to go on vacation or spend a weekend at the cabin and not have to deal with maintenance calls or show apartments. My rentals are now on autopilot as far as I'm concerned. I highly recommend this company. They have made a positive difference in my life. more

I have had an extremely positive experience with Shiprock Management. In 2002 I left Duluth after I graduated from UMD then moved to the twin cities to pursue my career. In February of this year (2010) I returned to Duluth after getting a job offer here in the Northland. I was immediately impressed with the professionalism of the staff as they showed me the options they had available on short notice. They helped me find the perfect apartment based off of apartment size, location and price range. When I have had any maintenance issues they have been quick to respond as well as giving me plenty of notice when they need to enter my apartment for inspections or repairs. I am a satisfied renter and will continue to use Shiprock management! more

Heat is included in rent but never but apartment never warms above 60. Many, many complaints to them without answers. Cons: Despicable more

I was asked to rent from shiprock so i decided to. three days before i was set to move in i was denied for an unlawful eviction SIX years before. they refused to even call my references or my landlords. they just denied me! Cons: horrible people more

I rent from Shiprock. I have sent them numerous emails about the tenants freezing. In these emails, I also sent pictures of the thermometer I have placed in my living room. Today it is 56 degrees in here. Yesterday, it was below 60. The heat hasn't been on long enough to warm our apartments at all. My emails have done nothing to get them to turn our heat on, which is supposed to be included in our rent. We are not getting the full value of our apartments at all. more

My experiences with Shiprock have been horrible. The apartment I rent is in a two-unit house; Upper and Lower. Shiprock (SR) does not OWN the house, they simply manage it, or at least claim to. I will never rent from SR again because: 1. They are rude: The house was for sale and myself and my husband suspected the realtors of entering our apartment without permission (lights had been left on). We hung a sign on our door saying, ""You do not have permission to enter this apartment. It is illegal to do so.? The next day the sign was gone. My husband called SR and was literally yelled. The person from SR accused us of lying and conspiring with the tenant in the upper unit to help her break her lease. He did call back later to apologize, but the sentiment was quickly lost when we later realized he had not only stolen and destroyed our sign, but also turned the heat for the building down to 52 degrees. Which leads us to reason 2. Refusal, or inability, to maintain a reasonable temperature in our apartment: The only thermostat for the house, and therefore the only way to control the heat, is in the upper unit which is now vacant. We spent the night freezing in our apartment because SR is only open until 5 and is not open at all on the weekends. The next day we contacted SR and asked for access to the upper unit so we could control the heat. They refused and instead said they'd send out a maintenance guy. Four hours later someone showed up and said he'd fixed it, but the next day it was 52 degrees in the morning, but 83 degrees in the evening! So we called again; same thing. We called a third time. SAME THING! Please note, it is January in Duluth, MN and the HIGHS are below zero. We have called a fourth time, and we'll see what happens. As of yet, our apartment is still unbearable. Another example of their refusal to maintain a proper temperature happened earlier in our lease when our furnace broke and they wouldn't send someone out to even look at it. They said it was legal for the landlord to shut the heat off after April 15. According to the Minnesota Attorney General's website it?s ONLY legal if the tenant has not paid the heating bill. Shiprock (or the owner) pays for the heat so there is no legal reason to shut off our heat. We contacted the owner of the house directly and he came out immediately to fix it. 3. They are not familiar with the property they ?manage?: They don't know how our house is heated. They don't realize that the forced air system blows the hot air from the furnace (when it is actually running) directly into our apartment. Our vents cannot be closed (the vent covers have no closers on them. This has been mentioned to the owner of the house, but nothing has been done) and because of this the hot air pours into our living space, while none of it reaches the apartment upstairs, where the thermostat is. So while we burn in our apartment downstairs, the person upstairs freezes. I assume they don't know this because when they have sent out the maintenance guys (see reason 2) to fix the thermostat, they try to set it at 72. This means that the furnace won't shut off until it's 72 degrees UPSTAIRS. There is more, but space here is limited. I will never rent from SR again. I cannot think of a better waste of money. We pay more in rent for this crappy apartment than we did for a better apartment in a better neighborhood in Minneapolis! Pros: got to paint the walls whatever color we wanted Cons: Rude, Terrible Service, Apathetic more

All around horrible management practices. I moved into a dusty, dirty apartment with broken shades and when I left they charged me for the broken items that were already there, even though I documented them when I moved in. I sent them pictures but never got a reply back. Beware and stay away. Cons: Poor Service, Rude, Not worth it. more

ShipRock Management made my stay at the Eustone building the best renting experience I have ever had while living in Duluth. Whenever I had an issue, they took care of it immediately. ShipRock always responded to my concerns in a courteous and timely manner. I have lived all over the US and have never had a quality landlord like ShipRock. I would highly recommend renting from them to anyone. Pros: Communication, promptness, service more

I rented from them at Eustone Building for about 18 months. The Management doesn't return phone calls promptly or more often never at all. Recently I moved out. After never receiving my deposit back, I called and finally talked with someone who stated it was sent about 4 weeks previously. I said I never got it. I asked if they had a US postal receipt stating they sent it. They did not. I was told they were going to charge me $25 to send a new check, even though it was their responsibility to send me my check. Instead of discussing with what was my right, I just had them send it, because I am now 1200 miles away. I just wanted to be done with the company. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM! Cons: Don't Return Calls, Take Money, Don't keep Appointments more