We've rented our home from Mr. Main for five years, and he's been a great landlord. He is very responsive - he's never taken more than a couple hours to call me back, and usually he picks up right away. When our fridge broke, he got us a new one within days. He replaced the washer dryer just as quickly. We had some trouble with freezing pipes, and when he couldn't get his own plumber out ASAP, he sent an emergency plumber to come to the rescue even tho it was a lot more expensive for him. (He ended up putting in a temperature-sensitive heating coil, so the pipes don't freeze at all now.) He let me paint the kitchen cabinets, and the previous tenants worked out a deal to renovate the front yard - they did the labor and he covered materials. There haven't been any hidden fees, and he's only increased our rent by like $20 or $40 every year. I am updating my review because I saw a lot of comments about fees to get repairs. That was in our lease too, and we asked about it. He told us at the time it's in there as a protection for him and that he wouldn't charge us the repair fee unless it was for something we'd caused. He hasn't once charged us for any repairs, even when he had to send a plumber just because we couldn't locate our own water shut-off valve. When we thought about moving to a bigger place, we first called Mr. Main, because we would have liked to rent from him again rather than starting over with some random landlord. So I see the negative reviews but that hasn't been even close to my experience. Be sure to look at the reviews that aren't currently recommended, to get a more full picture. But overall I'm a fan of Mr Main. read more

Robert Main - Our rental in Rosemont/Del Ray - Property Management Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

I found Robert Main to be a man of high integrity and willing to go the extra mile for you.

I have three words for you: Don't do it. Don't sign the lease. Turn around and never look back. Too many traumatic events to share, so this is the simplest way I can put it for you. I hope you'll listen. read more

I've had some shitty landlords, but without a doubt, Robert Main is the worst landlord I've ever dealt with. Judging from the other reviews, he hasn't changed up his game even after having gone to FEDERAL PRISON for a year for tax evasion. No joke, summary below. We rented from him in 2007-2008 -- it's been over a decade and I still remember it. His properties are terrible. And the lease you sign is non-standard where he charges a copay for basic maintenance. I think our dryer or fridge broke during our time there and he charged us to fix it. Outrageous. I'd never heard of such a thing and thought it was illegal but I checked with Arlington County and they had pretty much no tenant protections at the time so whatever's in the lease is legal. One story outlines the extent of Robert's cheapness. Our sewage line backed up into the house and instead of hiring a plumber to do the job properly, Robert came over and we saw that man -- a multi-millionaire with 40-50+ properties -- go arm deep in our piss and shit to clear the line. Then he accused us of flushing "fibrous materials" down the drain. Hilarious. Anyway, don't rent from him. Guy's a crook. Here's a summary of his federal tax evasion sentencing case, which coincidentally happened WHILE we were living there (One day we got notice out of the blue that he'd hired a professional property manager Emelia Beltran (https://www.yelp.com/biz/nova-properties-arlington -- also terrible) to be our property manager. We discovered his federal sentencing via Google search. At the time we joked that he was so cheap that instead of fighting the case in court with a proper lawyer he probably plead guilty and figured he'd get free room and board for a year in federal prison. On January 25, 2008, in Alexandria, Va., Robert Main, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine for filing false federal income tax returns. Main pleaded guilty to four counts of filing a false federal income tax return on October 24, 2007. According to court documents, Main underreported Schedule E rental income by $1.6 million and falsely claimed refunds totaling $56,131 for tax years 2001 through 2004. He was assessed $844,115 back taxes, penalties and interest. The investigation of Main began when law enforcement officers noticed that he was making cash deposits into his money market account on consecutive days, over a short period of time, in round numbers just under $10,000, the amount that triggers the filing of a Currency Transaction Report required by the IRS. Main agreed as part of the investigation to forfeit $52,010 that was seized from his bank account. read more

