Our first rent payment around the holidays and their online payment system was down. I paid through bill pay, it took more than 10 days to post my payment and then they dinged me for a $230 late fee for being 1 day late. No consideration on their end "It was late, the fee is as stated in your rental contract". Wow. Renters Beware! read more

Very poor property management firm. As a property owner they managed a house I owe in the area. Three tenants they placed there failed to pay rent on a timely fashion. They are quick to charge the tenants late fees but take it out of the owners proceeds before anything else which leaves the owner paying Dodson for tenant late fees when tenant fails to pay. Their repair company is overpriced and does not even know basic repair work. I have had to pay for work they did to be redone during change of occupancies as they install doors that don't close properly, tack carpet into place that comes loose a week later, and couldn't even figure out a fridge door won't close properly when the fridge is not leveled properly. Dodson is POOR with owner communication and usually requires multiple calls, emails, texts, etc to get a response on issues. In four years of tenant occupancy managed by them I have lost over $11,000 in non payments and failure by Dodson to collect rent. This is 25% of the rent due over that period. If you look to Didson to manage your property be prepared to lose money every year. Never again will I use this firm for property management. read more

I rented from Dodson Property Management from March of 2009 to September of 2011. I was pleased with the service I was provided throughout my lease. They helped me renew my lease a couple of times on terms that suited both me and their clients. They responded promptly to both maintenance isses I had (one was an electrical issue resolved the same day, the other a ceiling fan that broke). They also inspected the property twice per year to check up on the property. I'd recommend them and have to a couple of co-workers. read more

Very professional. They found us a responsible renter quickly. When there is a problem they contact us quickly and offer solutions.

Absolutely terrible. DO NOT use this company for property management. They were good about getting someone in the property quickly, but once the contract was signed , the property manager will not answer his phone for me or the tenants. I have resorted to contacting the tenants myself to resolve any maintenance issues. Dodson basically does nothing. Once they get your money (which is automatically deducted every month) they are totally unresponsive. I am usually a pretty reasonable individual, but man this company just sucks. If you make the mistake of using them, you will find out quickly why I am not happy. read more

Looking for someone to manage your property....BEWARE!!! This is not the company you want. They managed a property for me for three years, and I would not recommend them. Pay the extra 2% for a better management company and save yourself a headache. By the way, the repair company that they use (Riverbend) is also owned by Dodson!!! read more

Started out okay but I'd do your research on the building and the actual property owner they're managing for. I was at 2914 Idlewood Ave and it started out okay, but the neighbors across the hall were constantly loud and used open fire grills on the balcony despite being told not to use them. There were times where I thought they were going to burn the place down from how intense the fire from the grill got. The building owner was a pain in the ass and would sometimes hassle tenants. The property went through 3 property managers the year and a half I was there. Sometimes they have repair guys come to your apartment for maintenance you didn't even schedule and would give you no warning. The building itself was starting to suffer from a cockroach problem. Loyal Pest Treatment would come by often but never really seemed to solve the problem. I remember waking up one night to one crawling on me. The ceiling in my bathroom collapsed and it took almost 2 months of me hassling and nagging them to finally come fix it. The ceiling in the kitchen had a leak, which caused the ceiling tile to become saturated and collapsed everywhere. Once again, they gave me the runaround for a month insisting they're going to send someone. Eventually I just caved and got my own ceiling tile and replaced it myself. It took literally 5 minutes. Since the front doors to the building were broken, bums/vagrants would come in and go through your mail and steal packages. On cold days, I'd occasionally catch a couple bums just hanging out down at the bottom of the stairs smoking cigarettes and stinking up the entire stair well. I barely got any of my deposit returned to me although I guess it was expected since I broke my lease to get out of there. read more

