Cantey & Co Inc

Fantastic experience: Being a long term resident (12 yrs), of Cantey & Company, I can truly say the management, staff and maintenance team all deserve a 10 star review. When a repair issue arose that needed an outside contractor, they too were top quality, very prompt and courteous when entering my unit. I also appreciated the annual inspections as most times they could detect an upcoming issue, and get it resolved before it even became a bigger problem. I loved the fact the ground maintenance personnel were on schedule every other Thursday, weather permitting and the shrubbery was also manicured so beautifully. So, if you’re in need of a new resident please call The Cantey & Company as you won’t regret it!! Now for the sad part, unfortunately the building has been sold recently and the new owner(s) have decided to contract with a new management company. As far as myself they’ve got some big shoes to fill, and have hopes in time they too can become just as good. Thank you, Joyce Troutman

Fantastic experience: Amazing company who will do anything to help. Highly recommended!

Fantastic experience: The staff is very helpful and pleasant to work with.

Fantastic experience: Great Rental Company and very friendly staff❤️

Fantastic experience: I have to say I hardly ever leave reviews because life gets so busy but I have to leave one for this company! They have been the easiest and most understanding company I have had the pleasure of working with for almost 8 years. We recently purchased our first home and hated to leave our rental. Cantey & Co. are easy, reliable and very responsive if you need anything. I personally have dealt with Billy and he is wonderful. He has made living easy for us the past several years and I pray that anyone looking to rent and goes through them has the same amazing experience that I have had. I will miss Cantey and appreciate them so very much!! My rate would be above 5 stars If I had that option. - Courtnee F.

Negative experience: if I could give zero stars I would. no point in explaining anything just look at the name of the company.

Fantastic experience: Hands down best experience renting through them! If you are looking for a good rental company that cares about YOU, look no further! A very much good experience going through them! We plan to stay with them for years!

Fantastic experience: Ian looking for a nice home Ian Veteran I never thought I would see the day when I Could have a house now I have the opportunity

Negative experience: Expect them to take your money and nothing else. They will never fix any issues even if they have been ongoing for 1+ years.

Fantastic experience: Dealing with Cantey and Co has been an absolute pleasure. The staff are extremely reliable and helpful assisting with the entire process.

Negative experience: I experienced a rodent infestation in my apartment and had to manage the situation by myself for three months. Despite submitting multiple maintenance requests and calling the company regularly, no pest control technicians came to address the issue and the rental company did not treat the matter with the seriousness it warranted.

Negative experience: Don't do it . Terrible, Don't do it , unless you have no other choices , they are terrible. Lived in the town house units in west columbia near the zoo. Doors not put on right so it's 85 degrees in summer time and 50 in the winter times .in the summer time You can feel heat coming from the edges of the door and from under the doors . In the winter time its 60 degrees at best with heat on 80. Bug every where, water bugs and standard cock roaches . Most of the time they would come from the back door straight from under the door didn’t even break stride . They just shoot from under the door . Everytime it rains large break out of ants , woke up to whole kitchen counter covered in ants , even had a out break 5 feet from where my new born slept, thank God it didn't get a whole of him . I was like you. I read the reviews and still chose to stay In one of there properties ,.and regret it . I know something was fishy when they kept stressing pest control before we moved in . I toured all the units when before I moved in and there where Dead roaches in all of them . Roaches also comes from the windows. He had to spray so much that my 1yr old had to learn to walk on the bed . Instead of the floor Understand if you live in the units by the zoo you are in the hood . Had a few incidents with shootings at the apartment complex across the street . Also seen a crack deal take place ( actually seen the plastic bag with the crack in it ). We was desperate and needed a place to stay . After reading the other reviews Already know I will not get my security deposit because they are shady . Also just read the reviews. They gonna do what ever it takes to keep it . They threatened to tow my truck because my left side was a little out of the white parking line . You can't park all the way into the parking spot or you will have a car full of ants , happen almost once a week witg my to my car and wife car. Then finally they tried to show my unit a week after I said I wasn't coming back didn’tj car i had a new born and 1yr old . Where did they think my wife was gonna go in 25 degree weather with a new born and 1 year old. Bringing random people in to my place mutiple times during the week . While family there . Just understand you live in one of their properties you get what you deserve also you ain't getting that deposit back. I seen apartments of better quality around the same prices. Don't do it don't give these slum lords any more money . Lol Tried to. Charge me for batteries that were never put in the smoke detector . Where there is smoke there is fire . 3 stars and dropping for a reason . All these complaints cant just be made up. Just read the reviews. Notice they have a history of shady behavior when it comes to that security deposit. Update . Of course they reply to my initial review with a lie to many to address . I told these people about the bugs and they said I am responsible for pest control and it's sc June bugs gonna happen .that place is infested roaches 365 days a year means there is a infestation you refuse to handle

Negative experience: This is an awful company in my experience. Don't do business with them under any circumstances. In my experience they are not honest and will do anything to keep your money.

Fantastic experience: These people are awesome! I have worked with a lot of rental companies over the years because I sent many children to college. This is the number one experience I have had out of all of those different agencies! The team went the extra mile to help my son find a property and get into it on a very short notice. They even put a brand new refrigerator in immediately without delay when they noticed that it was not cooling. if these early interactions are any indication of how they do business overall, I will be incredibly impressed. Thank you so much for your assistance and top-notch service

Fantastic experience: Cantey Company workers are funny and pleasant honest people. If I have a issue with home, they take care of it quickly

Negative experience: This is a terrible company, which is a reflection of its owner. You'll see a lot of bad reviews on here and a whole lot of rationalizing and verbal tap dancing from the company in response. Here's what that should tell you: they don't take responsibility for any of their actions (or inactions) and will always find some way to weasel out of a situation by blaming the tenant, blaming the property owner, blaming the state - anyone or anything to avoid doing the morally correct thing. You're likely to see them post a long-winded response to this review, done in an effort to cast me as the bad guy. Note that the response will also be a fantasy version of what really happened, a yarn filled with half-truths and misinformation to make themselves look like both the victim and the knight in shining armor. This is literally them doing exactly what I said in the first paragraph. I would never do business with Cantey & Co. again under any circumstances. Take what you will from that sentence.

