We lived in a neighborhood where First Service Residential, f.k.a. Armstrong Management, ran the HOA. We were not impressed. Look at the other comments here. Almost all of them mention failure to respond to correspondence. Our experience was similar. First there are the violations that never get enforced. People parking work vehicles in violation of the HOA covenants, and nothing gets done. Our neighbor never cut their grass. We and the neighbors on both sides made complaints including pictures. Nothing was ever done. Go by there now, and the weeds are chest-high. But at the same time we got nit-picky violation notices. One time we got a notice saying that one of the slats on our fence needed to be replaced. I checked, and there was nothing wrong with our fence that I could see. I responded to the notice asking for something more specific. I got no response. Here I was willing to do what I had to do to be in compliance with the HOA covenants, and I got no response to my inquiry. I never heard from them about this issue again. An email takes a few minutes to write. Come on. Then we got a notice about damage to the door frame on our house. The damage was caused by the landscaping company using a weed wacker to cut the grass near the door. Every house on our block had the same damage, and we all got these notices to repair and repaint. It was ridiculous because even if we did repair and repaint, it would just get damaged again the next time the grass was cut. Of course we received no response to our pleas for reasonableness. We left the spot unrepaired as a protest, but we repaired and repainted it for the next owner when we moved out. Speaking of moving out. Our HOA dues are automatically deducted from our bank account on the first of the month. The website has instructions to submit a request in writing to cease the automatic withdrawal from the bank account. We submitted a request in writing. They still took it out. So I sent an email asking for directions with respect to whom the written request should be directed. No response. The only way we were able to stop it was to contact our bank. But they still owe us over $200 for the money they took out after we requested in writing to stop. We'll never see that again because they don't respond to any correspondence. Maybe they provide better customer service to HOA officers, but as far as their response to concerns of residents, these people are the worst. read more

Armstrong Management is a property management company that my hood uses for maintenance. These guys are awesome!! They started to plow & salt my hood around 5am this morning and I was able to leave for work at 7am, although I didn't go to work today. They did a very good job of plowing the streets and the back alley ways where my driveway & garage is located. These guys plowed my driveway and even showeled the snow off my front door steps. Kudos!! for a job well done. For today, I won't bitch about my monthly HOA fees cuz money was used for good cause. I gotta deduct a star for disturbing me on a kick ass dream I was having and waking me at 5am. read more

To be as bad as they are, you actually have to try to be THAT bad. FYI - This company is now called FirstService Residential. read more

This is the absolute worst management company I have ever had to deal with. The condo that i'm living in uses them. Good luck trying get them to help you. Their response is lazy and they put in the least amount of effort that they can. I get it, you have multiple properties to manage, but at least ACT like you care and don't suck at your job. My condo was recently flooded by a burst pipe upstairs and is no longer inhabitable. Through the entire process they have continually told me to "speak to so and so" and "that isn't in my job description". Completely worthless. An to top it off, i have been told I still need to pay the monthly condo assessment, even though I can't live there for a few months. Utterly stupid. read more

Armstrong Management manages my condo building. They have only one guy working here from 9-4 on Tues and Thurs. When you move-in those are the only hours you have to work with for using the elevator and likewise for any deliveries that require the loading dock. It's hard enough to move-in or accept deliveries on weekdays, since I work 9-5 M-F like a normal person, but to only have 2 days of the week available for anything is ridiculous. You can't even reach them outside of those hours. Unacceptable. read more

We remain with 1 star because Yelp doesn't allow zero stars or negatives. No real billing issues this year, but only because the master association happened to tell me that there is, in fact, online access to your bill via the neighborhood website. Neighborhood website? What? I've lived here for (at that point) 3.5 years, and I had no idea that there was a neighborhood website. I'd asked many, many times about ways to get copies of my bill, and this was never mentioned. But, with the advent of very cold weather we had lots of broken pipes, including multiple fire suppression systems. I spoke to the fire department several times, and called the issue in once. The person who handled the call was totally disinterested, and said they would get the alarm turned off before the fire department arrived, which didn't happen. The fire department again told me it is this complex, and that the pipes as well as the room with the fire suppression system, burst due to a design flaw. I asked if the pipes were wrapped, and if the room was insulated, and told no. Unbelievable. I pay nearly $400 a month, and they can't jacket the pipes? There continue to be other safety issues as well, including the previously mentioned cutting back of bushes on a regular basis, and ensuring that dogs owners are picking up after their pets. I really think the part that bothers me most is that the residential manager is passive aggressive: she either ignores emails or waits until you get frustrated and rude, then replies in kind. I am not the only person she responds to in this fashion; I commented that I really didn't want to have to discuss the fire suppression system and broken pipes with the property management company because I knew I'd get attitude. The fire department said they get it from her too. Isn't that sad? They have to come here because somebody didn't do their job, and she just makes their job harder. read more

