Riordan Real Estate - Strathmere, New Jersey

Marie H.

17 East Williams Ave...1 word: FILTHY! It's really a shame that this is the only rental company in Strathmere because they are terrible. The house was filthy and there was mold in several areas. The entire downstairs area reeked of some kind of strong chemical smell...no amount of perfume or cologne sprayed in there would make it go away. The place had not been cleaned for quite sometime before we got there. There was an inch of dust on the ceiling fan in the living room, dust on the thermostats in each room, a huge cobweb and spider in the downstairs bathroom, and mold in the shower. I walked barefoot from the front door to my room and back, and my feet were black. The listing was also misleading; it said there was a screened-in gazebo for outdoor dining. What we found was a screenless gazebo with one screen on the door, a disgusting rug, and a rusty table and 2 chairs. You expect people to eat in there?! We walked around and took several pictures of everything we found that were unacceptable and went to the realtor the following day. The realtor claimed they never got complaints about the property and pretty much brushed off every complaint. They also said they spoke to the owner, who claimed she hasn't had screens on the gazebo for 2 years. Well then, update your listing! You're lying about what to expect on your vacation! The next day we received an email from the realtor claiming they spoke to the owner and she was horrified by how we found the place. Well, did the realtor speak to them the day before like they said? The stories didn't match up. We were told that a handyman would come to the house to remedy some of our concerns. He arrived on Tuesday and wiped the ceiling vents, replaced some screens with holes, and used double stick tape to fix the oven panel that was falling off. The screenless gazebo remained screenless. Needless to say, this realtor left a sour taste in my mouth. I love Strathmere, and they really make you want to not waste your money on a vacation there. And to top it off, I ended up getting bitten several times by something in my bed. I couldn't wait to go home and wash all of the filth from that house off of me. Waste of a lot of money!! Riordan is a joke.

Dean B.

512 Bayview....it was awful... From start to finish Riordan Real Estate (the rental company) and the home owner(s) made for an absolutely disgusting rental experience. The home was supposed to have heat, it is an important thing when traveling with two small children. The original rental page shows that there was supposed to be heat, an outside bbq grill, kuerig coffee maker, etc. When we got to the rental after nearly a four hour drive, we asked if we could check in early. We were told that we had to wait for the house to be made ready. Once inside we discovered the heater not working, we called Riordan and were quickly told that listing says there is no heat so it’s not their responsibility because most of the homes in the area don’t have heat. That’s a ridiculous claim and a bold lie. We checked the listing again online and miraculously it had been changed to saying it had no heat. Luckily we had the original screen shot from the original listing we used to rent the property which showed that is was supposed to have heat! So after that we had to make a 1.5 hour round trip to buy heaters. We were finally ready to start unpacking. That is when we realized that no one had been there for a while. Dust and filth everywhere. Absolutely disgusting....COVID-19 aside, this house was awful. Popcorn and potato chips on the floor and filth on the utensils. Dust and food rings on the countertops. Dirty dishes and pans. The interior and exterior chairs were still sitting up on tables, cushions stacked in corners, refrigerator unplugged with a pool noodle holding it open. Look at the photos....it was disgusting. We had to put blankets down so our kids didn’t have to walk on the floor. The outside had a bathtub full of junk in the backyard as well as broken pieces of wood with rust nails and screws sticking out of them. Then there were the bugs...ticks everywhere as well as flys and mosquitos. Riordan should have there license reviewed for this rental experience. When we confronted the rental office with our experience, we were met with attitude and apathy. Gwendoline Riordan, Janice Oliver, and Lorraine Hansen sat and made faces at each other as if there were enjoying the details of the rental experience my family just had. Ms. Riordan seemed particularly abrupt when I asked to speak to a manager or the home owner about what happened. I had to ask her several times to write my name and phone number down to speak to someone about the fraud and filth of the home. With all that being said, it seems others had similar experiences and nothing is being done. If anyone had similar experiences please contact the state licensing board, BBB, attorney generals office, health department, and repost this info everywhere you can. This is one of those businesses that preys on good honest people.