Negative experience: Do not let these people manage your properties and do not rent from them. They will sit and lie and charge you even if you do settle out of court. I rented from Live Oak Pl. while cantey & company was managing the property. we went to court due to nonpayment of rent because of water and mold issues in the apartment I was staying in. I had a newborn that just came home from the Nicu with major health problems and a one year-old. Cantey and company failed to properly manage the property and I withheld rent as a result. We settled out in court when Bill Cantey told Judge Sutton that he would not take my rent and that he wanted me out we agreed upon 30 days from the court date which was May 18. I moved out on May 18 keys were returned to their office location in a mailbox During this time. Furniture was left because I was not able to take it with me. I was charged from June - December until they no longer worked with live oak place. Upon asking Bill cantey and talking with Marquit there were several remarks that were inaccurate first starting with Marquit She stated that they didn’t check the property until July hence rent being charged. if we had settled out and agreed upon 30 days from the court date in April for May 18 and I move out on May 18, which can be verified. Why were you still charging me from June till December? She had no answer so when talking to Bill cantey his response is what do you want from me and I simply told him that balance needs to be rectified. How do I owe you any type of money when I moved out on a certain day and your response is to me oh, we didn’t know that, but you noticed that the Lights were off in that apartment you filed a writ of ejectment on 6/9/23 after I had left on 5/18. So there is no way that you could have been clueless about me moving out. Especially when it was all agreed upon in court. To bill Cantey you will be hearing from my lawyer in regard to this. You will not get away with any of this the fact that you’re putting off your wrong doing on live oak place . stating that you don’t have any of the records when you were in fact the people that were managing that specific apartment complex at the time. You will be held accountable!!! Never did I ever tear up the apartment would you like me to post my move out video? Stop making excuses and lies. I will see you in court. I stopped paying rent because of the messed up roach infested molded and water damaged unit. That you guys failed to address and rectify. Hence why I was allowed to stay 30 extra days per judge!!!

Fantastic experience: Management has always been helpful and cooperative with any issues I may have had and needed to be dealt with. If you can communicate to them, then you have a great chance to getting taken care of quickly

Negative experience: They were neglectful in keeping up with our water heater in our crawlspace where we had no access to it. Our electric bill from May to November increased by $1,628.29 compared to the prior year. For an 850 sq ft home. they didn’t replaced it within 14 days when they discovered it in October after asking us for over a month if we noticed any leaks in the unit. They denied us damages for their neglect of the water heater which violates the lease and South Carolina law. they are now saying we owe them damages in rent for moving out early while everything says rent ends when keys are due. They’re changing what applies to who and when without anything firmly set forth in the lease. Be careful with this company because their standards for lease violations and damages owed serve them regardless of what it costs tenants.

Fantastic experience: Cantey & Co has been super easy to rent from. Would recommend to anyone looking for a place in the Columbia area. Great people and they take care of their clients.

Fantastic experience: They are fantastic. Been renting from them for a while now. Easy to deal with. When we had Hurricane season come through and wow… they responded beautifully and took CARE of their people. Great company, even better people!

Negative experience: Please Do Not Rent From This Company There Scammers And A Get Over I Use Live In The House We Moved They Gave Us A Last Minute Notice And The House We Was In Nothing Is Still Fix When You Ask Them To Fix Things They Don’t Come Back To Do It And It’s No Type Of Privacy They Have There Cars Parked Underneath The Garage And The Garage Is Close Off And You Can’t Use The Garage Be Cause There Cars Underneath It As Well It’s Nice Inside There But Things Are Not Fixed Like It Suppose To Be There That’s Not Right !!! Everything Still The Same Don’t Waste Your Time If You Want Something Nice To Stay And Be In Instead Of Getting Scammed Just Given You Heads Up Before You Rent It Out Are Stay There .We Loved There For 8 Years And No Fixing Wasn’t Getting Done When Ask To Be Told !!!

Fantastic experience: In April 2025 will be one year since I moved in here. I have really appreciate the kindness and they do help you . The maintance here is really great . If you have an issue or need help you have to communicate with people and ask for help . As long as your pay what you owe and make the proper payment arrangements and ask for that, I can tell you cantey and company cares .

Negative experience: *Update from my previous post with response to the owner* Original post: This is one of those ‘ I would rate no stars if I could’. I rented an apartment from Cantey back in 2014 and had the worst possible time getting out of my lease. I went to speak with them at their office to try and reach a settlement and they held the conversation out in the open in their office for the world to hear. To no avail we were unable to settle our dispute and I ended up having to pay the remainder of the rent on balance of the lease term. The owner, Billy, is not helpful and only looks out for the benefit of his organization. Avoid renting from this property manager, they will not work with you by any means. Rebuttal: This post comes a decade after my lease term because people need to understand that you do not deal fairly. I rented a unit from you on Pickens street not too far from the USC campus. If you haven’t noticed, my review is getting likes, so the masses agree with my assessment.

Fantastic experience: The gentlemen at Cantey & Co were helpful 24/7 with whatever needed. Highly recommend.

