AH Management

Can’t help but echo K.R.‘s review below. What a disappointment of a management company and I am happy to discuss my 5+ years of experience with them to any fellow Unilocalers. My property manager should have been fired for ineptitude! Save your money and do the appropriate legwork to hire someone else.

I sold and bought from Avery-​Hess, Realtors and have been thrilled with their services. The agent I dealt with was courteous, professional and really listened to what I wanted to accomplish. Their local expertise is unlike any other real estate company! If you’re looking to buy, sell or rent in the DC area I highly recommend them!

I rented a condo managed by Avery Hess for 3.5 years. Since I had a negative experience I wanted to warn others about using Avery-​Hess.
Overall the property was sufficiently managed. However, when it came time to move out I was deceived. I asked if I could end my lease early pending finding a replacement tenant. The agent managing my unit responded with this:
«I talked to the owner and got approval to list the condo.»
I interpreted her response as approval to end the lease early. No mention of penalties was made. They were easily able to re rent the unit to someone without any gap. The day of my move out the agent managing my unit stopped by and told me they were withholding $ 1050 from my deposit for commission.
Since then I have received my check for my deposit less $ 1050 and no answers to my requests for further information.
The lease specifically says the tenant can be released with written consent from the landlord. I wish they would have just warned me about the charges so I could have decided whether to stay, sublet, or pay the penalty.
If they decide to make right on this I will update the review. Otherwise, I’d suggest tenants avoid Avery-​Hess PM, and if tenants are avoiding them owners probably should too.

If you’re looking for a property management company, you’re better off doing it yourself than using Avery Hess. I used their services for a few years to manage a condo, and was not impressed. They turned a bad situation (I was forced to rent it out because I can’t afford the loss if I sell) into an even worse one. They didn’t pay attention to simple things, like the month-​to-​month changes in the condo fees/​utilities. They put one amount into their system, and paid that amount each month… which meant they sometimes overpaid, and sometimes underpaid (resulting in fines and a negative reputation for ME with the condo association). I also had to send THEM reminders of key things — like the annual city homeowners’ fee. At the end of the lease term, they communicated very poorly as to the amounts they were refunding, and ended up sticking me with a large repair bill with no advance notice. Poor communication, poor attention to detail… their services were not worth the money.