This is a story about dealing with a Colorado realtor, Blue Sage Realty. Blue Sage Realty employees were rude and awful to deal with, and actually kicked us out of the leasing office when we asked for an in-writing solution to the problem of a nonfunctional air conditioner. In short, this story has been posted as a warning to anyone else: do not deal with Blue Sage realty. They will make you miserable.
Blue Sage Realty in Colorado Sucks
My fiancee and I were looking for houses to rent in Colorado and found one that looked like a good size in our price range, so we scheduled a viewing with Blue Sage Realty in Colorado, the management company for the property. When my fiancee and I showed up to the place to look around, the kitchen floor had just been cleaned, and the fridge had been pulled out of the kitchen, blocking the doorway. We were unable to see the kitchen or anything that could only be reached by walking through the kitchen, meaning we were unable to see the kitchen, the dining room, the garage, the porch, or the back yard.
Despite being unable to see half the house, we loved it, and sent an application (and a check) within an hour of leaving. Our credit was checked (we have great credit), our current landlord was called (we’ve been great tenants), and we were approved for the house within a day.
Johleen Belliston, a Blue Sage Realty employee, told us we were approved and we should come in to sign the lease. We explained that we had not yet seen the entire unit, and she warned us that if we didn’t act fast that we might lose the house to another renter. Worried, we scheduled another showing as soon as we could.
The second time through the house, we were able to walk into every room. The problem was that the electricity didn’t work upstairs, and the A/C wasn’t running. This prevented us from seeing any upstairs rooms without windows, since lights couldn’t be turned on. It also meant we couldn’t stay upstairs long, since it was extremely hot. We still liked the house a great deal, but were concerned that if the A/C didn’t do a good job, it would be unlivable.
Though we were being pressured into signing a lease immediately after this second showing, we wanted to think things over and measure our furniture to make sure everything would fit, and she once again tried bullying us with threats that someone else may snatch up the house. Worried again, we scheduled a lease signing for the next morning.
We were concerned that the A/C may not fully cool the house, and we expressed our concern to Johleen at Blue Sage Realty. I also asked that the carpets, which were heavily stained, be shampooed. She told us we were being “nitpicky“.
We met with her the next day to sign the lease, pay stubs and money order in hand, as requested. Johleen from Blue Sage Realty explained that the A/C worked fine, but that sometimes A/Cs don’t cool a whole house that well, and hey, shit happens. I was going to ask for an in-writing assurance the A/C would work, but Johlene refused to do so before I could even ask.
We requested the lease be amended to give us 30 days after move-in to evaluate the A/C, the electricity, and see the upstairs bathroom for the first time. We had hoped that they wouldn’t think we were jerking them around, since we’d be unlikely to pay for moving expenses and then leave after 30 days just to be annoying, but 30 days would also give us time to make sure everything worked correctly. We thought this was a good solution for everyone.
Johleen sighed with annoyance and said she’d get her manager. The manager for Blue Sage Realty, Kathryn MacGeraghty, entered the room, already irritated, and asked what we wanted. I re-explained, politely, that it’d be nice to get 30 days to make sure that everything in the house worked. She curtly told us that was unheard of and “not going to happen.” “No,” she said.
I told her that she was being a bit rude, and she told me “Well, you’re free to leave.”
I asked her if this was how their company was going to be as landlords. If our roof was leaking and we called them, would they tell us we were being nitpicky? She told me, “I’m rejecting your application. Get out.”
So we left. It was unfortunate, since the house was so nice, but it seemed clear that they’d be awful landlords. I just want to get this story out there so that anyone else looking for homes in the Colorado area knows what they’re getting into with Blue Sage Realty.
Just to make sure everyone knows the exact company I’m talking about, it’s Blue Sage Realty in Colorado, located at:
Blue Sage Realty, Inc
8471 Turnpike Dr, Suite 220
Westminster, CO 80031
(303) 432-9898 Office
http://www.bluesagerealtyinc.com
UPDATE: As if there need to be any other reasons to avoid Blue Sage Realty, this story goes on.