Negative experience: This is one of the worst real estate companies I have ever experienced. They continually look for ways to nickel and dime their tenants, who are generally students. For example, they refused to return approximately $200 of my security deposit. They cited cleaning as costing $75, despite me and multiple other people spending hours doing their cleaning checklist. I don’t understand the point of a cleaning checklist if you do everything on the list and they charge you anyways. They charged me around $125 for paints out of my security deposit. Painting listed a "wear and tear." I lived in my residence for two years. I find it hard to believe that these costs are actually justified and I as a tenant cannot paint my apartment. I was told by Marquell that this was nails and command strips. I would advise any students or parents to stay away from Cantey and Company. EDIT* To edit, since Billy wants to deny his lack of care for the building. The door to the mail room of Hampton house was broken for an extended period of months. By broken, I mean broken glass, that could have led to injuries to person or pet. Cantey didn’t fix the broken glass that could have hurtled people or pets, but instead installed security cameras to overlook the broken door. They didn’t replace the glass then, but rather months later. So they had to have known to install the cameras. This broken glass led to wasps in the mail room. This broken glass led to packages getting damp and created a slipping hazard. It made the building look like crap. Not to mention you’re at risk of having packages stolen there and Canteys office and staff will blame you the tenant for leaving the package there too long, even if it’s only 24 hours. The parking lot is in a state of disrepair and neglect. It’s full of potholes. Ant hills creep out of the cracks. You very well may get a flat tire in the parking lot. I know I did. You also may get ants in your car, because Cantey does not properly maintain the lot. They won’t work with you to find an easier solution. Their idea of property damage in their parking lot equates to tough luck. In general, they don’t manage their outdoor or common areas well whatsoever. Any insinuation by Cantey on my feelings towards them is pure speculation. My feelings originated when I was told I would not be back charged for a certain fee that wasn’t in my renters portal, so I called and informed them that I thought a charge was missing and was told by Ana I wouldn’t be back charged. Then Bully Cantey decided to be rude and back charge me anyways. This contradicted what Ana, his staff told me. Put simply, I informed them of a payment issue that ultimately cost me money, that they would not have noticed otherwise and Bully, the owner, decided to contradict what I had been told by Ana. Cantey and Company will attempt to pressure their tenants incredibly early into the lease term to renew. With tenants being students this puts a lot of pressure on graduating students. I’ll give them credit where it’s due in that they’re capable of some flexibility, but the time and haste in which they request a decision is nothing sort of wrong and an abuse of the power a landlord has over a student as a tenant. I did everything on your cleaning list. You still charged me a cleaning fee anyways out of my security deposit. My parents helped me clean. We spent a whole day going through your checklist. You have wrongfully taken this from my deposit. I also think you assume that you have done quality work in those apartments prior to move in. I as tenant am not going to mark poor painting in the bathroom when I can see clear paint stains on the floor moving in. I can see cracks in the floor surface. I assume cheap screws for an outlet. Cantey is still one of the worst companies I have dealt with. I hope their reply demonstrates some of the attitude in the office. I called and spoke to Bully on 9/6 and he told me if I didn’t post a review I might be getting some of my deposit back or they’d be more willing to work with me.

Negative experience: Very disorganized, very unprofessional. Do not care about tenants , just collecting money. Have had a very unpleasant experience with then since they took over our property two months ago. Give us the old property management company back. I do not recommend Cantey at all.

Fantastic experience: For more than 15 years I have been working with Cantey and Company to manage my property. During that time they have made being a property owner as low-stress as I imagine it could be. From keeping the property rented with dependable tenants, to routine maintenance to dealing with unusual situations (like the tree from the neighbor's yard that fell on the roof), they have handled every situation expertly. Cantey and Company has been our representative to our insurance company, our home owner's association and contracted professionals. Their staff is courteous and responsive to our needs, and I know that no matter what kind of situation arises, they'll handle it professionally and appropriately. When we moved out of state, we didn't expect to hold on to this property for as long as we have; we only have--with great results--because of Cantey and Company. Our property now has a significant part in our retirement planning, something that it wouldn't have done if we'd let it go. For peace of mind as a property owner, reasonable rates, well-organized management systems, complete transparency and a properly managed property, I highly recommend Cantey and Company.

Fantastic experience: Cantey and Company are my trusted go-to property management company. They are like family, always fair, always reliable, always honest.

Negative experience: The apartment I lived in was nice, however the people who work at Cantey and Co are incompetent. Here’s my complaints, from most to least egregious: When I first moved in, I was told I would not be charged for holes in the wall from nails or thumbtacks, only to be charged $250 for repairs for nail holes once I moved out. I wasn’t charged a cent for the same amount of negligible damage in 2 other apartments I lived in. Roughly a month before my move out date, they called me to ask if they could have my keys so they could make a copy of them. They held onto my keys for days. Before I moved in, they forgot to give me the key to access the building my apartment was in. I was also told conflicting information regarding pets and pest control, which lead to a lot of stress, confusion, and unnecessary work. There’s a couple more things I could complain about, but I don’t want to waste any more of my time thinking about this company.

Fantastic experience: We had some logistical issues and Marqell helped us navigate them while keeping in constant communication with us. She made the entire process a good experience as opposed to a bad one. We are very grateful for her attention to the customer and professionalism.

Negative experience: I would give this company less if I could. If you are willing to say around and read my whole rant, then buckle up. If you want the brief story, just don't rent from these people and you will be good. I wish I sat down and read these reviews three years ago when my husband and I were looking for a place in Columbia. It was the middle of covid and houses just were hard to find so after a few months of searching, I was a little panicked that we would not find a place. I saw this home for rent at the beginning of my search and after looking at pictures online, decided it was a dump and never went to see it. After a few month of it STILL being up, we decided to give it a look as a last resort, and what do you know, IT WAS A DUMP. But, it was close to my husbands job and there was not ANYTHING else up for grabs at the time. We decided to go for it and hoped we could get it cleaned up and livable which is what we did. When we moved it, there was trash all over the yard, graffiti sprayed all in the carport, the outside of the house was filthy as well as the inside. The storage room outside was filled with old tires and trash. We cleaned it up. I even borrowed a pressure washer to try to clean the outside of the home. Next, the inside. I will say, they did redo the floors downstairs before we moved in. There was carpet that was trashed be the previous tenants and totally unlivable so they did take care of the downstairs. I personally cause two cracks while living there over the three years. When we went to move out, we received an email asking US where the spare flooring was. We had not seen it and honestly, it is not out job to store that stuff anyways. So since THEY lost the flooring, they charged us for ALL NEW flooring when 1.) the floor was fine, there were only two small cracks 2.) Even if it wasn't fine, they should have been able to just replace the two pieces if they kept up with the spare stuff. Next, the kitchen floor upstairs, if the two cracks I caused ruined the downstairs, then they should have never let us move it with the way the kitchen floor was upon our move in. It was nasty, flooring coming up, it not laid properly, and just plain gross. The mold. There was mold ALL over. We tried to at least make it clean to the eye which as I write that, disgusting i know.... but it was almost like we knew what we were signing up for so how could we complain. Rats took over for a period. We had to fight the dang things off ourselves. Again, DISGUSTING. Ants also took over at one point. I am talking biting ants. they were all over our kitchen counter. I am a clean person, overly clean. I clean my home often. So I am not sure where these came from but when reaching out, it took a days for a reply. I even sent a direct picture to the texting number begging for a reply. Nothing, we had to take care of it ourselves again. The hardwood floors had all of the finish coming off. They looked awful. I put down as many rugs as a could to try to cover some of it up. Then my personal favorite that we got charged for. Replacing the front door. When we moved in the home that May, we did not notice a crack. We never even used the front door because there was a carport door. Come Christmas, I am hanging a wreath, and notice a piece of clear tap over the glass. I realized the door was cracked and covered up by the pervious tenant. Again, didn't complain but boy did we get charged. This company not only took outrsecurity deposit but then charged us the amount of the deposit plus some so we ended up not getting the deposit back AND paid them. Mind you, every neighbor when we moved in celebrated to our faces telling us how awful the last people were and how grateful they were that we moved in. We have received our whole deposit back form every landlord we have ever had. We are just blown away by this companies nerve. We would fight it if it were worth it, but financially speaking, it isn't. We just hope to keep someone else from falling into this trap. STAY AWAY!!!!!!! And if you still choose them, it's your loss.