I had the displeasure of renting from Robert Main when I was young and foolish and living in Arlington, VA. Everything the other reviewers said is true. His leases are written in such a way that the renter is responsible for every repair on any of the number of ancient appliances that come with the house. In the home we rented from him, he leased the main floor as one unit, and the basement as a separate apartment. The heating unit was shared by both units. When it broke down, BOTH units had to pay the $90. Unfair and unethical. He also rents out every other possible square foot of his properties (i.e. the basement, the garage, and the driveway). He would even park his disgusting, falling apart, hunk of junk pick up truck in our FRONT LAWN, then walk to the Metro. So every morning I had to look out of our living room window at his filthy truck rotting in our lawn. But of course, that was written into the lease so we couldn't fight him on that. The drunk handyman is also true. We used to call him "drunk guy, " as we would often see him passed out leaning up against a tree in our back yard. If you've had the "pleasure" of ever dropping off a rent check to his personal home, you'll be greeted with trash all over the front lawn and a broken down toilet. I'm sure this man is a multi millionaire, as we also heard he owns more than 50 properties in the Arlington area. Please don't give him another dime!!! read more

Everyone has different experiences, I guess. I've lived in my Robert Main apartment for over 10 years now, and it's among the more affordable choices in the Arlington, VA market. Fairly priced, decent-sized space, large yard, nice location. If only our basement had more windows, and the sump pumps had a backup generator! (Power outages have been rare, relatively speaking, but Dominion can surprise.) We knew about the repairs co-pay going in, and even so, the rent is so low that we can afford that extra money as problems arise. Keep in mind that one should always read a lease thoroughly before signing anything. When we first moved here, I thought that all the extra charges would get out of hand quickly; in reality, everything has worked out mathematically regardless. Robert gets back to us swiftly when things come up, and his vendors are timely. The service has even improved since we've been residents -- whereas once we shared Mike M.'s frustration with a couple no-show handymen, everyone's been much more punctual in recent years. In short, a fair price for a cozy apartment, though I do wish it was above-ground and had more sunlight (but that's on me!). read more

This landlord was was a slum Lord at best. Robert did not take care of the property I rented, and he fabricated an issue at the end of my lease so that I would not receive the entirety of my security deposit. Robert changed my lease to month to month during Covid and then conveniently gave me 30 days notice to vacate the property. He is as bad as a landlord as he is a human being. Please be careful and DO NOT rent any of his properties!!!!! He is also pushing 90 and still tries to do a lot of work himself to save money. This was the worst living experience I have ever had. His laundry room had insulation coming out of the ceiling, it would fall on you when you waked in to do Laundry. Word of caution. I tried to give him ZERO stars, but Yelp wouldn't let me. Negative 10 stars would just about do it. read more

I have lived in one of Robert's houses for the past year and a half now. He has been quick in responding to the needs of the house when we call him about an issue coming up. There have been a couple of leaks in the basement after heavy rainfalls (as can be expected in an old house) and he has somebody come by and investigate within a day or two providing a fix either same day or shortly thereafter. If the leak is bad enough he will even come himself with a wet-dry vac to help with the clean-up. He still calls to check up on us when we experience any substantial rain to make sure the fix is holding up. He has even made several high dollar improvements that were completely unsolicited (but very welcomed). He has replaced about 2/3 of the tile in the house and replaced our dishwasher when we told him the last one wasn't working very well. He even let us pick the new one. He stays out of your hair when you don't need him and is usually fairly easy to reach when you do. When I was getting ready to sign my second lease term, I didn't have enough roommates to cover the whole rent until about 2 weeks before the signing date. Robert was willing to work with us on the rent until we had enough people to cover it. The only issue that I've had with the house while living here is not with Robert himself, but with his handymen. Robert does a good job of communicating when he expects them to swing by to either diagnose or repair issues. Almost every time, however, they (and it hasn't mattered which one it is) have either been incredibly late or no-showed when one of us has taken time out of our day to wait for them. All in all, I'd say the good vastly outweighs the bad with Robert. He's responsive, and available while not being overbearing. read more

