Investors Choice Property Management

This company deserves to be held accountable for the extremely poor experience I had, particularly in my dealings with one of their agents from the Doncaster office, Joe Sortino. My 18 months in the property were extremely difficult. I faced ongoing issues including serious mold concerns and several items that required attention, such as a… Read more

non-compliant stove (as noted in a plumber’s report) and the absence of window coverings, among others.

Throughout this period, communication was stressful, and I often struggled to obtain basic documentation such as ledgers and receipts despite multiple requests. These matters have since been referred to the appropriate authorities for review.

Based on my experience, I would personally advise exercising caution when dealing with this company or this agent—whether renting, buying, or selling. If you’re currently experiencing similar issues, please remember there are organizations available that can help you understand your rights and provide support. No one should have to tolerate this kind of conduct or treatment.

ICMP property management group is not a reliable service property management group. They lack integrity and follow through. It is due to the lack of communication that we have moved on from ICMP group. I would not use them again and definitely would not recommend anyone going with them.

I could not bring myself to give any star! My experience with ICPM is unpleasant. When they manage my property, in between tenants, my house was burglaried, it was a new built and 3 years new. Everything that could be removed were taken! Oven,… Read more

rangehood, dishwasher, kitchen sinks, bathroom vanity,even ceiling fans! I installed new security system with 2 brand new remote pendants. ICPM advised not to give to tenants, they would keep in office safe. But when Joe Sortino sold my property in 2023, I requested for the remote pendants to be returned. They said they couldn't find them. I requested refund as they are brand new and not coded, I could use for my own home. Then Joe said he found them & would send back to me. That was 2 years ago, despite numerous emails, voice messages, he is full on ignoring me. How can you trust a company that could not even accomplish this request? Just be honest and give a refund if you lose the remote pendants. After all you have already made money by selling my property.

Why bother with the rest – Sebastian has been an outstanding property manager! His responsiveness to queries is commendable, and his professionalism and respectful demeanor make working with him a pleasure. He consistently goes above and beyond in managing our rental property, demonstrating a true commitment to excellence. Highly impressed and grateful for his dedication!

Thank you Chloe – It has been a great experience dealing with Chloe. We have been landlords for over 20 years and Chloe would have to be the best Property Manager we have had the pleasure of dealing with. Thank you Chloe

Professional, Fast and Responsive! – Tayla Pace (and Jade), not only held the keys to my fantastic new apartment, they also hold key attributes of excellence in property management: Fast, responsive and professional in all dealings. A welcomed change, given the "couldn't care less" approach every other property manager, who I met, displayed to a prospective tenant. Well after the… Read more

contract has been signed, Tayla continues to exceed my expectations.

Great communication coupled with a "no fuss" friendly approach, makes for a very happy tenant here, and I am confident there is a very happy landlord somewhere too.

Stay away from the group called ICPM – This is a family business run by a group of cheats. They looked after my property for 15 months. Forged tenancy agreement, pocketed my bond money and stopped corresponding. Went to CAV who stated breach under section 60. Now awaiting hearing. Stay away if you don’t want your property to be ruined

Dishonest rental agent – The director stole the bond and then extorted us $399 to transfer the file to another agent. This was after all communication ceased once we stated that we were going to leave. Anybody currently with this agency should expect the same treatment, so be prepared.

Clown club - untrustworthy, liar, deceitful – ICPM led by [Name Removed] and his team are absolutely unprofessional to deal with, don’t answer calls, holding items such as keys for ransom until some nonsense fees are paid. Please stay away from this clown club and words spread quick thanks to social media and I’m sure they will get what they deserve

Stay away from [Name Removed]'s family – I had to digest a loss of $2987 as [Name Removed] didn't lodge the bond with RTBA so pocketed the money; utterly regret to ever go to them, stay away to save your investment property. ICPM is a business by a corrupt family of 4-- [Name Removed] ([Name Removed]'s wife), [Name Removed] (his girlfriend), [Name Removed] (his bro) and himself. Read the other reviews here and on Google to understand the abnormality with his these psychopaths operate.

Worst agency ever experienced – Even 1 star is too much... No support for bonding deduction after the termination of lease, thus, had to apply for a VCAT order on my own, with no prior discussion with the tenant at all. The difficulty was also compounded by the late final inspection report by the agency. No need to mention damages to my property for this to happen.. I was also… Read more

threatened by the agency in relation to my Google review, which was based on objective facts and reasonable comparison with other experiences.