Negative experience: Took my application fee and same day was told they moved forward with a different applicant.

Negative experience: So I have been out from under these people for over a year now. It was a nightmare. I am a landlord. The treatment I received was ridiculously bad. The staff is the worst I've ever come across. I think the owner needs to fire them all and start fresh. If you look back, things have been bad for a couple of years. The Cantey name is a big name in Columbia so I thought they would be good. I gave them 2 stars only because the owner let me out of my contract after I completely lost my mind. 2 things you need to know: 1) if you are a renter you won't get any of your deposit back. This is the area that I think they are the most dishonest about. 2) if you are a landlord, don't expect to ever get a full check each month. For the last year I was with them, there was only one month I got a full check. If you still decide to go with them, at least read all the reviews so you go into it with your eyes wide open. They are all very consistent with the same complaints across the board. I hoped they would have gotten better after my situation. Nope.

Negative experience: Property Owners BEWARE! As a property management company this company might be ok but DO NOT let them rent your property! If you are a landlord, you will be sitting with no rentals for as long as you tolerate it! They have listings for over 12 months on Zillow and, according to Taiesha at Cantey Company, they "don't check 3rd party apps like Zillow" because "Zillow took (their) listing and put it on Zillow". The only way to get a listing on Zillow is to put it there yourself, Taiesha. AND, Zillow shows the listing as a verified listing supplied by Cantey company. Duh! If it was so much easier to go to the Cantey Company website and find a property then why doesn't Cantey Company pop to the top of the search list when you search for properties available for rent in Columbia? They don't even invest in SEO or Google Sponsorship ads. So, to not rely on companies like Zillow that DOES do better marketing, makes no sense. As a property owner, you would do better to put your own listing on Zillow or employ a rental agent that actually CARES about your pocketbook and will get the property rented. There are now several online companies that will help you manage the property yourself as well. Based on their subpar rating which is far below 4.5, and other Google reviews about Cantey, I wouldn't give them anything of mine that has value. In response to your reply below, 1) There is NOTHING untruthful in this message 2) If you did a better job, you would have a better reputation score 3) Your reply is completely inappropriate because you are never to use anyone's full name in a comment and you happen to have the WRONG name which is legally slanderous, and further demonstrates how unprofessional, incompetent, and disorganized you are.

Fantastic experience: Good company guy at front deck didn't acknowledge me, over all I have great experiences with the company. I will highly refer them to any customers.

Negative experience: I applied in Jan for an Apt and up until yesterday after applying for several units on their website I was denied. I make 85,000 a year. After switching to atleast 12 different units. I was finally denied. I guess they didn’t want me to get nothing more than a 2 bedroom, since in was by myself but I work from home. Overall Communication and services are HORRIBLE I AM HIGLY DISAPPOINTED MY LEASE IS UP IN MAY AND I’M JUST GETTING TOLD I’M DENIED AFTER BEING QUALIFIED TO EVEN MOVE AT FIRST. DON’T RENT FROM THIS COMPANY… There scammers for rental applications

Negative experience: This was the worst renting experience I hope I’ll ever have. We submitted several tickets for things that were broken prior to our moving in. Nothing was fixed. When moving out, we deep cleaned the entire condo and they still took our security deposit. I wish I could give them less than 1 star. Be very careful renting from these people. My reply to cantey and company: I can tell whoever responded to this message does not know the full story. No, I am not a woman, no I do not have a husband, and no you did not fix the issues that I filed tickets for. The door remained broken after 3 visits from your contractors, they kept saying they would come back to fix it. The reason we only filed 3 tickets is because NOTHING WAS BEING FIXED. Also, giving someone back a small fraction of the security deposit is the same as not giving it back. You kept well over 75%.

Fantastic experience: Had another company come out and do a repair about three years ago. That was a joke! This time around called Cantey. They came out a day or so later and gave me an estimate on my pier job and concrete lifting. I went with their estimate. The pier crew came out and I cant give enough compliments! I’m a pain to work for as I want and expect perfection! They delivered! Dug up a lot of my flower beds and for a moment I was stressing. A few hours later I honestly couldn’t tell they were there. I am a business owner here in the Irmo/midlands area. We dig a lot in peoples yards. These guys did just as I expect from my guys and myself! Don’t call the other two or three “big name companies”. Cantey is all you need. I don’t recommend anyone as I don’t want my name attached to anyone else. I will recommend them! Thanks to the crew. The only name I recall is Joseph!

Negative experience: Don't fix Anything, Make sure you Take Move In Pictures and move out pictures. They thrive on trying to keep security deposits. All around poor business

Negative experience: Please for your own sake don’t rent from Cantey. Cantey is the worst. Increased rent despite lease said otherwise. Charged us for the leaky floor even though floor had been old and leaky at the first place. Can’t forget the mold growing from the leaky floor.

Fantastic experience: I'm a current tenant of Cantey & Company. I highly recommend this company because the staff and the service are inviting , reliable and professional. I have experienced their concerns, kindness and the thoughtfulness, to keep my family comfortable and safe in our home. I don't have a service call or a complaint today, as I don't have many. I just want to say to Cantey & Company staff, that I appreciate your wonderful service. Thank you.