We have had a good experience renting from Robert. He has been extremely responsive and helpful with the maintenance of the rental. Recently our hot water heater started to leak and needed to be replaced. Robert was quick to act in helping us get this problem solved and he had the old one switched out with a new one in a timely manner. Based on our experiences, I would also highly reccomend a number of his handymen that have been responsive to work that has needed to be completed as well. There has been quick and easy coordination that has been much appreciated. read more

Robert Main is another name for a CROOKED LANDLORD! DO NOT... I REPEAT... DO NOT RENT FROM HIM!!!! I don't even know where to start. Robert Main is the WORST, most UNPROFESSIONAL, CROOKED, piece of SCUM landlord that I have ever dealt with. From the moment I first signed his lease, I knew I shouldn't have trusted him (However, we were desperate to find a place quickly, so we caved) For evidence of this, refer to his multiple lease addendums that pretty much say, "Regardless of what it says in the entire lease, you are responsible for paying for everything that breaks, regardless of whether it's constituted as 'normal wear and tear'". The worst thing about his properties is how he cares for them. It's pathetic actually. I've seen nicer homes in a back alley of a 3rd world country. His homes have bug problems, mouse problems, etc etc... His 'repair-man' charges heinous fees for doing 5-minute tasks (aka change a knob). If anything breaks in the house.. and I mean anything, YOU will be charged for it. These hidden costs are absolutely ridiculous. If a pipe in the wall bursts and the place floods, tenant pays.. If Robert Main fails to maintain the AC and the unit breaks, YOU PAY FOR IT. Do you notice a trend here? This is not a standard by any means. This is something that Robert Main includes in his lease, but hopes you don't notice until after you sign. I have NEVER had a landlord charge you for normal wear and tear, this is just absurd. We left the place in pretty good (although not 'perfect') shape when we moved out. Yet, Robert Main withheld nearly $900 from our security deposit for BOGUS repairs! How can you charge someone for something not written in the lease? The thing that disgusted me the most about Robert Main, is when we called him to refute the security deposit charges, he had the Professionalism to call us "Dirty tenants" and repeatedly insult myself and my roommates, blaming us for his failure to maintain his disgusting property. The entire house was falling apart, due to his negligence in repairs. The place had bugs, there were holes in the front door that ants would crawl through! If you see the house Robert Main lives in himself, you'll realize exactly why he doesn't care to fix the 50+ homes he owns with due care. He is simply a dirty hermit that lives in a cage of dust that he calls his 'home'. I thought I was going to have an asthma attack when I first went inside his house for the lease signing, and I dont even have asthma!! If he maintains his OWN house like this, what do you think most of his properties look like? In pure honesty, Robert Main is a crooked, untrustworthy landlord that does not deserve a single tenant in one of his digusting homes. I am absolutely disgusted that I signed a lease with him and allowed him to basically rob me of my hard earned money. I am appalled that I even had to live in one of his places for a year. I was thankful when I had the liberty to move out. DO NOT SIGN THE LEASE!!!!! read more

My experience -- two years in an apartment on Rosemont Ave -- has been a good one. Nice apartment and a great location. It's an older property, so of course there were issues occasionally. But Robert was always responsive and would dispatch a repair person right away. He promptly replaced our dishwasher and water heater when they died and he fixed some windows that were malfunctioning. I was a bit surprised by some of the negative reviews below because they do not reflect my experience. Robert seems to me a fair person, and a professional, and thus far he has always honored the terms of our contract. In all, I had a good experience and I would feel comfortable recommending a Robert Main apartment to my friends. read more

We found our basement apartment on Craigslist. After an initial inquiry call, Mr. Main called us back very promptly to set up a viewing. The application process was easy and fast and Mr. Main worked with us so we could move in a week earlier than originally planned. We have been living in one of his properties for almost a year now and have resigned our lease for a second. We enjoy the area we live in and the character of our apartment. Coming from an apartment complex with a lot of restrictions and not as much support, we appreciate Mr. Main's flexibility and hands off approach. If there is an issue, he is easy to contact and will do his best to resolve the problem. After years of renting, this is by far the best place I've lived, especially for the affordability in such a great location! Bonus* he's extremely accepting of most dogs sizes and breeds! read more

