I’d like to preface this by saying that by no means am I attacking Watson Realty Corp. I am merely recalling events and experiences with Watson Realty that my roommates and I had throughout our 15-month contract. I have attempted to avoid as much hyperbole as I can, so the facts in this column may remain facts, regardless of storytelling.
Anyway, 15-months ago, my two roommates and I decided to rent a three bedroom, three bathroom apartment with Watson Realty last year, and our lease ended Tuesday. A quick Google search of “Watson Realty” netted me a 2.3-star average rating and some nasty comments. I’d like to avoid being subjective in my rating of my experience with Watson.
Of the three of us, I was probably the most realistic in my expectations of the experience we were going to receive from Watson. I had just moved from another place that neglected to fix my ceiling fan as it hung from a single cord at the height of my head for six days. Or, when the previous place had neglected to fix my air-conditioning unit and I was without air conditioning for the fall, winter and a portion of spring. So, when I walked into Watson Realty’s office, I wasn’t expecting much, and, for the most part at least, Watson Realty didn’t lie to me. The previous place had emphasized service and experience, but Watson Realty seemed to be more about business than service. And honestly, that made sense. The previous place was a gated apartment complex where each building was owned by the company — a community. Watson Realty was individually leasing an apartment separate from the building; they did not own the building. Technically, they also did not own the apartment. Watson Realty was a liaison between us, the tenants and the landlord — that’s what I really want to discuss.
As a liaison, they did not, from my viewpoint, do their job well. There was a period where our air-conditioning unit continued to break, be repaired and break again. Essentially, I believe we spent about six to seven weeks without air-conditioning unit. Some of those days were during the summer, fall, winter and spring. However, that’s not their fault — the air-conditioning unit is the responsibility of the landlord. The problem was communication and foolish connections.
When we originally placed a maintenance request for the air-conditioning unit, we were contacted by Watson Realty. We were told to schedule a date when the air-conditioning repairman could stop by and check the unit. The catch was the company they were using was situated in Jacksonville. Jacksonville is more than an hour drive to Gainesville, and the company had to come by many times to check the unit, bring replacement parts, repair it, etc. You can imagine the frustration from both parties whenever the repairman forgot an item and had to schedule to stop by the next week because his schedule was already full. Or, after a hurricane passed, when travel between Jacksonville and Gainesville was halted and we were without an air-conditioning unit through a hurricane; or in other words, our home was filled with sweat, humidity, heat and discomfort.
On top of that, other appliances broke, the ceiling leaked and again, that’s the fault of the owner, but Watson Realty’s communication with us was subpar if there was any at all. There was a portion of time when — my roommates and I figure — our direct contact (leasing agent) quit or was fired and another person took his or her position. This new person neglected to contact us, and when he or she did, we had no idea who this person was. We were in the dark for about three months, wondering why no one answered.
As for my rating, I don’t really know how many stars I’d be willing to give Watson Realty. Before I do that, I’d need the remaining unanswered maintenance requests to be answered.
James Hardison is a UF English sophomore. His column appears on Thursdays.