I wish I could give them zero stars. I've owned a condo in a building managed by First Service Residential (formerly Armstrong Management) since 2012. These guys are the WORST management company I have ever dealt with. They NEVER return your calls or emails unless you escalate it up to the district manager. Even then you are most likely not going to get a response. It doesn't matter how many times you call their number or send their email or how many times the customer service rep sends a message via "internal" mail. Their MO seems to collect your money and then ignore you until you give up out of frustration. ABSOLUTELY THE WORST MANAGEMENT COMPANY! read more

Your review helps others learn about great local businesses. I am sorry this is the lowest rating that I could give. Before purchasing your home make sure you know who wiill manage your HOA. If you are concerned about keeping the value up in your home be very selective in choosing who manages your HOA. If you are purchasing new construction, always inquire about the HOA management company. It is also a good idea to visit an older community were they are managing before purchasing your home. If you would like to see the upkeep of a community that First Residential Services (Armstrong) has been the only management company in the subdivision since the beginning, you can visit Brentsmill Estates in Stafford. Pay close attention to the yards, outdated license plates on cars parked in the driveway, basketball goal in th street and driveway. I could go on with the violations that FSR is doing nothing about. read more

In some ways, they have been helpful to our HOA by reviewing the books and helping the Board figure out how best to manage finances. In other ways, like day-to-day management of our bldg., they are not at all responsive. Emails are sometimes never answered or are answered with little knowledge of the policies or issues and are answered late. The door to the office on site is mostly closed tho' the sign says "open" so it's pretty off-putting. Not sure how they hire and assign personnel but it seems that there must be a shortage of experienced people for their properties. read more

I have lived in a townhouse community managed by Armstrong for two years. They get two stars for being prompt with snow removal and for regular maintenance of the landscaping. If not for those things, I would remove a star because their customer service is awful. We have had two particularly infuriating incidents. 1) The first concerned our parking passes. Our parking lot has one assigned parking space for each unit, a number of "resident" spaces that can be occupied by any car with a resident sticker and a bunch of "visitor" spaces. The resident parking sticker that we are required to show on our rear windshields lists the name of our community only and does not list an expiration date (not even month or year) for when the pass is no longer valid. Last summer property management announced that the current stickers had expired and that new ones had to be acquired to prevent towing. However, they only notified the property owners, and at least half of our community are renters. None of the renters received notification, but all of us suddenly had our cars towed. My fiance's car was towed one evening and mine was gone by the morning. Our landlord, when he stopped by to talk to us about resolving the problem, had his car towed! He showed us the notice he had gotten in the mail about replacing the parking tags, but nowhere on it was a date by which the change had to be done. The three of us did not recoup our almost $400 in towing fees. 2) The second concerned "approved" items for our back patio. Each unit in our community has a small concrete slab patio with wall on each side and a half wall in the back that opens out into the common area between the rows of townhouses. Our particular patio has a massive evergreen tree right outside it, that provides partial shielding from the common area and which has afforded us extra (we thought) privacy. Our landlord received notice this week that he would be fined $100 for pots on our patio that don't have flowers in them. Since we are getting ready to move, I haven't put any plants out there and didn't intend to. I called Armstrong and was told that there is a community rule that states that all pots on patios must have flowers in them. Otherwise, they must be taken indoors or discarded. While I have done some gardening in our two years here, I definitely haven't used every pot all the time, and I never received any complaints until now. The crux of this is, however, that there is a rule regarding pots on my patio, even if the patio is barely visible from the common area and even if none of our items are spilling out into the common area. So...Armstrong is great for general upkeep type things. They are always prompt with putting down salt in advance of winter storms, plowing afterwards and doing gorgeous landscaping. But if there's any way they think they can squeeze a renter or landlord/property owner for a dollar, they do it. I can't wait to move out so I don't have to deal with these people. read more

Very disappointing as a HOA service for our community Goose Creek Ashburn, VA. Street lights are scarce and the ones we do have never have work. It makes for a very dark neighborhood and its not safe. I feel like overall the management company doesn't care to come out and fix anything!! And when you call to just try to tell someone whats going on - they just act frustrated and as if they don't care. For the price we pay I at least think street lights should operate. read more