As anyone interested can see, this will be my first review. My experience with Mr. Main was such that although I have never before provided an online review, positive or negative, I felt it necessary to share my experience with others. My girlfriend and I contacted Mr. Main to express interest in renting one of his properties. During our tour of the property, we advised him that if we decided to move forward, my girlfriend would have to provide 60 days notice to her current landlord. As such, we hoped to negotiate a move-in date that was a compromise between his desired move in date and our ideal move in date, a concept to which Mr. Main agreed. We decided to move forward, and submitted our rental applications (with the $40 cash application fee each he requested) which were subsequently approved. Based on this approval, we negotiated a move-in date for the 14th of the following month- halfway between his preference and ours- and scheduled a date and time to sign the lease, which he was to draw up for us with the move-in date. At this point, my girlfriend gave her 60 day notice, as we had a verbal approval and appointment to sign the lease from Mr. Main. The day we were to sign the lease, I phoned Mr. Main from the bank where I was drawing the cashier's check for the security deposit due at the time of lease signing to confirm our appointment (less than a week from the date we scheduled the appointment) and to ensure I had the proper spelling of his name for the cashier's check. At this point, Mr. Main advised me that he had received another application, which he'd approved, and was more favorable since the new prospective tenant was willing to move in on the 1st of the month and that he was drawing up a lease for that tenant. I asked him when he'd planned on letting me know, since it was the day of our appointment to sign the lease, and I only learned of this because I called him. He assured me that he was going to call, but obviously that had not occurred. I reminded him that based on our verbal agreement, we'd made preparations in good faith, specifically providing notice of intent to vacate to my girlfriend's landlord. He was unmoved by this, and instead opted to educate me that a verbal agreement has no bearing in real estate or tenancy, and offer us another property that did not meet our criteria. This may be true- Mr. Main's actions were legally defensible- but I share this experience so that prospective future tenants can make their own conclusions about the character of a man who is willing to conduct himself as described over two weeks worth of rent, and determine for themselves if they are willing to be contractually bound to such a person. I know my girlfriend and I have. read more

Robert Main has been our landlord for 2 years. Our experience has been very positive. Our house was not in great condition when we moved in, but Robert has made many efforts to make the house comfortable for our family. He has made almost every improvement to the home that I have asked for- tearing out the old fence and building a landscaped retaining wall, replacing our front door, refinishing the wood floors, cutting out a kitchen wall for a living room to kitchen passthrough. When it comes to the unexpected, Robert doesn't delay. We woke to a leak in the ceiling one morning, and Robert had his repair man here to fix it within an hour. Our air-conditioning broke, and he replaced the whole unit within a day. We really love the house now, and have had a very positive experience dealing with Robert. The homes in this area are quirky, there are lots of apartment buildings around here that will cater to you if you can't handle that. If you want to have a home with character, as a renter, Robert is one of the best landlords we've dealt with. read more

Bob is very reasonable landlord, everything is straightforward and as outlined in the lease. I lived in his apartment for two years and would have stayed a third except I decided it was time for me to live on my own. The few times we needed assistance in with the apartment he was very timely and the repairmen were quick. He is usually understanding when if you need to be a day or two late on the rent, just be upfront and honest with him. Overall very positive experience especially factoring in the cost and location. read more