Not long after making this post, someone made a comment on the blog about their own experience with Blue Sage Realty. He explained that he and two friends rented a house from Blue Sage Realty for two years. They cleaned the house thoroughly when they moved out and even took video footage. In the end, Blue Sage Realty only returned part of their deposit, citing them for multiple problems. They had asked for a walk through of the final inspection, but Blue Sage Realty did it without them, giving them no chance to dispute the claims. The check that Kathryn wrote for the portion of the deposit that she DID return was written incorrectly, preventing the commenter from cashing it. Kathryn refused to write a corrected check until the commenter removed negative comments about Blue Sage Realty on other sites.
After fighting with Blue Sage Realty for months, they were able to get the money they were owed. However, though Kathryn sent them the the check, she reported it to a debt collection agency anyway, destroying the credit rating of the three renters. The commenter then decided to take the issue to the Better Business Bureau.
That’s where the story ended according to the comment. However, four months after leaving the comment the commenter e-mailed me personally to ask me to remove the comment. He had gotten Blue Sage Realty to agree to fix his credit rating, on the condition that he remove all negative comments about the company that he made, including the one on my blog.
This isn’t really surprising, as Blue Sage Realty has a habit of trying to silence its critics. For example, when I first posted the story above, I cross-posted it on Yahoo! Local on the Blue Sage Realty page. Suddenly, two brand new accounts (made at the same time and with no other reviews on the site) posted positive reviews of the company. This was clearly Blue Sage Realty trying to push my negative review to the second page. Other commenters pointed out that Blue Sage Realty was clearly trying to silence critics, so Blue Sage Realty actually renamed the company on Yahoo! Local to “B2B, Incorporated” so that searches would no longer pull up the page.
They created a new entry for themselves (complete with their own 5-star review). That page, too, has become overrun with negative reviews.
Now Kathryn is demanding that people she has treated poorly in the past retract their comments about the company in order to make things right. Apparently Kathryn would rather silence critics than actually treat people professionally and earn positive commentary honestly.
Absolutely No Machete Juggling is a blog about software, programming, computers, and me. I'm a programmer working in Colorado, mostly with Java and Ruby. 
I looked at a property at the broadlands which blue sage was managing. I would have to tell you that I was appauled at the property. It was trashed, trash, cigarettes, filthy! You had to walk around stuff to get anywhere. Blue Sage seemed not bothered at all! I wouldn’t rent from them for this reason!
She got us at 5 white Pelican Cir. Thornton CoI have a 38 yr old daughter with tubes in her kidneys and totaly disable like a 3 month old and Johleen gave us 30 days to get at end of lease. now really not going to happen find a place ,take care of my daughter, her trips to hospital every 3 to 4 weeks to have tubes changed, work and take care of family. She was so nasty when I told her I was going to the news with this .oh well. well bigger one yet for you
on july 3 2010 was leaving for work at about 8:30 pm to take care of Home Healthcare Client and with a boot on left foot , went out the door down the ramp to my car didnt make there , the boot on my foot through me forward and there was nothing to crab on to no rail on wall nothing and I broke my other foot . all they did was but a rail up well no talk about lose of work for 2 months and a wheel chair or offer of Medical tobe paid for.. Guess what yes they are going tobe sued . I have an lawyer that has been working on case for 10 months now just incase something like this happened . If you want to play with fire you get burned I dont play games with my daughters life. They will get ””””””’ Thank you for putting this up people need to see it
Thanks for the blog!!!!! I am looking for a place in Westminster and will stay clear of this place. Thanks again
I answered the add and said that I was interested in looking at a property that was for rent. The next day I got a e-mail from a man named Matt Schell who’s the owner of the property but is now living in West Africa Nigeria working for WOW, (World Health Organization) and would be back in four years and that he hopes that we would take care of the house for him. He also said to call him at any time with questions and gave a phone number that was 15 numbers long. The house is being rented by Blue Sage and was listed for $700. Plus $700. Dept. Now I should tell you that the house is in Rock Creek in Superior and is an upscale neighborhood. There is a house about 5 doors down that is renting for $1,800. Monthly. This was strange to me. I called the local # and just get the run around. The company seems to be shady.
“Me”:
I’m so glad to hear you say that. I showed your comment to my wife and her first reaction was “I really hope this person takes this to the news.”
