It is the worst place ever. The parking is terrible. You need to be home by 7pm to get a parking spot some what close to your apartment. And the ROACHES are the worst. They spray my apartment 1 once a week and I have purchased all types of insects sprays and nothing works. I still have roaches. I just had a baby and I am up all night making sure a roach does not crawl on him. I undertand that by living in an apartment you will have bugs (because people are nasty) but I have never seem any thing like this.

The neighbors are loud. And if you live on the side close to the liquor store you will not get any sleep. It is dirty on the outside. Maintenance take over 2 days to fix any and everythong.

I cannot wait until my lease is up. DO NOT DO IT -- You will regret it!!

User Responses
From: MzBell	Date: 04/14/2008
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOUR LEASE IS UP!!! I lived there in 2004 and I was out 4 months into my LEASE!!!!! For the same reasons...and thank GOD my kids were not there. I can not imagine living there with a baby. Here is the letter I sent them. DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE TO STAY THERE AND PUT UP WITH THAT! 8/6/2004 Southern Management Corporate Headquarters/Community Relations ATTN: Carrie Butler 1950 Old Gallows Road #600 Vienna, VA 22182-3970 RE: Wildercroft Terrace Apartments, Riverdale, MD Dear Ms. Butler: On the morning of August 5th, I discovered that there was a large roach in my bed. This is what is prompting me to write this letter to you in hopes that you can assist me with my situation here at Wildercroft. I have lived here since April 16, 2004. There is a serious problem here with roaches that must be addressed. On my very first day of tenancy, I spotted a roach in the master bedroom. On the second day, there was another one in the kitchen. I called in to the rental office to let them know what I saw. I spoke with Stephanie who seemed to be very concerned about the problem and I was told that I would be put on the list. What list? I asked. I was then informed that the exterminator comes out once a week to treat the apartments here. That was a red flag right there, but I was more than patient and willing to wait for the issue to be corrected. Recently, they had the exterminator come out to treat the whole building, because the problem is obviously not just within my unit. This was done because I called in to inquire about moving out due to what is an infestation in my opinion. I was very upset and close to tears, so the property Manager Lois came by to look at the apartment. I had killed two adult roaches in the living room and left them there for her to see before I cleaned them up. To my surprise, she told me that when she herself first moved into her apartment here, she had roaches for the first month or so, but apparently it was halted by having the exterminator come out. I am not getting the same result. I indicated that I am constantly seeing roaches of all sizes roaming around in the building hallway and crawling in and out of my neighbors??? apartments. There are also no weather strips at the bottoms of our front doors that would at least help to prevent that from occurring. The exterminator has been to my apartment on more than one occasion. This can be verified with the leasing office. I have requested that he come again to treat my apartment this coming Monday, August 9th. He has been here to spray on two of the last three Mondays, and was supposed to come this past Monday to give my apartment a gel treatment. However, when I came home, nothing had been done, and a note was left in the kitchen indicating that he had not received his supply of gel. Because cockroaches are nocturnal, if you've seen one, you haven't seen them all. The few cockroaches you see by day were likely forced out by overcrowding; a possible sign of severe infestation. Not ONE day goes by in which I do not see at least one roach in my apartment. This is affecting my day-to-day life in a tremendous way. I have a hard time sleeping and wake up during the course of the night because this situation causes me quite a bit of anxiety. I leave lights on at night to decrease the chances of seeing a roach in my room and so that I can try to sleep. This directly affects my Pepco bill each month. On July 26th, I discovered that this does not necessarily work as I have pulled my pillows away from the wall, only to find approximately 4 ??? 5 roaches scurrying around. This is where I sleep! I do not cook often, as I am afraid that it will attract more of them, and I have seen them crawling in and around the stove itself. I do not utilize any of the kitchen drawers for utensils that I frequently use. Instead, I eat out when I can. A few weeks ago, I had a friend visiting from out of town for a few days and you can imagine my embarrassment when she jumped up because a roach was crawling next to her on my brand new sofa. My ten year old daughter has gone to live with my mother for the summer because she is extremely afraid of the bugs. I refuse to purchase any additional furniture as long as I am in this unit. I also have traps set in various places around the apartment to help deter them. I keep a large can of Raid in each room of the apartment so that it is always within reach. They are not only running rampant in the kitchen, and my upstairs bathroom, but my bedroom as well. The only room in which I never seen a roach is the downstairs bathroom. I have considered hiring an exterminator of my own, however this would be useless since my apartment is attached to others and would not completely solve the problem. I have also noticed an Orkin truck parked in the lot here, and I believe that the owner of this truck lives here. I have contemplated approaching him for suggestions, but I do not know this man and I am a single woman with children. I do not feel that I have any other option besides vacating. I would like to emphasize that the staff at Wildercroft Terrace, namely Stephanie and Lois, are always very friendly & professional. I have no complaints where they are concerned whatsoever. It was because of Stephanie???s professional and courteous manner that I decided to move here to Wildercroft Terrace in the first place. I was considering another one of your properties (University Gardens), but I was more impressed by Stephanie and the size of the apartment here, and opted for this location. The Fountain Club Apartments were also nice; however there were no units available at the time. My apartment, while not perfect, has been suitable for the most part and I am pleased with the space. What I cannot accept and will not continue to deal with, is this obvious infestation in my building. I do not have pictures, but I can certainly start taking some, and send them to you for review, so that you can see for yourself the conditions here. When I asked if I could get out of my lease due to the presence of vermin here, I was told that it would still be considered breaking my lease and I would be responsible for payments until the end of my initial term or until another tenant was found. I am even willing to transfer to another one of your properties, in hopes that all of your communities are not infested with roaches and other pests. However, your policy also states that I cannot transfer within the first 12 months of being a Southern Management tenant. I have examined the General Lease Terms provided to me and quote: ???Condition of Premises: License #2: Lessor covenants and Lessee hereby acknowledges that it has examined the premises and its acceptance of this agreement is conclusive evidence that Lessee accepts delivery of the leased premises and all common areas in clean, habitable and sanitary condition, free of rodents and vermin, and in compliance with all applicable laws.??? What are my options? I do not wish to live at Wildercroft Terrace any longer. I am not interested in being placed in another unit here should one become available, as most of the buildings are connected, and I am more than certain that the roaches run rampant in all of them. These conditions are unbearable, appalling & unsanitary and no one should be forced to live like this. It is disgusting and I hope that someone in management will take the time to be sure that it is remedied for current and future tenants alike. As for myself, I would like to see this resolved in one of two ways: 1. Release me from further obligation to my current lease with NO penalty due to the living conditions. I will provide 30 days written notice to the leasing office upon locating an alternate place of residence or; 2. Allow me to transfer to another location under your management prior to the completion of my existing 12 month lease. I look forward to hearing back from you about this as soon as possible. If nothing is done to resolve this to my satisfaction, I will be forced to take additional steps. The first step will be to FILE A HOUSING CODE COMPLAINT. I will write a letter to the proper authority, rather than just making a phone call. The letter and/or phone call will explain the defect and my previous unsuccessful efforts to get this situation resolved. Since the problem is serious (rats, roaches, plumbing defects, or a threat to health or safety), I should actually be calling the public authorities immediately and not delay in waiting for the landlord???s casual response. I do not wish to take this matter any further than your office. I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

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