Client Review on Lakewood Realty Company

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Jim Tippman told us everything we wanted to hear before signing the papers to rent in Portofino Shores. After signing he kept only 2 commitments of many and even those 2 we had to continue to ask to get them done. He cussed on multiple occasions even in front of our 5 year old which we found less than professional. Not sure how everyone else is at this company, but Jim does NOT keep his word.PS my review on Portofino Shores... Nice houses! Nice neighbors! BUT HERE'S WHY YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN CONSIDER LIVING HERE. As one reviewer posted about a year ago, the "worst people run this community". Couldn't agree more!Last year I was hit by a woman texting and driving. I broke my back in 2 places and found out after being x-rayed I had cancer. Upon being hospitalized for my cancer, we had $30,000 of lawn equipment stolen from our landscaping business.As I then was forced to keep the only mower I had left on site at my house, I received a $1,000 fine letter from PS management for keeping the mower outside (to the side of my house, hidden by bushes under a tarp). $1,000 fine?!?Oh, earlier that year I asked if as a landscaping company I could place a bid to do the common areas in PS. Come to find out that the company that does services the common areas, not only lives in PS, but is good friends with the management. I was told I couldn't even bid. Everyone living there pays an HOA fee. Wouldn't it make sense that there be open bids? Perhaps I could have saved the home owners $1,000's of dollars a year?But from that moment on, we started getting fined for everything. Our mailbox wasn't white enough, fine letter. Our driveway wasn't pressure washed clean enough, fine letter. I parked on the street (by accident) twice in 2 years... $100 fine!When asked why I kept the mower outside at the review committee I said due to it leaking gas fumes throughout the house when kept in the garage and between my cancer and us having a 7 month old, I put it outside, covered up behind bushes, hidden from all neighbors. They didn't care. Fine letter came in the mail 3 days later.The guards at the gate know me by name... The one time I left my wallet at home, they refused to open the gate for me. Made me park my car at the gate and WALK HOME TO GET MY LICENSE! When I asked about using common sense (also I had a picture of my valid driver's license on my phone which I had with me) they said they aren't allowed to use common sense or they'll get fired. "It's for the protection of the community", they said. However, when my in laws come to visit 1/4 times we're not even called to buzz them in. They just get a free pass because of being a common face.Since they're so tough on security here it seems we'd be safe and protected in our little community... Not the case. On March 29th 2017 in the early AM hours I had $1200 worth of possessions stolen right out of my car in my own driveway! (Case # 17-02000 with the Fort Pierce sheriff's department) They won't let me who has lived here for two years that they know by name in without having my physical license on me, but yet thieves can come right in the community and steal whatever they want.This place is EXTREMELY POORLY managed. If you're not in "the club", then you are just a number to them. Not to mention our realtor at Lakewood Realty over promised and under delivered on everything he said about this place. He is a liar and not to be trusted. The second we signed the documents to rent here, he stopped fulfilling his promises. Oh, and he was the former president of the board here.I've met a lot of nice people and neighbors here. If the board and management wasn't what it is, we'd like staying here for sometime. Being what it is, we can't get out of here soon enough!DO NOT RENT, ESPECIALLY BUY IN PORTOFINO SHORES!