Surf Or Sound LTD
Client Reviews on Surf Or Sound LTD
Feedback:
We rented a home through Surf or Sound on our recent vacation to the Outer Banks in Salvo, NC. During our stay high surfs from tropical storm Melissa washed out a sand dune and closed NC 12 near Rodanthe. We first heard of this closure from Surf or Sound on Friday morning. The message we received from them was the road was closed, but we still needed to be out by 10:00 AM on Saturday. We should plan according and be prepared to leave as soon as the road opens. The road never did open. Saturday morning, we called asking if we could stay at the house until the road opened. We were told no, since the house was booked. We could not get out so the next guest could not get in. Their explanation was that if the road opened late and the next guest got through, they would expect their home to be ready. I could understand that.What happened next is why I’m writing this review of Surf or Sound. I understand weather related issues are unpredictable and at no fault of anyone. We were not looking for a free place to stay. We were willing to pay for an additional night, or more depending on how long the road remained closed. We asked the agent if she could assist us in finding another place to stay. She was happy to assist for a big profit for her company. Surf or Sound used our situation as an opportunity to profit. They have a 3-night minimum stay policy and a $375.00 minimum booking fee. We had already stayed for 7-nights, that should have counted. The house we were moving to was not rented. 1-night stay is better than no night stays, we were paying a cleaning fee no matter how many nights we stayed. We didn’t expect to have a company take advantage of the situation as Surf or Sound did. We accepted their terms, since our only other option was to camp out in our car until the road opened. We were told the house was ready and we would receive the code to enter the home shortly. This was at 9:30 AM Saturday morning. By 5:30 PM we still did not have a code. We left multiple voice messages throughout the day. We drove down to their offices and finally were given the code. I saw others in their parking lot trying to figure out what they were going to do after being told to vacant their rentals. It was a disgrace the way they were treating people. Other rental companies in the area were allowing people to remain in their homes until the road opened. I can understand that the house is rented and needs to be available when the next guest arrives. What I find unacceptable is that they used the situation to profit. Then to make a bad situation even worst, at 8:30 they called us to let us know the road was open. We had only been in the house for 2 hours and no offer to refund our money for a 3-night stay we no longer needed. We stayed since we already paid. Our 1-night stay ended up costing us $600.00, plus they are now holding a $600.00 security deposit for 45 days. I expect our next issue will be getting our security deposit back. Their customer service is horrible. I would not recommend Surf or Sound to anyone. Choose another rental company if you are traveling to the Outer Banks!
Feedback:
I was also treated unfairly by Surf or Sound Realty during the road closure on 10/12. I was unable to determine if I would be able to get off the island at 5:30 pm on Saturday the 12th, and went to the office to request to stay another night (and offered to pay) if the road was not opened. I was informed that regardless of the road situation, I was to leave the property and would be required to pay for a 3 night minimum. My problem is, if the new renters could not get on the island, and I could not get off the island, what legitimate reason was their for me to be forced to vacate, in what I would consider to be a natural disaster. As far as I am concerned they blew it. The good news is, right after my meeting with the representatives, the road opened and I was able to get off the island. Had that not happened, they would have treated me VERY unfairly. A 3 night minimum? Really, for a renter that was already there!...They blew it, and I will NEVER rent from them again, nor will ANYONE that I know. Sorry Surf and Sound, their is no excuse for being this way, considering the circumstances....
Feedback:
BEWARE!!!In the case of a natural disaster, when you are literally unable to leave the island, they will still throw you out on the streets at your scheduled 10am departure. I thought the 6pm check in time was bad, especially when they want to extort more money for early check in access, and so we dealt with that (& other things) but the eviction was ruthless, especially for the seniors and children. Many other rental companies were allowing renters to stay in there homes because -IF YOU CANT GET OUT, NEW RENTERS CANT GET IN!!!Seems simple enough, right? Nope, surf or sound will send their muscle to make you vacate to sit in your vehicle on the side of the road FOR HOURS while NCDOT tries to clear the road!!! (8hrs to be exact). For the record, we were packed and more than willing to leave the second the road was opened up to drivers. Will never rent from this company again, and we come often and spend a pretty penny on a nice oceanfront home. BEWARE!!!! This road(NC12) WILL CONTINUE TO COLLAPSE until the bridge is built. DONT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!!!
Feedback:
This is the worst rental company we have ever rented from. Their customer service is nonexistent. The Winterobe house in Rondanthe was the filthiest house I have ever been in. It doesn’t appear to have been cleaned in years. There is old food, dirt, dust, sand, and grime on EVERYTHING: floors, walls, ceiling, windows, all of the furniture, toilets...This seems to be the standard for their houses, according to other renters we spoke with. I’m glad we brought slippers with us, which we will be throwing in the wash immediately at home. I had to put sheets over the area rugs to protect my dog from touching them. The counters were wiped clean, sheets (not bed covers) were changed, and that was about it. I had to request cleaners to come back as there are absolutely no cleaning supplies in the house. Still, the cleaner did a sub-par job, only lightly swept the floor and wiped out the master tub. She did bring a new shower curtain upon my request to replace the moldy and mildew one in the master shower. We ended up purchasing our own cleaning products to clean the spaces we used the most.There were also several issues with the house that were not communicated due a nor’easter storm the previous week, even though I had called to ensure everything was good. I get that things happen, and I’m not unreasonable, but communication is key, especially when people are paying thousands of dollars for a week vacation. This house is grossly misrepresented on their website.There was also a nor’easter during our stay, and they highly suggested we vacate the house a night early even though Highway 12 was already closed, and would be for the next 24 hours. We attempted to leave 3 times. Like many others, they told us we could not stay in our house beyond check-out time of 10am because cleaners needed to prepare the house for the next guests. Mind you, the only road IN & OUT was completely closed with DOT stating they may not be able to open the road for 2 more days. They expected their renters to stay in their cars for what could have been up to 2 days. There were no cleaners coming. No one could even access our road due to the water and sand build up. Everyone staying in houses on the streets around us had to park our cars about a 1/4-1/2 mile up the road when the sand and ocean came rushing in. They told us they could help us find another place to stay, but never answered our texts, phone calls, or responded to voicemails or social media messages. They actually deleted the social media messages on their page as they came in. Meanwhile other renters were letting us know they tried getting help from them, and they would only rent for 3 days at a time for an extra $2k. We stayed in the house until 4:30, and luckily the road was opened at 6:30 for us to leave the island. DO NOT RENT FROM SURF OR SOUND. You will more than likely regret it it.
