I would give them a ""-5"" if I could.
Stebner Real Estate (aka Copper Mountain Real Estate) owned and managed an apartment complex I lived in for ~8 months in 2006. I paid a $695.00 security deposit and upon move out, cleaned the apartment extensively, but was returned a mere $10.50 of the total.
Stebner Real Estate cited charges for cleaning, painting, even a lock change fee (though the keys were returned), as reasons for withholding the deposit. I immediately contacted them by phone to request a review (I have always received a full refund), assuming there had been a mixup, and followed that up with a letter. To clarify, my husband and I are both medical professionals and fastidious people, and spent over 8 hours cleaning the apartment in order to assure the return of the deposit. Needless to say, when they refused to return the deposit we decided to take Derek Stebner/Stebner Real Estate to small claims court - not for the mere $695, but for the principle of the matter. Having researched him and his company in the interim we realized our situation was not unique - Google ""Students sue Stebner Real Estate, damage deposits not returned"" to see similar stories. We won our lawsuit and were awarded the full deposit plus court fees, etc., but he has failed to pay the judgement.
Apparently this is not a new phenomenon. Many others have described Derek Stebner's methods as unscrupulous; consistently not returning deposits, failing to pay court-ordered reparations, changing the name of his company (while not moving or changing the function), etc.
Be smart, be safe, and do your homework. Check out his BBB rating (an F, by the way), look up his records at Whatcom County Court, Google him and his company, then do yourself a favor - do not enter into any type of relationship with him or his company; chances are you will regret it.
more