Jackie Ellis-Dunbar

We rented a house from Remax, Steve and Jackie Dunbar, and the house was nice, but a bit older, in a Very quiet neighborhood. We had some issues with a leaky roof, two places, we requested the leaks be repaired and Remax sent a guy out to do the work. He said it was all taken care of. It rained heavy not too long later, it started to leak again in the same area. We notified again, roofer came out a second time, said again it was taken care of. Eventually we bought the house and had an understanding since we had reported the issue the Remax had sent the roofer out twice that the issue was in fact fixed. As we progressed through the buying process Jackie Dunbar specifically lead us to believe she was representing us in the close and acting in our best interest, told us not to get a home inspection and that all issues were taken care of. We still had issues with the roof, and they sent the same guy out, he told my wife the pitch of the roof and the way the shingles were meant the leak would persist. And did minimal work at the direction of the Dunbars I eventually got up on the roof and found an area of rotted wood. I contacted the Dunbars in June to see if the roofer, who never did the work correctly, could come back out and actually fix the roof that he was paid to fix. No response from the Dunbar team. I just wrote them yesterday, a little p***** off that I have a leak now on my couch. I fixed the other area myself, but to tear out the rotted wood and repair this other area is a bit out of my expertise. I was a little nasty, but not as nasty as a guy who was screwed over by the Dunbars for over a year at this point. We went back and forth, but Jackie Dunbar SPECIFICALLY said she is doing nothing to rectify this. Now I have the wood, felt paper, nails I will get the shingles they could send a guy over and probably clear this up for about $100, but they are refusing to do that. If you are in the Virginia Beach area, do not do business with these guys. It's just tacky what they are doing. They are telling me buyer beware, but really just beware of them and their handymen. This guy did nothing on this roof and we are stuck with it. And when confronted on this issue, they tell me its not their problem we should have been worked it out in the close. But I was under the impression all known issues, had to be fixed before closing on a house, and that a loan should not have been put on the house with this repairs not taken care of before closing. Maybe I am naive. Bottom line, don't trust the Dunbars. Update as of 5/15. Mrs Dunbar called me out of the blue today and threatened legal action for my post, so since it was brought back up I thought I would update. She had called me to threaten me with defamation of character; she emailed me twice, and ranted and raved at me to end this sabotage of her business. She said I cost her one customer, but sold 50 houses last year. It sounds like she is doing ok to me. Since she has become aware of this post she has done nothing but harass me and try to cover this up, having other people put overly positive responses to her name. Everyone I told this story to, and since it has come back up I have told a LOT of people, anyone who knows her has had a bad experience. Well everyone except for the three people who just signed up for Yelp and put 5 star ratings on their dealings with Jackie Dunbar and Steve her husband. As far as I am concerned I personally would not trust them to do business with again. I would not rent from them, or buy from them again. If there are any questions about my claims I can back the details up with emails to the Dunbars and receipts of the work that they claim was done. In the end I did get my roof fixed, it cost $1100 and was done be a very reputable man by the name of John Mentes. He did an excellent job, removed the rotten wood, replaced the one entire section of the roof and the leak has long since stopped.

We found the property from a craigslist ad put in by the owners and then they found the Dunbars to manage it. This was the last part of the process that went well. Four months in we encountered problems with water standing in the back yard and were told it was just surface water draining. When I pushed that it was more than that I was told they would send someone out but if they didn't find anything more they would bill me for the service call. I dug a small trench (from back fence to road) to drain to the back alley and received a letter that I had altered the property without permission. The following spring when the sprinkler company came to turn the system back on they identified a leaking valve in the back yard. Toward the end of the disagreement over issues with the back yard, the property managers forwarded me a letter from the home owner that was never intended for my eyes - it was both insulting and factually wrong. Later the property manager came to inspect the property inside. When my wife met them and took them around she was told that it was fine "because we can't expect much - you are renters..." When we moved out we went through inspection of the property and had a verbal agreement that 2 planks of fencing that needed replacement were the only items we would have outstanding. Our damage deposit arrived and there was an additional $270 (including a fee for special treatment of the upstairs hallway) taken out due to "dog smell". We paid the non-refundable $500 pet deposit up front, we had the carpets cleaned and deodorized prior to leaving (and presented receipt), and we never allowed the dogs upstairs other than in the FROG. There was no dog smell and if there was, that is what the deposit is meant to cover. My inclination was to fight it but I am just going to walk away and be thankful we are done dealing with this management company. I would not recommend using this company if you are a home owner or a tenant.

Jackie is EXCELLENT! This past summer, we needed to sell our condo BEFORE we closed on our new home and she made it happen! She also was INVALUABLE with the new home purchase (new construction). I HIGHLY recommend her!