Peabody Residential - Reston, Virginia

Alma P.

I do not recommend Peabody for your property management needs. Some examples of their poorly executed actions are as follows:
1. Our tenants advised Peabody they were breaking the lease 60 days before they intended to move out but Peabody did not notify us until a few weeks before the tenants moved out. We asked them to readvertise the property at that point; however, due to their lack of communication, we had a 2-month gap in rental income.
2. Peabody determined that our tenants were responsible for a damaged item in our home. The tenants refused to pay the repair bill and Peabody’s policy is to take the repair amount from the tenant’s security deposit and charge late fees on the bill every month; however, even though this is Peabody’s policy, their billing system is incapable of allowing a bill to be charged against the tenant’s security deposit so it took our rental income from us, the landlords, for months. We sent Peabody messages in the portal, emailed them directly, and called them multiple times to get the issue fixed to no avail. We paid for the bill upfront so that our account would be brought back to normal but because their system still registered it as a bill for the tenants, the money kept coming out of our monthly rental income and the tenants kept paying late fees – late fees paid directly to Peabody. Finally, the owner of the company allowed a workaround that allowed our account to go back to paying out normally. We asked if the late fees were reimbursed to the tenants and Peabody never responded. Our frustration here was why have a policy that your billing system cannot handle?
3. Peabody changed their policy on security deposits after we signed our lease agreeing to have Peabody handle the final home inspection and return of security deposit. The change was to have the landlords review the home’s condition and pay out the security deposit vice having Peabody handle this. They then had us sign an addendum to the lease to make the change official; however, they did not communicate what this change would entail. They took $500 from our account because they considered this a “change to the lease” and a change requires a $500 fee. Not only is Peabody doing less work (by not coordinating a final inspection & return of security deposit), but they charged us for this unwanted change as well, and in a very sly way. After back and forth with the admin team, the operations specialist, and the owner of the company, we recovered the $500.
4. The finance team provided us with incorrect balances on various occasions. When we pointed them out, it was like pulling teeth to get them to see their mistakes and fix them.

Peabody lacks communication and customer service skills. Pay 1% more in management fees with another company and save yourself the frustration.

Loudoun N.

Jaqueline, Glen, Kelly and Nathan at Peabody Residential Management are the best property managers we have ever had! Definitely 5 Stars!

christie S.

This company never answers the phone nor do they call you back. I applied for one of their properties at the beginning of February they were asked to submit documents on behalf of the homeowner and they still have not done anything. I have filed several complaints with the BBB. Kelly emailed back but when you dial her ext. 100 she doesn’t answer or call back. I asked if they need assistance with the paperwork no one responded. I have left several messages on Kelly’s voicemail as well as the ext 115 no answers that either. I stated I was going to come to the office for help then they emailed back saying nobody would be the office the whole day.

Milos N.

Peabody is the worst company we had to deal with in years
We moved in when was the Covid time, and had to pay 2 rents upfront ($4000) per their request.

The apartment was in not great condition when we moved in (carpet was old and full with stains and burns, kitchen was in terrible condition), but I we needed a new home, so we didn't have a choice

After moving out, they charged us for every radicicols stuff including the kitchen repair, carper replacement, cleaning the smoke odor (even nobody ever smoked in the apartment (my wife was pregnant at the time))
They charged us $2600+

When we tried to talk to them about the prices and why they charged us that much, they didn't even bother to respond until we sent a hundreds of emails and calls

We reported them to Better Business Bureau (BBB) and all of you should do the same!

Joyce C.

The Peabody team has been exceptional in their transparency and honesty, providing clear communication about costs, local market conditions, and realistic expectations. I truly appreciate their dedication and commitment to keeping me well-informed every step of the way! Thank you, Peabody Team, for your outstanding support and effort!

Alaa E.

