We were tenants for 4 yrs with a property McGrath managed. They were consistent returning our calls within 24 hours and answering our questions in a timely manner. When we had billing issues, they were slow to adjust the bill. We had to make follow up calls. They were slower to process our calls when it came down to natural disasters like flooding and high winds where the property needed to be repaired. They weren't good about giving us a heads up when they were coming to look at the property. We have dogs so we were concerned with people entering and not being home. I have looked at the previous negative reviews regarding repairs. We needed repairs done after a flood, over 6 inches of water in the basement causing major repairs/replacement to the dry wall, and carpeting. It was done quickly and with good quality. I think the difference is how the actual owners of the property finance the repairs. McGrath manages the property but only with what the owners approve and are willing to pay. The owners of our property wanted to make sure their house was in good shape when they returned. I can't speak for what other owners do with there properties or what McGrath actually owns and is willing to pay out. I think their hands are tied. But in our owners defense, when we had a tree fall on the fence, McGrath was slow to process their requests for the repair. And we as the renters... had to deal with the he said/she said scenario. When we moved out, we received our entire deposit back. And in 60 days too! I don't know if we will use this company again. Service wasn't bad, they fulfilled a service. read more

I was a renter at a McGrath-managed property for about 5 months. Without going in to all of the sordid details about why I broke my lease, but needless to say, I kept McGrath in the loop the entire time. When I decided to break my lease, I met with McGrath at their offices. They were sympathetic and laid out all of the options I had, providing me with the pros and cons for each. I was a little frustrated when they informed me that my issue was not a new one (I gather that previous people had similar issues in this particular unit), that said, I did appreciate the fact that I did not have to fight them tooth and nail. My issues arose during the period of time in which they were showing my unit and seeking a new tenant. They identified a couple that was interested, but had asked if I could move up my move-out date (to which I agreed). (McGrath called me to discuss this) I was informed of this at the end of the week. That weekend I went out and signed a lease on an apartment I was interested in (the moved up date meant, I had less than a month to prepare for my own move). I followed up the following Monday, as I did not receive an addendum to my lease and at this point in time, I was informed that the new tenants changed their mind and wanted to stick to the original move in date listed. When I pointed out that I was not informed of this and therefore, had been placed in a bind with regards to now owing double rent, I received no sympathy, just a terse reminder of what my lease stated (despite the fact that I had been informed otherwise, albeit verbally). This was extremely unprofessional and taught me a tough lesson about this company. Make sure everything is in writing, signed and sealed before you make any moves. Do not take any verbal confirmations seriously, wait until you have actual documentation. read more

Run Away!!!!  DO NOT RENT A PROPERTY MANAGED BY THESE PEOPLE.  They will abuse you. I would give negative starts if I could. READ YOUR LEASE CAREFULLY. I was in a Condo managed by these people when owner decided to invoke a clause to have rights to show the property for sale.  They trample on your privacy and parade viewers through at their convenience, not yours. They began to pressure us to move ASAP with harassing phone calls and e-mails, and ultimately threatened to have us evicted and sue us.  They did just did not care that we were busy people and that there were no suitable properties to move to.  To be precise, my wife was scheduled for a major surgery which had been planned for some time at the same time they expected us to move and they remorselessly hounded us find a new home, get packed and moved all on very short notice, contributing greatly to her stress. Totally shady, amoral, remorseless, unsympathetic, dishonest. SIGN AT YOUR OWN RISK. You will notice that whatever somewhat positive reviews there are come from property owners represented  by McGrath.  That makes perfect sense because they do a GREAT job of squeezing the renter on behalf of the property owner.  Service is poor and rude and they will take a chunk of your deposit even when unwarranted. read more