Matthew H.

Terrible experience with renting from here. 17 East Williams Ave was not as described. $4000 rental based on deceptive descriptions and photos, not to mention filthy. We saved months for this vacation to stay at a house which was probably just a money grab to fleece money from unsuspecting renters. The "screened, "dine-in gazebo" was a week long joke and the grill was a hilarious fire hazard. Nice rock holding up the grill folks. It was probably a dumpster find. Thanks for the memories.

Alexandria P.

STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS RENTAL COMPANY!
I wouldn’t recommend Riordan to my worst enemy. They were okay with my toddler sleeping in a moldy bedroom. Do NOT rent 25 Sumner!!! The homeowner is a liar. A filthy, dirty homeowner with no regard for the health, safety and comfort of tenants. Riordan is pathetic example of a rental company. They don’t care about you or your family, only money.

See photos of mold growing on bedroom walls and shoes/purse kept in the closet. This is only SOME of the damage done to our personal property. All our clothes had to be professionally cleaned and some items were unable to be saved.

The homeowner lied saying she had a professional mold inspection. She used a personal/home kit you could buy anywhere and CLAIMED THERE WAS NO MOLD PRESENT weeks after we moved out. She wrote an insulting letter to me and my husband after her contractor came to “inspect” the mold. He was a joke - rude and unprofessional.

As I told the contractor who came to “inspect” days after our initial complaint, I’ve seen mold before, I’ve cleaned mold before BUT this is not what you pay thousands of dollars for!!! At a vacation rental!!!!! To have you and your child exposed to mold in the bedroom where you sleep and personal property destroyed. Mold growing over the wall, in the closets. Let me repeat, RIORDAN DID NOT CARE!!!

This house was also dirty on move-in day both years we rented it. In 2022 the septic tank wasn’t pumped and waste came back up into first floor tub. I will say, Riordan sent a cleaning service per my request after that incident however, shame on the homeowner for neglecting an important task prior to rental season. Because of the spectacular location and kind, wonderful neighbors of Sumner Ave we chose to rent again in 2023 - biggest mistake ever.

You want to rent from Riordan? Consider it a gross waste of your money. This company is a disgrace to Strathmere.

Danielle M.

Exceptional establishment with an experienced team. We have been renting with Riordan since 1991 and can't imagine going through any other realtor. They know their stuff and are the nicest bunch of people.

Joseph C.

Have rented a few times from this agency in the past. Never a problem and always well satisfied. This summer when renting we experienced a problem with a septic system where we stayed. Early on a Sunday morning they responded by draining the system. Unfortunately that solved the problem for only a short time and the problem developed again. The agency responded by offering other places, upgrades etc. Because of circumstances, we decided to just return home and cancel the weeks vacation. Within two days, every penny that we paid was returned to us. All of the folks at this agency were fantastic, very helpful and accommodating. I will always seek them out first because of their manner of doing business and there helpfulness. I appreciate the way we were treated by them and would recommend them to anyone looking for a rental or purchase in that area of the Jersey shore..

Kimberly C.

I had my heart set on a rental that was booked before I could sign the lease - But Lorraine was very kind and helpful in trying to find me an alternative rental that would accept my dog and work for us. She did just that by the very next day and we are all set to go! Excited and happy is an understatement! I would also like to add that they are very prompt at returning phone calls and emails - which as a busy girl I very much appreciate!!!!

James Y.

The management is the worst. There is no accountability! They take your money and do nothing in return but complain about having to take care of a problem!! They do not check the house for damage when renters leave so damage insurance they charge is worthless!! They have no maintenance person who could check on a problem first, they just send a professional in, even if it's the wrong professional, and charge you. Rented other homes with different realtors in other states and have never, never seen anything worse than this team!!!! My father was a good friend of the original owner of Riordan Real estate and that person would have been much more accountable and less interested in ripping clients off!