Fantastic experience: Great

Negative experience: Unprofessional rental office. Be careful when applying to this place. They will take your application money. My experience was a waste of application money. They accept several applications and do not respond back to you. By the time they do it’s too late. You will have already moved on to another property. so why bother wasting your money or times. Very unprofessional. Maybe they are low staffed or something. A lot of companies do this to make a lot of money off applicants app fee and never really lease the properties.smh

Positive experience: Just middlemen- Quality of service dependent 100% on homeowner (of which you are not allowed to meet or contact). Cantey and Company did not respond to a single non-emergent maintenance request put in over the span of a year lease. When confronted about these unanswered requests, they put all of the blame on the homeowner and claim it’s not their responsibility to fix the issue without the homeowner’s approval. Moreover, their tenant lived with termites for over a month while the homeowner “waited to compare quotes”. Despite witnessing/blaming the homeowner for their failure to provide a comfortable living environment, they continue to lease for this homeowner. If they are to be a trustworthy property management group, they must hold their homeowners to the same standard as their tenants.

Negative experience: If I could give Zero stars trust me, I would please run as fast as u can as far as u can. I don't recommend this place to my worst enemy.

Fantastic experience: Very satisfied with work done at my mom's house for a house over fifty years. The workers were courteous and knowledgeable. Thanks again

Negative experience: Worst property management company in Columbia, if not in the state of South Carolina. Believe all the one star reviews, because this place is awful, especially Angela who works in the office. We moved to SC from PA and had a few properties lined up to look at, and somehow over night each property was rented out to someone else and we could not even see them, even though they knew we were coming from 12 hours away. We got into a property with them finally and they left me and my pregnant wife without air conditioning from April until August. After dozens of calls, texts, maintenance requests, and emails, nothing was done. All they did was send people out for estimates to “get the best price” but never actually fixed anything. The place got so hot during the summer, it became inhabitable as mold started to fill the rest of the house, as it came up from the crawl space since none of the AC vents were attached. The only reason they did anything is because we threatened to sue them for lease violations. They found us a new place after 4 months of heat torture. The new place was cheaply renovated, but was more manageable then to try and move again. We moved out in July and as all the reviews said, they kept most of our security deposit. They charged us $200 for a cleaning fee because there was hair in the bathroom and another $265 to replace a door that we reported as damaged right after us moving in. Called to discuss and got a hold of the nastiest person my wife and I had the pleasure of speaking too, Angela. There was no discussion, just her telling us contradictory statements, being rude, and finally hung up on us. They accessed our rental before our lease ended, and tried to blame us for the place being a mess, even though we have pictures of how we left it. We told them to deposit the part of our security we were getting back into the account they had on file, and they only gave us half of it. The other half they claimed to have mailed, but they sent it to the place we had just moved out of that they already had rented to other tenants. Now they refuse to give us the other half of our deposit back and any itemized receipt to prove what they charged was accurate, telling my wife and I that we needed to have an attorney contact them if we wanted it back. Stay far far away from this unprofessional, disorganized, disaster of a company, they don’t look out for the tenants.

Negative experience: Though I appreciated the guys warm welcome that gave me a tour . This company is a waste . I’m convinced they are staying in business through application fees . I was told on the phone by a younger lady that evictions 6 months or less would be denied .. well, I have none and my boyfriend had one from over 4 years ago . Then . I’m told multiple times that there is no credit score minimum just to be told that our scores were too low COMBINED . A household with over $100k couldn’t get approved for even the most mediocre places this company had to offer . . Lol this experience was comical to say the least. By the looks of the reviews, I dodged a bullet anyhow ✨

Fantastic experience: Cantey & Co was an excellent landlord and property management company to rent an apartment from in Columbia, SC recently. I had read some negative reviews and was fearful going into a lease agreement with them, but their entire team was 100% professional, kind, and courteous the whole way. They gave clear answers to any and all of my questions. Their lease terms were very fair and reasonable. Their tenant website portal was easy to use. Maintenance requests were fixed lightening fast! Usually in under 24 hours. I can't speak to tenants who have written negative reviews, but from my experience, if you communicate and hold up your contract obligations as a responsible tenant, Cantey & Co will honor their landlord responsibilities with friendly common courtesy – and that's rare for rental companies. And yes... I cleaned up before leaving like I was supposed to, and got 95% of my security deposit back.

Negative experience: lived here for over a year. Took forever to do maintenance and slow to respond. Rooms were recently renovated, though done very cheaply.

Negative experience: Neglectful service to tenants. Is currently taking over a week to repair my AC in the midst of a heat wave, causing injury to my elderly cat. Took about a month to repair my hot water, and about three weeks to fix my heat during Christmas if 2022, when the nightly temp got down to 20° indoors. AND they have the gall to raise my rent by 60$. Would not recommend.

Negative experience: Worst company ever! Kept most of our deposit just for picking up a branch in the yard, a light bulb that is overcharged, and basic cleaning. Wow! They gave us the house when it was disgusting and filthy. Two faced workers and cheap-scate maintenance jobs. So disappointed.

Fantastic experience: Very helpful

Fantastic experience: We had a 11 yr. business relationship with Cantey & Company which went about as smoothly as you could ask for. Billy Cantey and his team were excellent . It is our experience that you could not go wrong in using their services. Billy & Vicky Hudgens Greenwood, SC

Negative experience: There are ignored service requests for Air conditioning repairs, as well as no assistance with roach infestation and rats/ field mice.

Fantastic experience: Rented with them for 2 years. Minimal complaints, easy to reach, and has a great staff at the office. Maintenance was always relatively easy.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely fantastic property management company. Everyone there is willing to help with whatever you need. Only ever had one issue which was they set up a showing of my house and forgot to inform me about it so they showed up and it was a surprise. No big deal though. I would definitely recommend these guys for your next rental! Im the kind of person that leaves a property looking better than when i moved in so I Will update when and if everything goes smoothly with my deposit. OK GOT MY DEPOSIT! There was $55 taken out fot blinds and cleaning but that doesnt seem to bad to me!!! Got almost my full deposit back. Super happy with Cantey & Co. These guys do everything you could expect from a good property management company. If i ever move back to Columbia. Cantey will definitely be the first place i check!! Thank you!!!

Fantastic experience: Great company very friendly love the house I'm renting thanks!!!!!