I wish I could give this place 0 stars. I've only been on this lease for a week and it's already a disaster. Where do i start.... First of all, this property is a condo located in Falls Church, Va, and some pics from my experience so far have been posted on the page. Feel free to message me if you'd like more... 1. This place was deemed "move-in-ready" by the "inspector," yet, the walls were scratched up as if an exorcism had been performed in each of the closets. That was the least of our problems with this place- There is SPATTERED BLOOD on the wall. We noted this on the walk through with the real estate agent that we went through and she assured us that it would be taken care of, yet, lo and behold, the crime scene was not taken care of upon move in. The toilet seats might be the worst of all- they are literally disintegrating (i'm pretty sure it's a health hazard). When we addressed these issues with management, they claimed that they were not responsible for fixing these issues, as we needed to state them as contingencies on our leasing application, which we were never informed of having to do- we had been told by the leasing agent that they would be addressed. Aside from these problems, the apartment was full of cracks, water damage, and stains, each one of which we'll be documenting, upon reading complaints of other tenants on this page about they cheating you out of your deposit money.. 2. Before move-in, we were promised all keys (mailbox and front door) when meeting with the inspector to sign the move-in paperwork. Upon arriving to the property to pick up said keys, I'm greeted by a McGrath rep who, while I'm signing the paperwork, tells me that he doesn't have the mailbox keys yet and will have to wait to get them from "the previous tenants." Umm, what respectable leasing company would give an excuse like that? Totally unacceptable. We did not receive a response from a rep regarding the keys until two emails, two days later. 3. These people are IMPOSSIBLE to get ahold of unless they need something from you. Expect to have to send several emails and call several times before getting a response from anyone. WHO runs a business like this? Learn from my terrible experiences and don't bother renting any property managed by these people. I'm literally marking any mark, nick, and stain (oh and there'll be a ton) in this place so they don't try to cheat us out of our deposit like they did the other folks who reviewed this page. read more

McGrath Real Estate Services - Blood spatter on the ceiling. What on earth went on here and why didn't they make sure to clean it up before we moved in? - Property Management Near Me

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My friend and I are in the process of finding a place to rent for the next year. We've got a dream location lined up for the year after, so all we need is a simple 12-month lease. We found a place in Reston (North Point to be exact) that we both really liked and which was being managed by McGrath. We contacted a third-party realtor to have a look for ourselves. Luckily, this third-party wound up being a really great Long & Foster realtor, without whom this whole process would've been a total nightmare. After we took a look, we filled out the applications and sent them in, along with the application fee and first month's rent. Lisa (our realtor) emailed us the next day and told us that all looked well: our credit was great, our incomes more than sufficient, and all the other things that renters look for in tenants checked out great to. Ideal tenants- that's the phrase that McGrath themselves used. Then, 2 days later, we're told by McGrath that -oops!- the owners of the property want to sell now. Lisa did her best to fight in our favor, but McGrath couldn't be reasoned with. So we picked our checks back up and found another place- one which we're currently applying to now. Here's the thing: I understand that the owners made the call to sell, not McGrath. But as a realty company, it's McGrath's responsibility, and indeed their duty, to not only keep their records up to date, but guide their clients in the best possible direction. Clearly they don't bother keeping their listings fresh and updated- that's the obvious part (this also means their communication with property owners is probably poor). But what's really ridiculous is their total lack of expertise with regards to helping their clients (in this case the property owners) make the right decision. If you live in Reston or any of the surrounding areas, then you know that the metro expansion is nearly complete (finally, after 5+ years). What this means for real estate is an across-the-board value hike for all property within usable distance of the new Silver Line. The metro will be open and in full swing by this time next year. Hence, by renting their property for just ONE more year before selling, they would be virtually guaranteed to make at LEAST 20% more when they do sell it. Any competent realtor should know this (hell, any competent human in general), and therefor be pushing their clients to make this (infinitely superior) decision to be patient. But McGrath doesn't do this. What's really funny is that it not only hurts the property owners, but their own business as well! If I ran my own realty firm, I'd be singing this "wait for the metro" song to everyone within earshot. Perhaps this aggravating experience was just our really bad luck, but from everything I could tell in dealing with them, it was not. There are tons of great places to live in the Reston/Fairfax area, and just as many capable, hardworking realtors. I'm glad that I've got one working with me, and not McGrath. read more

Inattentive, Dishonest, and Unapologetic We're a foreign service family that rented a house from another foreign service family through McGrath. Getting someone from McGrath to show the house was impossible and when our agent finally got us in the house was not cleaned, hot humid and showed poorly. Nobody from McGrath was there or ever contacted us in person about renting with them. The day we moved in no one from McGrath showed up and we waited on the doorstep for our agent to let us into the house. Upon move in the air conditioning was not working and the gas had been shut-off. After move out we were charged over $500 in damages for pre-existing conditions that were identified on our move-in inspection. McGrath was slow to respond to our objections and only refunded the remaining $500 after threatening to report them to the better business bureau. We strongly recommend to anyone against listing or renting properties managed by McGrath, particularly if you plan to move out of state after renting. Should you end up using them, be prepared to report them to the better business bureau, attorney general, or litigate when they withhold your security deposit. read more

