Phoenix Group LLC - Morgantown, West Virginia

Jake S.

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. Rent here if you never want anything fixed or your deposit back. Feel free to lookup my instagram and reach out if you’re actually debating this place. I have endless proof of how they screwed me and other people who rented while I was in Morgantown for college.

Rachel A.

My experience with this company was most unpleasant. I travel on and off for work and have several places that I repeatedly rent from. I had previously rented from The Phoenix Group / Castle Ventures in 2013. At that time there was a qualified rental manager and my experience was quite enjoyable. I was excited to return in 2015. By that time, the manager had left and the owner had taken over. I had several complaints regarding the upstairs neighbor who was feeding the birds from the 3rd story porch. I was on the second floor directly below. As a result of the continuous feeding, every day I had both bird food and feces falling onto my porch (between the cracks from the apartment above mine). The apartment was quite expensive and I knew that upon entering. One of the reasons I was willing to pay a higher price was to enjoy the porch overlooking the river. On several occasions, the bird droppings would fall into my coffee. The owner / manager refused to resolve this issue.
To add insult to injury, prior to my leaving the owner confirmed with me the terms by which my monies would be returned. After 2 months a portion was returned. After repeated phone calls, emails, attorney letter and finally a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, I am still owed $777.
I am disgusted that someone thinks this is okay to do to people.
If my review can save one person from trusting this group, and ending up betrayed then it's worth it to me.

frozendragon498

Never rent from this company. They will leave you weeks without warm water working. They will keep your security deposit and the owner seems to personally know every judge in the town. Don't expect to get any justice, just tell them to take the last rent out of the deposit.

T. M.

1. My $1,400 security deposit has not been returned. The house was dirty and damaged when I moved in. I took photos and sent them to the landlord’s agent at the time, Stephanie Olsen, via email to her Phoenix LLC email address, who assured me that I would not be held responsible for damage caused by previous tenants. Ms. Olsen no longer works for Phoenix Group.
I vacated 1301 Carlisle Avenue on July 7, 2016. On September 14th, I received email notification that the landlord, Michael Castle, intended to return my deposit. Since then he does not return phone calls or emails. As of 11.9.2016, I have not received my refund or indication of reason for his failure to do so.

2. Lack of functioning smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the rental property from the period October 1, 2015-late December 2015, a violation of West Virginia code §29-3-16a: Smoke detectors in one- and two-family dwellings; carbon monoxide detectors in residential units; penalty.
This is a misdemeanor offense.

Hardwired detectors were installed in late December, but malfunctioned again on May 15, 2016, causing the detectors to sound alarms randomly every 20-30 minutes beginning at 6 am.

3. Maintenance workers identified several unsafe electrical outlets and switches in the house while repairing a leaky toilet that added $200 to my water bill in May. They promised to return the next day to repair them. Landlord (Castle) knowingly prevented maintenance workers from repairing electrical outlets and switches that they knew to be a fire risk for more than three weeks.
4. Castle did not communicate clearly to tenants how to report property problems. I rented from him for just under 1 year. In that time, first I was told to report to Stephanie Olsen. Repairs took weeks to schedule with this arrangement. When Stephanie left the company, I was told that I should contact maintenance directly. Castle then stopped this arrangement and required tenants to notify the new secretary. I was never notified of any of these changes. When attempting to schedule electrical repairs I contacted maintenance first-they told me I had to contact the secretary. I did so, and she told me I had to contact Castle directly. When I called him, he said I needed to contact the secretary! This is very frustrating for tenants. Personnel turnover was very high; only two workers were employed by Castle for the duration of my time there, and they were the only dependable people.
5. Castle told me himself that he instructs maintenance workers to enter tenant properties at any time, without attempting to obtain their permission, using a passkey. This is a violation of most state codes.

A former maintenance worker stated that that Castle once told him "I don't care about the tenants. I just want to make money and retire." He appears to be stealing tenant money and short-changing them on required repairs to do so.

There are several other open complaints against Castle on the BBB WV website. Search for Phoenix Group LLC Morgantown WV BBB.

Stephanie Olsen is former employee and her review is biased.

David G.

worst company ever. 3 months after leaving my apartment in Parkersburg, I am still waiting for my security deposit to be returned. My advise to anyone still renting is not to pay your last month rent, because getting money out of these crooks is like pulling teeth.

Brenda S.

So they refused to come fix the broken toilet in my apartment because I was behind on my rent

Shaikha A.

Wouldn’t recommend

Scuba S.