Nearing the end of my lease at 8221 Mount Vernon Hwy and dreading continued hurdles ahead. This rental is proving to be far more costly than what any reasonable person can expect. Heating oil has become the largest frustration. Chambers claims that the oil tank was full at move in, referencing the previous tenant filling the tank at move out, two months (Mar-Apr) before my occupancy, during which both bathrooms were renovated. There is no fill gauge to verify contents. The 560-gallon tank seems to have ran out after heating the 1480 sq ft house from late Oct - mid Feb. I contacted Chambers after the furnace cut out to let them know I believe it ran out of fuel, and they reminded me that per the lease I'm required to have it filled by TJ Fannon & Sons. TJ Fannon quoted over $2,500 to fill - 33% over market rate per government data and an independent quote. Despite concern over fuel level at move in, furnace efficiency, and potential tank leakage, I offered to have the tank filled by an alternative supplier. Chambers is refusing to allow the tank to be filled by anyone but TJ Fannon due to preference. Chambers is also refusing to provide the supporting documents referenced to TJ Fannon as a basis for the lease requirement. Chambers also failed to provide waste receptacles for established trash service at move in, resulting in weeks of trial and error with different services to have reliable waste service. Otherwise, we have had continuous visits from pest control, property management, maintenance for other services that have been a disruption. Chambers may be an alright management company for residences designed for rent, but they have proven not be a fitting partner elsewhere. We hope sharing our experience prevents others from being expected $750+/mo for heat. read more

We've been with Chambers Theory for three years and two tenants now, and we've been thrilled with their work. We live overseas and this is our first time as landlord. Chambers has guided us through every step in the process. In particular, Kate on their leasing team and Hannah on the client care team have taken great care of us. read more

Always sharp response for any issue that emerged. Professional communication and attitude

Chambers theory They team professional and great experience customer service Is great I Will recommend chambers theory read more

After renting the same unit for six years, my landlord all of a sudden decided to hire this management company. Even though it's only been a few weeks, the experience is already a nightmare. First they had a lawyer send me an illegal eviction notice. Then they demanded that I pay a second security deposit, despite the fact that I paid a security deposit when I moved in six years ago, and asking for a second deposit is illegal. Fortunately, I read their policy statement before I created an account on their tenant "portal". If you set up an account in order to pay rent to them, you are waiving some of your legal rights. They state that creating the account constitutes consent to receive all notices by email, even if the law specifies a different kind of service. I told my landlord that I will not do this. No one else should either. I am filled with dread about having to contact these people for repairs, now that I have read the other reviews. read more

What a hot mess. Is a zero star rating an option? I had reached out looking for a property manager to help perform minor cosmetic renovations with over one month to prepare on my townhouse in Clarendon. The manager assigned to me could not come up with a schedule for when the contractors would be in the place. I asked her many times for when I could expect to have people in my home - she couldn't even manage to get the basic communications right. Then, she sent me a quote and schedule that the contractors went over. When I met the contractors, they then indicated they couldn't even commit to the schedule she sent me. But wait, there is more. They showed up a early and unannounced, expecting to just walk in - during my move! They spoke rudely to my moving crew and then again to me. Finally, the next day the manager notified me that they were going to charge me even more and the date would push out even farther. The contractors left my home in a shambles!!! Listen, friends. Communications, property management, and planning are not rocket science. But the Chamber Theory folks make it seem like it's the hardest thing to do. Because they are such a hot mess and do not operate in good faith. Property management is a highly commodified service - so providers have to show good communication, program management, and planning. Avoid chambers. read more

Chambers Theory staff are clearly experienced in dealing with challenging tenants and calming them when needed. I feel my home is in excellent hands while I am out of the country and renting it out. The management team informs me of any problems or tenant concerns and work quickly to resolve problems. They have often gone to meet the tenants, just to keep them informed and calmed when something is bothering them. The Chambers Theory staff are experts at this work. I'm very pleased I chose them. Don't look any further....just choose Chambers Theory if you want your home to remain in excellent condition and attract the well-paying tenants! I have been especially please with Hannah Chmielewski as my Client Care Representative!!! read more

Chambers Theory is the best property management company in the business! They are always polite, professional, responsive, and great to work with! read more

