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Very Disappointed in Property and Company Response.
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

AVON, NORTH CAROLINA -- The only factor that keeps us from rating Jekyll's Hydeout a complete 0 (zero) is the location. Everything else about this Surf or Sound property was unacceptable and the property should not have been rented in the condition we encountered upon arrival. Our issues were significant and too great to list. We spent the first four days with trades people in and around the house, fixing issues that should have been addressed before allowing anyone in. The property was not clean, had safety concerns, and was in general disrepair.

We notified Surf or Sound of these issues immediately. By the end of the fourth day most had been addressed, but the result was that we had the first 4 days of our vacation continuously interrupted. Several trades people told us of ongoing problems the property has experienced and, in their words, “it is an embarrassment.”

We met with the property manager and requested a refund in consideration of our 4 days of inconvenience. We received a form letter rejecting our request. This company had no concern for the four days of our vacation lost due to their lack of maintaining a clean and safe property. We are totally disappointed with Surf or Sound.

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Deceptive Businesses Practices
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

BUXTON, NC -- We have been going to the OBX for years. As far as Surf or Sound goes, we rented from them for 6 years. Well, never again! A couple of years ago the business went from $35 to hold a house to, in our case $500. Without the money they would not hold the house. Everything was fine until we got the bill for our 2022 stay. The rent and fees went up nearly $3000. It was a huge shock. It had been going up each year by smaller amounts, but $3000 was just too much. We just couldn't do it. It broke our hearts to tell our family that the OBX were out this year.

I tried to get our deposit back since our cancellation was due to such a big price hike. I got nowhere. I even received a call from the manager. I was told that we could transfer the deposit to another property, but it had to be done before the end of the year and could not be applied to a 2023 rental.

October has come around. It has been a rough year. My husband and I would like to get away for some relaxation. I found a condo that looked good and went to book it using our original $500. Keep in mind that we are playing by the rules set forth by Surf and Sound. A Win all around. They get to rent us a condo. We would pay the remaining amount above the$500 and everyone is happy. But no! I was told that someone would call me back. They did.

I was informed that the offer to transfer the deposit was only for 30 days. They could however use $200 of the deposit money toward the condo rental. I was further told that the only way I could use all $500 is to produce what I was told in writing from Surf or Sound. Since I dealt with all this over the phone I don't have a leg to stand on. What a load of **. Don't rent from this company!

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I DO NOT Recommend Surf or Sound Realty
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

WAVES, NORTH CAROLINA -- We will NEVER rent from Surf or Sound Realty again. This was our 6th time visiting the Outerbanks but this was our first time renting from Surf or Sound and it will definitely be our last. The place we rented (Paradise Found #218) was frankly dingy and disgusting. Clearly nothing has been replaced since the house has been inhabited. The furniture has layer upon layer of sweat and dirt. The bedding is just horrifying. It was dirty and full of holes. I have a back ache from the sunken bed and all the beds were sunken in.

There was mold in the bathroom which is a huge health hazard. Human hairball in the shower upon arrival. I could go on and on. I think the most disappointing thing is that they clearly don't post negative reviews on their website which is just wrong on so many levels. I have never posted a negative review like this but people need to know what they're wasting their money on.

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Don't Do It
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

NORTH CAROLINA -- Buyer beware. They have a stupid business model where when you find a house you want to rent on the website you 'buy' yourself a place on the "wait list". This was a few hundred (300+) and non refundable. You are given a rate for 'reference purposes' and you then wait months later to find out what the real rate is. Why don't they know? Maybe it is so they can set the rate based on current conditions and it might be hundreds more than you expect? They also add on several hundred dollars for cleaning based on the number of bedrooms (not the number of actual guests) and now I'm reading reviews of how 'filthy' some of the homes are!

