maintenance technician

leasing agent

leasing consultant

property manager

maintenance supervisor

Southwood Realty

Looking for a company you can grow with and stay long term? Then this is not the company for you. I was hired under false promises ( manager in training ) of moving forward with management and never advanced. This company is scandalous, makes up their own rules as they go due to favoritism and doesn’t show any interest in coaching for success. I had the worst manager I’ve ever had in my working career. Lied to get ahead and fudged numbers to make the property look better and talked about other employees behind their backs saying they would never advance but then turned around and told them to apply for management. Had ZERO interest in helping the employee where their skill set lacked to help them advance in their career. Talked about residents behind their backs. Told residents she would help them then purposely avoided them and left the issues to the leasing agents to deal with and then lied about it to the regional when the resident got upset and called corporate. Put herself on the schedule for Saturday’s and NEVER worked a Saturday when she was supposed to. Didn’t even know what my job title was! She told me I was an assistant manager for the entire 9 months I worked there then when I filled out an application to live on one of the properties the RM called me to tell me that I was only a “Leasing Agent” and that she told her to have a conversation with me to tell me which she didn’t do. What she did do was go behind my back and change my email signature without telling me. Took two weeks to get my commissions and she got mad about it when I started keeping track and asked for her to sign off on the commissions. Terrible management within the entire company. They build all their properties within an 8 mile radius and gives certain properties specials and the others no specials which creates animosity between properties. There is no team working environment it’s everyone out for themselves and not to mention the gossip. When I gave my two weeks notice the RM came up to me and criticized my choice for going back into retail and didn’t wish me the best of luck in my endeavors nor even ask why I was leaving the company. The most unprofessional establishment I’ve ever worked at and I’m glad I left.

To begin with I was never offered a job...when I received a call about going to training I assumed I had the job. Only received a two day notice about going to training (6 hr drive). Training was okay..I think a new hire should work a few days with their property staff and get an idea of what goes on before sending them to class. Training with corporate isn’t anything like being on a real property! Maybe in their world everything runs on schedule but in the real world it’s completely different. Also I was so upset on the last day of training (playing games, acting out situations) when we didn’t leave before lunch which meant it was after 9pm when I got home to my family (after 6 hrs of driving) then reported to work at 8:30 the next day!! Property was extremely busy and needed 1 more person to help. Hard to learn things with your manager when you don’t get 15 mins to work with. So much time is wasted on receiving and logging residents packages, logging in and setting up time for residents to use tanning bed, and phone calls. You may get 30 or more calls a day.  Expects every phone call to be logged and entered every before you leave along with everything else you are suppose to do. NO overtime is allowed so you leave work everyday scared that you will be fired because you didn’t get all  you work done. Leasing is a breeze it’s all the other stuff that is bad. They expect too much from employees & pay peanuts. It would be amazing if someone from corporate came and walked in the footsteps of the properties staff and see what goes on in the real world! I’m sure there would be some things changed. I loved leasing and the property staff I worked with but I would never make a recommendation for anyone to work for this company!!!!!

Working as a maintenance technician at Southwood Realty can be both rewarding and challenging. It’s a good fit if you enjoy hands-on work and are eager to fix a variety of issues, but the job comes with long hours and a consistent backlog of tasks. While my personal experience at my property has been positive, thanks to great coworkers and a manageable tenant base, I recognize that this isn't the case across all properties. The job offers plenty of opportunities to learn and grow, especially for those new to maintenance, but it can be overwhelming at times. While there is room for advancement, the role isn't for everyone, and I personally don't envision staying in the industry long-term. However, it's a solid introduction to various trades, allowing you to discover which areas of maintenance you might want to specialize in later on. 

I worked with this company for just a few months and it was presented to me as if I would be learning the job to fit the role in due time; however that was not the case. I was a Leasing Agent who was being trained by the manager who came in after me. This manager was very conniving and misleading. She informed me that she was getting me prepared for the position to fill in, however she took advantage of me by letting me show apartments that she took credit for; making me do heavy duty cleaning as I did not have access to the software being that I was a temporary employee. However, what I was disappointed about was that I believe she let me go because I was still in contact with a prior employee that was terminated. The manager was going around telling residents how the prior employee got fired and thought I was going back giving information— which was not true! I worked hard for this company and so did my prior colleagues, just so we could have the door slammed on an employment opportunity. Not to mention the manager was very cocky and would gossip about prior residents she worked with— always coming off discriminatory, which I didn’t appreciate. The senior staff from Gastonia was always pleasant however, just wish I had the chance to prove myself there.. not mention I commuted everyday. This company needs to be mindful of their management and culture.

