Since they like to get negative reviews removed, allow me to enlighten you...* Do not recommend. This company is a scam and only cares about their income.There are so many better options out there, ones that actually care about their tenants and not just about money, power and taking advantage of students like Matchbox! Because many of the employees are also owners and investors, they will and do take any penny they can get from tenants or choose not to fix up the place if it is something coming from their own pocket. VA tenant laws are in place to protect tenants from landlords because it was found to be a common problem that landlords were taking advantage of tenants. This is funny because while working there I received an email from the one in charge of residential properties (Mary Messerly) that listed the updates to the tenant laws and the headline of this email was, I pray for the day that these laws start to lookout for our owners. If that is not proof that they only care about income then lease with them and you shall find out!

Matchbox Realty has been nothing but helpful during my process of finding an apartment. Especially Katherine Brooks, she has been very friendly and super helpful with helping me look at various available units.Thank you so much!

I lived at Mountainview Heights for two years in the same unit and loved my time there! Our property manager, Sarah Price, was very helpful with move in and move out procedures and overall needs. Sarah and the Matchbox team definitely made my college housing experience great!

Very fast to respond. Always makes sure I’mHappy no matter what the situation. I also reached out in a time of need after turning a place down a month prior and Katie was real quick to send what was available and to help us get in as soon as possible!

I just moved into a matchbox property a couple of weeks ago with my boyfriend. The apartment is cute but Matchbox is very sleazy and sketchy. Upon moving in the dryer was not working so we put in a request to have maintenance come and look at it. A couple minutes prior to maintenance coming to look at the dryer my boyfriend realized that the lint holder was in backwards causing it not to work (which was backwards prior to us moving in). My boyfriend fixed this and told the maintenance man when he arrived that he had just fixed the issue. A couple days later we got charged a total of $85 dollars for the maintenance request because we did not call to cancel. However, we did not have time to cancel the request once fixing it as the maintenance man came shortly after. We also had a request for maintenance to call before entering the building which they did not. There is also NOT anywhere in the lease that says they can charge us for this. We emailed our property manage that tried to claim that because we did not call (when the issue was present prior to us moving in and we did not even have time to), that the charge for maintenance having to come out is on us. I am having to talk to my attorney now about this issue to get the charge off my account as Matchbox is still trying to charge us for the fee. I would not recommend this realty company to anyone unless you want to be to be taken advantage of and unlawfully charged for fees that you should not be liable for.

I’ve lived in two matchbox properties! Urban Exchange and Ice House South, both have been amazing. During my pre-move in and move in process with Ice house South Tiana Knight has been incredible! She is so quick to reply to emails and always eager to help. I have lots of questions and she has done a great job of addressing them all. Thank you so much!

I’ve lived in two Matchbox properties during my undergrad education at JMU. I absolutely love where I live! In my experience the matchbox team is willing to work with tenants on any problems they have and the maintenance team is so nice and also very thorough with their work. If you’re interested in living downtown I recommend reaching out to Tiana Knight. She is always so professional and welcoming when I see her around my building!

Dont bother cleaning when you leave, they will still charge you for a maid service on top of the expected painting,carpet cleaning, etc. to keep your deposit regardless of the state of the property.My wife also had SERIOUS issues resolving ongoing payment issues due to an unresponsive property manager when they charged her for an extra months rent after her lease ended.Only plus was a responsive service department for property damage issues.

John Siciliano is very quick with his responses to my many questions. He also has been very quick to fix any problems in our house. I am so glad to have a responsive and professional realtor!

I only leave off one star because I have yet to actually live in any place managed by Matchbox but speaking to my experience so far, finding a home with them has been a very smooth process. Katie especially has been a tremendous help this whole time. She was very responsive over email with all updates on units I was interested in. She called me the minute the property I wanted became available and was ready with all details to help get the lease signing process started. I look forward to her continued help as our property and manager and moving in to my new place!

Well i was an undergraduate at JMU 2014-2019 and now attending graduate school at bridgewater college. I had matchbox realty for 3 years of my undergraduate and i have to say. They are the best. Ive had rocktown and riner as well as private owner. Matchbox does manage great properties. Communications can be tough at some times but its reasonable. I have built close friendship with the property manager, Mary and she is rocking awesome. Always looking out for me even when i came back to harrisonburg year after living in south korea. If you wanna party and damage the property, matchbox isnt for you but if you want to live in well managed property, matchbox is the best. I have worked in real estate development business since i was 10 and i am impressed with matchbox management. Highly recommended.

Katie Swette was very helpful in my transition into my new apartment. She was quick to follow up with emails and assist with any questions I had.

I just moved into a beautiful new apartment yesterday, but Matchbox did NOT make the move easy whatsoever. I was assured that I would be able to receive my key on Saturday (a day when they are not present in the leasing office) by Erica. This assurance was false hope as I soon realized. When i arrived to pick up my key I was told that I had not taken the appropriate steps by Katie (a person I never spoke to previously) to pick up my keys. This woman (Katie) belittled me and made me feel as though I was a small and uneducated child during my conversation with her, something no one should expect from a person that has no idea what your situation is. Furthermore, I was lied to by Erica who further assured me that I was wrong and she has given me all the information I needed to receive my key. After nearly 4 hours of waiting for someone to arrive to the leasing office to give me key as I was promised over email, Katie showed up to put my key in the locker which she and Erica assured me was already done while belittling me over text message and email. Erica and Katie from Matchbox are the most unprofessional and untrustworthy employees and should never be allowed to interact with customers as they do a horrible job in that area.

I got a very quick and helpful response from Katherine at matchbox. Really good customer service!

I have been emailing Matchbox for weeks because they have the wrong apartment number on my invoice. I hesitated to pay and was charged a $55 late fee. I just wanted to correct THEIR error before paying but I can’t get anyone on the phone. I finally paid the rent portion but am getting threatening emails daily about the late fee, yet nobody will respond to my calls or emails. They are so mismanaged.

Matchbox is great, they were with me every step of the way to insure I got the unit I requested. Great communication and very professional.