Be aware of unprofessional real estate agency – Due to mismanagement of my rental properties, I decided to change. New management sent request for handover documents and keys on 26 June 2024. No response from the director. New management and myself made numerous requests to comply, but was completely stonewalled by him. Even his own admin staff, who seemed genuine in trying to assist with our… Read more

request, advised that the final decision rested with the director, and documents and keys could not be released. All without any explanation whatsoever. Emails sent. Texts sent. Phone calls made. Not one response from the director. 2 complaint cases have been raised with Consumer Affairs, and these are currently being processed. Eventually after 6 weeks, I was able to have the documents and keys handed over, without any explanation at all for a) the cause of the delay, and b) why zero response in 6 weeks. In the meantime, despite not having a legally binding management authority contract in place, they continued to manage the rents, taking their commission, which I have asked for to be returned to me, but once again, stonewalled silence. Please be very aware of this agency, and more specifically, the director.

They lied and charged illegal fees – The director managed my property. His lies and misconduct caused me to lose a lot of money. When I decided to change management, he charged an illegal fee $400 per property to move. This fee is not on the contracts. On November 2023 I asked him to file a VCAT case for rent arrears Numerous follow-up no updates Finally we got hearing date He said… Read more

"We wasted our time attending 3 times, they couldn't open the file so we need to appeal. They had a lawyer and VCAT couldn't open their file either" -lies

Few weeks later I asked him and he said "We won't get anything I had a similar case today and we ended up getting nothing " "Would you settle on $250 to $300 for rent arrears as I don't like our chances I had a conversation with their representing lawyer today and think its best to settle"

I called VCAT and they said he did not attend the hearing so they awarded the renters the bond. He has 14 days to appeal and he did not. He caused me to lose over $1800 .

Fraud - VCAT case in progress (19 victims) – Fraudulent, liar, thief, unprofessional, 19 VCAT cases against ICPM ongoing, rude, stole bond from tenant, stole my rental income, hidden fee and the list goes on

Terrible management – Poor management is my experience by [Name Removed] of Investors Choice Property Management, Laverton. As a landlord I would advise against engaging [Name Removed] director of ICPM to manage a property. I have been with ICPM for many years to manage this one property and received excellent service but when [Name Removed] took over managing my… Read more

property the wheels just fell off resulting in my terminating his services.

My tenants seem happy about that too. A new manager at Woodards is engaged and they too report [Name Removed]will not respond to arrange a handover of property and the file. I have spoken to [Name Removed] - he says he will do it but as yet nothing.

My issues include (but are not limited to) a lack of professional conduct, lack of communication, failure to keep track of keys resulting in ICPM not having a key to the property themselves, failure to return property [Name Removed] says is in his possession that is required to be returned to the Strata Managing Agent which issue has been ongoing for 4 months, issues with inspections and getting timely reports and maintenance done.

Positives were the rent was paid on time and new tenants were properly vetted. The poor management outweighing the admin and there seemed to be nothing I could say that rectified the situation. The only thing left for me was to terminate their services and I say thank you to others who I see have shared their experiences. I am certainly not alone.

Avoid and beware – Utter grubs. Rented for 2 years and left the place spotless for future tenants. After they graciously provided a rent reduction during covid, they went on to claim 8 month rent arrears and bond. Despite written evidence to the contrary in my emails and their records, flog Sortino filed a baseless claim with VCAT, which was struck out 2 years later… Read more

after they failed to even respond to tribunal emails ahead of a hearing.

Give them a wide berth, read similar reviews online. They'll mismanage properties for owners, and try shake down tenants.

Charged me $500 to exit! – The person who manages my property also happens to be the Director. If you even call it that. He does not communicate or return any calls, does not handle anything whatso ever. They're happy to receive your commission with nothing being done but you have to instigate everything, I had to keep reminding them of property inspections, rent increases… Read more

and late rent, there is just poor communication and he doesn't get back to you. Small issues escalate into bigger issues because they weren't sorted out properly or even fixed! Better off just handling it all myself, would saved me money time and such headache!

So after 3 months of reminding them to the property inspection they send someone to take a few photos before the tenant is even awake so they can't access the bedrooms and the backyards because of dogs! By the way the report is minimal with one paragraph and very few photos. If there is a repair that is needed nothing get done and you have to follow up on it. I had a fencing issue and the Director said "I told the guy if it's so important then fix it yourself". Unbelievable. And don't even mention late rent, nothing get done and gets escalated because there's no communication, what a headache!!!

When I wanted out and he extorted me out of $500 as a transfer/exit fee! Which I will file a claim through VCat. Exorbitant fee and not on the contract and I don't know any other agent who do this in my 20 years as a landlord.