I am turning all of these stories into Channel 2 & Channel 9 news…I am going to expose Kathryn for who she really is!
Wow, “Me”. That sucks, I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with them.
It’s amazing how many people have posted here and on the yahoo local page for blue sage – it appears that dozens of people in the area have been burned by this company. Their current rating on the BBB is an “F”.
I’m really glad that you found this page with a Google search. I wish you could have found it and avoided doing business with Blue Sage Realty beforehand, but the fact that you found it after easily means at least some people are avoiding your fate because of it.
I thought this company was awful, but I had no idea just how awful it is.
From the beginning we had problems with Blue Sage Realty (Kathryn MacGeraghty) It started at Lease Signing when we had concerns regarding the condition of the rental property. The property was in terrible condition due to the prior tenants which consisted of 4 collage boys…that had destroyed a lot. The carpet was in very poor condition with numerous stains, Holes in the doors and walls, plumbing and tile issues in the bathrooms, and very unsanitary conditions. Despite the condition of the property it was in the area we wanted to be in, and was 1 block from the Elementary School for our daughter, and we decided that as long as Blue Sage was willing to complete all necessary repairs, and clean the home that we would take it!
When signing the lease Kathryn was very irritated about all the repairs that she would need to complete. We asked for carpet replacement in 2 of the upstairs bedrooms which were saturated with motor oil stains, and other red stains of some kind. Kathryn said that they refuse to replace the carpet, but would have it cleaned by professionals…she became very rude at this point, and unhelpful which should have been our first hint that we were entering into a bad situation.
I had visited the property approximately 2 times before our move-in date to see how repairs and cleaning were coming along. On my second visit there were a handyman and his wife at the property appearing to do some cleaning and repairs, but the house was still in the same condition the first time we had ever looked at it. I asked the woman who appeared to be cleaning in the kitchen area what Kathryn advised her to clean, and she advised that Kathryn told her not to clean the bathrooms, and to do a brief run through on window seals blinds fans etc, but no deep cleaning. At this point the carpet had not been cleaned, and not much else outlined in the work orders had been complete. There was still a few days before our move-in date, and I was optimistic that they would have all work orders complete.
I contacted Kathryn at this point to confirm that all work orders would be complete before our move-in date, and to advise that we decided to have the two bedrooms upstairs re-carpeted at our own expense; as our children would be residing in these rooms, and no amount of cleaning would make the carpet sanitary at this point.
On our move-in date it was scheduled with Kathryn to conduct a walk-through of the premises, and make the exchange of the security deposit for the keys to the property. I contacted Kathryn 2 hours before our appointment to see if we could let the carpet installers in the property so that the carpet would be done before we started moving our items in. Kathryn was very rude and advised that I could not be let in, and that the carpet would have to wait until after our walk-through. Disappointed I was able to get the carpet installers to come at a later time.
Upon meeting with Kathryn to conduct the walk through we discovered that the property was not clean, prior tenant items were still on the premises, and several other work orders had not been complete. Kathryn provided me a walk through form and said that there was to much too list, and was not going to wait for me to fill it out, but to drop it her office when I was done, but to not be too nit picky about everything that was wrong with the property. At this point we already had our moving van full of our belongings, and were beyond a point of no return. I asked Kathryn if there could be something done about the security deposit since I was going to have to clean, remove prior tenants items, re-carpet, and wait for the rest of the work orders to be complete. Kathryn advised that she would except half of the security deposit now, and agreed to allow me to pay $100 a month along with my rent on the remaining balance of the security deposit. I advised her that the other half of the security deposit should be waived all together; as we were being stuck with all of their responsibilities. She refused my request and left me with no choice but to agree to her terms of the $100 per month.
In addition Kathryn made me pay full months of rent up-front before move-in, and we moved in half way through the month. I advised her that the rent should be prorated, and she said that is not how they do things at Blue Sage Realty, and that with all the repairs that needed to be done they needed my money to pay for it. Kathryn also turned on Excel Electric Services on in my name 15-days prior to our move-in date.