SUMMARY (Please see details afterwards):
For starter: All what is listed in this review is DOCUMENTED with documents, formal email communications, and legitimate professional business receipts. This review is not just an angry customer presenting their side of the story. I will be more than happy to provide copies of all the evidence and documents that I collected if you want to corroborate my review below.
Peabody charged me – as tenant – charges that are described as ‘arbitrary’ to say the very least. Of course, they will claim that they (responded to tenants’ inquiry) and (provided supporting documents). What they really do is charge ARBITARIRLY INFLATED charges (See DETAILED EXAMPLES below).
They do the above counting on the assumption that the tenant will be (1) uninformed, (2) too busy to push back, or (3) not willing to put the time and effort to go after their right.
Basically, Peabody Residential tries to please the landlord that contracted them through passing on unjustified and arbitrarily inflated costs to the tenant. They want to please and keep their client (the landlord) through making the tenants pay for it. When I (the tenant) presented what I see as very reasonable counter-claims to their charges, they do respond but their responses are basically dodging the bullet to the landlord stating that (this was the landlord’s decision). They do not recognize their job is to ‘be fair to both parties’, not solely please their client who contracts them at the expense of the tenant.
Peabody Residential also only enforces rules and agreements when they play out to THEIR favor. When they play out to the tenant’s favor, they bend the rules and blame it on (misunderstanding or miscommunication) – See Item 2 under (DETAILS) Section below. They do not have accountability for their actions. They just try to please the client that contracts them at the expense of the tenant whom they think does not have any leverage.
I STRONGLY AND WHOLE HEARTIDLY RECOMMEND against using Peabody Residential Property Management services WHETHER you are a tenant or a landlord. If you are a tenant: they will not protect or fight for your rights. If you are a landlord, eventually you will run into a tenant who is willing to put time and effort to go after you to get their rights through legal action.

DETAILS:
Here are TWO EXAMPLES of what is described above. Contact me and I am happy to provide FORMAL DOCUMENTATION + FIVE ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES WITH PROOF:
(1) SECURITY DEPOSIT:
I used professional move-out cleaning service ($325 + $50 tips) and professional carpet cleaning service ($125 + $20 tips) as instructed. I sent receipts to them. TWICE. They STILL decided to deduct $536 out of my security deposit for cleaning. The justification was (Landlord thought cleaning was insufficient). They did not do any due diligence to corroborate the lanlodrd’s statement. As it turns out, the new tenant is just picky and demanded additional cleaning. They decided to pass on these costs to me as tenant (I have DOCUMENTED proof of this).
An additional point here: When Peabody Residential was administering (Showings) to find new tenants, the showings were very sloppy, leaving doors open, keeping shoes on, etc. I sent them an email to document this, and they responded acknowledging receipt of my email. They still did not do it and decided to charge me, tenant, for the (high cleanliness standards of the new tenant).
(2) They charged me $1,150 to replace a water dispenser faucet (I have details + receipt + proof).
(3) They charged me $90 to replace 3 light bulbs
(4) They charged me (tenant) $500 in administrative fee for a lease amendment REQUESTED BY THE LANDLORD.
(5) They failed to acknowledge receipts that I sent.

Alex K.

My neighbor is managed by Peabody. It’s been a fun experience dealing with them. If you want your neighbors to hate you, hire them. The price is right.

Another year, another update.
October 25, 2023:
This time the cleaning crew for the rental property left a bottle of bleach uncapped and spilled under my car. In their rush they also left a bottle of ajax.

At least they were able to address this issue within 24 hours by providing me the name of their contractor so I will say things might have improved if their choice of contractors may be less than desirable.

Megan P.

I have been a client of Peabody for 4+ years and have always had a great experience. Recently, I've had some issues with difficult new renters. Kelly, their Director of Operations, was instrumental in addressing my concerns, and reconfirming my confidence in them as my property management company. They look out for their owners and renters and handle things in a fair manner for all parties involved. I would highly recommend them to manage any property. Special shout out to Kelly, who is amazing!!