Maintenance: James the maintenance guy is awesome. He has taken care of our problems in a timely manner and always knew how to fix it. He is also very fun to talk to and we always have good conversations while he is working. Great guy! Matchbox sucks big time though. They are aweful to their tenants and never treat them with respect. They do not answer calls and emails in a timely manner and they just blame everything on everyone but themselves. Never rent from them.

They dont respond to emails at all unless theyre sent to the receptionist email. Emails to property managers are ignored, even though theyre supposed to be the main point of contact. Receptionist will forward you to property manger email or voicemail, and you are stuck with no response once again. The way they advertise and list properties is shady. They will tell you a property is available on a certain month/date and encourage you to apply for it, then turn around and say it actually isnt available after youve already paid to submit an application. They force tenants to make decisions about renewals way in advance before their lease ends (like 6-10 months early), yet cant return the same favor when those tenants are trying to find a new place months ahead before their lease ends. They dont seem to show any loyalty to long term tenants, nor care to make sure tenants have a smooth transition when wanting to lease a new property. They are fine as long as you dont need anything from them, but once you have any questions or need any assistance they are useless. I think they just want to have college students sign leases as fast as possible, and anyone outside of that is forgotten.

I have never felt compelled to leave a negative review for anything, but Matchbox has gone above and beyond to earn this one.At the beginning of June, my roommates and I noticed our air conditioning was not functioning properly. My roommate put in a work order on June 15th to have it fixed. Shortly after, a technician came to check out the system. My roommate came downstairs to find the technician had gone into our bathroom and taken two of our bath towels to mop up some sort of fluid leaking from our cooling system. He then left (with the soaked towels on the floor) saying the whole unit would need to be replaced and that we would be on a wait list for repair. When I called Matchbox to complain about the towels and ask for a date when our AC would be fixed, I was not given an answer and told that the technician was given permission to use our towels (which is completely untrue).After weeks of calling and having to leave messages inquiring about the AC problem, I finally got through to someone who offered to bring us some box fans, a temporary fix for the issue.It is now July 6th and I have not received an answer from anyone at Matchbox (despite leaving several messages) as to when our AC will be fixed. I dont have to tell you how hot it is outside AND in our house.Dont rent from Matchbox unless you want to be ignored, disrespected, and left without air conditioning in the middle of the summer. All they care about is money.

All the negative reviews are correct. It has been my experience that the office does not respond to emails or calls, especially Terri the lease manager. Therefore, it makes any transaction with this company extremely frustrating and nearly impossible. It is absolutely unacceptable. I encourage everyone to leave a review regarding their experience with this company or in more severe cases, file a compliant with the BBB. It only takes two minutes. This company must go bankrupt because it would be the only way for them to learn. The Friendly City and its citizens dont deserve such a disgraceful parasitic company as Matchbox Realty.

Very nice and modern apartments, our property manager Katie has been nothing but helpful from the moment we reached out and showed interest into renting here. Would recommend to anyone looking for a nice apartment close to downtown.

Thank you so much for your excellent and on=going communication. I find your emails are very informative and gives us good insight as to what we as owners should be aware of, including when things are not going to be smooth from some circumstances. Again, thank you for your doing such a wonderful job for Spring Lakes.Gloria Rodgers

This company is one of the most poorly managed places Ive ever had the misfortune of dealing with.Matchbox aquired our property in full from our previous landlord mid 2020, but had partnered with our landlord in 2019. The first thing they did was raise our rent substantially even though the place is old and falling apart. Fine wtvr realtors do this. The big problems started when we moved within the same building with the complete permission/signed lease and full understanding of our landlord and the previous property manager.The DAY of us moving, they had a new property manager come try and convince us to stay in our old apartment (WITH OUR STUFF IN OUR HANDS CURRENTLY MOVING) which is completely ridiculous - they didnt even offer to decrease rent or anything. And we had already moved our stuff??? This was how we found out matchbox had aquired the property fully as well. This was also how we found out we had a new property manager because the previous one had just left and not said anything.So we had already signed our lease for 2021 and now with this new manager we signed for 2022. Fast forward a couple weeks, we are getting emails saying we need to renew. I informed them twice that we had indeed already renewed via the previous manager and that they have the documents to prove it. I get a curt apology followed by an email saying no actually we dont have the documents so I send screenshots of my documents through email wondering why I have to now argue with someone who DEFINITELY has all the things they need to figure this out. Another apology email. This happens again a couple months later as well.All of this I had put aside until this morning, I recieved a notification that our apartment was being shown when we still have over a year left in our lease after getting an email that our move out date is approaching (I assumed this was a mass email thing and ignored it. The date even said 2022!!). I dont know why ive had to inform this company 4 or 5 times of the legal documents that THEY HAVE IN THEIR POSSESSION!! Its just ridiculous. I know this sounds like no big deal, but the message it sends is that theyre trying to either kick us out or theyre just incapable of managing Incredibly important legal documents. Which is their literal job.This is not even TOUCHING their abysmal covid response. They had someone in charge of making payment plans for folks who lost jobs during peak quarentine and they just terminated her without saying anything and started bringing residents to court. Out of nowhere. Incredibly disgusting on their part.Just stay away from these people if you can. Theyre so poorly managed its not worth the headache. I cant wait to NEVER work with them again.

My rental unit was just fine for me, but then in Nov 2020 Matchbox gives everyone notice to be out by Christmas. So some of the people here got notices that they were late paying their rent in example say July 2019 they days I was a day past the grace period and it was $60 owed, then again in October 2019. I always paid on the 3rd of month and have all my money order receipts. Why would they not say something the following month? Seems like they were using excuses to keep security deposit from people, why else would they wait. 16 months to let someone know. Things were okay when the Harrisonburg office took payments and things stayed straight. Then w had to mail payments to Chantilly, VA and we know how the mail system has been this year. Everyone here got a nice Christmas present here...evicted. 😮

My goodness I honestly don’t even know where to start. It actually might be the most brutal service I have ever been a part of. If something is broken you might as well not even place an order or try to call anyone because you are on your own and instead of wasting the time by contacting nobody, you could spend the time trying to fix it yourselves. My current house is on its 3rd different manager whom oversees our house and making it very ambiguous on how to even notify someone when there is a problem. The best part about it is they will never hesitate to fine you for something, but when you actually have a problem...crickets. Truly, thanks for nothing Matchbox.

