John Santiago, Real Estate Agent

I am a previous tenant to one of Mr. Santiagos rental properties. Over the course of our 4 years of tenancy we maintained the property soley ourselves due to his neglect. In that time he put zero money into the property and only pocketed. In 2019 after notifying him multiple times of the septic tank leaking into the front yard and the smell, he sent someone to service it for the first and only time. We stood as he conversed with the service worker where he openly admitted "I haven't had it pumped in 5-7 years". The worker stated that because he failed to perform very basic maintenence, the field lines backed up and the entire system is in need of immediate replacement. This being an expensive repair he chose to instead ignore it and two weeks later the tank filled back up. Being 10 ft from the living room window and the fact that the sewage runs directly downhill into a natural body of water is alarming. The smell was unbearable and we were unable to spend time outside or let our child utilize the land. It had a constant flow into the front yard for nearly 3 years until we moved. Our living situation at that home only continued to depreciate as time went on. The septic was a hazard and we became concerned for our health and the health of those around us. After contacting the Georgia Health Department they confirmed he was in serious violation. Even after being aware of the current state of his property he notified us that he was raising our rent from $1,695 to $2,000 starting January 1st. He had no plans to fix anything so we moved into a much nicer and healthier home January 2023. More than likely what he's done since we moved is bandaid the septic by pumping it and pour funds into purley cosmetic upgrades to rent the house for more money. The septic sytem is just one of several necessary repairs that this home was in desperate need of. The foundation of the house has been washed out heavily due to not having any gutters. The windows let in a serious draft and our electric bill was unbelievably high due to the cooling/heating system trying to compensate for terrible insulation. The "bonus" room had zero heating/cooling or insulation. There's a storage room that had open holes to the outside where rats, squirrels and snakes made they're way into the home throughout the year. The Ac unit was very old and in need of replacement. It would stop completely and we would have to open the access door in the hallway to mitigate it. Anything electrical was always questionable because he doesn't hire licensed professionals he prefers to save money and do everything himself. He also does not have a property manager so any maintence requests have to go through him. We've had outlets spark and nearly start a fire. The updates he's preformed since our tenancy are what he does best. Paint and cover any existing problems the best he can. As these bandaids start to wear the next tenant will easily be able to tell the true condition. Black mold was present in many areas that im sure have been covered instead of treated. A previous tenant of his has also left a yelp review you can find stating a similar situation at a different property. I highly reccomend avoiding John Santiagos rental properties for your health and the health of your family.
May 31st, 2023

Jun 9th, 2019