I lived in Barclay Square for two years (2002-2004). We were in the farthest building on the lot, on the bottom floor.

The apartments are quite spacious, we got an excellent value for our dollar. We split the apartment up between 5 people originally (it was a 4 room apartment) and ended up with up to 7 people at times. All but one room had walk in closests. The master room has two. Plus there's another closet big enough to store a sizable amount of stuff. It's close enough to UMCP to bike. They are very easy going in regards to what you can do in the apartment, for instance painting, laying down wires etc.

We did have some problems. We were flooded twice (once was due to a faulty foundation, the second time due to foolish neighbors). Both times emergency maintenance was very fast, very friendly, and very hard working. We are quite impressed with how well they respond to things, even at 2am.

We were robbed once, as someone left our backdoor open for a few hours (the downside of room mates). Crime is not a regular problem, but it is something to keep in mind, especially towards the corner of the lot. One of my room mates had his car broken into, but I largely chalk that up to having signs on said car advertising the excellent sound system within. I never felt my car to be in any real danger, but I did always lock my doors.

We did briefly have a problem with abusive neighbors immediately above us, but within two months of their becoming a problem, they were evicted (I'm unsure of the reason). Since then, I suspect we were more of a noise nuisance than most anyone else.

The front office people are quite nice and helpful. They're very approachable and it was a pleasure living with them. Generally they go out of their way to help out when they can.

Maintenance was excellent. I cannot fully extol the dedication of emergency maintenance. They responded immediately to problems, and were as helpful as they could be (one guy spent two hours wetvaccing our carpet). The normal maintenance generally respond to problems within a few days, which is exceptional for apartment living. When they do respond, they normally do an excellent job, repairing more than we requested. My biggest complaint there is they sometimes enter without knocking (or at least without knocking loud enough to be heard).

The facilities around the apartment are alright. Pool, small playgrounds, etc. Parking is a bit tight, but the end of the lot has a ton of extra spots. They do enforce their parking policy, but you can get guest parking passes easily enough. They offer free spraying for bugs semi-monthly.

All in all, I think the selling point was how close it was to UMCP, how cozy the apartment was and the price. 1350 split five ways meant we spent about $400 for two of us in a large room.

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