Great place to move-in to! Very responsive when there were questions/issues. I am so happy to live somewhere where they care about you!! Kate was excellent- she helped me so much when moving in!!

A good initial impression, but that quickly goes south once they have a contract signed. Tried to keep security deposit for things they messed when building (poor single layer paint, no shower rod, etc). And wouldnt recognize a service animal until an attorney was involved. The other management company I reviewed is a part of Matchbox, so the review applies to both. And the third management company is separate, but it is not my fault that all of the property management companies in Harrisonburg dont treat their customers with respect and understanding.

Katherine was very professional and cordially responded to every email within a few hours!

Liked it there fair rent price but alot of bedbugs which I never got

I needed a 6 month lease with a short notice and they were very helpful. Pet friendly, nice apartments, decent size. Had minimal maintenance issues and they were fixed promptly. Overall good experience here.

I lived in Urban Exchange for one year as a graduate student. I have never loved an apartment so much. It is perfect for a double duke who wants to experience another side of Harrisonburg. I loved being so close (walking distance) to my favorite restaurants, shops, and bars. This complex is so welcoming, and I will cherish the memories I have formed living here. Thank you Urban.Andrea Bower was the absolute best to work with whenever a random question popped in to my head! She answered emails immediately, and always was there to help.I would recommend urban to anyone!

I lived in Campus View for a year, they were unresponsive, charged way too much for maintenance and gave me and my roommates over $1200 in move out charges when the apartment was in same condition as when I moved in. I would try to avoid doing business with them if possible

Poor quality appliances, carpet, and kitchen. Fees are Huuuuge.

I lived in Georgetown, and as far as the living experience and maintenance team goes, I would have given this 4 stars. However, my experience with trying to leave has been a never ending, giant pain of an ordeal, and is the reason for this review.I had lived in my Georgetown apartment for 2.5 years when the need arose for me to move and terminate my lease, and I started the process of trying to leave in early July 2020. First, it took 3 weeks to even get a reply email to get the process started. Next, it was an ongoing on and off email conversation where often times there would be no reply for several days at a time. There were many times I was told I would hear back from Matchbox to figure out outstanding issues, and I simply would just never hear back. I would try to call the receptionist to get in touch with someone, only to be referred to the email address or voicemail that I had been trying to contact for the previous week. After weeks of back and fourth and trying to get everything straightened out, we finally get everything wrapped up by my move out date of August 31st, and I was relieved to finally feel in the clear. However, fast forward to now (October), and I get an email that I’m being charged for maintenance that needs to be done after I’ve been gone and the new tenants have been in for over a month. I contacted the property manager and she acknowledged that this was incorrect and I won’t in fact have to pay anything, but now it’s been another week that I haven’t been able to get in touch with her to get this corrected, and the endless cycle continues. It’s hard to tell how much longer this is going to go on...I’m sure there will be something else that takes weeks to resolve when my security deposit is supposed to come in.I will say that I don’t think this is entirely my property managers fault...she has a million different things to be doing at once, and she was very helpful and patient in the instances where we were able to discuss the process. I feel bad constantly being on her about these things because I think matchbox is overworking her like crazy, but at the same time, this level of communication and service to loyal, paying tenants is completely unacceptable.Here’s to hoping that all of this will be closed up and resolved soon...EDIT: I’m giving a star back because after posting my review, I was able to get in touch with Mary Messerley. She was extremely helpful and timely in her response, and was able to get what I needed done in under 24 hours. If you rent with matchbox and are having troubles like I did, Mary is by far the most helpful person for you to talk to. If I had been in touch with her from the beginning, this review would be much, much better...too bad the receptionist told me on multiple different occasions that my property manager was the only person who could help!

I will soon have been at the Georgetown for nineteen years! I have worked with several management companies during that time, and find the Matchbox crew to be really friendly and responsive and especially attentive to communicating with tenants. Thanks!

This place is terrible. Avoid at all costs if you can but they are everywhere. Their number one goal is to take advantage of you at every turn in your lease and they almost always succeed. I lived on the corner of West Market Street where they pray on poorly equipped college students who have never signed a lease before. You sent a maintenance request to fix your toilet? You better write another because in 3 weeks they will either not have come or will not have fixed it. I am writing this review as a recent JMU graduate who continues to have nightmares that the Matchbox Monster is hiding under my bed ready to solicite a fine or blackmail me with years of credit issues. They will likely respond kindly to this review, but God knows they won’t pick up the call when you need mediocre cooperation from your realtor.

Thank you to Mary and Kate for helping my son get his apartment at Ice House. We rented later than normal due to Covid and Mary was extremely helpful in finding a perfect spot for him. Both were extremely responsive both during and after the leasing process in order to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible! He is now settled in and loving the place. Thanks again!!

Very responsive to maintenance issues, And fixed in a timely manner..Thanks Tom

Urban Exchange is not only the best apartment that I have lived in under Matchbox but I have gotten the best service from Andrea Bower and the maintenance staff. Andrea is always so quick to respond to my emails and super helpful with all of my questions and concerns. Today I had James to help with my maintenance request and he was so personable and helpful throughout the entire process. He is by FAR the best help Ive had yet! :)

I would love to work here. Employees do not have to answer emails, call tenants back or care about customer satisfaction at all. Seems like a great place to work if you do not really want to put in any effort, yet receive a paycheck.

I’m usually very generous when It comes to rating and reviews but unfortunately I have had a horrible experience with matchbox, and that’s mostly because of our property manager Mary Messerley. She charged me extra for a work order that’s I never called or asked for. She never addressed the issue and top of that she was RUDE AND CARELESS!