Fantastic experience: I'm a current tenant who just completed my first year renting with this company. Highly recommended. The customer service is great, and they are quick to respond to repairs.

Negative experience: I know they will reply and I don’t care. Waste people’s time and money. Giving people the run around just so they can lie. 75.00 down the drain. Nothing wrong with the credit or background. Guess the landlord doesn’t want people who actually work. Guess the college students get what ever they want. If you actually work for a living don’t waste your time applying for their rentals.

Fantastic experience: Great customer service And fast replies to calls

Fantastic experience: I love Cantey & Co.!!! I have been renting with them since 2018. Their customer service, staff, and properties are the best in Columbia. Look nowhere else than Cantey & Co. when renting a home.

Fantastic experience: Hands down, Cantey & Co is one of the best property management companies that I've ever rented from! Great service, quick response to my maintenance requests and super friendly/helpful staff. I didn't have to deal with my landlord really at all! I just contacted Cantey if I needed anything and they handled everything! I know sometimes people think it's the property management company that is the hold up with some issues but it's actually the landlord that is the hold up. Cantey stayed on top of everything for me, no matter what I needed! I would highly recommend going with Cantey & Co. if you're looking for a place to rent and want an easy process and great service!! Seriously! Check them out!

Fantastic experience: Billy and his team managed our property for over a decade. We only sold the property to pay for our kids college. They are a caring team and they ensured our property was always well maintained. If we ever have another property which requires management Cantey & Company will be our first choice. If you are looking for a property management company I highly suggest starting your search with Billy and his team.

Positive experience: Easiest place to rent from. Seems a bit unorganized at times but things change and can throw you off.

Negative experience: SLUMLORDS. The staff is abusive and consistently lie, this includes, Ana, I am surprised she can read and write, especially William Cantey, the worst most awful lizard I've ever communicated with. They have been trying to evict me all the while accepting my rent. Let me add that I've 2 children and 1 is disabled. There is black mold on this entire house, they've been violated thru the fire dept and have made no attempts to fix or accommodate my family and I. It rained for 4 months inside my bathroom and kids bedroom, they have not repaired or remedied anything. They even put an eviction notice on my door yesterday 9/12/22 with a 24hr notice however the sheriff's note attached only gave me less than 10hrs to vacate and the notice was quietly placed on my door by a civilian and was unwarranted and incorrect. I don't require a sorry from your sorry staff that will read this review. You all are comfortable abusing the public that keeps your business running. Let me remind you that everything comes to an end, specifically abuse involving DISABLED PERSONS.

Negative experience: Augusta St #B3 has horrible roach infestation and Cantey keeps denying a problem to several tenants. I moved in over 3 weeks late because they said they would fix two easy issues I had (but didn’t) and then first night I stayed there, dozens of roaches came from the ceiling. They kept my entire month of rent for a one night stay but “thankfully” gave my deposits back. Wretched people.

Negative experience: I've been looking for a place for 8 months, and have had several dealings with trying to rent from them. I've viewed several properties, none of them to my liking, but my latest dealing with has inspired this review. I applied for a unit that i actually liked, gave them my fee and all. The day of the viewing, after i had already requested the time off to go, they call me and cancel due to, "a tenant wants the unit" totally out of the blue. It may seem small, but my time and money are valuable to me and this company does not seem to value perspective clients, i can't imagine how much more flippant they are once they've got your deposit and you on the hook with a lease. Not to mention on 2 occasions I've previously had viewings of other properties set up in which no one showed up and i was told that the units were already rented when i got back in touch with them. Rental companies these days think they can do whatever they like because the housing market is so tough, but I'm sick of it and the disregard and disrespect. Don't waste your time trying to do business with them in my opinion, because i won't be. Wasted enough of my time.

Negative experience: RE: Correction made. At the end of the day, the current employee “Angela” lied about several details involving payment history, charges, and details about the move-in and move-out condition of the property. Angel, the former employee either quit or was fired; how convenient. Anyways All evidence will be provided via the email Angela sent to TL. Depending on how this is handled, I may post pictures here. Thanks for your response Billy. I too would give 0 ⭐️…These people (Angela, a current employee and Angel, a former employee) lack integrity. Angie is a LIAR!!!! She will say anything to cover any non-factual information she has previously provided. My significant other (named/initials TL here for publication purposes), a retired veteran on a set and very limited income, unfortunately is experiencing the same disappointment of Cantey & Company stealing his security deposit like so many others in the reviews here on Google. 1st, He paid an application fee for a property they knew had already been offered to another applicant. Because of this, he accepted the next available property offered in which he paid a security deposit. “Lo and behold,” it was infested with roaches that came in the night. After a day of using all the pest control products he had purchased on his own, because Cantey & Company won’t be bothered with such a disturbance as stated in the lease they said….and it is. However the roaches were still a problem because they obviously had nests behind the walls. So they agreed to move him into another one of their sub-par condition properties in which he paid yet ANOTHER security deposit in ADDITION to the deposit paid on the first property. Moving from another state with limited options in such short notice, “TL” was desperate to be placed to avoid overspending on hotels. The house he accepted was NOT cleaned. There was plastic in the windows. There were ALREADY nails in the wall and evidence of that a tv had been mounted by the PREVIOUS tenants. TL moved out in June and left the property in better condition than he had found it. They have created some bogus list of repairs and charges totaling $1000. And have the nerve to say that he owes them $150. Of the 2 properties, he had paid over $2000 in security deposit payment. Angie, fails to do due diligence and review the account with elementary math of adding and subtracting. And would rather lie and say he hadn’t paid the last month’s rent when even there records of payment history reflect that TL has ALWAYS PAID RENT AHEAD OF TIME. They claim to have transferred the payment from the first property over to the second. Well ANGIE, and other representatives of Cantey &Co, please tell me how a security deposit payment of greater than the $1000 bogus charges you have created result in a BALANCE DUE OF $150 and NOT A REFUND when the security deposit payment made was much GREATER than $1000? You won’t rectify this without litigation because you lack integrity, because you demonstrate “slum lord” like behavior, you do this to a certain demographic and class of people whom your business takes advantage of. But trust and believe, we will continue to push for rights under fair housing and tenancy laws to the highest level of the law. Because this is not right! I will continue to spread the word about your company locally and throughout social media. Make this right while you have the chance. Change the narrative for future tenants. You could. But maybe you won’t.

