Helm Property Management & Realty Ltd - Edmonton

I lived in a helm managed property for years in Garneau. Their customer service is terrible on so many levels. If I could give them less than 1 star I would. Dishonest and manipulative.

If I could give Helm less than one star I would. The only reason they have a higher than 1 star rating on average on google is because their contractors are rating them 5 stars. Tenants and owners are all one, the people they pay are all 5...you do the math. I owned a condo that I JUST closed on managed by Helm. Neither Helm nor the Condo Board were particularly brilliant, but one instance that stands out... We were given a special assessment with payment due July 31, 2017. The letter did not state: -preferred methods of payment -due dates for particular types of payments (such as "we need to receive payments by this date so we can process by this date") I handed in an EFT Letter on July 31st first thing in the morning. I was told that because they would not be able to process the EFT until the end of August, I would be charged interest on late payment. But if I were to come to the office and hand in a cheque (late mind you, after payments were due), they would not charge me interest. So I could pay on time and get charged interest for them to process it at a time they would normally process it OR I could pay late via cheque and not get charged the interest. Helm refused to budge on this, nor was he pleasant to deal with regarding this issue. I told them they wouldn't be processing the cheque on August 1st either, so in my opinion the only reason I was charged interest was because Joel didn't want to deal with an EFT because it was more work for him. I told him that handing in the EFT on July 31st and getting charged for late payment was like a teacher taking in an assignment on Monday, but giving a late penalty because they didn't get to marking it until Wednesday. My legal office tried to get them to waive the interest fee. The office said they said no, with no reason provided. When I listed the condo, it took multiple calls from my realtor to get all of the condo docs (in fact, the 2018 budget was still outstanding and never received). If you are selling, ask for your docs early so you have them ready for your buyer. I want to maintain a review based on facts and without emotion, though there is much I could say about Helm and it's owners past endeavors. What I will say is if you are considering Helm, why? Avoid at all costs. And if you're still considering Helm, do your research. Talk to local realtors about him - they all know about him, his history and his reputation. Contact reviewers online who say they are/were board members to hear about their stories. Do your research so you don't get stuck with a poorly run, questionable company managing your property or your books.

To anyone reading this review, please do your research before utilizing the services of any company especially Helm Property Management! I would suggest visiting the Courthouse and completing a Search Request on this company. The fee is only $10.00 (plus $1.00 per page) but well worth it to get the information that will save you headaches and health issues. Charges were filed under the Public Health Act against this company. You'll need to read it to believe it. They are completely incompetent, rude, liars and down right thieves. There are much better options for professional Property Management companies than Helm.

This is the worst company we have ever dealt with, ever. They were managing a condo we owned. They are a major reason why we decided to sell it. They are unprofessional and combative. Mr Helm himself is extremely hard to deal with. He is Mr. I am always right. He does not know how to run things. My guess is they are still around because of the lack of competition in Edmonton. I could go in details and write about whole day but all other reviews gave great details of how awful this company is. We had very similar dealings and problems with them. Just read the reviews below. The few good reviews are all written by the contractors with an interest in the game. What a joke! If you buy a unit in an apartment managed by them you will have nothing but trouble until you cannot take it anymore and sell it. If you are part of a condo board and decide to work with them your real estate value will suffer. P.S. Just search the Joel Helm name online. I cannot overstate how terrible this company has been. I am so glad I don't have to deal with Mr Helm and his crew ever again.

We have owned a condo managed by HELM for years. The condo board has told me in the past HELM has taken a very large part of the management burden from them for a very reasonable price. We had a flood recently and HELM did a really great job of helping us deal with it. Not all dealings will always go your way when you rent or own a condo, but that is just the nature of living with other people. HELM sometimes has to play the bad guy when they follow condo board decisions and rules. I lived in a condo that was self managed and did suggest they call HELM, and get a quote. The stipend the board took to manage that property was probably 3 times what HELM would have charged. HELM manages a lot of properties, if you are thinking of using them for your condo, talk to other condo boards that use them. I think you will see they do a pretty good job over all.

There are so many problems with this company it is almost unbelievable. issues like not getting mail for over a month at a time, multiple times. This company is a joke.

I have lived in my condo for over a decade now... Most of that time, Helm has been the property manager. If you want lightbulbs changed or broken glass cleaned up, look elsewhere. Condo fees have almost tripled. Since our board has started losing interest, anarchy.

Helm has been so difficult to deal with since the beginning. I'm am owner and board member. Here are a few examples of incompetence and poor service. The board members will agree to have something done, then property management (helm) is supposed to do it. Months will go by and I'll follow up to see if it's completed and 9 out of 10 times it's not. I find myself CONSTANTLY reminding Paul at Helm to get it finished. There is never a good reason why it gets overlooked.If I had the say I would hire a different property management company in a heart beat. They are not proactive and they are not efficient in getting things done. Also when having issues with Paul who manages our building I have reached out to Joel Helm on several occasions to get better service or address my concerns, he reacts like it's a bother that I'm contacting him. I find this company so unprofessional. Edit: I'm going on over 4 months with water damage in my unit, still waiting for a repair or payout from management. They are not making these repairs (which they are responsible for) an easy process. Update: The payout for my flooring damage was received, after several reminders, on August 25th- MY FLOOD OCCURRED IN FEBRUARY!