Absolutely the worst property management company I have had to deal with. My husband and I moved into a very nice house that was managed by another (wonderful) management company before they were bought out by Dodson. We never had a single problem with the previous management company. Our Dodson agent, Chet, is nearly the most unreachable person on this planet unless, of course, he needs something from us. We have never paid our rent late but have had to dispute 2 late charges. The first time he informed us that he "did not see our rent check" but upon looking a little harder ended up "finding it". He still wanted to charge us the late fee (even with the postmarked date on our envelope) but my husband talked to his manager and got it waived. The second time they did not receive our rent check because they changed their address but failed to inform us about the move. He claimed that he emailed us (they usually mail any correspondence to us - we have never received an email from them). I called right away to find out why our check had not been cashed and he said they would wait to see if it would be forwarded and that we would NOT be charged any late fees as other tenants had had the same issue. The next day I got a letter in the mail (still not an email this time) saying that we owe another late fee. I am furious. We have also had trouble getting in touch with him. Several times we have left voicemail messages, emails and texts with no response. The minute he has any question or concern I am contacted (not my husband, and I have asked that he only contact my husband) via text, multiple phone calls and messages. To make things more infuriating, his texts/voicemails/etc are very unprofessional. I really like the owers and would like to rent directly from them instead but that is not an option for now. I do not recommend using this company unless you like being ignored and taken for a ride. We will be requesting a new agent and contacting the owners asap. read more

We used Dodson for 2 years to manage our property. We switched to a smaller company who will have more time and availability to deal with issues. My impression is the managers are over booked with properties and don't have much time for customer service. You won't get much in face to face. They are just over extended. My impressing is the management costs are low but you get what you pay for. I would use another company for both managing and renting properties. read more

Dodson has made my first experience with a rental company one to forget. The manager who is supposed to be responsible for my location never answers his phone, never calls back, and frankly seems like he has forgotten about us. We have had multiple maintenance issues brushed off, my shower has leaked for the 2 years that i have lived in the house, and was never fixed despite being pointed out multiple times. We have been charged for late penalties (165$) on what was supposed to be pro-rated rent for the month. Their office in Richmond even struggles to answer the phone and respond accordingly. My roommates and I experiences with Dodson has been worse then bad. I will never rent one of their properties again.. I can't imagine they will be in business too long with their low standards and awful customer service. I should have known when we moved in that there would be issues. Our house was disgusting and far from "ready" when we moved in, there were beer cans and clothes everywhere and the property manager didn't show up until an hour after we were there. read more

Great experience! Bigger, under budget, and the perfect location. Couldn't ask for anything more!

I am currently a tenant with Dodson properties and am shocked that they are permitted to lease spaces with good conscience in the state that they are in. While size is amiable and the price affordable, the degree to which the landlord has failed to maintain even the most basic of services by Virginia Law is abhorrent. When promised functioning air conditioning in a unit with sealed shut windows in the heat of May, my entire apt was uninhabitable for the first week of our lease until a repair service was finally dispatched after multiple contacts. We have reported many occasions of leaks and poor sealing of windows to the dismay of windy rain storms finding their way in and not only seeping into carpet but damaging wood. We have resorted to foam sealing strips and tape to lessen the problem but still have issues keeping heat inside. Given this apt is part of a former three story house, it's difficult to pinpoint where any mold could be coming from but the fact remains that two of my roommates and one cat with severe mold allergies have been unusually sickly since living here. Our property agent acts as a middle man to the landlord of our unit and hardly ever responds in a timely manner or with more than a line of text. Customer service is only sub par when it comes to prompt resolutions and their genuine concern for their tenants' way of living is completely lacking. A leak in plumbing that was addressed in the ceiling of our front entranceway has left an exposed framework of the house underneath and no functioning light in a room with no windows and vermin have fallen through and been trapped in our foyer. There's a history of squirrels inhabiting the walls of the third floor and sometimes lower levels, and although animal control has been called in multiple times, the remaining problem of repairing a severely damaged exterior (both siding and roofing as there are visible holes from the side yard) has yet to be approached. There is no urgency or priority set by Dodson for their tenants. Unfortunately we have been looking toward legal actions for months and are upset that such a wonderfully potential apartment in the Northside has such terrible management. read more

