I lived in one of Yelson's properties in college. This dude is a SLUM LORD. He didn't give two F's about his properties and often rents to young college students knowing they aren't going to take issue with the way he manages his properties. The worst thing he did is withhold our entire security deposit because we had chairs on the roof. We never did. He then showed up picture dents in the roof from the chairs. There were NO dents. It was one of the most bizarre conversations of my life. He was literally standing there pointing to a photo saying "see!" and it was like no....nobody has a clue what you're talking about. It was like being told up it down and left is right. He can take the photo in his oddly orange manicured hand, and stick it.

The Marlen/Yelson Group were Horrible Landlords. My daughter and her roommates had to endure roaches, great amount of mice and other pests! There was a squirrel living in my daughter's bedroom ceiling and nothing was done until I threatened to put the rent in escrow. I found out that the property was being sold and called the office to let them know that although the property was listed for sale Yelson/Marlen was till responsible for the upkeep of the place. Well, the young lady on the phone did not think that they had to fix the issues. I gave them a week to get rid of the squirrel in the ceiling and fix the water issue in the basement. When the repairs were not started or even looked at, I called them back and told them if things were not repaired I would not be paying the rent and would contact the city and then put the rent in escrow Still Nothing Was Done. When the new owners took over the property repairs were made as soon as I informed them of the issues. Squirrel was trapped and gone within 48 hours and repairs were made to the roof line, to prevent squirrels from getting back into the house. The new owners decided to stop renting all the properties included in the Juniper Court location because, as the new owner told me, "the properties were in such serious need of repair that they did not feel it was safe to have people living in them." My daughter and her roommates were told by the new owners that they would receive the entire deposit back and that they did not have to do anything for this because the property was in such disrepair. When we finally moved our daughter and her roommates out and returned to double check that everything they owned was out my husband and I saw at least 9 or 10 mice running around the first floor. We didn't even bother to take some of the furniture because we were afraid that we would carry the vermin ans pests into the new rental. RUN AWY FROM ANY PROPERTIES MANAGED BY THIS COMPANY! They are THE VERY WORST!!!!

Renting from the Marlen Yelson Corporation is the worst idea. They are by far the worst landlords I have ever had. First, they never ever answer their phones. Their office hours (I lived above the office) was only 10 to 2 M-F with a 2 hour lunch break in the middle (it might vary), and they never answer emails unless it had to do with them being paid. It was impossible to get ahold of them to address any maintenance issues. We spent a month without the stove/oven, or the disposal working. We had to wash dishes in the tub a couple of times. They go over the floors with some sort of seal, that is so thick, it has staples sticking up out of it. Dealing with getting the security deposit back was a nightmare. They still have not answered any of my emails, and I just received this today. We moved out 32 days before this check was dated (against the law in Pennsylvania where they need to return the security deposit within 30 days). Their reasoning for what was withheld is also completely ridiculous. I scrubbed that kitchen (which came ***** to begin with) until it was as spotless as possible, the bathroom also has mold caked on there, it needed to be addressed years ago, but apparently that is our fault. Lastly, we hung shelves in the apartment, heavy ones, because of the lack of storage space, and decided to do a nice thing by cutting the time to repair the walls in half (I work in a gallery setting where we do this all the time) by spackling. I did not have the time to wait for them to dry to sand them, but I figured it was still a huge help. It does not cost $675 in labor or materials to sand and paint over speckled holes. If I had the right paint color, and dry spackle, I could have done it myself in 15 minutes. Would they have preferred giant holes in their walls and to spend the extra materials and labor in their holes, or would we just have been charged more? (also illegal, since they cannot charge for usual wear and tear... such as hanging shelves and pictures). On top of all of this, their note is EXTREMELY rude. If this security deposit was more money, I would definitely take them to court, since I actually have a case (which is ridiculous). They are horrible people to work with, and will try to take as much money as possible from you. Do not rent from them if you can help it.

In the three years I lived in an apartment managed by Michael Yelson and the Marlen Corporation, we had to threaten to withhold rent twice in order to get needed repairs completed in time. One time we had severe water damage due to Hurricane Irene and the other time our floors were bending due to leaks from water pipes. Additionally, when I moved out he refused to refund my entire security deposit, claiming I had not completed needed repairs to a bicycle mount I installed. I had begun those repairs and had the permission of the current tenant for more time but that mattered not to him. Again, the only time I could get communication from him was through threatening legal action. Even though the rents are low for his buildings, do not rent from Michael Yelson or the Marlen Corporation - they will have shoddy repair men and slow service.