During the dragged out transfer of client files, they also advised me they LOST the client contract! Just like the other reviewers comments!

So now that I have happily exited from this poorly run agency, like other reviewer I also realised they DID NOT transfer the last final month rent to me, even though the trust account and the tenant confirmed it's paid. It took over 2 weeks to finally settle this dispute after being ignored!

if i could give no stars i would – I'm not one to write reviews but...Terrible communication. I rented a house by ICPM for 17 months and the whole time it smelt like cat urine and they didn't believe me. ( They also conveniently "misplaced" our condition report) i had a crawling baby at the time and her knees would literally get sticky from the carpet and eyes would get infected… Read more

(we had this confirmed by a medical professional). This was a horrible experience as it was right in the midst of the pandemic. By the end, they bought in a carpet professional and the carpets in every single room had to be removed and replaced because we were bloody right. These so called professionals should be closed down as they do not give one crap about anyone and let my family live in a house that should not have been occupied. DISGUSTING.

If I could give 0 I would – I am not one to write reviews often. I try to be understanding and give leeway where I can. But this message is to anyone considering going with this company. STAY AWAY! Like others have said. The level of communication is non existent. They are happy to sign you up and take your money, but do not actually manage your property. You have to… Read more

call comstanrly to have rent dispursed, and there is always some excuse as to why it wasn't ever done on time. In 4 months with the company rent got paid once on time by them... even my tenant and myself are now close because she would send me screen shots of her paying rent each fortnight!

You email and call, and get no response. And like another person mentioned, I also have a week unaccounted for.

I decided to move my business elsewhere and my new agent has had to go to the ombudsman because they will not release my file, yet on joining it clearly states there are no lock in contracts.

This is a headache I don't need. I'm a single mum just trying to keep my own head above water and this company has almost made me have to default on my mortgage!

Appauling – Appalling: wouldn’t begin to describe our experience with Investors Choice Property Management. From the word go we were having problems. Our property manager (who is also the business’ director) gave confirmation our water and land rates would be paid by ICPM using our rental income. After several months of late notifications, guarantees… Read more

payment would be made then ultimately paying it ourselves: the threat of taking our business elsewhere was needed for them to handle it with urgency. We were then sent a council document that needed to be completed prior to them being able to pay these rates on our behalf. ICPM would obviously be aware of this document but never provided it till we were about to take our business elsewhere. Seems as though they want to take management fees but not actually manage properties.

There was no professionalism regarding rental statements and communication. The first statement or two were on time. Every other statement after were not consistent; anything from a few days to the record of 2 months late. The longest stint was 09/12/23 to 10/02/2023, with no follow up I contacted the agent several times and received excuses blaming us as well as the tenant for no statement being provided.

We had approved works conducted on the property and requested an invoice for our own accounts so we know what we are paying. ICPM refused to provide a copy of the invoice until the job was paid in full to the agent. We were not even notified once the works were completed.

All while this was happening we were reviewing all our previous statements to 09/12/2022 to find there was a whole week unaccounted for. When we questioned our property manager as to why a payment was missed over a month ago. The excuse we were provided (again) “the tenant is in arrears”. This is a pitiful excuse for poor management, they did not identify a missing payment for over 5 weeks and were incredibly dismissive once it was pointed out. Took zero ownership for it being missing, only and always blaming the tenant or us.

When we inevitably started moving to another agent, ICPM are attempting to charge us an undisclosed and exorbitant $399 “file preparation fee”. Refusing to even begin preparing documents for handover until this “fee” was paid in full. We have had to engage with lawyers to get this matter sorted as this fee was not disclosed on any contract or correspondence with ICPM. ICPM’s argument is that the fee is ‘after’ the landlord authority period, therefore does not need to be disclosed… as if to justify the fee. Their directors exact wording to us and our solicitors was “Feel free to start the legal proceedings as I have had another landlord in the past do the same and not won”.

In our 8 months with ICPM we have paid approximately $600 in management fees. They wanted us to pay another 67% of that in undisclosed fees just to leave. Every property manager or landlord we have spoken to has called these fees ridiculous and many comparing it to ‘extortion’, ‘ransom’ and ‘highway robbery’.

If we could do it all over again, we would sell the property before ever going to ICPM for anything. Based on our experience and clearly based on the reviews or several people on several platforms; ICPM is an extremely poor property manager. Our experience has been nothing but constant gaslighting and incompetence.

