Main Street Renewal review: Needs a rating lower than one star.

To be fair we have not actually rented from MSR... because their systems don't function properly, they don't disclose their fees in advance and their customer service is apparently not staffed properly or maybe not at all.

We were interested in a property in Oro Valley, Arizona but their website was incomplete or not clear. I tried on several occasions to text them as their website suggested. I did not receive an immediate acknowledgement or response. Much later I received a message ignoring my question and asking me what they could do to help. Next there was a message saying that because they had not heard from me for 10 minutes they were ending the "Chat Session"! At no time was I made aware that there was any chat session. There was no "Chat now" button only a number to text.

Next, I tried to call their local number and their number in Austin, TX (I think). Both go to the same place... at least the call tree and hold music was the same. The first time their welcome message suggested an SMS exchange which I selected and again requested the same information as before. They still have not responded (days).

We wanted to set up a tour but in order to do so, I had to provide a copy of my driver's license, a selfie and pay a fee. However, they did not disclose the amount of the fee and I didn't want to give my driver's license without knowing what they were charging.

I finally got tired of waiting and decided to provide ID and a selfie without knowing the fee. It turned out that the fee was nominal so I paid and scheduled a "self-guided" tour. The system looked good at first. They send an automated link, you go to the property and check-in on your smart phone. They have an access pad on the door. I input the serial number from the access pad into my phone as requested and they were supposed to send me a combination number for the door lock. Their system had trouble verifying the location and I had to repeat the process several times even though I was within inches of their device with 5 bars signal strength.

Their device finally worked but before they sent me a code they wanted another selfie. At first it took the selfie without problem but when they were supposed to send the code instead there was a "something went wrong" message.

We tried their "help" and "contact us" link which were not helpful and the contact number put us back into their call center and we were left holding.

I kept holding while we left and returned home. As of 90 minutes later no agent had taken the call.

We decided that if this is the atrocious level of service they provide when you are attempting to rent, we did not want to have to deal with them over the course of a lease.