McGrath real estate is the worst company that I've ever had to work with when it comes to renting a house or apartment. Thier internal processess are broken. I have unfortunately rented two homes managed by them, both were in great locations or great houses, and the benefits outweighed the HUGE negatives associated with McGrath. Point 1: Both times I rented from them I either Express Mailed or Hand Delivered my First Month's Rent, Pet Deposit, and Security deposit only to get an email later that day stating they still hadn't received these checks. Each had a receipt (either signed delivery confirmation or McGrath Receipt), yet the staff didn't have a central location that they could look to find if these payments had been received. If they did, the staff was too lazy to look and opted for a template email instead. Point 2: A contingency in my first lease was that three rooms needed to be painted before I moved in. I signed my lease August 29 and Moved in Oct 1. No painting or repairs had been done and I ended up having to take 4 days off of work so the repairs could be made. Point 3: Their leases are sneaky. There was a clause is my first lease that said I could be removed from the home if the owners came back to the area. I asked if they were Military and was told "No". I proceeded to sign a two year lease. At the 10 month point I was told I had 60 days to leave because the State Department Rep who owned the property was moving back. These things don't just pop up on us in the Military or the DoS, so clearly information was intentionally held. Point 4: I had a scheduled walk through for House #2, the one I had to move into after Point 3. They called me 30 minutes prior to and stated they were running 30 minutes behind. Finally at 1245, a full hour and forty-five minutes later they showed up. I called to complain about the delay and express my anger of their lack of respect for peoples time and was essentially "blown off" by the inspection department "manager". I asked to speak to a Managing partner and was told "no." Point 5: 3 days after I moved into house #1 the drain sink in the basement started over-flowing. I hadn't even finished unpacking and was charged for the $200 bill for the plumber. Point 6: Their hired contractors who mow my grass left my gates open while my dogs were outside. They got out and were lost for about 4 hours. I called McGrath to complain about the quality of thier hired help and the secretary stated a manager would call me back to get more details. It's been 4 months. About the only thing they do right is collect my money for rent. If you have to rent with them, make sure a lawyer reviews the lease, you ask A LOT of questions regarding the home, the owners, and contracts that will be used. Prepare mentally for poor service and bad attitudes. read more

Terrible customer service, takes weeks and months to complete work orders... your passed around the company as it hires and fires people. Nobody handles you from beginning to end so communication is not only repetitious but a complete nightmare. A complete disaster and has put me off of Long and Foster indefinitely. I use to always use their agents and products when dealing with real estate, renting, buying or selling. NEVER AGAIN!!!!! Not only are they trying to rip my family off right now, but after sending them proof of receipts, emails etc... they still claim I owe them $1675 and will not return my deposit. All rent has been payed, we fulfilled our end of contract. Instead of a smooth transition from one Long and Foster Property to another they pull a scheme to rip us off. They claimed to make $1600 in repairs to the house. Funny, when I went there 60 days after I moved out pretending to be prospective tenant, none of the repairs were made that they had billed me for. Now they won't return phone calls, emails or even letters. Lets see if they respond to a summons. There are way better companies to get involved with. BELIEVE ME. Long and Foster has become a grinder... Do not be the next victim of fraud. read more

Currently in year 2 of a 3 year lease with a property managed with McGrath. First off we met the owner before we started leasing the property. They were moving out of the country. We love the owner, and I am lucky enough to be able to communicate with them via email which saves me from dealing with McGrath. The who application process was a HUGE headache! I've blocked most of it out at this point, but after several emails and calls asking if they received all parts of the application, being told yes/no from different people, then not hearing anything for weeks (someone quit and they clearly are not organized enough) only to find out from the owner that we were good to go. Next the second full bath is in need of an update and started leaking. They sent out two companies, and of course, picked the lowest bidder. Who had to return twice more to get the thing fixed (yep, 4 days total we had to take off work). The third time it started leaking it took McGrath 4 days to respond. 4 days of water damage from the leak (we had buckets to catch it). We noticed we have carpenter bee's burrowing in the fence in the back yard. I took a few pictures, sent an email to McGrath. One week went by, and 4 other bee's moved in. One into the siding! A pest control guy happened to be servicing other homes in the neighborhood, so we took it upon ourselves to sign up for the service, and get the bee's (and camel crickets and wolf spiders and ants that invade the home) taken care of. Another week later someone at McGrath finally gets back to us. We will NEVER rent a property from them again. Never. I'd rather take the chance with some random owner. Camden apartments is better than them, and that's saying a lot! read more