This business does not have yours or your tenants interests in mind. If you’re a property owner signed up with ICPM, good luck.

Do not recommend – Moved property agents due to not being happy with the service provided. I’ve had to get a lawyer as they have refused to give keys, documents and pay outstanding funds until I pay a leaving fee - which they have been unable to show evidence where I agreed to that fee. Since then agent has ignored calls / emails to lawyer. I have also recently… Read more

found out the insurance claim from earlier in the year was cancelled due to them not providing the paperwork needed (which I have in writing from insurance company), when I had been advised other reasons by agent. Extremely disappointed and unhappy with this agent and would never use again or recommend to anyone.

Terrible experience – They don't do any repairs. I have issues from 2019 that have not been dealt with. I have sent emails upon emails regrading what needs to be done , now they just don't even reply to them. They dont even deserve one star!!!

Used to be good now very bad – As a landlord this is what I got for my (high) management fees: zero communication & zero care; an owner's portal that is not kept up to date; limited inspections; authorized repairs that are not completed (to the detriment of the tenant). This is the property manager's definition of a 'good tenant' who should have the bond returned: filthy walls;… Read more

dirty carpets; a door removed & propped in a corner; cat faeces & pellets on top of a kitchen cabinet, an unauthorized front door deadlock with no key; rubble & a pile of belongings left in the backyard. Then I am extorted a $399.00 exit fee when I wish to move to (a more competent) agency! Landlords & tenants alike need to be warned.

Don't move Property Managers with them – Moved to a different managing agent and have been waiting over a month to receive our last monthly rent. Even after numerous emails and phone calls, still no response and no rent has come yet. Very disappointing way to finish up with them.

Worse response to request – Have asked for a new bin, keep getting replies it has been ordered. Called council myself, was advise no new bin as been ordered. 5 months later, still waiting for the new bin. Very unprofessional and not trustworthy.

Renting property – Have dealt with Chole. Absolutely excellent service, very professional very nice person, no problem or questions were too difficult or To small. Very impressed.Would not hesitate in recommending to others. No

Very dishonest operators – Refused to give bond back, alleging house was dirty. Emailed me some photos which they claim they took 3 days after vacating. I was very suspicious of these photos, they showed a bin photo with no street number nor council logo. No photos showed carpets, this would have verified where they were taken. I downloaded the photos to check the dates.… Read more

Suspicion confirmed. None of the photos were taken 3 days after vacating. The most interesting photo was the one of a rangehood which was taken at 9.10pm. All the the photos were taken with an iphone 7. Took it to VCAT, got the bond back no hassles, they never turned up, I wonder why.

Terrible customer experience time and time again – Renting with this company as landlords was so stressful. I had so many instances where I had to email and call multiple times to get responses and resolutions to issues in my rental property. What was most frustrating was the lack of communication and avoidance to answer questions regularly. I would not rent a property managed by them ever again.

I wouldn't even give them 1 star, but unfortunately I cannot submit my review within a rating – My property has looked like a squatters home 3 times already. Unkept, neighbours complaining and apparently the property manager does her job??? My tenants did a runner after 1 1/2 months. Left the place looking like a squatters home. Apparently did open for inspection in that state??? Charged me advertising and marketing $250 from final rent… Read more

when they didn't even do anything because I took the property off them. Asked for the money back. NO REPLIES. Apparently they did some works on the home they took the fees out of my rent. Have been chasing a receipt to say it was paid for nearly 2 months now, they wont even reply. They told me I was meant to get my full bond back. they gave me a quarter of it, with no explanation and no replies either. Office lacks communication. Rude responses. Stay the hell away from this agency. Should I not get my full refund back, I will be taking legal proceedings against them.

Terrible management & service – I've been renting for well over 20 years all over the world and this company is by far the most incompetent & frustrating I've ever had to deal with. They ignore serious requests & information, they are rude and bordering on bullying, they have been taken to VCAT numerous times for the same issues. Dishonest, aggressive and not a care for their… Read more

tenants, I'm happy some reviewers have had positive experiences as I wouldn't want anyone else to go through what I did. *yes you will not find my name on your database - seems to be your go to reply when you are faced with honest feedback. Run a mile

After 15 Years Property Investing - This is THE WORST AGENCY ever experienced – Prospective landlords – AVOID & BEWARE of this so called property management agency mob for the sake of your sanity and financial well-being!!! They will make many promises in the beginning, and will offer you a few months free rent to lure your business. But once I signed up, they have easily been the most incompetent, unprofessional and also… Read more