I have to agree with jan F. comments. I have nothing positive to say about this company. I do know they like to add FEEs, FEEs, and more FEEs without explaining why. read more

I have had nothing but headaches and problems with this management company. It is hands down the worst company I have dealt with in regard to customer services, responsiveness, and knowledgeable staff; none of which exist with them. Hopefully given its poor internal management, this company will run itself to the ground and disappear soon because it is only creating a burden on the communities it manages. Like many of the other reviews, I would have liked to give zero stars. If any associations or companies are in search of a property management company, DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. read more

Armstrong manages the condos at Island Creek in Fairfax County. I own two condos in that complex (investments), and I dread working with Armstrong because they are either unresponsive or they want to fight with homeowners rather than accommodate them. On July 23, 2009, they sent me a letter stating that unless I paid $400 in overdue condo fees they would take me to court. The fact that I have documentation from Wachovia Bank proving I have never missed nor been late with a payment doesn't interest them. Presently they refuse to answer my phone calls or emails. read more

This company should be investigated immediately! They tell you that you have late fees when you have never been late with a payment. They then send you mail to tell you that you owe a huge bill when you have never been late. When you have them on monthly automatic payments and you show them a record of all ontime payments and you tell them that you will not pay the fees they state you owe, they then transfer you to Red Rock which in less than 5 months you then owe $1500. This is insane and I need to know how they are getting away with this racketeering business. You can not get through to anyone there in a senior level to complain because it always goes to voicemail. If you have them as a management company- vote them out immediately. If you are about to buy a home and they are the selected management company- Do not buy that home! read more

Our community switched to Armstrong and this is the worst association I have ever encountered. There are two people that run the center in an over 55 community and they thing they owe the community. They are rude and one just watches everyone and then says creepy comments. I actually had to tell him that if he tried to talk to me again that I would call the police because he scares me. These people are out of control. Recently they decided that the parking spaces closet to the building should be reserved for themselves and yet we have a number of residents that could benefit from that same luxury. If they are paid employees why don't they have to park farthest from the door. I mean, really, they are employees but calls to Armstrong only support the perverts. They have made me realize that after five years I no longer like this community and my house is going on the market. Of course, my dilemma is do I tell people about the creeps and risk not selling it or keep my mouth shut. I don't know who they paid to get this contract but I would never, ever, ever recommend them. Stay far, far away from their communities if you value your privacy and want to be treated like an adult. I completely agree with jan f. Brian S MUST be an employee or owner because he's obviously never had to deal with the incompetence that we now have. Awful, awful, awful. read more

Armstrong Management is a SORRY management company. They are only out to get your money wehile providing subpar services. I did not receive a payment booklet from them and each month, they claim my payment was received late and charge me a late payment fee of twenty five dollars. I always mail out my payments on the 4th of the month but somehow they claim they receive it after the 10th (how convenient). They promise to email me a form to ask for waivers for the $25 charge but I have yet to receive a single form. The previous management company was a better company than Armstrong and I think Armstrong needs to go. Armstrong is SORRY,SORRY, SORRY! read more

First Service Residential represents my community Landsdowne in the Alexandria area of Virginia. Lets start by saying they sent my bill to collections after we have asked on several occasions to have a bill sent for our association dues. They are doing business with a collections agency in the State of Michigan that has a F Rating with the Better Business Bureau. They have no problem sending this off to collections, rather than doing business as a normal organization would and send a bill. Obviously ARMSTRONG Management changed their name for a reason to hide their horrible service, well folks, they are right back at it again. They are clearly at ZERO Stars, but have no way for me to offer that type of rating for them. So One at best is a real inaccurate way to describe how they handle their business practices. I really think the part that bothers me most is that the residential manager is passive aggressive: they either ignores emails or waits until you get frustrated and rude, then replies in kind. They claim they just work for the community, well if this is work, then perhaps I we all should get paid to do absolutely nothing at all when asked to do so. read more

The company deserves a ZERO rating. They don't return calls, they don't send out coupon books, they take ONE YEAR to send out meeting minutes from the annual meeting. Also, what I want to know is...how do these people get these jobs - I want one! you get paid and do NOTHING. and you say you were in management and that you were in customer service. definately not! lastly, Armstrong's docs are completely unprofessional, recent ones we recieved had references to both Fairfax County and to Loudoun County. Like the document had never been through a proper edit. To reinforce the inappropriateness of the company... they are trying to change our by-laws so that every tiny item needs approval and want to enforce a twice a year fertilizer and insect treatment schedule. AND, you know what this results in? Changes and enforecement require lawyer mediation. Meaning more fees to both Armstrong and the law firm they employ. And, oh yeah, up go the HOA fees. I suggest looking closely at this company and not using them. They are USELESS. read more