Feedback:
Last weekend when the bridge out of town flooded the other rental companies extended their tenants check out times for free while the road was repaired. Surf or sound tried to gouge its customers by charging a minimum of three extra days.
Feedback:
The check in process with the code locks was great. The house itself was ok. My big issue was that it was not cleaned well enough, as if no one had been there for a while. I don’t expect perfect, but I expect decent. The game room smelled. There was a large cobweb in a main window, the kitchen cabinets and counters weren’t clean, the bathtub off of the king room backed up while showering, leaving you standing in 3 inches of water. I had to clean the dirty tub when I first arrived. Whoever was there before us had a black dog, as there was black dog hair in every floor corner. I could go on. I left a message on the housekeeping line, to which I never got a response. I do not think I will be using this rental agency again. Service MUCH better at Outer Beaches Realty.
Feedback:
Do not rent from them! Company told us we had to get out when we could not get off the island! They only care about money, left 17 of us stranded when the road was closed! Please do not give them your business! I would give them a negative score if I could!
Feedback:
Heard multiple reports of this company not allowing people to stay past their departure dates while the only road off the island is CLOSED.
Feedback:
I’ve used this company many times in the past, with slight issues. But hey, I’m an understanding person. I know my rental house will not be perfect and that they have limited time to accomplish repairs and clean before the next guests arrive. However, after this year I will never use this company again. We are at the mercy of hurricane Melissa hanging out offshore, which I am aware the realty company cannot help. Up until Friday morning, we had no notice of potential overwash. We found out the s curves were closed from locals in the area and only then did I receive a text telling us that maybe we should leave early if the road reopens. So we packed up Friday and went to get in line midday hoping for the road to clear by 6. Unfortunately N.C. DOT lost the battle to reopen the road as high tide came back in. They updated possibly today at noon. Not their fault. I know they were trying. That’s fine. We have to be out of our rental by 10am. However we have no guarantees the road will be open today even. We can hope and get in line and sit for 6-8 hours only to be told nope can’t do it. I called the realty company yesterday afternoon when we knew we couldn’t leave until maybe today. Asked if there was anyway if we can’t get out can we come back to the house? Nope. Unless we want to pay for partial week. Now I get it. They need to make money. They have limited time for turnovers. HOWEVER, we didn’t ignore an evacuation notice. When they FINALLY INFORMED US MID MORNING FRIDAY maybe we should leave we immediately packed up to go. We are stuck here until the road is open and safe enough to get through. If we can’t get out the next people can’t get in (usually). This isn’t our fault. I know to an extent it’s not theirs either. But possibly displacing 12 people to let the house sit empty for a day is ridiculous. Other realty companies have told their renters to stay put until the heard from them. I’ll be using them next time. Surf or sound is not a decent company and I’m sorely disappointed in them. oh plus our house has black mold all through it. Never again will I use them.
Feedback:
Thank you to Michelle Day for her review. We had almost the exact same experience. "A few days into our stay, one of the kids came up to tell us that someone was out draining the hot tub. I went to check it out and she explained she was the hot tub/pool cleaner and there was sand in the hot tub. Why was this not cleaned prior to our check in as we hadn’t even used it yet? Same day a few hours later we all went to the beach. As we’re heading back to the house, a maintenance man is walking OUT of the house (none of us were there or aware he was coming to let himself in.) I asked what he needed and he stated he was coming to pick up a malfunctioning window ac. The house didn’t have a window ac, it was central. I called surf or sound. The first woman I spoke with stated the same, the window ac. I explained it was central ac. She didn’t have a reply to that. Fishy. I requested that they let us know prior if someone is coming out. Maybe use the handy app for that message? The other two realtors we have used always provided that courtesy. I don’t feel it’s an unreasonable request seeing how we paid big bucks to stay in this home for a week and we have personal belongings there. Not to mention the fact what if we aren’t decent and these people just waltz in if nobody answers?First woman put me on hold, then came back to tell me she needed to speak with the leaseholder (my husband). Not very nicely. It was a simple request, really. Then she put Brook on the phone with me. Again, she wouldn’t comply with the request. Her solution was to snottily tell me she would make sure there wouldn’t be anymore visitors for the remainder of the week. Both women I spoke with were indignant and patronizing. This company lacks in customer service. In reading other reviews, it’s clear that I’m not alone on this topic. Also, Surf or Sound is quick to defend poor quality rather than rectify the situation."
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