Tommy Chambers came through and did as he promised and followed through for which I am very appreciative. I wish he owned the company and everyone at the company was as great as he. If you do go with McGrath I would highly recommend reaching out to Tommy especially if you encounter issues as he is the one and only person I have dealt with at McGrath that was not only reasonable and understanding and put in an effort to understand the situation and resolve it, he went above and beyond especially since I was terminating my management agreement with them (so I had zero leverage or benefit to them) and despite that he wanted to understand and resolve my issues and even refunded almost $200 in fees I had written off as never receiving based on my interactions with everyone else at McGrath (you can see my earlier reviews for details about these fees). I may have stayed with McGrath if I had gotten Tommy in the loop earlier. He is definitely the one to talk to and is truly in your side. I can't say the same about the owner that I emailed (Tim McGrath) unfortunately. He didn't even attempt to understand the problems I encountered with them and just gave me a one liner saying they don't prorate management fees. It was clear he had no clue what was going on, no desire to learn about the multitude of issues I faced and was for all intents and purposes telling me to let the door hit me on my way out. This three star rating is purely driven by Tommy Chambers' outstanding service and if I only dealt with Tommy it would be five stars. Unfortunately the owner and rest of the team dragged down my rating but I f not for Tommy this would have stayed a one star review. read more

I'm not sure where all these negative reviews are coming from as I had a great experience with McGrath for Property Management and would recommend them without reserve. They handled the whole process with ease and took the worry and stress out of the rental process for me. Definitely prefer going through a company rather than trying to handle person-to-person. The rental process is a nightmare--I learned from a friend who had tenants from HELL in her house (refused to pay rent, took months and months to evict the tenant, tenant complained there was mold and mildew but refused to let anyone in to inspect, changed the locks and wouldn't allow anyone in, ripped up expensive landscaping, cut a new doorway(!) into the side of their garage just for kicks...) that I didn't want to go through the process alone and McGrath provided the buffer layer in there to make the rental process as smooth as could be and appropriately handle all questions and concerns from the tenant. I will never rent a property again without a property management company and would use McGrath again in a heartbeat. It seems like a lot of the complaints are about normal pains in the rental process--like having a lock box on your door and third party realtors coming to look at it--that's just part of the real estate process and out of McGrath's control; getting your car towed when you forgot to leave a parking pass in the window, well, that's how assigned/controlled parking should be if you want to make sure there are spaces available for the tenants. read more

These guys are the absolute WORST! My former roommates and I rented from them this past year. They handled multiple scenarios wrong during our stay at the property. 1) Slow or no response to fixing stuff that was broken BEFORE we even moved in. 2) Never told us when inspection/repair men were stopping by the house. They would just let themselves in to the home, and we would be sitting in the living room like "umm, can we help help you?" 3) This is the most important one of all. It's been past their 60 day limit, and we have not received our security deposit back. We hired multiple cleaners before we vacated, gave them receipts, and followed their move out check list (which by the way, we had to ask about since they neglected to tell us about it). One of us was present during the post move-out inspection, and the inspector told us that we should get out full deposit back since everything looked good. Its been radio silence ever since. I've never had to take someone to court before, but I think we are going to have to do this time. Moral of the Story: STAY AWAY FROM THESE SCAMMERS!! read more

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I recently had to break my lease and McGrath Real Estate could not have been more helpful through the whole process. One of the realtors at McGrath, Lindsay, contacted by landlords at the time to explain the situation and offered to put the apartment on the market at a discounted rate. She walked me through the entire process from initially contacting my landlords to the move out inspection. I was fortunate enough that McGrath was able to quickly find new tenants for the apartment which cleared me of all financial responsibility for a very low (and extremely affordable) price! I will absolutely work with McGrath again. read more

I lived in a McGrath property in Arlington for a year. These people were the worst to deal with. Our home was built in the 1930s. It's an old house. I get it. 1. Our basement flooded every week. I mean serious flooding where a professional restoration service that had to come rip up the carpet and removes mold had to come in. They just charged us for it. They acted like it was our fault. This rendered our basement (and one bedroom) unlivable. They never offered any concessions while one third of our house was uninhabitable. Even when we contacted them, they just kept trying to bully us. 2. Our house was covered in ants. We kept everything in our kitchen sealed and never left food out. The ants were so bad that they were even in our upper level bathroom. We did nothing to invite them in. But they refused to pay for any kind of exterminator or pest control service. 3. Our house had a gas leak in our stove. Luckily this happened in the hot hot summer. When we called them, they sent a guy over. He kept saying how lucky we were that he came out on a Sunday. He smelled the gas and called a guy to come look at it in the next week, suggesting that we leave the windows open and don't use the gas until he could come out. Leave the windows open (no screens on any) in the middle of summer for a week? Great idea. I almost forgot we were paying $3,300 a month to live outside. Overall these people only want rent money. They don't care about helping you or making your stay enjoyable. They care about whoever owns the property and nickle and diming you and insisting that everything is your fault. read more