If I could give zero stars, I would. This company is a complete scam and has no respect for their tenants. From the second we moved in, the place was a nightmare. We literally walked into piles of trash on the patio, dirt and grime all over the walls, dog food and hair everywhere, and mold in the freezer. Behind the fridge? A disgusting, water-soaked towel that had clearly been sitting there forever. But the real nightmare was what came after. Mold was found in our kitchen right in the same area where that disgusting soaked towel was sitting. Subsequently the floors were ripped up and left as exposed floorboards, yet management had the audacity to call this a "habitable environment." The kitchen was (and likely still is) completely unusable, and we were unable to live in the house for an entire month. Weeks have gone by and the floors still haven't been repaired. Despite not being able to stay in our house they still expected us to keep paying full rent like everything was fine without any sort of reimbursement and NO urgency whatsoever to fix the flooring. When we finally said enough was enough, instead of simply letting us leave, they demanded an outrageous sum in fees to break the lease--on a property that was completely UNINHABITABLE and gave us 48hrs notice to move out. Eventually after negotiation they dropped the outrageous fees but still made us pay rent for the month we weren't able to stay there and they kept our security deposit. This is by far the most dishonest and exploitative property management company I've ever dealt with. They do not care about tenant health, safety, or basic decency. They only care about squeezing every dollar out of you while ignoring serious problems. Save yourself the stress, money, and health risks -- do NOT rent from them. read more

I've been working with Chambers for just a few months and they have been absolutely stellar so far managing my rental house in DC. Hannah with Team Cherry Blossom is always very prompt and professional with all communication. I'm especially grateful for Kate's help with navigating the incredibly complex and frustrating rules and regulations within DC's DOB. I'd spent many hours trying to figure it out on my own before signing with Chambers, and Kate has really gone above and beyond in the past week or so to help make sure that all old NOIs are cleared and everything is compliant and up to date. I originally signed with Chambers because I had the opportunity to speak to the owner, Tommy, and was impressed with his professionalism and code of ethics. I have not been disappointed and highly recommend Chambers Theory. read more

Already posted about Chambers (no stars) but wanted to post about Justin Webb separately. He gets five stars -exceptional, professional, helpful, follows through. Once I met him, I contacted him when something came up and it was a totally different experience. Unfortunately, I met him around the time we were moving out -so the last month was a great experience with chambers, strictly due to Justin. read more

Chamber's Theory is a company that I would without hesitation tell both landlords and tenants to steer clear. Like Invitation Homes, they have questionable billing practices. They charge additional administrative fees for the privilege of paying rent and monthly bills. Also, they do not serve their owners well because they hire incompetent contractors and often replace appliances that could easily be fixed. Their go-to tactic is to blame the tenants and change them. When that fails they end up deferring the costs to the owners and now they have to hire competent contractors to fix the previous incompetent contractors work. I would highly discourage anyone from working with this company. read more

I have had several poor experiences with this management company in terms of the repair services. First, the company is unable to provide any repair services that are outside of working hours (8am-4pm). Next, the refrigerator in the condo was not working on 08/24/23, which is the day the request was put in. The temperature of the fridge said 36 degrees but the actual temperature was 56 degrees which lead to over $100 in food to be thrown away. After a week, a company was able to come look at it where it then took another week to order that part and fix the appliance. The requested was finally completed on 10/04/2023. We did not get reimbursed for any food that went bad nor did the company try to expedite any of the process. Overall we did not have a working fridge for 2 weeks. On 11/22/23 the fridge was building up with ice again leading to an increase in temperature in the fridge yet again. As vigilantly put the request in knowing how slow-moving the process was the first time, there was no response until 11/26. Understanding this was a holiday time, a fridge is a necessary appliance. A week later, the same company came in to look at the fridge for less than 5 minutes and said they would relay the quote of either a replacement part or fridge to Chambers Theory. After no response several times and following up with Chambers Theory for an update. I received a response that quotes were just sent to the landlord today 12/12/23. I even emailed to clarify that "the maintenance request was put on 11/22 and they just sent a quote to the landlord on 12/12" and he replied "yes that is correct". The company also requested for me to do several trouble shooting strategies after the repair company already said what they believe is wrong. It has now been almost 3 weeks without the fridge again with the temperature at 56 degrees and $100 worth of food being thrown away again. Overall, this company does not show any care for the residents who pay for their services monthly and has poor communication. I would not recommend this company to anyone and hope landlords look elsewhere. read more