Stay away from this company at all costs.They will basically try to screw you at all costs. It’s almost as if this is their mission statement. I would not be surprised if “screw the customer” was painted on their office walls...They will never answer phone calls, charge you ridiculous prices for maintenance and refuse to provide receipts of this so called maintenance.

Moved into my apartment, don’t have a stove installed, a leak in the roof of the living room, gunk in the toaster they provided, dirty rags left in my washing machine.I was fine with all of this, figuring they were going to fix all of these issues as soon as possible, until I called MULTIPLE times and no one answered me. When I tried to leave a voicemail their mailbox was full and no one ever got back to me. They then texted me and asked me to leave a review after not responding to any of me or my roommates calls. This is my review.

Thanks for reaching out Mary and taking care of the issues I encountered. I can tell you truly care about your company and that you will go out of your way to fix any problems that arise!

When choosing between the lesser of evils in a Realty Management Company, you choose Matchbox. Disclaimer - this review is about Matchbox as a property manager (non-student housing) and then about Dogwood Commons (rented apartment)Throughout my two years of renting from them, my opinion of them has changed greatly - good and bad. You will read other peoples reviews of them being critical of your rental upon move-out and not being pleased with their deposit they received back. While they do charge you for every little thing, they are keeping their properties in great shape. And you move into a well kept place. So having a nice place comes at a price. And after dealing with the exact opposite type of Property Manager, you will miss Matchbox and their care of the property and your home. However, where they fail at is customer service. And they fail epically. They are all about their policies and do not care about the people. And it shows in how they (dont) train their employees and how inflexible they are with everything -- rent due dates, payment methods, business hours, etc. But compared to other property managers of Harrisonburg, they are better at communication and the upkeep of their properties.The (non-student) apartment I lived in was Dogwood Commons. This is a wonderful place to live. A spacious one-bedroom apartment and a great location. I hope they do not continue to raise rent to ridiculous levels. My only complaint is the staircase for the second floor apartments. They are quit slippery and slightly slanted. Making winter and rainy days dangerous. I was very displeased with Matchbox and their lack of salting and treating this complex during the winter.

Matchbox is not a good choice for HOA management. Not worth the cost. Poor accounting system. Nice employees but not proactive. Jim

I had a great experience living at Urban Exchange! The apartment suited my needs, the location is great, and the staff is lovely. Andrea, the Portfolio Manager, is very responsive, accommodating and understanding. If you’re looking to live in downtown Harrisonburg, Urban Exchange is a great option!

Matchbox just started managing our neighborhood and I already had a request. They took care of it right away!!! So far so good.

I had a great experience with Matchbox Realty while living at their Dogwood Commons property! They were always very professional and responded quickly to maintenance requests. I would highly recommend living at Dogwood Commons.

Mary Messerley has been in contact with me, helping me find a package and with other additional questions I have had. She went ABOVE AND BEYOND by even looking through the video footage to see when/if the USPS driver actually came. I really felt like she cared about my issue, and even when USPS couldnt help me anymore, she extended the offer to vouch for me to the company that I purchased the item from. Not only was she incredibly helpful, she also responded to my e-mails quickly. I am so impressed with her service and wanted to give her a quick shout-out.

I moved to Harrisonburg for a job opportunity last year. I needed to find something quickly and since I was living somewhere else at the time, I was not able to physically tour any places. The matchbox team was amazing and scheduled virtual tours with me and sent me videos of apartments. It was a seamless move in process and took a lot of stress off of me. Likewise, when it was time for me to move out, the matchbox team both helped me find a tenant and made the process simple. Mary Messerley and her team are amazing and I would recommend them to anyone looking to move to the Harrisonburg area!

This realty company really helped me make my move to Harrisonburg a very smooth one. Their ability to support and reach out to their tenants is unparalleled. The apartments they provide are clean and wonderful. 10/10 do recommend

I have rented from matchbox for the past 7 years. Management has always been super helpful and kind. Their maintenance staff has always been knowledgeable and willing to help me understand issues i can easily solve myself. I recommend them over any other realty company in Harrisonburg!

I am moving to the Staunton area from Harrisonburg and am in need of an apartment. I went onto the Matchbox website and saw that there were several apartments available immediately at the Georgetown Apartments. I used to live at Georgetown a couple years ago and liked the experience I had there. About a month and a half ago I called the office but did not get an answer, so I left a voicemail with my name, contact information, and that I was looking for the leasing agent for Georgetown. Two weeks went by with no reply. Then I went on the Matchbox website and filled out the interest form for the Georgetown Apartments and submitted it. Another week went by with no reply. So I called the office again and got in contact with the receptionist and explained to her what I was looking for. She said she would put me through to the extension of the Georgetown leasing agent, and when she did the phone when to voicemail. So I left another voicemail with my name, contact information, and what I was looking for. Two more weeks went by with no reply whatsoever. I called again last week and said that I would be moving to Staunton soon and would really like to get in touch with someone about renting at Georgetown. I tried to go by the office in person but there is a sign on the door saying “Due to the Governors order we can’t let anyone inside the office building.” Which I find very weird considering we are in Phase 3 and literally every other type of business is open to the public in some form or capacity. To this date I have no heard back by phone or email, and I can’t go to the office in person to see someone or make an appointment. Terrible service during difficult times.

I have been living at our townhouse for a year now, and the company has been super helpful and straight forward with any leasing processes. Had our front door knob fail, and Brandon came out and fixed it very quickly.

Alyssa, who works at the Charleson Townes leasing office, has been great. I have 2 sons leasing 2 townhomes - lots of details to get taken care of! She has been patient and communicative throughout the process. Much appreciated!

Matchbox has been more responsive and helpful than any other realty company I have rented with in Harrisonburg. Thanks for making things easy and reliable Matchbox!

Matchbox, Mary, and Maintenance have all been a great company to work with. I love my new apartment and that is thanks to them!

My daughter lived in the ICE house during her final year at JMU and she loved it. The location is fantastic and she always felt very safe.The MATCHBOX team was wonderful to work with from beginning to end and they were highly responsive whenever we had questions or issues to solve. When COVID hit and JMU closed suddenly we successfully found someone to sublet her apartment in a matter of a week! The entire process was smooth and pain free so if ever you want to try and sublet DO IT!

