Rebecca Ravera

The apartment itself isn't that bad and the location is ok, its the management that makes a person not want to stay. The person who handled my paperwork to convince me to lease here told me that the average utilities for a 1 bed with 1 occupant would be about $50. I'm not holding anyone to this but when you ask what utilities average you expect something close. The minimum water bill is $50 which is billed through the apartment management (you pay for the billing service) so add in electric and gas and bills are much higher. They require online documents to include the initial lease. When this was finalized the website to do this was down. I was also not in Virginia. The person who I was working with was practically in a panic telling me that I would not get the rent amount I agreed to if I didn't sign the lease that day. If I had backed out it would have put me in a bind for a place to live. I had to give a code to him to allow him to sign it for me. He supposedly read everything but that was a lie. When I moved in I had to give my apartment key to maintenance so they could fix the blinds that were promised to be fixed prior to move in, no one seemed to think this was odd or cared that I gave up a key I signed for. About a month in water started leaking into the bedroom. I placed a service order that took three days to be filled. The person who went to fix it called me three times at work to "discuss" the leak. He spent most of the time telling me that I didn't close the shower curtain or had the water angled wrong, as if I didn't know how to shower without making a mess. I repeatedly pointed out that there was no water on the floor in the bathroom just in the bedroom. When I got back that day a letter reflecting the service call was left which stated something in the shower had been replaced. I guess he just couldn't justify not spending the money to replace a part that was leaking without risking me taking further action to resolve the issue. I received a letter of non-payment on my door a couple months later that was dated for the pervious year with someone else name. I had to make multiple phone calls to get that straightened out which ended with someone saying "oops that happens" and I should disregard. I had complained about noise at 2am from my downstairs neighbor but all they would do was send an email to everyone in the building. However, we got multiple letters telling us we would pay a $500 fee for smoking near the building or on our balcony, a second offense is $1000. But the worth experience was trying to move out of this place. I am a military veteran and dependent. We have orders, which too forever to get, but finding someone to work with me to end my lease early was a nightmare. I tried to explain my situation but was told sorry can't help and I don't work at that location, when asked who else I could contact. Beside the stress of having to continue to pay rent and prepare to move overseas when I finally got the orders they gave me a move out date after my lease ended! After many phone calls and emails (I wanted everything documented) they finally agreed to let me break the lease three weeks early. Upon move out I was charged $95. Yes the paperwork says you have the option to select that they clean the apartment for you and that it only costs $90, but they don't care. They will charge you regardless because you have to sign a document when you hand over your keys agreeing to it and when you electronically sign the documents to move out you don't have a choice but to opt for them to charge you. This place is a joke. Every time I was in contact with maintenance they were condescending and the management ignore you unless you continuously make a fuss. I you chose to live here make sure you read every line of everything you agree to. The location is good if you don't mind riding the bus for at least 30 minutes to get to the metro. Overall its pretty quiet and wood floors are better than carpet. The apartments look nothing like the models they show to get you to sign a lease.