You do not want to rent from this company. When Tim showed me the house , it was very dirty as it had been sitting empty for more than a year because it was for sale. When I asked Tim if it would be cleaned before I moved in, he said no. I said, but there are even leaves that had blown in on the floor in the den. He said well, we'll get the leaves out...and that's all they did! There were also 3 blinds upstairs that were broken or missing. I asked if those would be fixed or replaced. Again the answer was no. This was a large house in a nice neighborhood, and those are hard to come by to rent, so I had very few choices and had to take it anyway. I wish I had known how to contact the owner to tell him what a sorry job Tim was doing. I cleaned it myself and replaced the blinds. My house was later transferred to somebody named Elizabeth at Dodson, Whenever I e-mailed her about a problem, she was very slow to answer (as in days), and then her answer usually made no sense or didn't address the problem . I always paid my rent on time, and only contacted Dodson when necessary (I am not a pest), and all I can say is that you don't want to rent from them if you can help it!! read more

We were new to the area and needed to rent a house while having a home built. Dodson showed us several properties, with the caveat "What you see is what you get." Since we were in a time bind, we went ahead and rented a house sitting on almost two acres of land, much of which had been sorely neglected. The house didn't appear to be well-maintained or to have been thoroly cleaned. Several smoke alarms were not functioning; we had to ask to have them replaced. Furnace filters were filthy when we moved in, yet we received monthly reminders from Dodson to change them. We had to arrange and pay for the gas to be turned on; we were subsequently reimbursed for that charge. Major repairs such as the furnace breakdown, electrical issue and plumbing problems were addressed in reasonable time frame but smaller repairs were ignored. The move-in survey was totally in favor of Dodson; we did not receive a copy until we asked for it and then found it was contrary to our own assessment. When we moved out we were not given anything in writing but received a verbal approval that things were in order. When I asked about the return of our security deposit six weeks later I was informed that the outdoor property had not been maintained to their satisfaction. They hired someone to clean it up and proceeded to charge us for half the cost without first giving us an opportunity to do some of the work ourselves. We always paid the rent on time and left the house cleaner than it was when we moved in. We maintained the landscaping near the house but disagreed with Dodson about how much maintenance we should be expected to do for the perimeter of the property. We finally received a partial reimbursement of our deposit two months after the expiration of the lease. Most of our communication with the company was via email and generally they were slow to respond, with the exception of the major repairs as noted above. We do not recommend using this company. read more

I have never experienced a rental experience like this one ever in life and I will take responsibility because I disregarded the reviews that I read and signed a lease anyway. I rented a property from Dodson for two years. Upon moving in the downstairs smelled musty which should have been a sign there was an issue with moisture build up. The house was not cleaned, the walls were not painted, the stove was filthy it was not at all what I considered proper move in conditions. Well after being there a little over a month the house was broken into, which was the only thing they came to repair quickly. We dealt with the situation because we were stuck. The first year did not present many issues, however the following year the roof started leaking. They sent someone out to fix it and then the next heavy rain it started leaking again. It leaked for almost a year and we had to call the city and have them send a notice to Dodson before someone was sent out and the whole roof was replaced. They never repaired the damage on the inside that was done from the water. During this time the upstairs shower started leaking downstairs, the caulking needed to be replaced, once the plumbers came out they never repaired the damage done by the shower leaking downstairs. I informed them months in advance that I was moving out and the first day someone comes to show the house my front window gets broken, the windows that they raised the rent to replace only the front and side ones, and they tell me that I was the one who had broken the window. I don't think so. I moved out a month early and my managers assistant told me someone was trying to move in on the 1st. I said that was fine do the walk through early. I drove by the home multiple times to see if someone had moved in, I even drove by at midnight and there were cars in the driveway and lights on in the home. However I am charged for August and was told no one moved in until 8/21 after my lease ended on 8/15. I guess there was cleaning and maintenance going on at that time of night. I contacted my property manager multiple times between august sept and oct, my lease stated that if they were going to retain the security deposit I was to be informed and have a ITEMIZED statement of what the charges were for. Apparently I was charged for August Rent even though I ask the property manager many times if someone did move in on the 1st and I did not receive a response until the end of October, and apparently $600+ for other items, which when I asked what it was for I was told it was for cleaning and painting. So I am paying for the cleaning and painting that was not done when I moved in? Or so they say and then they say I have a balance left as well, of almost $250. I am disgusted with the company and tired of fighting. People thinking I am crazy for paying the balance just for the opportunity to get rid of them and end any type of dealings with them. Even when I am attempting to pay the balance I can not get a timely response for that. This is ridiculous! read more