After moving in to the property Blue Sage Realty did not fulfill the in-complete work orders, and we discovered a major plumbing issue coming from the master bathroom that was leaking through the walls down to the bottom level. I then wrote a letter advising that original work orders were not complete, and that there are plumbing issues that require immediate attention, and advised that there may be a mold problem in the drywall caused from the plumbing issues. Also advised that these were the terms of the lease, and that I expect them to make good on our legal binding agreement, and that compensation was in order for making us wait so long for the repairs, and that again the remaining balance of the security deposit should be waived. In return I received a letter from Kathryn advising that I am out of line for asking them to complete the work orders and that I signed a lease stating I would take the property as is. She also advised that they will not accept my walk-through form stating all of the issues on the property because it was not turned in within 7 days (see attached letter)
I then responded with another correspondence outlining each work order in the lease agreement that was not complete referencing each specific section in the lease, and also asked where or when it was stated that I only had 7 days to turn in the walk through form. (see attached) At this point I was very upset, and decided to give Kathryn a direct phone call to try and come up with a resolution. When Kathryn answered the phone she started yelling at me, and told me that I need to just pack up my things and leave the property. I told her that her behavior was out of line, and that if she did not want take responsibility for her obligations then I would lodge a formal complaint with the BBB, Realtors Association etc.
After my terrible encounter on the phone with Kathryn she sent another correspondence outlining which work orders were complete and not complete. (see attached)
At this point it was scheduled to have their so called handy man come over and start working on the repairs that were outstanding. The handy man was quite incompetent, and still did not fix everything as promised by Kathryn in her replying correspondence.
I once again contacted Blue Sage and asked when the rest of the work orders were going to be complete, and they said they would send the handyman back out in a couple of weeks to finish as he went on vacation. After 3 months of residing at the property the repairs were never finished.
Now a new issue arises again regarding the plumbing in the master bathroom. I contacted Blue Sage and advised that we can no longer use our master bathroom as the leaking was extensive, and that I believed my family and I are suffering of mold inhalation. Janna (in charge of work orders) advised for me to submit a work order via their Blue Sage Realty website. I submitted the work order, and did not receive a response after 1 week’s time. I called Janna and asked how long it was going to take to get this resolved, and she advised that she never received my work order, and that they would not schedule any repairs until they received it. I then got back online and submitted the work order yet again. I called Janna back to confirm that she received it this time, and advised that we are going on 2 weeks with no master bath, and that the mold situation needed to be looked at immediately as they were advised back in May when we moved in that there was a possible mold issue due to the plumbing issues. Janna advised that she needed to speak with the owner and Kathryn to see how they were going to handle.
With the ongoing issues at this point I decided to pay my full months rent, but not my $100 towards the security deposit until the necessary repairs and mold investigation were complete. I called Janna to advise her of my decision, and that she could speak to Kathryn about it; as I did not want to take another verbal lashing from Kathryn.
On Friday 9-11-09 a gentleman came to the property with Janna to test the moisture in the walls. As the gentleman was in the bathrooms Janna asked if I had decided to pay my $100 towards the security deposit, and I told her no…not until repairs are complete. The gentleman and Janna left the property, and told me she would keep me informed on the next step. Later that day another man came to the property to look at the master bath tile, and drywall issues…he left and said he would report to Janna his findings. At approximately 6pm Kathryn shows up at the property with a letter titled “Demand for rent or Possession” I asked Kathryn what this was for and she advised that I have 3 days to pay the remaining balance owed on the security deposit or I would be evicted, I told her that we have an agreement that it was to be paid on a monthly basis
, and the reason I hadn’t paid it this month is because there were immediate repair issues left unaddressed by her and her organization. She said too bad you have 3 days, and then literally ran from me back to her car.
I then went in the house and reviewed the paper she had handed to me and it stated on their that she was demanding a balance of rent unpaid….when infact I had paid rent in full…so she handed be an inaccurate document for intimidation purposes.
I then made out a check for the $100 that I did not pay plus a late fee assessed (which I am not even sure they can access late fees on a security deposit), and wrote a note to Kathryn advised that the “demand for rent or possession” letter she handed me was incorrect, and that I am providing her a check to make me current on our security deposit agreement, and that I expect the repairs to get done immediately, and that it is terrible that she treats people in this manner. I dropped the check off and the note in a drop box at her office.