The following all happened to me: Put in my request for a house May '21 (which really isn't a reservation) but got me on the wait list. Five and a half months later they still can't tell me the rate. I canceled and am out the ~300. Been visiting the Salvo area for over 20 years and always used another agency with GREAT success. The only reason I tried this agency was I really liked one of the houses they offered. I guess I'm spoiled with the agency I've used with all my past visits. Needless to say I'm back to dealing with them from now on and I've already booked my trip for May '22. Wish I would have done more research on Surf or Sound before I made this mistake. Hope that you do too.

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Summerwinds 94
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

AVON, NORTH CAROLINA -- Our rental House had a terrible smell of mold, there was mold in every vent, bathrooms, no filter for air conditioning, there were water bugs, cockroaches all over where the hot tub was and wherever it was damp in the house, the kitchen was greasy and a mess, The dock where we stood on was falling apart and did fall apart while we were there on it. My husband almost broke a leg, I did read on the reviews that this house needed some work. Obviously the owners have given up on it because now it's for sale, It is a beautiful home with beautiful views. Hopefully if it's a rental Again after the new buyers it would be a wonderful place to stay.

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Worst Realty in Outer Banks
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

FRISCO, NORTH CAROLINA -- We've been going to the Outer Banks (From Corolla to Hatteras) for 10 years. We've stayed in a different house every year as we like the fun of the surprise of exploring a new home with our family. This year we went with Surf or Sound Realty for the first time and stayed in Loggerhead. There were 15 of us (14 adults, 1 child). The issues were minor and didn't seem big at the time from the beginning of us trying to make our payments for the house using their website. It continually showed us different amounts owed, payments couldn't be processed online, etc. We had to call multiple times with excuses constantly being made about website issues. That wasn't a huge deal, just inconvenient and annoying and something to keep in mind if you choose to deal with Surf or Sound in any way.
Now for our experience with Surf or Sound and our time at Loggerhead...
We drove 14 hours and around 9:00am realized we were going to arrive to the property earlier than the 4:00pm-6:00pm check in window (the latest on the island by far, by the way). We called and the reality told us our house may be available early but they couldn't guarantee it and to give a call back when we were an hour out from the house. We did as the instructed and they said the house still wasn't ready but to try again in one hour. At 1:30pm we called again, as instructed, and were told to not call again because the check in time was no any earlier than 4:00pm. We sat down the road at the Hatteras shopping centers for 2 hours. Finally at 4:00pm we drove and decided to just park in front of the house. There was one single vehicle in the parking lot and one single individual inside. We sat there with no call or instruction from the realty until 5:24pm when they finally said the house was available. When we walked in the house was FILTHY. There was dirt, sand, wrappers and something sticky on all levels of the house on the floor. The railings were dirty. The floor boards were separating. The grill by the pool was disgusting (an understatement, honestly) with used grilling utensils all over it that had burnt and chunks of old food on them. The sink in the kitchen was leaking underneath and flooding the kitchen floor. The garbage disposal was broken and one of the dishwashers wasn't working properly. The pool was dirty and the pool net was broken. All of the dishes in the cupboards were dirty; the cutting boards smelled so foul that even after washing them by hand and running them through a cycle in the one (of two) working dishwashers the smell was still there so we couldn't use them. There were pans in the cupboards full of old water. The windows overlooking the ocean were covered in dirt, hand prints, dog nose prints, etc. You could barely see through them. We spent the first hour and a half trying to call the realty getting put on hold, talked down to, sent to voicemail, hung up on all while the 15 of us cleaned the house from top to bottom ourselves. There were bed sheets and comforters wadded in balls and thrown in the closets, the sheets on the beds were dirty. We had to rewash everything on the beds because we weren't sure what was clean and what wasn't. We finally spoke with someone at the Realty - John Tabor - who seemed to be caring and taking note of what we'd gone through. It was close to 7:00pm and he offered to send a cleaning crew out. We declined the second cleaning crew because: We had cleaned the whole house ourselves, the first cleaning crew didn't clean at all and we were beside ourselves and upset and didn't want anymore of our evening interrupted. We did request that he send someone out as soon as possible to fix the issues with the sink and dishwasher and flooding in the kitchen. Our internet and phone in the house neither one were working and we asked that he have that addressed as well. He said he'd have the Guest Services Manager call us back.
It turns out the landline phone and internet were disconnected from the outside of the home (no fault of ours). And the garbage disposal was completely broken and the sink itself was broken. These issues were corrected on Monday, our check in was Saturday. Brooke called on Monday and gave her e-mail address for us to send photos of the piles of trash, toys, dirt, etc. that we swept up on Saturday night as well as the other issues listed above. When I e-mailed her she responded very rudely and said that they offered to send a second cleaning crew out and we refused - again - we had waited HOURS and spent HOURS cleaning ourselves. Our entire first day of our vacation was wasted cleaning up messes in a house we spent nearly $5000 on. Brooke offered no apologies, she offered no refund for any of the trouble. Our pool net wasn't replaced until Wednesday - Brooke said the pool was dirty because of the sand dunes. She made no comment on the dirty bed sheets, dirty dishes, broken floor boards, light bulbs out in the bathrooms. She said the grill is the responsibility of the renters and that we'd have to clean it ourselves.
In 10 years, multiple different Realty Agencies, 10 different houses we have NEVER had a single issue. And if we've had a question at all the realty has always gone above and beyond to answer and be helpful. Surf or Sound allowed us to pay $5000 for a house that was filthy, run down, disgusting and then treated us as if we were an annoyance to them. Never making anything right. But acting as if having their broken sink fixed and the phone/internet reconnected was a favor to us. It was an extremely poor experience for us. We will NEVER rent from Surf or Sound again and will encourage all of our friends and families to avoid them at all cost in the future.