I can not speak enough about the wonderful experience I have had while working with this company for 10 years. I have worked very hard and have been more than rewarded for that hard work through the several oppurtunities for advancement that I have been afforded. I started as a housekeeper and quickly moved into a leasing position. After a short stint in leasing I was promoted to property manager and managed 5 properties over the course of my 10 years
 until 4 months ago when I took a more formal position over "training". I have also been fortunate enough to see many of my hard-working co-workers advance and am lucky to still work very closely with many of them. The owners are genuinely fair and do care about their employees. The company is grounded on more traditional values so for people who may be looking for "freebies" or have an insatiable sense of entitlement - it may not be the best fit. Southwood rewards hard work, dedication and transparency. 

I look forward to continuing my journey with the company and am excited to see them grow through their excellent leadership and contribution from strong team players.

I gave only two stars— that doesn’t mean I don’t recommend it to some. If you’re new and learning the trade, but are hardworking and have a strong work ethic, there are some amazing people to learn from in this company. That being said the leasing side of the business is highly dysfunctional, tenant treatment is relatively poor, decisions are mercurial and inconsistent and policy can differ radically between properties. Pay is below market and work-load is above what you’d expect, even in a hustle and bustle industry like Multifamily. Experiences frequent staffing issues— management can sometimes be frivolous, or non-existent. Overtime is daily, on-call is bad even for multifamily maintenance. Properties especially those on the fringe of their portfolios are significantly under supported and staffed. Overall be aware what you’re going into; not for the faint of heart. Be willing to work a lot and you can learn a lot… but then, it’s unfortunately time you should move on to better places with better pay. Some amazing people with some bad apples and ideas to hold them back. Could be a lot better with competitive pay and better work life balance. Worth a try if you want to prove yourself.

No matter what property you work on, from Corp to GA, NC....etc., you will be miserable. Zero benefits; well, let me explain, yes health is offered but the premiums are outrageous and the deductible is so high it is unattainable and dental which of course you must pay for and it is for general cleanings. So, you will have clean teeth but be miserable. Corp requires so much paperwork and doesn't realize how much work is already required at the properties. Regional PM's are not educated. Turnover is daily, if not hourly. I cannot say enough except keep searching for a job and do not attempt working at Southwood. The pay scale is awkward - grounds making more than maintenance, leasing more than managers....and all because of who ya know - if you are in with the owners, you are good. Good people from Corp have come and gone because of owner's decisions. Family walks in with a job or is placed in another persons job because they are family. I hope this helps some individual to keep looking and save you the time - you will be harassed or fired eventually. Wear a mask if you visit Corp because the building is so old.

I have been with Southwood Realty for over five years and love this company. I started out as a  Maintenance Supervisor and have worked my way up the ladder through hard work and dedication. The owners are honest and fair to deal with. If you work hard and stay with it, you will be noticed and recognized. Southwood has slowly started implementing procedures that will help streamline their business. If you are looking for instant gratification or feel a sense of entitlement, this may not be the company for you. This company is steadily growing and has lots of room for advancement. With over 70 apartment communities and more than 500 employees, it is easy to see how you will have some bad reviews. I made a career change 5 years ago (HVAC service tech) and have never looked back. There are numerous techs that have gone on to become Maintenance Supervisors just in WNC alone. I feel this is a great career choice if you like to work inside/outside, feeling a part of a family, continuously learning and most importantly enjoying going to work.

The pros of working here: weekly paychecks, being able to take days off during the week when you need them and that's pretty much it. 

This is a great startup company to work for providing they train you correctly. However, the promise for "advancement in the company and getting promotions" is a complete lie unless you know someone in the corporate office. Promotions are not based on how hard you work or how much work you do but who you know. There are leasing agents making more than managers with no experience. There are absolutely no benefits worth working for and you get 2 weeks of vacation after 10 years of being with the company. Managers are more worried about "fraternizing with residents" rather than doing their job Policy's change left and right and aren't fully enforced. Managers brag about how many people they've "fired" since they've been with the company. There is just so much unprofessionalism within the company. There is no consistent pay structure. Management is horrible.

At first glace this company seems like a great place. Everyone is welcoming. However, you quickly start to see all the internal issues. For one, the training is sub-par. They give you 3 days to learn the entirety of a 200+ unit location. Then they throw you into the property giving you very little training on actual HUD guidelines and laws. While most of those things are best learned on the job, it is a crapshoot of who teaches you. You might get someone very experienced and knowledgeable. Or you might get someone like me who wanted to do everything and not teach because they were more concerned about looking good to the higher ups and than actually teaching. And when you try to address this with corporate, they will fire you because they play favorites. If you try to tell them that the person you trained with was sub-par, they will take that personally and say you are talking badly about their company as a whole. If you suggest improvements for your property, they will say you are not a team player. Would not recommend this place. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Maintenance technician 8 salaries reported	$19.50 per hour
Leasing agent 3 salaries reported	$17.83 per hour
Leasing consultant 1 salary reported	$17.00 per hour
Property manager 3 salaries reported	$53,333 per year
Maintenance supervisor 1 salary reported	$26.00 per hour

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