Light House at Twin Lakes
11800 Twinlakes Drive, Beltsville, MD 20705
301-572-4600  WEBSITE save favorite
AVERAGE RATING
recommended by:
33%

overall rating:
2.4
3.0
3.03 Parking:
2.5
2.54 Maintenance:
2.5
2.45 Construction:
2.7
2.69 Noise:
2.8
2.81 Grounds:
2.5
2.46 Safety:
2.4
2.38 Office Staff:
< | >

Don't move here.

From: -Anonymous-
Date posted: 11/16/2007
Years at this apartment: 2007 - 2007
 
I moved to the Lighthouse at Twin Lakes in February of 2007. It has not exactly been a pleasant experience, and I cannot wait to move out when my year-long lease is up.
Initially, my friend was living here by herself in a ground-floor studio apartment. She had many problems with her apartment, including a bug infestation, leaking pipes, and extremely loud neighbors upstairs. [It literally sounded as though they were fighting inside her apartment, rather than on a different floor.] She spoke with the "leasing office" many times, and finally they agreed to waive the transfer fee if she wanted to switch into another apartment. She admitted that was a kind offer.
Two months later, I relocated to this area. We signed a lease for a one-bedroom apt. at the Lighthouse, since she didn't want to break her original lease. Not only did they make us pay an extra deposit, but they sent her a bill for the transfer fee to the new apartment! It also took them forever to return her deposit from the studio, even though she had left it in the same condition as it was when she moved in. For the most part, the leasing office never gives you straight answers to your questions. [I also doubt that they are "open" the hours that they claim, as I have called or gone over to the office within their "working hours" and no one was there.]
The maintenance workers are proficient-- that is, when you can actually get a hold of them. We were given a phone number in February to call when we had any issues-- which we ultimately did. Our washing machine blew fuses, our shower knobs came off [and later one shot off of the shower wall while someone was inside it], and our a/c was broken countless times. At some point in the summer, the phone number that we had no longer worked for contacting maintenance, and we were never informed of any change. We left many messages on the voicemail of members of the leasing office, but they were never returned. The only way we got anything done quickly was when we spoke directly to a member of the leasing office on the phone during working hours. Apparently now, they want us to submit maintenance requests on their website; I put in two work orders four days ago, and they still have not been fulfilled. [Actually, this is the straw that broke the camel's back; this is why I'm writing this review.]
There have been many break-ins or car thefts while I've been here, despite two cops living within the complex and a security vehicle driving around. The leasing office's solution: Leaving us a photocopied paper under our apt. door informing us of the incident and telling us to "be aware of our surroundings" and "always lock your door, even when you're in your apartment." Better suggestions: amp up security a little better, have the outsides of the buildings only accessible to residents, add better lighting outside. This has become a monthly issue.
We received a notice under our door earlier this month informing us of "possible asbestos in the caulking around the windows." They came in, moved our furniture, etc. away from the windows, and stripped the caulking out. Problem is, they haven't been back to replace the caulking since then.
Which leads me to probably the worst part about the Lighthouse-- the utilities bills. There are no utilities included in the original apartment price. For our 2 bedroom apartment, our water & gas is always around $80.00/month, and our electricity has ranged anywhere from $60 to $240. The rooms are NOT energy efficient-- old, cheap windows with wind coming in from the outside, which has been made only worse by them taking the caulking out from the window sills. I am extremely disappointed in their lack of timely communication as well as their failure to address the problems of the tenants.
Good points... Well, I must say that I haven't had any bug issues since I've lived here [thank goodness]... although that probably has a lot to do with being above the ground level of the building. Parking isn't scarce, but if you get into the lot well after dark, you'll have to park kind of far from your building.
In conclusion, I would definitely think twice about moving to this property. I cannot wait for my lease to be up, and I'm moving far away from this place.

Recommended: NO
Overall Rating
2 out of 5
Parking:
3 of 5
Maintenance:
3 of 5
Construction: 2 of 5
Noise:
2 of 5
Grounds: 2 of 5
Safety: 2 of 5
Office Staff:
1 of 5
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