A year and a half with this Mcgrath and they are horrible. Raked the owner over the coals for the smallest of repairs. We eventually worked directly with owner for any repairs and kept Mcgrath out of the loop. Tried every lie to keep the deposit even after the owner said all was fine. Run from this company it will save you a lot of money and aggravation in the end. read more

My original post was somehow deleted but I still feel like they burned me. This place will steal your security deposit and talk down to you like you're a child when you want to talk to them about it. Rent elsewhere. read more

Don't EVER rent from these people. They will do everything in their power to take your money. Here are some examples: - If the AC breaks, they will send someone to fix it and then charge you for it, claiming that it's your fault (and don't think about disputing it, they'll just keep adding fines to your account) - They won't fix or repair anything if they can avoid it - If you get ants in your apartment or bed bugs from the neighbors, forget about them paying a dime towards exterminator fees - When your lease is up, they'll send you emails and letters basically saying that if you don't use their "approved" maid and carpet cleaning service before you move out, they'll take money out of your security deposit. By the way, their approved service providers are really overpriced. - They ask for things that no other landlord asks for. They will take a full 60 days to return a security deposit to you. In my case they didn't return the full amount (even though the inspector said the apartment looked better than when I moved in) and won't send an itemized list of deductions and the repair costs. - They have tons of fines they'll charge you for, like if they find your air filter isn't perfectly new during their twice-yearly apartment inspections they'll fine you. These are just SOME of the many reasons not to rent from them. Even if their units are a good deal, they're not when they do everything in their power to steal money from you. read more

If you are a property owner, use McGrath Real Estate Services because they will cheat, lie, and squeeze tenants to get you the best deals. If you are a renter, DO NOT use McGrath. When I moved out, McGrath charged me $270 for carpet deep cleaning to remove deep pet stains. I never had a pet, never wore shoes on the carpet and lived in the condo for only 15 months. The carpet was practically new. Also, a piece of the paint fell off with a black dot the size of a pen on the wall and I was charged $250 to re-paint the entire wall. DO NOT RENT from these people. Rent from McGrath only if you have no other choice on the planet! read more

Whoa, I have dealt with MANY management companies in my life and McGrath is by far THE WORST. I think its easiest to just make a list, starting with the worst offenses: 1) They absolutely stole our entire deposit. They conducted an inspection of the house after we moved in and detailed each part of the house that had something wrong with it (instead of fixing and cleaning everything before we moved in - but that's a whole different problem). They did another inspection on our exit (we left the place cleaner and nicer than we came) and decided to CHARGE US with all the issues we inherited from years of neglect. Things THEY FOUND on their initial inspection, we had to pay for. There was no reasoning with them - they would not even negotiate. Broken blinds, marks on the walls and floors, etc. 2) They told us before we moved in that they would clean the house prior to our arrival and they did not. The place was an ABSOLUTE mess: cracks in doors, dirty floors and walls, mold everywhere, etc......They could care less when we complained......WE had to clean everything ourselves 3) Impossible to communicate with them - we had to send numerous emails/calls to get a response! 4) When an appliance broke, it took FOREVER to send someone to fix - sometimes over a month! This includes a washing machine, then a drier, then a dishwasher. PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS. Even if you love the place you found. Even if its the best price on the market. NOTHING is worth the aggravation and extra cost. read more

We rented a house through McGrath for a 10 month period, moving out at the end of June. The management company did absolutely nothing for us and treated us like we were some kind of enemy that was going to mess up the property. They would send out inspectors while we were residing in the house to inspect for damages. Once they sent a person to clean the gutters who left the debris in a plastic bag in our driveway. After Falls Church City refused to dispose of the debris because it was in a plastic bag, I asked McGrath to remove it. It took 3 requests and several weeks for it to finally happen. We have been out of the house now for 2.5 months and the company is refusing to refund our security deposit if over $5K. The owner is stating that problems that were either preexisting or failing due to wear and tear or poor quality. An outdoor trim piece around a door rotted through and apparently the owner thinks that we need to replace it. There was a charge for several hundred dollars to replace light bulbs and a filter for the furnace. They replaced carpet completely in 2 rooms claiming there was a stain in a small area. McGrath will not refund any of our deposit and told us they couldn't because the owner said not to, and that she was their client. You will not have a good experience renting any property from this joke of a company. Stay clear at all costs! read more