I see that Tommy C. is replying to some reviews so I'm trying here as email does not work. The repairs team has a terrible response rate... they simply do not acknowledge or answer my emails, small questions to big questions. I am at a loss. We are being asked about a huge repair (think $5000+) Naturally, I'm seeking estimates/pro advice) But we do not receive any answers or guidance. I thought the point of hiring them was to seek this kind of support. I am not paying a property manager to have to do all the research myself (which we have been doing thus far). However, the marketing team was great in seeking out a new tenant for us, soup to nuts. Thank you! read more

I can't speak to the other reviews on this site, but my experience with CT was top notch. I rent from/with them in Kings Park West and couldn't be more pleased with the level of service. Everything was/is fairly automated, from payments to service requests to new air filters. Everyone in the office is responsive/polite, and Jennifer Hoyer did a great job placing us. Couldn't recommend them more. read more

They really protect the owners and the renters with fair contracts, not just benefit themselves. Customer service and staff are solid, responsive, and fair all around. Best I've seen anywhere after shopping around for a solid management company. read more

As a tenant. If you need work done on your apartment they'll send somebody out. God forbid you need to actually talk or work with somebody at the office though. They will simply be unavailable or not follow up. Been ghosted 3 times by the downtown office in DC. Feels like the only person who actually works there is the secretary. I happen to be a landlord with property in another city. The way I view this situation is they are happy to defer cost onto the landlord. But they can't be bothered to answer questions? I haven't actually met the "property manager" which I find odd. They actually told me that nobody is in the office or "has access to the building currently". Which is insane. Your basically paying for a secretary and a built in leasing office. read more

Throughout the past year working with Jennifer Hoyer and Chambers Theory has been nothing but smooth. Jennifer was very responsive and quick to get us squared away with any questions we had or repairs needed. It was a pleasant experience as a renter to know we could always reach out to her with any concerns and would receive a quick response. read more

The home we rented was not ready for us to move in and we were only told the night before. We moved in anyway and then dealt with additional clean up and repairs for the following few weeks. (They had 10 days to make any necessary repairs and could've informed us sooner if they were aware of any major issues) The management company requires that all tenants have the carpets professionally cleaned and as new tenants we assumed that they had been cleaned and were told that they had been cleaned and that the stains were permanent. On our move out, we had of the carpets cleaned professionally and all of the stains came out. We brought this to their attention and they did nothing to make up for the dirty carpets. I asked them to compensate us some for our carpet cleaning but they would not. Part of the reason the property wasn't ready for us to move in was due to a major leak in the kitchen. The ceiling was wet and partially on the floor and the wood floors were damp and warped. The leak was more than a few days old and no one had addressed it. If I was the landlord and I was aware that this damage occurred while workers were supposed to be preparing the property for the next tenants (they have a 10 day gap between tenants to do any necessary repairs and during that time it should be the property manager's responsibility to ensure that the property is well cared for). The workers left the leak without addressing it (they put a small tin bread baking dish under the 9' ceiling on the floor, it collected about 5% of the water that fell), I would expect the property management company to pay for new floors. I'm certain that this property management company didn't tell the landlord the whole story. I would not recommend hiring this company to manage your property. They neglected the $1.3M+ townhome we rented in Rosslyn and the homeowner is probably not at all aware of the neglect and subsequent damage that was caused. I have been a homeowner of a similar priced properties. I would not hire this property management company to manage any of my real estate holdings. Of course, I would prefer to not be a tenant in one of their properties either, but it can be difficult to find good rentals. As a tenant, I felt like they charged us a lot each month for services that were not of any benefit to me and my family. There were a lot of extra charges beyond the rent we paid. Maybe that's the way all property management companies work now. Also, the management company didn't send any personnel to review the completed work that the landlord had paid for. Again, if it was my house and they were managing it, I would expect someone to inspect the work and ensure it had been completed to full satisfaction. The ceiling paint did not match the rest of the ceiling and there were gobs of goop all over the kitchen cabinets that I had to manually remove. read more

Unresponsive and unprofessional, in my experience. This especially true of Real estate agent Jennifer Hoyer. If you want to be yelled at, talked over, and discriminated against, then contact Jennifer Hoyer/chambers theory. But if you value good service and being respected, then look elsewhere read more