I joined my HOA board in 2007 specifically to advocate for the termination of Armstrong's management agreement with my community. On-site staff was grossly incompetent and oversight at the next level was woefully inadequate. The financial and operational management of my community by this firm led to some serious financial shortfalls and improper maintenance and replacement of critical systems. I cannot in good conscience recommend them to any other community in the metro DC area. read more

I agree. That person must work for the company. Armstrong just collects $$$. and who knows what they do with it. They certainly don't spend it on the community - Condominiums at Gunston. They need to be investigated and their books should be audited. read more

Horrific customer service and incompetent management! These scumbags sent me a bill accusing me of not paying a condo fee. I have owned the condo for six years, have never missed a payment, and have always paid on time. I provided proof that they cashed the check I sent them for the alleged missed payment. Then they changed the missed payment date on me, so again I provided proof that I paid for the second date they accused me of missing. Believe it or not, they tried switching it up again and said I missed a payment two years prior. What kind of a business takes two years to notice a missed payment? So, again, they were wrong; I had proof I paid that bill, too. They keep sending me bills for the date anyway, disregarding the proof I have provided, and now they are threatening to send a collection agency after me. I have called them multiple times and sent near a dozen emails, but nobody can get the record straight. They keep avoiding me, refusing to respond. Supervisors are never "available" and they don't return phone calls. Totally incompetent. I believe the bookeeeper messed my account up and is trying to cover it up at my expense. I hope the company goes under. They deserve to go to hell. read more

Been on my HOA Board for almost 20 years and have used Armstrong for the past 4 years. Unquestionably the best company we every used.

I started trying to call them two days ago; I called their main office consistently during the past 2 days and could not reach them. When I would opt to be transferred to an agent, the phone rings for several minutes before system is disconnected; it is NOT possible to leave a message. I tried other numbers, such as the payment processor and got the same disconnect. I finally called the homeowners association who gave me their number again and I have NOT been able to talk to them. Terrible outfit to deal with to the point that I am considering legal options, I have no clue who is their backbone on the HOA but will try to find out. read more

Have been an HO with Armstrong HOA for in excess of twenty years and have not one complaint. I have always received prompt and courteous service from their representatives. read more

Unfortunately I have to give 1 star because yelp doesn't allow ZERO stars. Worst company to deal with. Worst customer service experience. Called several times since last week, for 1 question and requested call back from manager but never receive a call back. Also whenever I call them I am told that they do not have a manager on duty as manager just left for the day. read more

This is the worst management company in the world. The incompetence of our site manager is surreal. Endless mismanaged money and the conditions of the community are appalling .Cockroaches , bedbugs. rodents yes we have them all. The president of our HOA however has a lovely clean building while the rest of us live in a slum. Broken staircases on the exterior of the buildings. The housekeeper just stands around outside smoking cigarettes . We pay a fee that beautifies the presidents building and we get ZERO!!!!! Stop do not use this company to mismanage your condo community. We have even been called retards and morons by our property manager !!! The housekeeper calls us bitches. Yes this place is awful DO NOT USE FIRST SERVICE RESIDENTIAL!!!!!!! read more

I agree with "A.W of Fairfax VA"; Armstrong currently service the HOA in Langcaster Gates where I live and the residents do not get service for which they pay Armstrong. I am totally dissatisfy with Armstrong and will convinced my HOA to hire another property management provider. read more

Armstrong Management Services is a terrible company. I have had nothing but bad experience after bad experience with them. They do not send out mailings in a timely manner. They have two computer systems that are out of sync and I have called three or four times requesting my information to be updated and they still can not manage to get it done! I have sent emails etc. I have called on several different issues and each time the customer service people seem to be incompetent! They send me forms that don't even belong to my building. They are the worst. I have dealt with several building management companies and I have never had any of them come close to how bad this company is. read more