We lived in one of Mr. Main's "apartments" for almost two years. We had a really good experience. We got to live in a cool old house with a great yard in an even better neighborhood for a great deal. He may seem dry at first, but I found him to be very pleasant and easy going once you get to know him. He is very upfront about expectations while being flexible if there are any issues. In writing this review, I saw some of the bad ones. I admit I was nervous with the lease language, but he always proved to be reasonable and responsive. I never once paid for any work done at the house. Our place was built in the 30's so there were some small issues, but he took care of them as soon as possible. There was even an instance where we let him know we were uncomfortable with the people doing the yard work (long story), and he let me find a new person and continued to pay for the service. OH! I almost forgot! I had a semi meltdown the weekend we moved in because the condition of the kitchen cabinets. I called very upset (even though I should have inspected them beforehand), and he decided to renovate the kitchen! Don't get me wrong, he wasn't excited. He was very professional about it especially dealing with an emotionally charged person. He added new custom cabinets with granite counter tops. I got to be a part of the decision making process on where things would be more useful. He added a dishwasher, vent a hood, and disposal along with the reno. He also took off part of the rent for the 7 days it took to do the work while we were without a kitchen. How can you beat that?? His places are dog and cat friendly, and he never asked us to put up our dog if work needed to me done. Our dog would always go to him with a toy to play when he showed up. The only reason we moved was because we bought a house. He let us find a new tenant to take over the lease, so we didn't have to break ours/pay for months we wouldn't be there. That's how we found the place too. The people before us bought and we took over the lease. We got our full deposit back...of course we patched any holes from art and TV mount and it was clean. The key with Mr. Main is to be honest, respectful, and give a reasonable explanation for any work you think needs to be done (unless its an emergency then there's none needed). Thumbs up for Mr. Main. read more

Robert Main has been my landlord for 2 years. DO NOT RENT FROM HIM. He has you sign a lease that holds you liable for a ridiculous number of things that are not standard for this real estate area. He has tenants pay for plumbing problems, extermination, trash removal (part of his taxes), landscaping, air filters, smoke detectors, gutter cleaning, and a $90 co-payment for any repairs that need to be done while you are living there, even if they are due to normal wear and tear. The house has not been updated and it was built in the 1950s. He owns over 50 properties and I have spoken with some of his other tenants and they have been greatly displeased with him. He doesn't care about keeping properties up to code and the "handyman" he uses shows up drunk and continues to drink while working. He makes inappropriate comments and puts beer in our fridge. After Mr. Main agreed to modify the language of our lease to keep us from being responsible for things like trash removal, extermination, gutter cleaning, and co-payments, he later called and said he'd changed his mind, saying it was "his house, his lease". So much for a gentleman's agreement. Don't be fooled by the cheap rent. It's not worth it. read more

I have been a tenant of Robert Main's since 2010. In that time, I have found him to be a good landlord. He is very clear and upfront about what the procedures and expectations are for tenants. This is important because not all landlords are clear about what they want and expect, and this can lead to some awkward situations. When things have needed to be repaired or replaced, Robert has done so in a timely fashion and always been very communicative about how long things would take, who would be calling us to come by, etc. He has also been very fair with us and open to our suggestions about various ways of solving issues or problems. I particularly appreciate that he has a policy of letting us purchase things we need for the house and deduct them from rent as long as we provide a receipt. We try to be responsible and proactive tenants, and it's often easiest for us to fix small things on our own, so it's great to have a landlord who trusts us to do that. Finally, he didn't bat an eye when we recently had to have a number of expensive repairs done in a short period. We were a bit concerned that he'd be annoyed at having to do so many things at once, but he handled everything as efficiently as usual and without complaint. read more

Probably the worst landlord in Virginia. I rented for him for 2 years. The house was not proofed from vermin (and the individual he sent to fix it stated he would not repair it because the hole in the roof was "near wires"), he charges you on every repair, including if the handyman fixes 2 things in a single visit - you get charged a co-pay two times. Will hold back every possible dime from your security deposit (including mileage incurred by him).Uses your "trash" fee to offset his taxes as it is paid to him and not the city directly. Beware of the information you disclose to him in writing - it is most likely on a sheet of paper in the many files just hanging out in his house - your social security number and bank information would be incredibly easily for anyone to copy as he does not secure anything (or use any email, texting, electronic forms, etc). Please please do not rent from him. Given the considerable amount of money he collects each month from owning 50 houses, you would think he would be a little happier and more helpful. read more