We'll be generous and start with the good news. In our two years at Willow "Lake," we haven't had any real problem with insects or mice. The windows do let in a lot of pleasant light. Also, the walls seem to be respectably thick, and we generally don't hear our neighbors in their apartment.

However, that short list ends all the positive things we can say about this complex. First of all, the laundry room is absolutely disgusting. It is in the basement, and the floor is like a swimming pool every time it rains. A rancid, stench-ridden swimming pool. The management staff knows about this problem, they blame it on a leaky foundation which they apparently do not plan to fix. On the rare occasion that we can actually go into the laundry room without gagging, the machines are all broken anyway.

Thankfully, our apartment is on the top floor, so the nasty basement area doesn't bother us too much. The apartments down there must be constantly flooded and full of bugs and mold, though. Another downside of this foundation leak is that it knocks out the hot water heater every time it rains. The maintenance guy is nice, and good about responding quickly every time we call about not having hot water (daily, during the rainy springtime) but it would have been even better if they actually did something to solve the root problem instead of just making us call all the time.

The second big issue is the group of teenagers that loiter endlessly right in front of our building. Not only do they make people really uncomfortable by staring at everyone who dares to walk by, or God forbid, enter the building, but they stink up the hallway with smoke. On a good day, it's cigarette smoke, on a bad day, it's weed. Sometimes both! Either way, it ends up permeating everything, and coming up through the air vents. And, to top it off, they're incredibly loud and obnoxious. It is like they're out to prove they can wake the dead with their voices alone. Which doesn't bother us at 4 in the afternoon, but is a serious problem at 4 in the morning.

These same teenagers also like to leave trash (including half-empty beer bottles and cigarette butts) in the hallway and stairwell. They usually sit there for about 5 days before someone bothers to clean them up.

Every now and then, the management company distributes lame notices about loitering, litter, and illegal drugs, but nobody pays attention. This place is supposed to have security, but they don't do anything about the teenage horde and you can't count on your car being safe. Mine was broken into, and it was parked only a few feet from the building, in a well-lit area. The bottom line is that nobody cares.

Some smaller details bother us, too. The location is awful. The intersection of Rt. 1 and Contee Road is a death trap. Don't think you can walk to the Giant across the street. We've tried that a few times, and almost gotten ourselves killed in the process.

The windows here are cheap and incredibly drafty. We pay far too much for heat and AC. If we close our bedroom door during the winter, it becomes frighteningly cold in there, because the system doesn't work very well.

Overall, you're better off just staying as far away from this part of Laurel, and especially this complex, as you can.

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