Armstrong which is now First Service Residential (FSR) is the WORST management company I have ever been involved with as a buyer, seller, former real estate agent & property manager, and for the past 2 years as the President of my HOA Board. We have had numerous managers and each one seems to get worse. Meetings are planned then rescheduled due to double booking by the manager and I can't remember the last time we had a quorum to conduct an annual meeting vote for Board members. In addition, we had to pay them to take minutes because of their inability to retain facts from sporadic meetings that are rescheduled due to their incompetence. For the first year that I was President, the manager routinely lied to us about what we could or couldn't do until I found the original documents from 10 years ago when I bought my townhouse. BTW, FSR claims they lost our original governing documents so we had to redo them (the manager is a horrible writer) and of course pay attorneys to review. Most recently, they failed to help us spend thousands of dollars given to us for an easement, and now we owe taxes on it. FSR has failed to spell my name correctly (5 letter common name) on any meeting documentation, and the manager has actually assigned a Board member as Secretary, even though we already had someone serving as Secretary and their term was still in place. Months later when we had our next meeting, they still didn't realize it and it literally took until the next year's meeting with the Secretary finally speaking out, for them to correct that. FSR once drafted a contract that we had to edit at least 10 different times and when we finally gave it to the lawyer, he thought the contract was written by the vendor and not the management company because it so heavily favored the vendor instead of FSR's customer, the HOA. If you are still thinking that this company will care about your HOA, then consider that after 2 years of being jerked around, we finally went with a new company. I phoned FSR and asked what the procedure was and they gave me some random person's name, stating he was their CEO, and that I should send a termination letter to this person, so I did. However, when FSR received it, instead of reading where we were thinking of going with a new management company and would be signing a new contract in 2 weeks (allowing them time to offer solutions), the manager's boss sent a rude email accusing us of trying to rip them off and being unprofessional (remember, FSR told me what to write). They also sent a copy to the company we hadn't signed a contract with! FSR then demanded to stay as the management company for the entire 90+ day notice they snuck in there when they took over from Armstrong, and insisted a termination letter couldn't be emailed but had to be sent via the USPS. It cost $26 to send it UPS. FSR also keeps trying to make us approve a budget increase of their HOA fees this year, for those 90 days, spiraling into temper tantrums when we say we want to stick to the terms discussed with our FSR manager by waiting for our new company. If I could give this company a negative 10 stars, it wouldn't begin to explain how pathetic they are. Run, and don't look back. read more

this has to be the laziest, most mis-managed management company in the nation....tried to find their local office in Fredericksburg - guess what? they move their office every 6 months...wonder why? could it be they don't like dealing with customers and handling homeowner issues? yes, that is EXACTLY the case. how do I know? because every time you call a local office, you get re-routed to a national database run by some company called "international management services" or some thing along those lines...I think the local office doesn't like to deal with customers! so they pass the buck to someone else read more

My experience with Armstrong Management Services Inc. has been horrible in the short time that I have dealt with them. I closed on my condo on 4 January. For whatever reason, I never received an association packet on closing. (I was wrong to assume that one would be sent to me by mail.) On January 24th, my car was towed after 11 p.m. at night due to no decal. I parked in the space that the previous owner used, and there were many extra spaces available. Also, it snowed the day before, so many of the windshields in the complex were still covered in snow, so the towing company must have been going out of their way to check for decals. The next day, I had to call around to find out who the management company was for the complex, since there is nothing posted in my building. I was able to find out it was Armstrong, and I emailed the manager. She replied letting me know that Armstrong does not reimburse for towing since there were signs clearly posted. I was emailed the form needed to get a parking pass, and after I emailed it back, the manager let me know it would be sent to me and that I would be charged $50 for a replacement decal. I emailed asking how can I be charged for a replacement when I never received a decal to begin with, she did not reply. A couple of weeks later, I received my invoice, and a $50 decal fee was included. I emailed her again, and she basically forwarded her previous email basically saying it was my fault and that the previous owners were supposed to give me their sticker. So far, my experience with Armstrong has been horrible. The manager of my complex was rude and short in her emails. She has horrible customer service skills. I really hope this is an isolated incident, since I will be living here for a while. Not only am I out $120 for towing and had to take 2 buses and catch a ride with a stranger and wait in the cold to pick up my car, but to be charged a $50 replacement fee was icing on the cake! Armstrong, I hope this isn't part of your business plan! read more

I am an appraiser who sometime have to order condo questionnaires from these guys. They are horrible with turnaround, why would it take 3- 5 business days to get 5 simple questions answered? But for an additional $50 dollars they can get it back the same day. They don't care about the homeowners that has to pay for these questions and will find any way to make more money. I hope I never live where these people manage. I was going to stop payment on them because the info I needed, was provided by the lender and I haven't heard from Armstrong, but they threatened to charge the homeowner for the stop payment fee. I'm pretty sure who ever gave this company a good ratings is either related or being paid. They are the epitome of greed. Everyone is in the business to make money but they take it to the next level. I'm going to make sure I post this on google and what other resource is available, word of mouth and so on.... read more