Chambers Theory Property Management is the best property management company in the Washington, D.C. area, period. You can stop your search now. Do yourself a favor and hire them immediately. We had a horrible experience with a previous property management company (cough cough...Renter's Warehouse). Needless to say, following that debacle, we were very cautious about who we hired for our second foray into property management firms. I began my search and after several weeks I was feeling pretty pessimistic and discouraged about the companies I was seeing. One day I was asking around to colleagues at work and thank goodness one of them mentioned Chambers Theory. I'll never forget that day. My colleague said, "Stop your search now and hire them." He was spot on. My colleague introduced me to Tommy Chambers and the rest is history. We have been happy and content partners of Chambers Theory ever since. The piece of mind that Chambers Theory provides to my wife and I while we are overseas for work can't be exaggerated. Knowing that our home is in great hands while we are so far away frees us up to focus solely on family and work. The tenant preparation phase is lengthy, but it felt right. You can tell that they want to get everything in order and right in the beginning, so as to avoid issues later on down the road. They found multiple good applicants for us within a week and within a couple of weeks we had a signed lease with the rent amount we were hoping for. Our tenants that Chambers Theory found have been awesome and we couldn't be happier with the nice couple living in our home. Chambers Theory is incredibly professional. They use systems that you can tell they put a lot of thought, time, and money into, so as to ensure a pleasant and error-free experience for their clients. Their staff is very friendly, thoughtful, and empathetic to the stress that property owners sometimes experience. Their mindset is for them to take on all of the worry and stress from owners. They will smile and say, "that's our job". Well, it's been almost a year now and I couldn't be happier. Major shout out and props to Brian C., Jessica S., Lindsay C., Molly B., and of course Tommy. They are all consummate professionals who believe in delivering on their word and providing clients with an excellent overall experience, something that seems to be lacking at times in today's world. read more

one of the worst bunch of people that I have ever dealt with as a renter, one , charges of $ 75 ,replacing 3 light bulbs, and if you Question them, they refer you to go to small claim court. jbs read more

I was disappointed. I felt very disrespected. I did not like the way that they treated me. This is my opinion.

Great Experience so far with Chambers Theory! I cannot say enough about Marc was amazing in finding us a rental home that was exactly what we wanted and was perfect in size and location for our young family. He was responsive via text or email and made sure that he was with us from the beginning to move in. I also want to thank Zach who is in charge of repairs. When we came in we found out that the gas had to be turned off because they smelled gas. Those in the DMV know that Washington Gas is awful/not responsive but Zach went above and beyond to make sure that he stayed almost all night to try to be there when they came as well as routinely checking with us on the status. He made his team available to take care of anything quickly and has been proactive in all communications. I cannot recommend Marc and Zach enough!! read more

This is hands down the best property management company in the DMZ. I spent four years looking for a reputable company with the right skill set to keep both the property owner and renter happy. Chambers Theory from the first contact to finding a qualified renter and then managing the property has been professional, personable, and extremely responsive. This is especially important because we live overseas, so we need a company that gives us piece of mind knowing that the property is being managed to the highest standards. What a great team of professionals, and what a great company! read more

Some of the best customer service and genuine friendliness I have encountered in any industry. Prompt, responsive, and on top of the game!

I am a Junior Engineering student at James Madison University. Over the past year, I was lucky enough to work for Chambers Theory in an intern style role as their Creative Initiatives Project manager. It has been the best work experience I have ever had. I was not only exposed to a company that cares for their employees and clients, but also strives to aim for a brighter future. Tommy Chambers taught the importance of the customer experience and the role it plays in success. Much of my work was looking into innovative ways to offer a better value proposition for Chambers Theory's clients and how to enter the future of sustainable residential development. All companies and businesses should strive to be like Chambers Theory: ethical, customer experience oriented, and striving for a better future for all. As I make my way into my engineering career, I am aiming to work for a company with the values and vision similar to that of Chambers Theory. I will leave you all with this. Anyone who enters into an agreement with Chambers Theory, by the time that agreement is fulfilled, will be far better off than they were before through the immense value and perspective they bring to your life. This company has certainly had that effect on me! read more

TENANT VIEW: Both the owner of 1438 Fairmont and the rental company were more interested in ekeing out every possible cent from tenants. As a responsible resident for two years, when it came down to being flexible around COVID and allowing me time to look for roommates when my two roommates left, I was told higher rent prices to advertise while they were showing the house around at a lower price to compete with me, refused pest control service towards the last two months of the lease, and withheld 1000k in security deposit for normal wear and tear and for issues that had already existed prior to our move in. I had to remind them to refund us our security deposit two months after move out. The workers are friendly over the phone but when it comes down to actually advocating for the wellbeing of tenants, they always take the side of the owner who clearly sees this as a cash cow without regard for those who live in the buildings. read more