Negative experience: I personally helped my son move in two rentals from Cantey. The first one was roach infested and he stayed one night and had to stay in a hotel because he moved from another state. The second one he stayed in 1 year and payed his rent timely. This place had nail holes in the walls and an area where the previous tenant mounted a TV that had visible nail holes. We cleaned the walls and a very nasty ceiling fan. This house was left cleaner than when he moved in. He was charged 1000 for burned out light bulbs; taking down plastic from a few windows and fixing nail holes that were there when he moved. Not to mention that he was not given credit for the deposit on the roach infested house. Do not rent from Cantey.

Positive experience: They are ok I guess like to pass the buck on tenants.

Negative experience: If I could give them zero stars I would. I’ve been calling this property management company for almost two months about my broken air conditioner. The best response I’ve gotten was from a smart employee stating that “they don’t own the property” so they don’t know what to do. Maybe they forgot that they are the ones signing the lease with the tenant. I had a bug problem that I had to resolve on my own because I was told there’s nothing they can do, but hey the bright side is that water bugs don’t infest your home. They sent out some workers that broke my crawl space door and now I have all kinds of wildlife living down there. I have no water pressure and yet they have someone call me about the dishwasher, but a week and a half later still no call from a plumber. The absolute worst company out there, with employees who have absolutely no idea what they’re doing.

Fantastic experience: The Canteys sure made my rental experience a blast! I really appreciated the easy access to support as well as the great communication.

Negative experience: This company without consulting us took our dead mothers deposit and claimed repairs as the reason. our mother only lived in the house for about five months the rest of the year she was in a hospital so unless some ghost came in and did damage to the paint job I'm at a loss as to why they would charge for a house that was barely lived in and new drip pans for a stove came to 175 ridiculous that was barely used as well don't use this company unless desperate

Fantastic experience: I have rented with Cantey & Co 2 times in my 4 years in Columbia. I typically spend 50+ hours googling, driving around, checkin out all the companies And have found that Cantey is the only company I would go through in Columbia for the under $1,100 range. Ana, Al, and Marquell have always been available in Human form, which is rare these days.. Even when i had a bit of an attitude with them because I was having a bad day or was inpatient, they always maintain professionalism. - Something really important to note.. I have rented 2 places from them- both 2 bedroom and both under$725 close to school and work. Cantey manages these properties for the Owners- the owners are the ones who decide how much money they will spend on the property. Basic, essential plumbing and maintenance work- they are on top of. But when i wanted an update fridge becasue i thought my veggies would stay fresher, well lets just say the owner wasnt too concerned with that. The tough part is with South Carolina property owner laws and regulations- there seems to be little support for the quality of life - so speak to some legislatures if you can- turn it into extra credit I moved out in March to a fancier place with a high rise view.. I did receive my deposit check back from Cantey in the mail exactly 30 days from move out as the lease describes.

Negative experience: Be careful when you rent from them. Take plenty of pictures before and after because they will take your security deposit! I left their rental in better condition then received it and they still took majority of deposit.

Negative experience: If I could give this company 0 stars I would. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM. My husband and I rented a place from them for almost 3 years. Any time we had any sort of maintenance issue it was like getting teeth pulled. It took weeks and weeks and sometimes even months to get something fixed. We had black mold in our stairwell and it took them MONTHS to send someone out and they didn’t even finish the job. And they charged us an ungodly amount after we moved out. We are barely getting any of our deposit back. I’ve never dealt with such unprofessional people in my life. The only positive about this place is Ana. She would always be super nice and tried to help when she could. But if you call and Al picks up the phone you’re better off just hanging up because he has ZERO clue on how to do his job and he really needs to learn how to speak to people. I think it’s safe to say that we will never be renting from this company again. They have been such a headache from the start. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE RIPPED OFF

Negative experience: this company bought my home and are throwing us out on the streets with hardly one month notice. we have never missed a payment. our house sold 3 times while I was trying to sign a new lease. cantey bought it and is making us move. because our rent is 425 dollars for my one bedroom apartment in west Columbia. they are not willing to work with me. they also cut off trash service for our entire building. if I could give less than one stars I would. people's lives are not chips on a board you can toy with. You are not Gods.

Positive experience: Thru emails. But was friendly. We didn't rent with them .. maybe another time.

Fantastic experience: I had a wonderful experience.when i did not get the first house I put in for,cantey called to let me know that they had another if I was interested.I truly appreciate what they did for me. Thank you cantey& co

Fantastic experience: Cantey has managed a rental property that I own for the last two years. I've been very pleased with Cantey's responsiveness during that period. Cindy is always very responsive to email and helps to rapidly resolve any matters that come up. Often they resolve matters before I have time to initially respond. They're also very prompt about locating tenants. I own a number of rental properties (unfortunately this is the only one in Columbia) and I've worked with around a dozen property managers over the years and Cantey is by far the most professional and efficient property manager I've ever had the pleasure to work with. I've gone so far as to acquire additional properties in Columbia simply because Cantey is more efficient to work with than most property managers.

Fantastic experience: They are always helpful and always available. Thank you for giving me a chance.

Fantastic experience: Managed our rental property for over a decade! Professional and always found good tenants. Highly recommend!

Positive experience: I have been renting from Cantey for the past two years (two different houses). The current house I am in had a plumbing issue over the weekend. Unfortunately I could not get maintenance in over the weekend, but I called Cantey first thing Monday AM and they had a plumber out to the house within an hour. That same day they also had HVAC come out since our heat was not working. I was worried I would not get a prompt response and I was pleasantly surprised! The maintenance workers they sent were professional and friendly.

Fantastic experience: I have been a renter and eventually a property owner with Cantey & Co for about 25 years now. I have always found them to be very professional and responsive to my questions. They were always quick and offered me suggestions, etc. They are a great value, and I would highly recommend them.

Fantastic experience: Any issues I've had have been resolved quickly and effectively. Ana, in particular, has been my go-to person for everything. I could not be more pleased with the service we've received and I'd recommend this business to friends and family.