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Terrible Customer Service
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

AVON, NORTH CAROLINA -- Surf or Sound does not have good business practices. I have rented from Surf or Sound several times in the past and decided to use them again this year. I have been going through negotiations with Ronni for two weeks throughout Thanksgiving for surf music. She called me several times to state that she was working with the owner but please work with them because of the Holiday. I did just that, waited patiently.

On Monday, November 28th, I received a call from Ronni stating that the owner has approved my offer. She told me to call her back, but that she was off on Tues and Wed and I could call back and speak to anyone "OR IF YOU wanted to WAIT for her" to call her on Thursday and she would reserve my reservation. I decided to wait since she knew my case and offer, I mean, she did say OR wait for me. There was no urgency in the message that if you do wait, someone else can pay the full price and the home would be gone.

I called on Thursday at 8:15am as her VM said and tried to pay for the home. Ronni told me that something was wrong and she would contact me right back. She never called. I received a confirmation email that night for "beach music." I emailed her to say I reserved "Surf Music." The next morning she calls me to say "oh I'm sorry," in the meantime someone reserved the place and paid full price so the owner accepted that. I called Dana the so-called manager to explain, how could something like this happen when the owner already accepted my offer. I called to pay and reserve, and now someone else has it.

Mind you, I waited for two weeks and bared with them because of their Holiday schedule. After being a loyal customer for three visits. Dana could care less. She wanted me to send her the VM from Ronni to prove that Ronni told me to wait. Are you kidding me? Then she went on to say that she would call the owner and tell him there was an issue after receiving my VM proof. Wow. why would I lie when I have the VM?

Dana goes on to give me a crook scenario "If you went to buy a car and you negotiated a deal at a lower rate, it was accepted and someone else came with a higher price while you were off getting the cashier check, the owner would take it." NO Dana I'm sorry, that's not how the world works. That's why it's called negotiating a deal! Once you give your approval and seal the deal, it's sealed.

Why would you put a customer through mess instead of trying to rectify the issue after you advised of the owner approving the offer. I would recommend you heed this place, as there are numerous places that rent beautiful homes. We had memories at this house and really wanted to go back, but after dealing with Dana and Ronni, I will never use Surf or Sound and I see why their reviews are horrible. Notice they only respond to the good reviews but no apologies whatsoever on the bad reviews. Sad sad company.