Unfortunately McGrath did not make my out of state move easier. In fact, they made it more difficult. From the time I received my lease, until I finally received the keys, the only person who helped was Greg Waters. So if I were you I'd save the heart ache and ask for him directly. Between not receiving my keys on move in day, and having the "inspector" tell us we would get them the next day, which never happened... I was to say the least unimpressed. I've told several people that if it weren't for the beautiful apartment, I wouldn't have stuck with McGrath. read more

They added 2 months to my lease without my consent. I can't believe they did this. I should have read all the reviews before renting with them now I am stuck. THEY ARE SO EXPENSIVE TOO AND THE SERVICE POOR read more

Jim McGrath and his associates are attempting to withhold the full amount of our security deposit. DO NOT Lease with this firm or Mr. Jim McGrath. They have breached multiple clauses in the lease after lease termination (move out) and are outright refusing to make the situation right. If you value your sanity and your wallet, avoid this firm altogether. Summary: Mr. Jim McGrath and his firm are refusing to observe the lease. They have been in Fairfax County Courts no less than 7 times for Warrants in Debt, likely all for not returning security deposits. AVOID read more

I would give them negative stars if I could. I'm the homeowner and I received reasonable service when it was owned by McGrath, but since it sold to Long and Fosters the service is atrocious. In the latest debacle, my tenant reported that the thermostat stopped working on Tuesday. They failed to contact the HVAC vendor who has the maintenance contract on my system and instead they sent another HVAC vendor who provided a quote. It took Long and Foster more than a day to respond to the quote and they then charged me an emergency service fee of $195 to make the repair on Friday afternoon. My clients were without heat for three days during the week and I was charged for an emergency service repair. read more

My husband and I used McGrath to rent our townhouse for two years, beginning in 2012. We are very disappointed in the lack of communication and professionalism during the last few months of our agreement with them. Our renters caused some damage to the townhouse, some of which we wanted McGrath to help us repair or determine a fair deduction from the tenant's security deposit. We have had no communication from John Bennet or others in McGrath after our initial walk through upon our return to the area. We have phoned, emailed, and requested updates multiple times. The security deposit was due back to the tenant nearly 10 days ago, and we still have no confirmation that the security deposit was returned nor any idea if an amount was set aside to pay for damages. We are very upset with McGraths poor service and complete lack of communication. We have also discovered that repairs that we're claimed to have been made (and that we paid for) we're not completed correctly or as reported in write ups. Very disappointing. We would not recommend McGrath to anyone, either as a renter or owner. We will not be using McGrath for our next rental either. read more

I just noticed how many bad reviews these guys have, and I am surprised! I guess we tend to leave reviews when we are upset and forget the good. Well, we rented for 2 years from them, and they were outstanding. (Especially compared to the management company we rented from immediately after!) Anytime there was a problem they were promptly on top of it. We got every penny of our deposit on leaving as well. I will say the owners of our house probably had something to do with how great our experience was, as they kept it up beautifully, but every interaction with McGrath was a-ok and they went above and beyond a couple of times, contacting US about a problem and solving it before we even thought to call them. (They did sell to Long and Foster just as we were moving, so take with a grain of salt. I hope they are still as stellar as they were.) read more

I lived at a McGrath managed property in Falls Church Virginia for 3 years. It kind of amazes me to see how incredibly negative their Yelp reputation is with tenants. Then again, it was a frustrating 3 years, with a lot of "fees" and "charges," a huge number of appliance/structural failures, and not very timely repairs, lots of miscommunication, etc. Particularly surprising was the account from Jeremy T., who apparently successfully sued McGrath for unlawfully withholding his security deposit--the judge finding them in violation of Virginia law pertaining to lease term unconscionability (§ 8.2A-108). I can't imagine having to pursue something like that, although I guess I would if I lost a lot of money for seemingly fraudulent reasons too. It wasn't just one reviewer claiming fraudulent security deposit practices, it was several. If you're a renter, you're better off going for an apartment community that is beholden to VA state tenancy laws (VRLTA), or else renting directly from a homeowner, because agencies like this specialize in being a policy and conscience middle man or "buffer" between tenants and landords who want to offer minimal quality of service to their tenants. Landlords that only only own 1 or 2 properties can take advantage of a loophole in VA tenancy laws, exempting them from the higher legal quality of service (QOS) requirements and standards afforded by the VRLTA (Virginia Residential Landlord-Tenant Act) and companies like McGrath specialize in being the bureaucratic roadblock to decent service. read more

