When my boyfriend and I moved from PA and VA to Carriage Hill in 2007, we were not familiar with the area or the complex. Sadly we fell for the leasing offices phony promises of a safe, lovely place to live. Visiting in the winter makes the area look beautiful, especially if it is during school hours. We were in for a shock when the weather warmed up.

This is the worst place I have ever lived! I have dealt with mice, ants, break-ins, vandalism, loiterers, littering, violence, conflict, and no support from management along with many other issues. The mice are infesting the grounds and ants crawl in every where. The companies solution is to lay out traps. I have two children under two! Having visible traps is not an option. There are also stray cats and random stray dogs along with many pit bulls living with tenants that are well over the maximum pet weight limit. The break-ins are mainly of first floor apartments through windows and the glass sliding doors. The vandalism ranges from spray paint on everything (even cars!) to broken doors, windows, and locks. When the office is notified of these issues, they say "people keep breaking them so we aren't going to keep fixing it". After an hour on the phone, and many threats, they sent maintenance out to fix my buildings back door. The lock is fixed but the door frame is still broke, allowing anyone to access our building. This has been a struggle for months. I call at least twice a week. They know my voice and have recently changed how maintenance and complaints are handled. Now it is an automated system.

In addition to the technical issues, many of the residents and their company have no respect for property or life. I have witnessed the kids of the development fighting, well it was about 20 to 1. The police showed up as I witnessed the event. I have dealt with pounding base from cars all hours of the night from people hanging out in the parking lots partying. I have dealt with watching residents urinate on everything from cars, trees, and the buildings. I have seen people doing drugs and smoking in my "secure" buildings hallways. I have watched kids catch the dumpsters on fire. The last incident I will mention is watching the drug deals all hours of the day and night. I call the leasing office and police for every incident that I find to be dangerous to me and my children. The office explains they cannot do anything about the issues and the police never arrive.

Carriage Hill accepts Section 8. I think that statement should let anyone know how the residents act. Poverty invites crime. I can't even get pizza delivered to my apartment anymore because the delivery man was beaten so badly.

On to littering. There are dumpsters everywhere but no one seems to use them. There is trash, broken bottles, weed baggies, and even condoms and wrappers all throughout the grassy areas. Not to mention the playgrounds. The mulch is covered with broken glass and trash. It is a shame that I cannot take my children to the playground to play because it is a hazard to their safety. The play yards are in need of major repair. One slide is not even connected to the poles, it is about to fall. I have called and was replied with the answer of "I will put in a work order". This is the offices solution for everything, about half of the time maintenance does not respond to work orders. It is just a way for the office to keep their tenants quiet.

Lets talk about the quality of the apartments. I have had the washer leak, the drains stay clogged, all of the closet doors are broken, the power goes off randomly, the carpet and floors are cheaply installed, the stove leaked gas, the electrical outlets were painted closed (about 2 years later they are still closed!). I cannot count how many times I have not had hot water, or better yet, no water at all. The air conditioner breaks twice a year. BGE informed me my unit is from the 80's, that would explain my extremely high bills! The heat does not work in the den. The blinds fall apart when they are touched because they are so old and the paint is chipping in the bath tub. All of these problems have been reported several times, none rendering a long term fix.

Other problems we have had is the size of parking spaces, leading to many dents from neighbors car doors. As well as having two cars towed which I had to scream and threaten to call the Better Business Bureau before the leasing office would acknowledge my complaint. The secretary rolled her eyes in my face and insisted there was nothing they could do. Surely enough my vehicles were proved to be towed without warrant and the company was forced to return them. Since then Henry's towing was not resigned to a contract with Carriage Hill. This was the ONLY issue that was resolved.

If I wanted to live in the hood I would be paying hood prices, not 900 dollars for a one bed room! If I could rate this apartment all zeros I would. I am embarrassed to tell people where I live and I fear for my safety when I have to walk from the parking lot at night. Lastly, as a mother, I would never let my children roam like the kids (the youngest i have talked to was five!) in this community. It is a shame the parents do not care about their children. My letter to end my nightmare of living here is in the mail! I cannot wait to find a safe place for my children to live.

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