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Disgusting, Moldy House
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

AVON, NORTH CAROLINA -- When we checked into Sundance (#771) in Rodanthe, we were disappointed that it had not been cleaned well at all. There were noodles in the sink, dirty laundry in the washing machine and crumbs on the floor. Upon closer inspection we found mold all over the house! Around the can lights, on the air conditioning vents and around light switches. The bath tub jets were moldy and there is a wet spot indication an active leak in the house. The entire first floor smells like mold/mildew. When we contacted the rental office, we were told there was nothing they could do except send out housekeeping again.

The manager of housekeeping came along with another woman from the office. Even they admitted that the smell in the home was musty and mildewed. Dana, the office manager, was rude and said she contacted the owner to ask for a refund (she claims our agreement is with him, not SOS but would not allow us to contact him). He refused. We are disgusted that the company continues to market this property at this price knowing that there is mold in the home.

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Service is lacking for properties they manage and customers
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

AVON, NORTH CAROLINA -- We vacation in the outer banks every year and decided to try a VRBO this time. What a mistake!! The house had several annoying
***published here https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/vrbo.com#969***

maintenance issues like the door knob falling off, broken bed frame, broken storm door and inoperable gas fireplace. The more concerning issue was the gas oven that would only function in broiler mode and occasionally shot surges of fire. This was not only a huge inconvenience but posed a safety issue as well.

We contacted the management company Surf or Sound Realty numerous times for the fireplace and oven but received their daily mantra "someone will be out today or tomorrow". Finally an appliance repairman came the sixth day of our seven day vacation and told us the oven would not be fixed, then promptly left. No one ever came for the fireplace.

When we expressed our anger about not having a working oven for our entire stay the service manager, Chris said she could pick up our dinner that night, take it, bake it and bring it back to us. I was a bit shocked at this ludicrous solution. We paid a lot of money for this vacation property with the expectation that it had working appliances.

All of the maintenance issues were present when we arrived and should have been addressed after the previous renters and prior to our entry. If a necessary appliance is not working and could not be repaired in a reasonable time, we should have received an apology and compensation for the inconvenience. Instead, they did not seem to care at all.

With a beach rental property it is important to have a good management company handling things. This is vital from the owner's and renter's perspectives. As a renter, I would never waste my money on a property managed by Surf or Sound Realty again. If I owned this property, I would be looking for another management company immediately.

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They Just Don't Care
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

AVON, NORTH CAROLINA -- We just finished a 1 week stint at a beautiful home rented through Surf or Sound. Although the home was everything advertised, the rental company was less than accommodating when it came to issues. When we arrived, we were greeted by a LARGE pile of dirty linens left in the hallway and a God awful stench. I called Surf or Sound and was told that it would be taken care of immediately.

Immediately turned out to be 24 hours later and only a fraction of the linens were removed from the hall, the bedrooms were in disarray and the stench remained. Upon further investigation we found dirty diapers left in a variety of areas. We also found blood in one of the showers and on the shower curtain. The kitchen was filthy with dried on food on the stove, counters, refrigerator, and sinks.

My repeated attempts to contact Surf or Sound went unanswered and we spent the better part of the day armed with cleaning supplies. Additionally, the pool was full with debris, which we cleaned out and the hot tub had no chemicals. Again our repeated requests for service went unanswered. Seems like they were more than happy to take our money, but service levels went downhill once their payment was received. We plan on future trips to OBX and are actually looking at investment property in the area, but will not associate with this rental firm again.

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Surf or Sound Realty Rating:
Star Empty star Empty star Empty star Empty star
1.1 out of 5, based on 20 ratings and
21 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Surf or Sound Realty
40974 NC Highway 12
Avon, NC 27915
1-800-237-1138 (ph)
www.surforsound.com
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