Main Street Properties

I have rented apartments in Richmond for 5 years (I have moved every year for one reason or another) and this is absolutely the worst company I have ever rented from. To begin, when I first moved they had not cleaned the apartment. In the lease it says that the apartment will be professionally cleaned before one moves in. The toilet was disgusting and the floors clearly had not been mopped or even swept. I went to open the window and the glass had fall out and shattered on the ground. Someone had just gotten in their car 3 seconds earlier… I could have killed them!
There was also a broken step in the main hallway. Many people had fallen on it and it was about 130 pounds away from collapsing and resulting in a broken leg. I called them, emailed them and wrote them letters kindly asking them to fix the steps. I know that other tenants complained as well. I even went to their place of business and mentioned it when I was dropping off my rent. They will pretty much nicely tell you that they will call someone now and have them come look at it. It took them 4 and a half months to fix this step.
Secondly, there was a significant leak in my roommate’s bedroom. It was not a small leak that dripped every once in a while, it was a stream of rain water that came out every time it rained. We called them immediately and nothing was done about it. We started calling every day and going by the office. They did not fix the leak for 37 days and the only reason they came is because the it spread across the room and ruined my roommate’s laptop. Of course, they did not help pay for the laptop damages. Later in the year another leak started in the window seal and they did not fix it for 3 months.
Finally, because of all the leaking they encouraged us to move out early. My roommate was staying so they let her move to another apartment. Me on the other hand, they encouraged me to move out earlier but still made me pay full rent. Because I thought this was unfair I asked him not to do any construction on the apartment until my lease was officially up. I spoke to three different people within the company including the owner assuring them construction would not be started until after the first of the month. I came by to study at the apartment I was still paying for and they had replaced all the windows and fixed the ceiling and painted. So pretty much I paid 500 dollars for them to start construction but they wouldn’t let me live there. To top it all off they are charging me 65 dollars because my key was one day late. And yes, I know it probably is in my lease but come on…
I know that they have one of the cheapest apartments in Richmond but these apartments are disgusting in general. I would pay an extra 30 dollars a month and go somewhere else. This year has been so frustrating that I almost wish that I broke my leg on that step so I could sue them for everything they are worth.

These guys were great. The apartment I rented from them 2006 – 2007 was a no-​frills great deal: a HUGE one-​bedroom (the entire top floor of a 3-​story row house) just one block off the VCU campus on Franklin Street for $ 550 a month including all utilities except internet. In a city where rent-​gouging and slumlording is rampant, especially close to the VCU campus, Main Street stood out for charging a fair price for a sound rental in a great location. The apartment didn’t have central air or new windows or other modern upgrades, but it had been well-​maintained and had no defects. A small touch I appreciated was they had allowed the previous tenant to paint the rooms in different colors (a green kitchen, beige living room, and blue bedroom) which gave the apartment ten times more character than all the other uniformly off-​white places I looked at.
I only needed maintenance’s help a few times (to work out kinks in the old radiator system during the winter) and they always responded the same day and fixed exactly what needed fixing. The office staff were very friendly and helpful, and prompt in returning my occasional calls.
The landlord did not show the apartment. They set up an appointment with the existing tenant to show me the apartment before I moved in, which I appreciated as it meant I could hear about the apartment — and the landlords — from someone with experience living there and dealing with that company, and without a vested interest in getting me to take the apartment. When I moved out to attend grad school in another city, had I not recommended the place to a friend who took over my lease, I would have been able to do the same.
They returned my security deposit in full and in a reasonable amount of time.
They didn’t have a website then or do any online ads, and it looks like they still don’t. (Despite what Google tells you,
is not them, nor is
.) They kept a printed list of current availabilities in a Take One box outside their office on Main Street when I was living in Richmond. It was worth getting off the internet to pick up the list in person and get access to deals not found online.