Negative experience: This is the absolute worst property management company in Columbia. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM. I rented at 1800 Senate St beside USCs campus. Right off the bat when I moved in the apartment was disgusting. It had not been cleaned after the previous tenant moved out. Then multiple problems came up and I put in maintenance requests. The problems were never fixed even though I called multiple times. Another problem is that on multiple occasions homeless people slept in the hallways. They had many reports from tenants about this and did not put in any kind of security.

Fantastic experience: Great place

Negative experience: Applied to a property that became occupied. Got an email that it was now occupied & asked if I want to transfer my application to another property! Replied to the email at least three times, call and spoke to a lady who has no idea of what I was talking. I also called twice and left voicemails and still never heard anything! I could only imagine how hard it is to get Maintenance to come out! Just take my business else where. Waste of 70$!

Negative experience: DO NOT SIGN with Cantey! This business is basically one big scam, they’ll let you rent a run down house and then take almost your entire security deposit when you move out. When asked they said they “had to paint before I moved in” and “since we had to touch up spots you have to pay for the paint job” meaning one wall where my tv was on the wall. If you’re expecting your tenants to pay for you painting your properties before they even move in you should put that in the lease, absolutely ridiculous to take that much money from people simply because you can. Half the pictures the “inspector” sent me (when I tried to dispute the paint charges) from move out were things that are listed on my damage report from before I moved in. Not to mention when I moved in there was trash all on the side of the house, insulation falling from the attics door and all over the floor, etc. and I had to request four times (over a month) before anyone ever came to take care of the problems. These people are just scam artists and they’re all extremely unprofessional and rude. I’m sure they’ll just reply to this with some comment about how it’s my fault like they have to every other review on here. But having not even a 3 star rating doesn’t lie, this place is horrible avoid it at all costs if you value your money! Update: I knew the reply to this review would be rude because that’s all this business is capable of. If you would act like you actually care about making business right with your customers and stop stealing your tenants money then you wouldn’t have such terrible reviews and would have people actually willing to resign. Everyone save your money and sign ANYWHERE else!

Positive experience: Realtor company in the forest acres areas.

Negative experience: The company has no idea what they're doing. Emails are frequently grammatically incorrect and this is not a professional feeling company. I went to to schedule a viewing and after waiting 15 mins I had to call them to find out they didnt even have a key to the property even though I had to confirm my showing earlier that day. They will you tell you a security deposit holds the location for 21 days. That is a lie.

Fantastic experience: Love Cantey they are good people

Positive experience: Decent when it comes to service times. Not a bad place to rent through, especially when you consider the other options Columbia has to offer.

Negative experience: Waited a week for a reply and got nothing, when i asked for a refund is when I finally got an answer and the woman told me she left me a voicemail. I work from home so I physically cannot miss phone calls and I never got a call from them. The property I was interested in Required section 8, when it only says Eligible on their website. There is a distinct difference between "Eligible" and "Required".

Negative experience: This has been the absolute worst couple of weeks renting my first apartment from this company. Upon moving in, the place was never cleaned and there was a leak in the shower and the toilet overflowing on the bathroom floor. I couldn’t move into a place in that condition. They CHARGED me for the toilet to be fixed when it was the previous tenant whose issue it was. My entire ceiling downstairs fell and collapsed on the ground a few days later because of the leak in the bathroom upstairs. I have called constantly trying to get someone to come and put drywall up after about 5 days of it drying out...I STILL haven’t been able to move my stuff in this place and was told I’d be credited back 5 days and i have yet to see that money put back on my account. Whoever that girl is answering the phone has the worst professionalism and is so rude. I cannot wait to get out of this lease. Don’t ever rent from here. Update: It was fixed a week or two later. Still wouldn't recommend this place considering I only got help after leaving a bad review.

Fantastic experience: This is my first full year leasing with Cantey. I am pleased with my overall experience with them. I needed a place quickly at the start of pandemic. They got me moved in quickly Disclaimer: Some of the Cantey properties are not the nicest or newest and I understood that when I originally signed my lease. Thankfully my neighbors are very friendly and helped me feel safe moving in. I accidently locked myself out of my unit within the first month and the office was very helpful and understanding with getting me back in. Within the last 6 months up to now I have had several minor to moderate concerns and issues with my unit and they have gotten back to me or had maintenance get in touch with me everytime. Or If I had to follow up they would get back with me. SN: I have lived in Apartments with monthly $200 admin fees added to rent, ridiculous. I haven't seen anything like that from Cantey only rent in original lease. I would be upset if I paid application fee and didn't get the property I applied for....(This happened to me at a different apartment community right before I leased with Cantey)

Negative experience: I found a place I really liked they posted it Christmas I hopped on it immediately. I went to see it fell in love. I applied and paid 140 for application fees. 140 is a lot for application fees for me to call and they say someone else got approved but I keep seeing the property on different websites like it’s still available. I feel con out of my money and all they said was I could tranfer the application NO I WANT MY MONEY BACK. DO NOT APPLY FOR ANYTHING they are scamming for application fees

Negative experience: Pros: Cindy. She did her best to be helpful and was kind no matter how many times I bothered her. She is the lone bright spot in an otherwise lowly company. Cons: Long maintenance wait times and high fees. Don't do it. (see below) Bottom Line: Cantey is another rental company with shady practices where nickel and diming tenants is their only interest. It would benefit you to look elsewhere. Part of the fence had fallen in the back yard so I was told to email a picture to the office which I did in August and didn't hear anything so I checked back in September and then again in October. I ended up finally getting a maintenance ticket raised in November but it wasn't until a second one was raised in December that someone went to look at it. Turns out their solution to a broken fence is to remove it entirely without replacing it. If for whatever reason you need to break your lease early - no matter the reason - expect the worst. Before doing so I asked what the worst case scenario was if we did have to leave and I was told the house would be rented without problem. I stayed in weekly contact with Cantey during the 4 months the property we vacated went unrented to see if there was anything I should be doing to could to help but they assured me time and time again that everything was fine. Little did I know they were racking up charges that they weren't telling me about. Once the property was finally rented I was billed for hundreds of dollars in charges that again were not mentioned at any point. $40 a month for Zillow fees(??), $100 in Admin fees, $275 for doing the yard, among the other normal cleaning fees and blind replacement fees. Keep in mind that I continued to pay rent (on time) for every month it was not rented but none of these monthly charges were brought up until the lease was over!