I currently rent from Dodson Property Management. This has been the worst renting experience ever!!!!. First of all I was never told of the person that died in the duplex that I rent. I would have never rented the place if I would have know it. Next trying to get someone to fix anything is like pulling teeth. My ac went out this summer after many request it took me telling them that I would withhold my rent for them to get someone out to fix it. Now I have a problem with a leaking toilet. I emailed the request on September 9th and the problem still has not been fix. I was told that "someone would be out within 1-3 business days." On the 14th I sent another email. I was told someone would be out on the 15th. Well no show. I let Dodson Properties know that they could pay my 128.00 water bill. As of today nothing has been done!!! I wished the solution would be as easy as turning the water to the toilet off but the knob is stuck and will not turn. I've tried everything to get the water off. So I will be forwarding the next water bill to them. I will be giving my notice to move at the end of my lease. read more

DO NOT rent with this company. I am currently stuck under their greedy little thumbs and hating every minute of it. The only reason anything gets fixed at my house is because the owner happens to live right behind the home. They show up and want to walk through my house - intrusive much?! Recently I submitted my rent online (as suggested by them and as I have before) and somehow the payment didn't process and I am fielding a phone call about late rent (granted I was going to call them because it hadn't been drafted anyway). So the proof they want that went online and submitted my payment is an email that I only would've gotten if it submitted correctly anyway - which clearly it didn't. All fine and dandy until they tell me they can't do anything about the $140 late fee (because we all just have that lying around right?) because I don't have this ridiculous email ... Nevermind that I have paid my rent on time every month for AN ENTIRE YEAR! Way to practice good customer service guys - NOT! I love the owner of my property and I love my home but if I have to deal with this company anymore to live here ... I will NOT be renewing my lease! read more

Worst company I have ever dealt with. I recently rented an apartment called Branders Bridge apt and the place is awful. The pictures of the property were deceiving. Not to mention the fact that my neighbors are so noisy that I cant sleep through the night. I emailed Jeff about issues and he couldn't care less. I don't care about the lease I am going to get out of here as soon as I can. This location is dangerous as well. Here is a review I will be posting to warn other potential victims away from this neighborhood, WORST PLACE EVER!!!! DO NOT MOVE HERE!! This place is disgusting. There is black mold all over the place. I can smell it. Under the sink, in the bathroom, and all over the ceiling on the 2nd floor. There are bugs and roaches. The front and back door have holes in them that bugs come threw. The place is smaller than their website says. Not worth the $750 a month. I am going to move out asap. The area is bad and seems to be the bad part of town. The stairs make so much noise, I hear the neighbors kids running up & down the stairs all hours of the night. They run back & forth a hundred times a day. Then they are constantly smoking pot because my whole upstairs smells of pot. ITS DISGUSTING! The neighbors are so loud, its ridiculous. I have lived in numerous other apartments and this is the worst i have ever lived. I tried to move out as soon as I moved in but the apartment complex doesn't have a 30 day policy so i am screwed. I should speak to a lawyer about their false ads on their page. Another thing is they say on all their sites that there are no pets allowed. Thats a lie. Apparently there are select units that people own & if they have a dog that constantly barks there's nothing they can do. This place should be shut down. There are laws and apparently they don't have to go by them. And..when you email the company about the constant issues, you never get a response back. Very unprofessional. read more