I would love to give matchbox a 5 star review but I want my review to be as honest as possible. I got my apartment in as is condition. The previous tenant wanted out of their lease so I took it over. I was informed I had 10 days to report any issues with my apartment. I noticed ants and two non working outlets. I have been working with Karin and Aaron. They suggested ant baits to manage it for a few weeks and then move forward from there. Maintenance came to my apartment when I wasn’t there & they didn’t check to non working outlets so I got a $117 charge. After disputing it over email, it got removed & maintenance came by and fixed it. I asked if I could schedule when maintenance came come and they gave me a call. The ant baits took care of the small ants but there were a few big ones. Karin told me to submit a work order. The next morning, the exterminator called me and they came in and took care of the issue (it had to do with the trees by my building). This morning I noticed that the baseboard heat in my room wasn’t working so I sent an email to Karin and Aaron. Aaron came by as soon as possible and took care of the issue. Karin and Aaron are awesome because they email me back within minutes. If you communicate clearly, they’ll be willing to work with you. I had a lawyer read over my lease and explain everything to me. It’s pretty fair and standard in terms of a lease agreement. It’s also important to document everything and report each issue as it arises. They will offer suggestions and if they don’t work, they’ll take additional steps to solve it. I love my apartment & I love matchbox. They truly care about their tenants. The reason why it’s 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the whole outlet issue but it got resolved.

These people have no regard for others and no sense of priority. I’m now going to be essentially homeless because one of their property managers refused to communicate properly and do her job so now I’m unable to get on a lease because of it. Their requirements for their guarantor applications are outrageous and if your guarantor even slightly doesn’t meet the requirement you’re denied. It’s a week from what my move in date was supposed to be and now I’m pretty sure I’m homeless cause they keep denying my application and delaying me getting on the lease. I could’ve had it figured out by now but they literally waited till the last second to tell me all the requirements for signing the lease. So yeah now I’m homeless. And they feel absolutely no remorse about it.

I lived in the City Exchange for 10 years. One of the longest term residents. Mary, who manages the building is wonderful. Very responsive and truly cares about her tenants. Maintenance needs were taken care of quickly.

Would’ve given zero stars if possible. They have the worse professionalism. Their late fee policy is outrageous! Expecting us to pay 15% of the rent for late fee! We were ready to pay $25 as late fee but 15% of rent is ridiculous! When we contacted the office the staff was rude and not flexible and threatened to take us to court.

What kind of company would want to take a student to court for excessive $49 late fee on $499 rent? Thats this company - ready to shove contract and legal sentences to your face. Stay away from such company who lack compassion and prefer greed.

Matchbox is an absolute nightmare. I’ve rented from 3 different places in Harrisonburg and the management at matchbox is by far the worst. They are impossible to communicate with but more than efficient at collecting checks. They will try to milk you for money months after your lease is up in any way that they can. AVOID them. Live in a box on the street if you have to. Do not sign any contract with Matchbox.

This was the best rental experience I have ever had. The management was consistently kind, professional, helpful, and extremely responsive. The rental office is centrally located and easy to access, and we absolutely loved our apartment in City Exchange. It was beautiful, clean, and well maintained! Utility bills were always low, and rent was extremely reasonable. I also loved the security of the apartment with the intercom system and the card to scan into the building. I cant say enough positive things about Matchbox, City Exchange, and our landlord Mary!

Because I was a student at JMU, but I wanted the best of both worlds (proximity to school and restaurants, shops, etc) I chose to live at Urban Exchange for 2 years. The property is amazing. When I moved in, my apartment was in near perfect condition. All of the appliances worked well throughout my stay, and when they didnt, the service and maintenance team were very friendly and timely. I always felt like I was appreciated as a tenant. My only downside from my entire 2 years with Urban and Matchbox was the noise. I found the floors really thin above me and sometimes the tenants above me partied even when they shouldnt. Other than that, all experiences I had with the office and members of the Matchbox team were so pleasant! I will truly miss my apartment there, it felt so much like home. Safe, clean, welcoming, and an amazing location!

We have yet to move in, but already my room mates and I can tell this will be one of the best places we have and will live at! Karin was our leasing agent! I was so impressed, we had searched with every leasing company in the area! She was THE MOST flexible, funny, hard working person, and she went out of her way to accommodate us on such short notice. She was the most positive person I have met during this process! She gave us 200% of the information we needed to know! She never said how much she loved her job, but you never really had to ask! She was just so happy in general, you could see the fulfillment in her face! I dont normally write reviews, but we appreciated her communication and dedication to helping us that I just had to let everyone and anyone know who was looking to rent from them!!!You can obviously tell that a company is treating their employees right if someone is that enthusiastic about their career!Thank you Matchbox!

Excellent job! I posted a maintenance issue and I got an answer it would be solved in the next few days. But it was fixed in the next few HOURS! Outstanding service!

If I could chose a phrase to describe Matchbox Realty it would be: morally reprehensible to college students. Throughout my two years living in Charleston Townes, I was faced with problems that no student should have to deal with. When I first moved in, the manager at the time demanded I pay her for a month’s rent when I wasn’t going to occupy the residency until the 1st of the following month. I found out days later that the rent for that month she demanded was already paid by the previous tenant and the manager immediately backed down when I confronted her. She tried to scam me out of $500 without thinking I would do my research. The leases that this company draws up are vague for the sole advantage that they can take advantage of the students living there. When a previous tenant broke into our townhouse one night and took stuff from the kitchen, the manager told us she would not do anything about it because changing the locks was a tenant cost.Moving out proved to be the most difficult experience of all. We cleaned for days to make the place spotless, and it was in better condition than we first moved in. We received $12 each back from our security deposit after being told that the furniture we were “free to take because it would be thrown out after turnover” actually would cost us each money, and because management disagreed with the terminology we used to describe previous damages, and then charged us for them even though the building had not seen a complete turnover in over 6 years. The head manager of the company even agrees that the “free to take” message was worded poorly, but refuses to honor it because the furniture comes from a third party. An honest company would refund their tenants and admit fault, not hide behind a defense to protect their wallet. This is not a company that values its customers. This is a company that makes its money off of taking advantage of college students and hoping they don’t notice. Do not make the mistake of signing with Matchbox, and especially with Charleston Townes.

