Updated 3 months ago on . Most recent reply
Sevierville Property Management Review - Homebase
We had a very poor experience with Homebase managing our short-term rental in Sevierville, TN, and I would strongly caution other owners—especially out-of-state owners—before working with them.
Homebase took over our property after acquiring or absorbing our prior management company, so this was not a firm we actively vetted or chose. Unfortunately, the problems we experienced over the following year and a half were significant and ongoing.
During our year and a half with Homebase, we cycled through three different “boots on the ground” property managers, which led to a complete lack of continuity and accountability. The first manager was eventually removed for poor performance just after they were pushing us to get repairs done with him. Homebase then told us they were still waiting on our approval for the repairs we had already approved through that first manager, and subsequently failed to obtain a revised quote from the new company they said would be handling the work.
When a new quote finally arrived, it did not account for work already completed by the first manager, despite Homebase repeatedly and incorrectly confirming that the new manager had reviewed everything and that the quote was accurate. We later discovered that this repair company was run by the husband of the second on-site manager, making it highly unlikely that legitimate competitive bids were obtained to ensure fair pricing or quality.
That same manager left the company after completing approximately $3,000 of driveway work, which we paid for, along with an additional $1,000 for repairs that were never completed. When we requested reimbursement for the incomplete work, Homebase stated that we should not have paid the contractor whom they explicitly instructed us to work with directly. They refunded only $250, resulting in a $750 loss on work that was never done.
When we finally terminated our agreement with Homebase, we were told we owed over $2,000 in cancellation fees—fees that had never been previously disclosed or discussed. Ironically, the third property manager (who was actually competent and helpful) later discovered that these fees were tied to an entirely different property that Homebase had mistakenly placed on our account. While that error was partially corrected, the following month Homebase cleared out our entire owner balance, leaving us short $570, which we had to chase down and was eventually paid in an off-cycle correction.
Perhaps most concerning was the lack of basic property security oversight. When a realtor visited our home, there were unscheduled guests staying in the property. To this day, we do not know whether these were prior guests who still had access because door codes were not changed, or unauthorized use by someone with inside access. Either scenario is unacceptable.
Had we not actively managed the management company ourselves, we estimate we would have lost over $3,000, in addition to having unknown individuals occupying our home.
Homebase charges 20% of rental income, which is a substantial fee. In return, we expected competent local management, reliable vendor coordination, cost controls, and assurance that our home was secure. None of those expectations were met. As out-of-state owners, the entire value proposition is strong local oversight and trusted repair coordination—precisely where Homebase failed.
Based on our experience, I do not recommend Homebase. Their operational controls, vendor management, financial accuracy, and on-the-ground execution were consistently lacking, creating financial risk and unnecessary stress for owners.