I had a decent studio with a good view and a window air conditioner supplied by building. The bathroom and cabinet doors didnt close because of poor paint jobs, but in a city like Washington, DC that is to be expected. The sky-high rent is affordable, even cheap when compared to other neighborhood options. The building is old and has maintenance and other problems which, if addressed properly, could be remedied. Unfortunately, the TERRIBLE management and building staff make that impossible, and problems compound.

For example, when I moved in, the lock on my door wasnt working. I called to have the lock replaced. Instead, someone was sent to grease the key hole. When the lock still didnt work, a staff member came to explain to me how to use a lock. Eventually the lock became so broken that the whole doorknob and lock needed to be replaced and a new one installed. Instead of simply replace the lock at first, building management elected to leave me unprotected to save a few bucks.

There was a similar incident with the toilet, called to the apartment multiple times to fix the toilet, maintenance never resolved the problem fully. Now, the toilet fails to flush all together and a plunger has to be used. Its only a matter of time until there is an overflow problem.

Cockroaches are another issue. At one point, I realized there was masking tape (as if from painting) left on a crack on the underside of the kitchen cabinet. I pulled back the masking tape and dozens of cockroaches fell out of the crack and scurried all over my countertop. The building offers extermination of your individual unit, but it never works. It involves the building staff simply entering your apartment and sprinkling blue dust which is a poison to cockroaches on the floor and countertops. I came home once to find 2 cans of industrial anti-bug spray left in an open kitchen cabinet. The can had strict warnings that it is not to be used near food or dishes. If a proper extermination was done by trained professionals, the building would most likely see an end to this chronic infestation problem. Instead, to the horror of residents, Cafrtiz management continues to penny pinch.

To make matters worse, the staff in the building are nightmares to deal with. The building office operates at the whim of the managers. Schedules and appointments are never kept. Packages had to be delivered to the office, but I would often go to receive a package only to have management scold me about its size and how much room it took up. Ive had the experience of seeing a manager in the office but when I knocked to get a package, no one would open the door - during normal office hours. Once, a package was even returned to the sender because after multiple delivery attempts, no one received it at the building.

If I had to describe the management in one word, it would be MEAN. The manager scowled as I came and went, seemed to despise having to deal with others and always acted as if they were being interrupted by the maintenance and security concerns of residents. Common areas, such as the laundry room, courtyard and rooftop deck are supposed to be for the use and convenience of residents. However, they are sometimes closed for weeks at a time with out prior warning. IF questioned, the building management takes a defensive posture and terrible attitude. If at all possible, pony up the extra cash and live somewhere else. The stress of living here is NOT worth it.

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