After thinking about the events that had taken place overnight I came to the conclusion that the real reason Kathryn was demanding this money was probably to make the necessary repairs at the property, and that if this was her response to our repair issues that this is retaliation! Furthermore a Security Deposit is not for the landlord to make repairs…if this was her intention she was sadly mistaking.
I then decided to “Google” Blue Sage Realty, and Kathryn MacGeraghty’s name on the internet, and I was shocked to find that I am one of many…many tenants that have encountered Kathryn’s unethical practices, and abuse. Please see links below for all people who have decided to speak out against Blue Sage Realty. This company that Kathryn is running must be stopped before they are able to inflict anymore pain on hard working tenants and their families. I will be taking this matter as far as I can, and use all resources at my disposal to reveal Kathryn’s illegal, unethical, and harmful ways of conducting business.
To sum it up…
• Blue Sage Realty charged me a full month’s rent before move-in to cover the cost of repairs that were never even done. We moved in halfway through May of 09’ and should have been prorated.
• We were forced to move into a property that was unsanitary with harmful living conditions, and work orders outlined in the lease agreement that still to date have not been completed. It took me 15 hour days for two weeks to clean the mess that the prior tenants left behind; as if it isn’t already stressful enough moving and unpacking in the first place.
• My husband and I have replaced carpeting in 2 rooms, painting in several rooms, replaced all electrical outlets, and light fixtures; as the outlets and light fixtures at the property at time of move-in were in dangerous conditions.
• My husband was forced to hand move the decaying double door fridge that was at the property from prior tenants; out of the house in order for Kathryn to agree to remove it as promised.
• Kathryn refused to accept my walk through form.
• Verbal abuse, bullying, intimidation from Kathryn when asking that repairs be completed.
• Received a document from Kathryn that was inaccurate claiming that my rent was not paid in full, and that I am going to be evicted.
• Excel energy services were turned on in my name by Kathryn MacGeraghty 15- days before we even resided in the residence.
• Blue Sage Reality does not provided an outdoor drop box for rent…instead they have the drop box inside of a building that is locked. Blue Sage Realty’s door is always locked.
Holy Jesus. Blue sage sucks.
Sorry, JR. Let me know how the BBB stuff works out.
This comment has been removed at the request of the commenter
You are lucky you didn’t sign with them. Our landlords (Metro Brokers-also in Colorado) are just as bad.
Yeah blue sage sucks! My boyfriend and I rented a place from them and its been the worst landlord I’ve ever had. They pulled that same stuff about signing the lease. When we showed up on the day we were to move in, we realized they hadn’t had the house cleaned at all. The carpets were stained with all sorts of weird stuff, there was dust everywhere, pop cans, trash, food caked on to the fridge, oven etc. Then when we asked them to clean it and fix the carpets, they told us they wouldn’t do anything about the carpets and only cleaned some of it and acted like we were being picky and it took them a week to get that done- meanwhile we were stalling on moving in all of our furniture hoping they would clean it. I’ve rented from a lot of places and I’ve never dealt with this level of unprofessionalism, and lack of costumer service skills. Whatever you do-don’t rent from them!!!! Its been a nightmare!
[...] Here’s the post. [...]
[...] buddy Rod recently had a really bizarre and unprofessional experience at Blue Sage Realty. It sounds like a good place to avoid at all costs. You can read more about his experience [...]
Wow. If I got ‘service’ like that, I’d be throwing D-cell batteries all around the office.
Wow sorry to hear you’ve had such a horrible experience in finding a place to live. Hopefully karma will hit them back hard soon. On the upside you aren’t actually going to have to deal with them ever again. Our first landlord was awful he tried to charge us to have the heat fixed.
Catherine,
I actually did just that. Got the owner’s name, but I can’t find a phone number for them.
I bet with some easy peasy searching you could find the owner’s name of the house and let them know why their mortgage isn’t being covered this month. Not that karma won’t take care of Blue Sage Realty all on her own.
[...] new place in Colorado. After a lot of searching they found a house they liked that is managed by Blue Sage Realty. You can read for yourself, but he was treated horribly by them. Despite the problems I am [...]