Update at of 11/16/2011 I called and spoke to Luis the 'property manager' today. This was the same person that emailed me to say the check was ready on 11/10 but that he didn't have my forwarding address. This is, of course, absolute rubbish as the landlord is obliged to send the security deposit to the last known address and, in Virginia, within 45 days. Luis put me on hold while he 'consulted' with the accounts department, then came back to tell me that the 'check was sent out yesterday'. Well, heck. Not by first class mail it wasn't, even though they are in breach of Virginia law as well as their own lease paperwork. I guess I will be calling them tomorrow as well. read more

I began using McGrath in January of 2010 as I was moving abroad for two years. Initially the service was very good; however, since September 2010 the experience has trended steadily lower. McGrath is supposed to perform annual inspections of the home and unless prompted, the annual inspections seemed to have been forgotten and overlooked. I should have known there were problems in early 2012, when my tenant refused to speak to anyone from McGrath and even had to involve her attorney. I had to step into the matter and bring calm to and eventually resolve the matter. The final straw for me was after more than 15 months since the last inspection. I sent an inquiry to understand why hadn't an inspection been completed. At which, time I received feedback that an inspection had been done and the results would follow (HOW IRONIC..). I did receive a work order in the following weeks and many of the items include were cosmetic (most applicable to spring actions such has power washing the deck, etc...) of which I happily approved, as I have an excellent tenant who always pays and looks after the home. The problem starts when I receive an invoice for $300 to include items which were not included on the original work order, yet the invoice made reference to the work order number and when I challenged the charges I was sent images of another home as proof of the completed work. HOW UNPROFESSIONAL!! Finally after several emails with the client repair manager Dave Buckingham, I then received a message from a Gregg Waters, the client advocate, who definitely doesn't understand his job title and certainly was not advocating on my behalf and is as rude as they come. This is what my 8% gets me on a month basis. I certainly would not advocate nor recommend McGrath as a property management company under any circumstance. Their quality is lacking and their customer service is absolutely horrible. There are plenty of property managers that can do the job and have more respect for their clients. read more

Just rented a place from them. They did the inspection before we arrived from out of state. The house had bits of food mashed up against the wall and large scratches on the wall longer than the length of my arm, yet they said it was "acceptable" and did not need to be painted. We argued and they told us that they couldn't have it painted anyway because they already returned the deposit to the previous tenants, as if that's our responsibility. They then asked us to write a personal appeal to the home owners to see if they would cover the cost of the new paint. I was desperate and needed a place ASAP, but do not ever rent from these people. When we refused, they said they'd see what they can do, and they simply never responded to us. It's so frustrating dealing with them, that I decided to just cover the cost of painting the place myself to make it presentable to guests. They also checked our references in a very rude manner. They asked how many times we were late to work, etc. I had to send 5 emails and make 2 phone calls before I finally got my pool passes form faxed to the HOA over the course of a month so that we can use the pools. Every time I call they make you feel like you're bothering them. These people have no business being in this business. Save yourself and do NOT rent from these people. read more

If i had the option to give 0 stars I would. This is the worst place i have ever rented with. If you think they are helping you out with anything, think again, they just act like that and later hit you with tiny clauses of the contract "you should have read bc you had plenty of time to read over the contract". Oh and don't even bother cleaning the place when you move out.. they call everything dirty so you might as well let it be true. I scrubbed my fridge and microwave (that were never even close to dirty to begin with) with lestoil and had them sparkling and they still got a DIRTY next to them on the move out report. What a waste of my time. read more

From Day 1 McGrath Real Estate Service has been lacking in every way possible with regard to our property's management. They shirk responsibility and pass things on to the next guy. They do not follow through or ensure a proper move in for a tenant starting with no one giving the tenants the lock code on the door on the move in day, no set up of an inspection prior to move in, shoddy half baked inspections that ignore glaring problems like potential mold or fire hazards, safety hazards (windows and doors that cannot lock) and having to call numerous people, many times, to get a response from those responsible. The house stank of cigarette smoke for at least 3 weeks from their repair/handymen etc. IF ONLY THE HOMEOWNERS KNEW WHO THEY LEFT THEIR HOMES/INVESTMENTS TO, THEY WOULD HAVE GROUNDS FOR SUING MCGRATH. * the one and only thing they are great at, is taking the renters' money in full...1st last and everything in between read more