Matchbox has easily been the best rental management services I have used. From day one, Mary and her staff have been so incredibly helpful and kind. Emails regarding questions or concerns are returned in a timely manner, and no question is left unanswered. AC not working on a hot summer day? There is a response in less than an hour... thanks Josh! Mary is personable and attentive and I honestly feel that she wants all of her tenants to be happy where they are... With so many properties, that is a feat not many can accomplish! The service technicians are also to be commended, they were quick at addressing service issues and were all very professional. Lastly, kudos to the sweet ladies that clean the stairwell in Campbell Court, I enjoyed seeing them. I highly recommend Matchbox Realty and it will be first place I look the next time I am renting.

Horrible customer service from most of the employee who work at Matchbox. They were extremely rude to not only myself but to my mom as well. They also did not call to notify when maintenance came into the apartment. I wasnt ever aware that they stopped by until I saw the note on the kitchen counter. In addition, when I asked to be sent a copy of the lease via email the girl I spoke on the phone with said it was going to take a while for her to send it. I never received the email. The ONLY reason I will give them a second star is because they do have okay apartments. The living spaces are clean and decently priced for the most part, especially for student housing. However, they try to get money from you any way they can and, the people that work for this company made me never want to sign a lease with matchbox again.

Its a given that apartments can have issues, but the management team at Matchbox worked with us and were very accommodating!

Ive rented from Matchbox for years. Theyre pretty OK as they dont get in your hair as long as you pay the bills and nothing in your house breaks. Well for me Ive had a lot of problems with them when it comes to their professionalism. Ive even had them lose receipts to checks Ive given them. The worst thing about them by fair is the untimely manner at which it takes them to fix anything that might be broken in your house. One of my houses I lived in the gas heater was clearly dangerous and needed to be replaced and it took them over a month to do even though it was making a very loud audible bang from gas exploding each time it would turn on. I also have had the electricity for all my house go out and then it took them 2 weeks to fix that. I even had to go without heat for 2 in dead winter when it had a high of 10 degrees. I had a pipe burst underground and it took them almost a month to fix, but i can understand this one because they had to get permits and rent equipment to dig under the cement. I also moved into a new place recently that had a broken water heater and washing machine. They took two weeks to send people to fix it. Another sign of their professionalism is how I signed a lease with an addendum that should have added a month to my lease so I could move into my new place as soon as my lease ran out. They forgot though and they signed my house anyways even though I had paid for a full months rent already this month and now they expect me to move out and find a place to live for a week before my new place. I would never rent from these people if they didnt own half the property in town. Ive had nothing but bad experience and I truly dislike this company and how its run. They do not care about you as a person, just your money.

I lived in two different Matchbox properties for a combined year. I found the properties themselves (particularly City Exchange) to be phenomenal in location and quality. The price was reasonable for the amenities, though I do take issue with a large up-front maintenance fee. The staff were very helpful, even if it did take a day or so for them to get back to you, they were always thorough and courteous. I would highly recommend the City Exchange property and would likely recommend the Urban Exchange property as well.

If I could give zero stars, I would. This rental company is by far the WORST company to rent from in Harrisonburg. First, they dont ever answer their phones, are hardly ever in their office, and ignore emails for days. Its nearly impossible to get a response from anyone who works there. Second, they dont follow the lease that they are legally obligated to follow. They give you an option to sublease or assign the rest of your lease to someone else in WRITING on the lease, but refuses to honor your right to do that. Lastly, they will charge you an absurd amount of money after you move out while simultaneously keeping their security deposit. They charged me $1300 to replace carpet in a 500 square foot apartment. AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS.

This is one of the most unprofessional companies I have ever had to deal with. I strongly recommend avoiding renting from them. They use every excuse they can come up with to take extra money from you. Even the smallest service they provide ( for example, replacing a parking pass sticker) they charge at least $50. They did not refund all of our deposit and gave no actual reason what for, I suspect they do this for all of their tenants. I could rant for hours, but I would rather keep it brief. Avoid renting from matchbox!

This is by far the worst real estate agency we have ever dealt with. They are really conniving and find every reason to steal money from the tenants. They purposely make you sign leases that start and end in odd dates -- taking off a few days in a beginning and at the end of the lease that results in one of your months or more several days less than a full month while you are charged the full months rent.They charge you $250 to change the carpets for the new tenants while the carpets did not seem to be even cleaned properly let a lone changed at all since the previous tenant(s). I found so much hair and other nasty things inside the carpets in the first few days I moved in. Thats not good customer service and called lying.The make you turn off water and electric past the leases end date just to make you pay for as many extra days as possible.They charge you $50 key lock change fee. Seriously?! Also, they find every excuse not to give back your full security deposit!The apartment and owner were nice but this real estate management is horrible.

Matchbox is a great company to rent from.They have a monopoly on all the best spots in downtown Harrisonburg, but it doesnt seem like they use that to take advantage of renters. Even more surprising to find a good leasing company like this in a college town.All of my interactions with the management have been great, Mary in the Urban Exchange office is awesome at helping out with leasing and any issues. The one appliance issue I had was addressed the day I put in a request and new parts ordered and installed within two days.I just signed on for another year and would recommend their properties for anyone looking to live downtown.