We rented a house from this company, and we read the reviews online and they sucked but we went to look at the house to rent anyway. When we went to the house to look at it the agent Sarah Petty was pretty nice so I thought maybe the reviews were just harsh, so we decided to sign the lease. Upon signing the lease it was a like a switch flipped in her. First off, her real estate license had lapsed (apparently to her own lazy fault per her coworkers, their words not mine) so someone else had to go over our lease for us with her there. They did not explain ANYTHING about the lease and rushed us through it. We paid $600 to have our four cats to live with us. WE WERE NEVER TOLD this was just a fee to have the pets and NOT a pet deposit that we cover any potential damages. If I were told this I never would have signed the lease. We were told the house came "as in" but per IN THE LEASE it came with such WORKABLE appliances: fridge, oven, washer, dryer and that anything else was "as is." When I moved in the place was a DISASTER! Everything was dirty head to toe. I had to spend almost a week cleaning before I could unpack. The floors had dust and dead bugs in every room. There were also cobwebs on just about every corner. The patio had to be soaked because there were so many cobwebs and dirt. The kitchen was a DISASTER. The fridge had old food in it and stains; the cabinets had old moldy food in it and at least an inch of dust. I had to soak scrub each cabinet. The oven had burnt food on and in it and the sink was covered with a film like substance. Then I discovered that the oven had NEITHER oven racks or drip pans so it was NOT useable. I called Sarah very upset that the place was such a mess and that the oven was not useable. She kind of shoved me off saying that it came "as is" and the oven wasn't included in the lease. I was mad about all the cleaning I had to do but it wasn't a big deal but I told her the oven was in the lease and that it is ridiculous that I can't use it. She said she would "get on it". Well I couldn't not use my oven for an unknown period of time so I asked her if I bought drip pans so I could at least use the stove top to cook if they would reimburse me and she said yes! So I gave her the receipt and actual cover for the drip pans WITH our rent check so I know she would get it. However, I had to KEEP calling her about the oven racks. It took exactly a month for her to have someone order me oven racks. So I could not cook anything in our rented house in the stove for the first month. Then thing after thing just kept happening. Just about everything in the house was broken of some sort. All the closets were broken and would not open or close right. Every time we would try to call her to have something fixed we would have to call or email MULTIPLE TIMES. It would take forever for anything to get fixed so we just started fixing things on our own. We fixed so much we actually increased the value of the property (confirmed per Zillow). At the six month "inspection" the property representative said we have been taking GREAT care of the place and that there was no smell and everything looked great and should be fine for our move out inspection. Now we have moved to Maryland and we were so fed up with Sarah never responding to our calls or emails that we decided to move out early, which we wrote them a formal letter for. I moved out in February and my boyfriend came to join me in March. Sarah said that because we "vacated" the property she would HAVE to do the move out inspection early but we HAD to keep all our utilities on until the end of the lease even trash. I was very upset by this because I didn't want to pay for trash, water, etc. when I was not using it but I did it anyway. It took her until the VERY end of May to get our inspection letter sent out. Our lease ended April 31. Our inspection escrow account DID NOT have my refund for the drip pans or the multiple repairs I had to do myself because Sarah would not have them fixed (i.e. broken closet doors.) It had charges for $325 odor removal and $130 worth of cleaning of the unit. I am FURIOUS. The odor removal is insanely expensive. I thought we paid for our pets for a deposit, and apparently none of the $600 goes toward that which is ridiculous because we WERE never told that NONE of that money would be able to go towards "damages". When we moved out we cleaned top to bottom, vacuumed, scrubbed, and soaked the floors with nature's miracle (a pet odor removal), she told us to do this and we would be fine and enough but yet we are being charged for cleaning. Also that place was significantly cleaner and better than the condition we moved in to. I really think these charges are ridiculous and should be refunded back to us, but Sarah proceeded to just argue with us instead of even attempted to give us some money back (shocker) and the manager would not help either. I WOULD NOT rent from them! It is such a headache to deal with. read more