We lived at University Square for three years, so of course it wasn't that bad. The grounds are well kept, the apartments are fairly comfortable, and the neighborhood isn't bad. However, over the years we've had so many bad experiences with the management and maintenance that I honestly cannot recommend this complex to anyone else. Here are some specifics about our experience:

GROUNDS/NEIGHBORHOOD
The grounds are well-kept and regularly maintained. The neighborhood is fairly safe, though there were starting to be minor problems (vandalism, fights, etc) associated with some of the groups of teenagers who had moved into the area. The complex is conveniently located on the METRO bus line, the UMD Busline, and within a mile or so from the Greenbelt METRO station. There are some places where massive flooding during heavy rain blocks the sidewalk and flood apartments. Be careful of apartments at the foot of the hills.

THE APARTMENT
We had a 1 bedroom with 750 sq ft, and by the time we left we were paying $1035/month -- not bad considering the neighborhood. Expect at least a 5% rent increase every year. The apartment design is fairly spacious and we never really felt cramped, even though we have a lot of stuff. The apartments themselves are a little run down. Some of the appliances are older and our apartment had a host of minor problems which didn't really bother us. However, we were also plagued with several major maintenance problems as well which we simply couldn't get fixed (AC, rotting dry wall in the bathroom, poor insulation).

BUGS
We had very few problems with insects, but we were on the top floor. In my building they sprayed for bugs every month (an indication that someone DID have a problem), but we never saw any. I got to know the pest control people pretty well and they told me that the apartments there were pretty hit-and-miss. Some were completely free, others completely infested. They recommended making sure to get an apartment that was off the ground floor. Our building especially had some water problems because the building was at the foot of a large hill, and I think that let to some roaches in some of the lower apartments.

HVAC
The heat in the apartments is great. The management pays for gas and the units heat up nicely in the winter. AC, however, is a major problem. In the time we lived there, our AC broke 23 times (yes, I counted). Often it would take longer than a week for the maintenance to actually "fix" the problem so we spent much of our summers with the windows open. I also got to know the complex's HVAC tech pretty well and the problem with the apartments is two-fold: 1) They are poorly insulated so they heat up really fast. This is especially a problem with apartments on the upper floors, like ours. 2) The AC units are VERY old and they simply don't put out enough cold air to keep up with the rate at which the apartments are heating up. The result is that the AC unit never adequately cools the apartment. For instance, ours had to run 24/7 through the summer just to keep the apartment at 80 degrees. This was when it was "working." The natural result is that the unit would run withour rest for a week or two and then break again. At nights, we would often be living in an apartment that was actually 10 degrees hotter than the outside temperature -- this because the poorly-insulated building takes longer to cool than the outside air. Over the years we constantly informed the management and maintenance about this issue but all we got were excuses from them, usually complaints about how they didn't have time or money to fix the problem. Often their solution was to simply send a guy by to recharge the AC unit and keep it running for another week to get us off their backs. The problem is pretty wide-spread as well. Each time the AC guy came by (who is a nice guy, but incredibly overworked) we talked and apparently he's always got a list of about 20-30 units that need AC maintenance. Maybe the bottom floors have better luck/insulation''

OFFICE MANAGEMENT
Over the years we've worked with a few good people in the office, but they're few and far between. And they don't last long. They usually tell us that the corporate office is pretty difficult to deal with and so they move on to a better company. My experience having to call corporate for issues (the AC for instance) concurs with theirs. Usually you have to call back 3-4 times just to be able to talk to a real person - other than the secretary up front. The University Square management itself has been pretty bad. First, there is a LOT of change-over in the office. We've seen at least 5 different office managers since we were there, including once when the corporate office had to sent someone in for a few months because no one wanted the job. Here's one example that illustrates how bad they can get: As our first year was ending, we wanted to renew our lease. The office "forgot" (that was their word) to send us the information about what our rent increase would be (which by the way, is required 60 days in advance by PG County Statutes). No problem, though. We went by the office a month and a half in advance to remind them. They told us they would send over information, including a copy of the new lease for us to look at. It never came. We went back each week to remind them and each week they promised to send it over, but it never came. Still no problem, really. We kept going back and had a hard time catching the office manager there -- apparently that particular manager was doing a lot of work "from home." It wasn't until a week after our previous lease expired that they finally got the papers together for the new one. We signed it and stupidly walked out of the office without getting a copy for ourselves. They promised to send one by once the corporate office signed off on it (not sure why I believed them). A month and a half later (after many attempts on our part to remind them to send us a copy) we get a notice from the office informing us that we hadn't signed a lease with them and that we were supposed to be paying month-to-month rent. We went back to the office and tried to straighten it out with them. It turns out they "lost" the original copy that we had signed with them so they had no lease on file for us. Well, luckily we caught the regional manager in the office and complained to her. She had us sign a new lease with a re-negotiated rent rate, which was nice of her. We insisted on having a copy and walked out, hoping that things were finally set. Well, a month later we got another notice from the office telling us that the rate we were paying was incorrect -- they were still expecting us to pay the old rate, not the newly negotiated one. We went back and tried to straighten the thing out again, but they couldn't find our file so they actually just took our word for it. Still a few months later they again called asking if we could bring them OUR copy of the lease because they couldn't find theirs. I ignored their request and thankfully that was about the last I heard from them on that particular issue. This is, however, just one of several issues we had in dealing with them (see below).

MOVING OUT
Although we found the apartments comfortable (for 8 months of the year when we didn't have to worry about AC) we got tired of dealing with the people in charge so we finally decided to move out. We requested a final walk-though with them to make sure there weren't any serious issues with the apartment that they were going to charge us for. We kept the place in good condition, but I felt it was a good idea to be safe. We walked thought the apartment and they noted a few minor scuffs on the walls -- nothing really serious. The lady from the office even commented on how well-kept the apartment was after three years of living, so we thought things went well. But a month later we got a bill from Lerner charging us for over $200 in damages to the apartment. I'm still not quite sure where they got most of the problems they listed. Some were maintenance problems they never finished fixing. Some were things that we actually made note of on our move-in checklist because they were there when we got the apartment. Many of them were small, picky things like a broken slat in the venetian blinds, which they tried to charge us $45 to fix. None of the items were listed on the move-out checklist when we signed the apartment back over to them. It was frustrating, but after several weeks of trying to talk to the right person in charge we were able to get most of it taken care of, but only because we got to the point where we were going to sue them over it. It was crazy. I've never had this kind of problem anywhere else and I hope I never do again.

OVERALL
In all, the apartments were fairly comfortable and if you manage to get one that is fairly maintance-free you might be all right. Still after all the hassle we went through, I can't recommend them to anyone else. And if you do decide to move-in, keep a record of EVERY maintenance call, who comes to fix it, how long it takes for them to come by, and whether the problem actually gets fixed or not. I did that in the last year and it really helped put the right pressure on them to actually come by and do their jobs. Also, insist on being present for the walk-out when you leave or they're likely to try to charge you for a lot of small things that they don't want to pay for. Good luck.

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