Forbes Management LLC, Pittsburgh PA

Cannot say enough good things about Forbes Management LLC. My wife and I had been renting from them for the past 3-4 years. They have been accommodating, friendly, and quick to address any and all questions and requests for assistance. Both of our apartments were in great condition upon move in and we never encountered any serious issues throughout our stays. 10/10. We are sad to leave (moving out of state).

I can say, after having dealt with some horrible landlords in Pittsburgh, Forbes Management was a breath of fresh air. If you are looking for a place to stay in the area, I HIGHLY recommend this company.

The worst landlord in Pittsburgh. During the winter the hot water tank broke 3 times. The heat was out 3 days during below 30 degree weather. The landlord refused to turn the heat up past 60 degrees in below freezing temperatures when the windows are 50+ years old. They regularly came in my apartment without permission when I had Covid and called me a liar. They never did any maintenance on the crumbling plaster, water damage, broken hot water tank, or crumbling porch. Bonny and Kathy and the rudest and most argumentative workers. They pretend not to be in the office when you call with maintenance concerns. They are just looking for the most money possible out of naive tenets without customer service or common decency. I was called racial slurs serveral times by Bonny and Kathy because I requested the heat be turned up past 60 degrees during a 3 day snow storm with negative temperatures. They did not shovel during snow storms or salt the steps. Very rude and disrespectful. I will never recommend or use these lying slum lords again. Be very careful with believing the promises they sell.

Well, first of all let me start by saying that renting a cheap apartment in a prime location without having seen it first (I was moving from out of state and due to COVID could not visit) was probably a mistake. But here are all the things I encountered:
1. When I moved in, one of the light fixtures was broken and there was a hole in the bathroom closet floor. On the website it said laundry on-site, but actually the laundry was next door in the basement with a trap door. Super creepy and difficult to do laundry in the winter!
2. My shower wall was at a 45 deg angle and I could not stand up while showering. The water pressure was so extremely faint that I had to buy a special high-pressure shower head.
3. Had mice and bedbugs in the apartment. When I told them about the mice, they brought in ancient mouse traps with teeth and placed them around my apartment. After a month, the traps had caught no mice so I asked if they could be removed but they said that it was a preventative measure and could not remove them. I was very afraid of catching my toes on the teeth of the mouth traps.
4. The kitchen was so tiny and there was zero ventilation. Whenever I boiled pasta or anything that evaporated, the fire alarm went off (the alarm was directly outside the kitchen).
5. When I moved out, I made sure to clean properly. They took out a significant chunk of my security deposit because I did not professionally clean the carpet. They probably say this in fine print when you sign the lease, so just be super careful. My current landlord doesn't have any fine prints to trip you up and get money out of you when you move out, so know that there are better landlords out there!
*note: I am writing this after a year of moving out because I have been happy with my new place and landlord but in hindsight figured this would be helpful for people

I'd been searching for apartments in the pittsburgh area for several months and constantly ran into places not being straightforward with simple questions like the smoking or non smoking status of buildings, what internet provider the building gets, noise levels, etc, or most of the time, just not hearing back from realtors at all. So far, forbes has been infinitely easier to deal with, and all the people I've interacted with through email and phone to get my lease set up have been very nice and efficient.

I made a clerical error in my lease and they helped me fix it within minutes, I was able to set up a virtual apartment viewing within just a couple days after requesting, all my questions have been answered very quickly, and since I work from home, I was very happy to see they listed the exact service provider for the building I was looking at. Even when the first unit I looked at was in a smoking allowed building, they helped me quickly find another unit in a non smoking building in the same price range within a single day.

I have being renting in one of their apartments for last 3 years. The best thing about Forbes Mgmt.is their response to any service request. The communication from the management is prompt and seamless. I would have extended my lease, if I were to stay in Pittsburgh. I highly recommend this management, if you are looking for a place in Pitt.

All the other reviews are good so i am going to agree and i hope thay are not lying because i am moving for aldc

I lived in one of Forbes Management's Highland Park apartments for three years and LOVED it. I foolishly moved to the Strip for a year using a different company, but came back because I loved my apartment, the neighborhood, and the company so much. Would've stayed in this space forever if I wasn't moving to a different state! Responsive company with affordable rent in a great neighborhood and physical space? Can't beat it!

RENT FROM FORBES AT YOUR OWN RISK. I don’t even know where to begin. I rented from Forbes for three years, which was definitely based upon the price, location, and not wanting to move during graduate school, and nothing to do with management.

1. Construction was being done on the house next door and the workers kept parking in the building lot. Part of the reason I rented there was because of the off street parking (I cannot parallel park to save my life). When I called the office they said there was “nothing they could do” and demanded I get the address of the house right next door to their building or their hands were tied. It was unreal.

2. The back walk was NEVER salted. It becomes a complete sheet of ice in the winter (and a lawsuit waiting to happen).

3. I only had to call maintenance a handful of times, but each time was a disaster. Once my dishwasher was overflowing, but because it was the weekend I was told I would have to deal with an overflowing dishwasher until Monday. Another time my smoke alarm wouldn’t stop going off, but it was the end of the guy’s shift so he just didn’t show up. I dealt with a fire alarm going off in my apartment for hours (during lockdown so I had no where to go).