UNETHICAL Property Management Agency I have ever dealt with. After 6 months of using this unprofessional mob to manage 2 of my investment properties in Melbourne, I can tell you even with the few months of “free management”, the resulting endless number of disasters and problems of having your investment properties/tenants poorly mis-managed is not worth the trouble. 1. The property manager promised fancy professionally edited and interior styled photos for leasing advertisement delivered within 1-2 days after photography – The reality is that after 1 week of waiting, no edited photos to show and no communication. You have to chase up and find out what is going on whilst your vacant property isn’t even advertised on the internet. After all that waiting, I still ended up with mostly unedited photos in the advertising. How embarrassing. 2. I found mistakes on their Realestate.com advertising blurb and also asked to lower the advertised rent to attract more prospective viewers – Again several days of waiting, no reply or response to my emails and calls. Eventually after many repeated emails, texts and calls – finally they amended. Could have found tenants earlier if they had followed my instructions on time. 3. Once we finally had a tenant interested in signing up, I instructed the property manager to offer a longer leasing term for a longer-term security of tenancy – The property manager again ignored my instructions and got the tenants to sign an agreement which I did not approve of. In the end, I had to literally FORCE this property manager to follow my instructions or else she will be fired the next day. In the end, the tenants were VERY HAPPY to sign an extended-term lease. All I had asked was for the property manager to put the question to them, and yet she refused for days to offer the extended term lease. 4. Once the tenants commenced on their leases, I started to find that I would regularly receive rent late for both of my properties. And each and every time – I would have to chase up with the property manager with multiple emails and calls about why the rent was late again. Each time I discovered that my property manager didn’t even have any idea the rent hadn’t been paid. Basically they don’t even monitor whether the tenants have paid their rent or not. After many frustrating emails, texts and calls each month chasing up about late rent, there was always some lame excuse about how they can’t force the tenants to pay on time. Talk about incompetency. After I switched to a new property management agency, all my tenants were promptly put on direct debit and never again did I have late rent again. In fact all the tenants were happy and had no issues going on direct debit. It just goes to show how incompetent ICPM has been in managing rental payments. They don’t monitor rental payments and worse still, even after you chase them up, they are very slow in responding to emails or calls. 5. Lastly, they are THE WORST ETHICAL property management agency I have ever encountered in Melbourne - when you finally have had enough of their incompetency and failures, and you try to switch to another agency – The owner of the company took over matters and deliberately withheld rental payments from me for more than 3 weeks and refused to hand over the tenancy files to my new property manager. They will demand that you pay them a $199 “FILE-PREPARATION FEE” PER PROPERTY before they release your own rental funds to you, essentially holding it as hostage unless you pay their ransom demands. I triple checked that this fee was not listed in the Landlord Authority contract. I also checked with several property lawyers and other landlords or well known Property Chat forums – They all agreed this was the most absurd fee they have ever heard of and that it was not only ridiculous but also illegal to charge such a fee when it is not contained in the contract which both parties signed. This unethical agency knows that even if you take them to VCAT, the worst thing that could happen to them is that they are forced to pay you the rental payment that you are owed in the first place. The law doesn’t penalise them to hold on to your rental funds and play games. They are happy to play unethical and illegal games because they know I would have had to pay VCAT application fees, and also time off work (which many landlords can’t afford to), plus who knows how long it might take to get a VCAT hearing. Meanwhile, they get to keep hold of your rightful rental funds. For all prospective landlords – I have used at least 6 other real estate agencies before to manage all my investment properties – NEVER BEFORE have I encountered such a LOWLY UNETHICAL and UNSCRUPULOUS Property Management agency before as ICPM in Melbourne. Please read all the other numerous negative reviews online which substantiate this is a mob to AVOID for your own peace of mind. For anyone who wants proof of my nightmare ordeal with them, please feel free to contact me and I am happy to provide proof of the contract I signed plus the illegal fees I was charged on the rental statements.

Very happy with the service so far – ICPM has now been managing my investment property for 10 months and so far I have been quite pleased with the service. During a routine inspection my property manager Tyla was quick to notice water stains in one of the celings and was quick to contact and liaise with the builder regarding the leak without I having to intervene (the property is… Read more

only 1yr old).

We are very glad that she has an eye for detail and picked up on the water stains during the inspection as it could have led to more damage had it gone unnoticed for longer. It re-confirmed we had made the right choice by choosing ICPM.

So far haven't had any negative experience with ICPM as a landlord but will be sure to update this review if I do come across any.

Beware! Avoid these dishonest unprofessional slippery crocked operators at all cost!