Rave review incoming: I have rented with dozens of realty companies over the years, and Matchbox, in my personal experience, was one of the absolute best to work with. The main reason for this (outside of decent response time and my apartment being as well taken care of as it was) is Mary Messerley, who I communicated with regularly. Mary is the kind of woman that makes you realize that not all companies are heartless, cold, and only out for your money. The way she listened, addressed any issues, and showed incredible empathy is atypical for a realty company. She is absolutely wonderful. As far as any of the complaints geared towards Matchbox in the area, I am going to go ahead and assume that many are from young, immature students who possibly dont know how to address their needs, handle a lease, or communicate in an adult manner yet (Im not trying to be rude, but thats how appears); I wouldnt pay mind to a single negative review. Mary, Josh, and the Matchbox crew could not have been helpful or reasonable; they made it crystal clear that they are not out to screw you over and were extremely communicative about how to get a deposit back, avoid surprises with the company, etc. As long as you are honest with them they will show you the same respect. Both the person I sublet from and I both found Mary & Matchbox to be top notch as a company and human being. I would absolutely rent with them again.

I would like to give the apartment staff negative numbers. After 3 plus years of staying here and another tenant movieng in I am being sued.. for something the new tenant or work staff did. I advise students from JMU to avoid this place.

I have never written a review for a company before but I feel so strongly that I must share. If I could give zero stars, I would. Matchbox was the worst and most unprofessional company I have ever dealt with. We had several issues with our house over the past couple of years, including rats. Matchbox did little to ever help with the situation and we were forced to buy traps and poison ourselves. We had to remind the company multiple times to warn us if they were sending maintenance out, because often times they would send them unannounced. I understand if we put in a request, that is our warning but multiple times they sent people out without a reason. When it came time to move out I was very excited to never deal with them again. Unfortunelty, they have charged us with several fees though they did little to support us over our lease. If anything we spent more money to keep up with the house than they ever did. The only time they ever helped was when we had to get parents involved to threaten lawsuit. Stay away!!

Living at Urban Exchange is the absolute best! I feel so secure and it is everything I have wanted (except for a pool!). Quiet, calm, perfect place to be. Everyone in the office is so helpful and nice-I always receive a welcome when I see them. I dont ever feel I am just a tenant. Mary makes me feel like family.

After being a resident of Matchbox Realty for two years in two different apartment/townhouse complexes, I can honestly say that they do the most for their residents. Lacey Derow is a wonderful and supportive manager and I always believed she truly cared about my apartment needs. This company was always on top of their management with payments whether it be giving gentle reminders when needed or rewarding those who paid their bills on time. I would highly recommend leasing an apartment or townhouse from this management service because they are considerate, caring and will be there when you have questions or concerns, which is what any person is looking for when it comes to leasing an apartment! You cant outmatch Matchbox!

I moved in Charleston Town homes back in 2011 I came back to JMU for grad school and quickly needed a place to stay. I roomed with three girls who I knew in undergrad so they were not fully randoms. The three girls stayed at the apartment a year together before I got there but they welcomed me with opened arms. When it was time for us to move out after staying there a year, I received a bill for the damage to the apartment that we all had to pay separately. I felt like I was given the short end of the stick because my room did not have much damage at all but since I signed a lease we all were responsible for any damages to the apartment as a whole. I ended up making a payment arrangement to take care of my part of the damages. Matchbox Realty worked with me during this process. They made the payments affordable and were kind about the entire situation. I was able to pay off my balance fully. To be honest Im glad Matchbox worked with me because that balance could have hit my credit report. Im happy this situation is behind me now and thankful for the representatives at Matchbox Realty.

WARNING! This company will try to scam you out of your money. More than 3 months after I moved out and had my security deposit refunded, they sent me a bill for damages I did not make. The new tennant had been living there for at least a month and somehow this company has decided I caused the damages. The accounts payable representative even admitted the move out inspection showed no damages. This company is now sueing me in small claims court! Future tenants should be cautious of fraudulent damage claims.

My experience with Matchbox while living at Campus View was great. One of the few places at JMU that I found to rent out apartments for a short-term lease (mine was one semester= approximately 5 months), they were accommodating while providing a brand new apartment. Every encounter I had with employees from Matchbox was courteous and helpful, especially with Lacey. Though new to Matchbox and property management, it wasnt evident as she worked with professionalism and was genuinely enthusiastic about her job, while treating tenants with above and beyond customer service by looking out for their best interests (such as submitting our only work order herself and double checking our utilities were cancelled immediately after moving out).The only downsides to Campus View were the kitchen size, which may be difficult to accommodate 4 people, and the noise from construction of more new buildings (which on some mornings acted better than an alarm clock). However, the construction will be finished soon and the kitchen space can be managed.

Of all the apartment communities Ive lived in, (six total) Urban Exchange is the best, by far. Great amenities, walkable lifestyle. The property manager is terrific, and makes time to answer questions/help with problems. Everything is secure.Its two blocks to Court Square and about a 12-minute walk through Old Town to JMU. Get a west-facing unit in building 238 for some incredible views of the Shenandoah Valley at sunset.

As a professional landlord in several states I have to say that this company has the worst terms in a lease that Ive ever seen. All of the other negative reviews are accurate, they will hit you for EVERYTHING that they can, its one giant money-making machine. They definitely exploit the agreeableness of young female college students and professionals and coerce them into silly terms and conditions, and paying all kinds of ridiculous fees. My wife and I were in pre-divorce separation and she signed a lease with Matchbox. Fortunately (for us) my wife and I reconciled so she had to break the lease before her tenancy began. She acted in good faith and gave them due notice. Matchbox quickly found another tenant to pick up my wifes lease after only two weeks, but they very greedily kept her entire deposit and then sent us a bill for nearly $1600 itemized as reassignment fees, a full months rent (even though they were only without a tenant for two weeks), maintenance fees and a lot of other bogus damages that they never incurred. When I told them that we wouldnt pay they SUED US!!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!!! TAKE MY ADVICE!: DONT RENT FROM THEM!

This company is a scam through and through. Matchbox Realty preys on the ignorance of college students and young professionals who are just getting started in Harrisonburg, most of whom are young women who seek the relative safety of the downtown area. They make up their own rules, they impose fee upon fee upon fee and their poor tenants pay them mostly out of ignorance(read all of the other negative reviews, youve been warned). They write an 11 and 1/2 month lease but force their lessees to pay for a full year, and will force you to commit to resigning a new lease 6-9 months before your current lease ends. If you have to terminate your lease early they will charge you 1600 dollars and sue you if you dont pay it. They will most likely keep all of your security deposit and if your lease ends and they dont send you a bill for some ridiculous fee, consider yourself lucky.