4. There is one washer and dryer in the building, and they were breaking down all the time. I don’t know why they wouldn’t put in new machines. Also, we had a few times in which we had to go a couple days without hot water. Once it was, again, because it was the weekend so they just left a whole building without hot water rather than getting someone after hours to fix it. I had to go to the gym to shower. None of these things were ever communicated to the tenants by management. You had to figure it out from your neighbors.

5. They have been entirely devoid of understanding through COVID. My neighbor tried speaking to them about how he may not be able to afford his rent and they responded with a link to “monster.com. ”

6. I had to relocate six months into my third lease with them. I had to pay a lease termination fee equal to a month’s rent AND pay out the rest of the lease. For the life of me I can’t understand why I have to pay a fee if I’m ending up paying the full term of the lease. They made almost no effort to rerent until I complained they weren’t advertising the unit. They won’t negotiate a buyout. My brother had to relocate at the same time, and even though buyout wasn’t in his contract his landlord worked with him, because that landlord isn’t devoid of all humanness. Of course I did not plan on breaking a lease, but no one planned for covid or this economic crisis and their total lack of compassion is appalling.

I’m disgusted by this business and amazed they get such good reviews. They don’t care about their tenants. Rent from Walnut Capital, maybe, I hear they’re great. But if you rent from Forbes you will deal with a group of people that only care about their bottom line and take minimal effort.

I have lived in two Forbes units, spanning a period of seven years. I must say that my experience has been nothing but positive. Though I've only had a few maintenance requests over the years, they were always responsive and took care of the problem within 24-48 hours. If I wasn't home when they'd stop by, they would leave a note, telling me that they were there and that they took care of the request. Bonny and Mandy in the office have always been welcoming and kind. I also want to mention that I appreciate the whole vibe of Forbes Management. They are very down to earth, and that alone can take the stress off of potential tenants trying to secure a home. If you are looking for a place to call home, I would give Forbes Management your attention. Thank you again!

Great experience with this management company. Very responsive staff and the one or two maintenance requests we had were resolved within a day. With COVID-19, they respected our wishes to have virtual tours of the unit. Would definitely recommend this company and would rent from them again if we weren't leaving the city.

They are responsive - both times something broke in my apartment, they had someone come fix it in less than 12h.

Also, during the COVID-19 stay at home order, they made laundry free as it is coin operated and we were finding it hard to come by with quarters.

The ladies at Forbes Management are magicians. Where to start? So I am currently living in Salt Lake City and I found out in late February that I had been accepted into a grad school program that was scheduled to start in May. Well COVID-19 made traveling in March nearly impossible. I found it very difficult to get in contact with any other property management in Pittsburgh at the time. I'm honestly still waiting for return emails/phone calls from some folks. Megan from Forbes Management on the other hand was super responsive, and flexible. While other property managements struggled to figure out how to give virtual tours, Megan already had me ready to sign on the first apartment she showed me.

Now I was about to sign, but I ended up waiting a few days and then got an email from my college that classes were being put on pause till August. Oh boy! I almost signed a lease from May to May. But don't worry Megan had my back. She found me a comparable unit with lease terms from August to August so I signed the lease.

Then I found out that school would likely be all online for Fall 2020 so I decided to defer my school till 2021. Queue Mandy and Bonny my heroes. I was stressed about selling my contract in 2 months. They made the process of breaking my contract simple and easy to understand. Signed some forms and boom it was done. They also let me bug them with weekly emails wondering if the unit had been sold. I'll be honest I was freaking out. But Mandy & Bonny of course had zero worries about this whole thing probably cause Megan is such a bad a55 at her job. Y'all they sold my contract in a blink of an eye.

In summary Forbes Management is the way to go because 1) they are quick and responsive 2) kinda and professional 3) willing to bend over backwards to take care of the tenants.

I will be moving to Pittsburgh in 2021 and I can't wait to sign a contract with these wonderful people.

I've been renting from Forbes Management LLC for a little over a year now. I've had nothing but positive experiences working with them - they are very kind, and overall they are a very attentive property group. I highly recommend considering them for your next lease.

I've been renting from Forbes for years now in multiple locations, and can't recommend them enough. I've found all of their properties to be well maintained, and if anything happens, they have the best maintenance crew. They were accommodating and easy to work with when I moved between units, and took the extra effort to get to know me and my roommates.

I just renewed my lease for the third year in my Forbes Management apartment. I have never lived in an apartment this long, but they are seriously great. They are always prompt to answer concerns, and maintenance and management are both kind. My apartment is a very reasonable price in a great location with free, off-street parking. The building is well-maintained and neighbors are quiet and friendly.

I had a bad experience with poor management in a large luxury apartment complex in Pittsburgh and I'm so glad I found this company. I highly, highly recommend renting from Forbes Management if you are looking in the Pittsburgh area.

I know they are a larger company with many properties, so I am not sure if this applies to all of them or just the one I rented.

Pros:
They fix things as soon as you ask them.
The rent is fair.
Location of my building in Shadyside is excellent
Credit cards ok
Friendly people working for them.

Cons:
They send a lease renewal early

Continuously collecting rent payments from our newly widowed mother with inadequate advertising of the available unit - classy. Oh wait “you knew your husband was sick when you signed the lease”. Steer clear of these immoral money hungry people.