I was renting a large home from McGrath for three years. They were very difficult to deal with. Most of the time they would return my phone calls, only to tell me the owners have not responded. I am not sure what they were doing for the owners, every repair I had to coordinate with the repair company and take off work. One time I had to take off work 5 times until they selected a company and fixed the AC.... 10 days out in August . Stay away from this company. We asked in Feb. to extend our lease that ended in July. McGrath response was "we will give you an answer in June"..... In June the owner stood in the kitchen and told us they were moving back in November and would work with us on a move out date so we would have time to find a place.. 5 days later I asked if we could extend the lease one month... McGrath said no, I asked if we could extend 15 days , McGrath said no.... I am not sure how this is working with a tenant but this is for sure.... DO NOT RENT A HOME MANAGED BY McGrath...... you will only have disappointment. . read more

Thankless business to be in taking care of someone's home while you are overseas or out of the state? Parameters are set by The McGrath team and they seem to do a good job following them. They found a qualified renter and when I returned the place looked great. I did not have high expectations on that. read more

I lived in a McGrath managed property for a year and they are unprofessional and very difficult to deal with...Was happy to leave the property and end the relationship with McGrath. When I had issues during my stay the contact person would be rude and/OR unhelpful or slow to respond. They kept all of my $1400 dollar deposit but $150. I am a very clean person and I took care of the property that I rented as if it were my own however McGrath Kept my deposit. I know that the tenant prior to me had the same issue with her deposit being returned. Soooo I am glad to no longer live in a McGrath managed property...alot of my stress is gone. NEVER USE THIS COMPANY!. If you are looking to rent a property and McGarth is the managing company do not rent it-you will never get your deposit back. read more

I was employed with McGrath Real Estate Services from May, 2012 to November, 2014. The company is full of employees who truly care about their clients, company, and the community. They are expert coaches who have extensive knowledge in real estate and property management. In my 2+ years there, I went from knowing virtually nothing about real estate and property management to becoming a successful real estate agent and property manager. This shows how much they care about their team and value their employee development. The McGrath family and all of the company's employees deserve nothing but praise. If you are looking for a property manager, there is no better place to look. read more

My family rented a McGrath property in Sterling a little over 2 years ago. Location worked for us as we were consolidated living spaces when my wife and I married. I had a daughter enter her high last year in high school and thought it would be best to have her graduate with her friends. During the initial walk through with a Realtor we were working with we came across a number of items like un-cared lawn with bushes and shrubs over growing. The inside was in good shape minus needing paint to cover a scratches and dings. The tenant living there at the time were some messy people. A few other things we came across we felt were not that big of a deal giving how long we figured we'd be there. 2 days after moving in one of the bathrooms had a mini flood. 2 weeks later we noticed the windows on the back side of the house had panes that swole due to poor sealing and water damage. We took pictures sent emails, even had their head repair guy come and nothing ever came of it. Our master bathroom tiling kept getting mold because it wasn't properly treated. They never got it fixed until we were in the process of moving out. We were great tenants, paid rent on time and passed every 6 month inspections with flying colors. I've had to call their office multiple times to always be told someone would get back to me and they never due. 2 months after we've moved out we finally got our deposit or should I say just over half of it. McGrath deducted $900 for a cleaning service to come in, something not done for us, deducted money for replacing light bulbs - not done when we moved in, charged us for painting various spots in the house - areas that were the same way when we moved in. I highly recommend that you keep searching even if you think McGrath is your only option. There are better property management companies out there. Good luck and stay far far away from McGrath properties. read more

I have never encountered a less professional Real Estate Services company than McGrath. Everybody I've spoken with at their office has been rude and wildly unprofessional. They don't try to fix your problem ever, they argue over it being not their fault. Whoever they have answering phones over there needs to be fired because they don't even pretend to care about their job or their customer. When it comes time to move out, they have given me less than one hour notice that they're showing my home on multiple occasions, even though my lease guarantees me 24 hour notice. I should not be getting calls at 9:30am telling me that they are showing my home at 10:30am. That is extremely unprofessional and it's happened too many times for me to believe it was special circumstances. They know ahead of time, they just don't tell you ahead of time because they're disorganized and do not care at all about their customer's convenience. This is the single most despicable firm I've ever dealt with and you should save yourself the headache of dealing with them. read more

We were told that we were able to apply for a property to rent and were not told that there were multiple parties applying at the same time. We were also not aware that this meant we could not get our $90 application fee back if they chose not to go with us (our income and credit were stellar for this property). I will never work with this real estate company again because after taking our money, they let us know their client had "chosen" to go another direction. We should be getting a full refund since it was no fault of our own. read more

I have been renting from McGrath 2 years now and they have been great from the very beginning. Anytime I have any issues with my property they have responded promptly and have had someone out same day or within 24 hours. Renting a new property, and moving your family to a new area can be stressful but not with McGrath. Great experience! You cant go wrong with McGrath. read more