We rented our apartment from Matchbox sight unseen while still living in another state. The cost and the photos posted on an online ad appealed to us and so we just went for it. Lacey was a fantastic property manager, she replied so fast to our emails and got us all set up and was flexible when our date to pick up the keys shifted. When we moved in we noticed the apartment was a bit smaller than the photos might have suggested, but really every realty company does that. There was a bit more wear and tear in things like the building stairways, bathroom and the kitchen but overall it was what we expected and we didnt have any renters remorse. Since moving in, weve had a handful of service issues and each one has been addressed promptly and without incident. The service technicians are always super nice and do good work. We would rent from Matchbox again.

Classic unfair landlord practices. My recommendation is first read the fine print and read it with the knowledge that it will be used against you later. Second is to take full documentation of the condition of the apartment with pictures to keep them from charging you your security deposit or normal wear and tear as well as issues that predated you and probably were paid for by the many previous tenants to boot. I think they prey on unsuspecting tenants, especially young college students, keeping monies that would go back to the tenant in any other state that had laws to protect them. Matchbox set up a legal system of theft so what should be an eventual landlord expense is now funded by an unending, repeating free source of money. Dont rent from them if you dont have to.

I’d have to recommend copper beech over campus view and that says a lot...

I took over my brothers lease at Urban Exchange in December 2012 and will not be renewing my lease w/ them ONLY because I moved out of the area. I lived in Charleston Townes as a senior at JMU and the past 6 months at Urban as a professional. The staff is so awesome and courteous; management sends out a coupon for something every month when everyone has paid their rent. I loved walking out of Urban everyday and being able to make small talk with Mary or any of the other staff. Great experience and they helped me do some stuff when I was back home in Northern Virginia.

I was able to find a nice apartment at a great rate through Matchbox. Though I had no prior experience renting from them, I thought the rate was amazing and myself and two roommates signed right away. One of my roommates bailed last minute but Matchbox worked with us and found a more than fair solution.I was so happy. Any time we had a maintenance issue, I would submit an order and the problem would be fixed right away. The maintenance people were very nice and friendly too! Cheyenne andMike went out of their way to make my unfortunate situation the best it could have been. They are great at what they do and Matchbox is a great company to rent from!

The property itself is very well kept and nice. Not only are the staffs from the leasing office (Urban Exchange) very friendly and willing to help, the housekeepers are also very nice and good at what they do. As for the Matchbox company itself, I found it a bit hard to reach them when I once had a problem with the sink, but my overall experience with living in Urban Exchange had no complains.

This businesss model is to squeeze as much money out of college students as possible through excessive charges or through any minor infractions of the lease (such as trash bags sitting outside the house resulting in a $1400 fine). Avoid at all costs!

This company took over from my private landlord. I typically stay away from big leasing companies because I think you get better service and treatment from small private owners.This company is run of the mill college town big box realty company, youll get what you expect. I cant say anything too bad, since they only were in charge of my lease for less than a years, but I certainly cant say anything good either. I would rent privately again, but not from Matchbox, for my own preferences.

Review of the Livery LoftsAtmosphere & Surrounding Environment:The surrounding area is safe. People often ask if we hear a lot of noise since the apartment is directly above a few local restaurants. It is not loud at all: actually the warm buzz of the restaurants below is very charming. Only steps away from many downtown businesses, restaurants, bars, and local yoga/pilates studios (HYH, Breathe, the Center).Interior:The lofts are well-maintained, extremely clean & beautiful interior foyer. The warehouse-to-loft conversion is gorgeous. Exposed brick, beautiful flooring and a retro refrigerator (new appliance but retro wrap which is definitely a conversation piece). Plenty of light within the lofts: two skylights in addition to windows throughout. Very modern appliances, perfect use of space.Management:Matchbox Realty property managers are very responsive to issues within the apartment, should you need anything. In fact, Mary is a delight--very easy to work with and cares about her tenants. I highly recommend the Livery Lofts, if you have the opportunity to live there!

If I could give Matchbox zero stars I would. The negative reviews are 100% accurate on here. They (Mary specifically) are bullys and coercive. I am writing this under an anonymous name because I fear retribution, thats how bad they are! I rented at Urban Exchange. I first spoke with Mary and she seemed great but it was all a scheme to lure you into signing. First, its almost IMPOSSIBLE to get anyone on the phone and most of the time you have to speak to the assistant because Mary is too busy. She doesnt return calls unless theres a direct benefit for HER to do so. That was the first red flag I should have taken note of. If she wont even make time to speak to a possible tenant you can imagine what its like once youve actually signed a lease.Second, Mary will bully you into signing with threats that the place you want will be gone. She lied to me and told me if I didnt sign 6 months in advance there would be absolutely no places available. She told me she signs leases 6 months, so I let her bully me into signing and it was such a scam! I looked online 30 days out from when I was signing and places were still available and becoming available! So if you are considering Matchbox DO NOT let Mary bully you into believing no places will be available. She will come across as the nicest person until you sign and once she has you she will treat you like youre disposable. I know housing can be hard to find in Harrisonburg which is why she can get away with doing this, but just look elsewhere its not worth it! Theres a lot of new construction around the area.In terms of Urban Exchange and the other properties by Matchbox (i have friends living in their other apartments so I have been visited those) their construction is CHEAP!! Its all window dressing and looks nice in photos but the actual construction is garbage! They use cheap materials and you will hear everything from the people above, below and beside you. It feels like living in a cheap motel. I could go on but seriously, if you are reading this, the negative reviews are correct and the positive reviews on here have been requested from management or Mary specifically.In summary, DO NOT RENT FROM Matchbox and DO NOT let Mary bully or coercive you into singing a lease. She lies repeatedly and only cares about her own self interest. I am writing this in hopes of helping someone else so they dont end up in the same situation I am in.