First off, I am nearing the end of my 6-month lease, and have already signed for another year. My roommates and I are sharing a 2-bed den (I don't know why it isn't just called a 3-bedroom) called, I believe, the Willow floor plan. I am in the mid-sized bedroom. The master is a good deal larger than mine, while the smallest is just a few square feet less. I will try to break down my review into the sections Apartmentratings.com uses, and give a complete evaluation of my experience here.

First Impression:

While the first impression I had when touring the community was entirely positive, there were a few problems after moving in. Post charges a $10 trash fee which, while not enough to make me reconsider, still should have been mentioned as part of the lease (it was mentioned the day we came to sign). This wasn't a big deal, especially since it was split 3 ways, but unexpected charges always bother me. The next problem appeared when our first water bill arrived. Water is paid through Post instead of the WSSC, and the charges are about 1/3 higher. Once again this only amounts to about $10 a month for my apartment, but others might use more water and it could get annoying.
Now, the issues above are fairly minor and wouldn't bother me if I was expecting them. However, my first night in the new apartment (during November) I found out that the ac/heating in the apartment didn't reach my bedroom. Let me explain: My room is at the far corner of the apartment/building, furthest from the air handler, and simply didn't get any airflow. With the bedroom door closed, the temperature got down to about 45degF (yes, I measured it). This could pose a serious health hazard for some people, and should be taken care of before the apartment is occupied. The good news, however, is that maintenance took care of it right away and, while my room is still the least conditioned of the three, it is never uncomfortable.

Parking:

I came from a much smaller community in Rockville, and compared to that the parking here is amazing. I almost always get a spot right next to my building, and even if I don't there are plenty of spaces all around. Even if the parking lot was somehow filled up, there is still street parking right in front of the building which is never filled up.
Also, an annoyance at my old apartment was all the trees and birds around the parking lot (leading to a lot of pollen and bird poop on cars). There are very few trees in the immediate area, and this has not been a problem at Post Fallsgrove.

Maintenance/Staff:

I'll begin with the office staff, since they are probably the most important selling point of an apartment complex. Everyone here has been exceptionally polite and professional; I often go to pick up a package only to spend a half hour just talking to whomever's in the office. Whenever I've had a complaint, they've dealt with it as best they could and I've never left with the feeling of "what the hell am I paying for".
Next is the maintenance and grounds staff, who have also been incredible. The grounds are kept looking beautiful, which I'll touch on later, and the staff are very polite and courteous on the rare occasion I run into them. As for maintenance, Post has a policy of refunding rent whenever something isn't fixed right within 48 hours (This isn't the exact wording of the guarantee. Please look it up on their website if you want the details.) and they are very good about getting things done in that timeframe. When we first moved in, our washing machine was making a LOT of noise. They checked it out the same day, found some bad bearings making the noise, and replaced the whole washer the next morning. While the guarantee states 48 hours, most of what we've needed fixed was done the same day, and everything has been done within 24 hours of our putting in the request.

Construction:

Well, if you've lived in this type of community before you've probably seen the same drywall, moulding, and appliances a hundred times before. There's really nothing special about the apartments that you can't find elsewhere, although I will say that the appliances are a bit nicer than I've seen in similarly priced communities. The walls are fairly thin, but insulated enough that a TV on in the next room shouldn't keep you awake. If your bedroom is next to a bathroom though, I would suggest turning on the exhaust fan and listening from the bedroom to make sure you can live with it. My room, and headboard, are right next to my bathroom and the fan is a bit loud when I'm trying to sleep. Besides the flaw with the ac/heating that I mentioned earlier (which seems specific to the Willow floor plan), there are no other serious problems with the construction. We can hear our neighbors from time to time, but we also have particularly loud neighbors.
One little annoyance however, and this has been mentioned by other reviewers, is the creaking bathtubs. The tubs are huge, probably 1.5 times the width of a standard bathtub, which is probably why they creak. Personally though, I think this is just a minor annoyance and is easily outweighed by having the extra space while showering.

Neighbors/Noise:

As I said, I have particularly loud upstair neighbors and the noise can definitely be annoying. But I wouldn't say that this is indicative of the apartment quality, as noise from the road and other sources is well muffled. Also, despite their being loud my upstair neighbors are very nice and always pleasant to talk to. While most of the other neighbors don't really seem eager to strike up a conversation (typical of places like this), they always smile and say hello when I pass them in the halls, making for a pleasant atmosphere.

Grounds/Amenities:

The grounds are very well maintained; I don't think I've seen a single piece of trash outside the dumpster area in the six months I've lived here. The common areas of the buildings are kept very clean, and the hallways are very well lit. Each building has interior stairwells, and requires an access key to get in. The doors/buildings are well maintained and provide a good feeling of safety. Although I don't use many of the amenities like the business center or movie theater, they are still nice to have. And the fitness center is larger and much nicer than I would expect from an apartment complex.
One of the major selling points for Post Fallsgrove is the shopping center within walking distance. It's a beautiful little center with a great selection of restaurants (my roommates and I are partial to Moby ----'s), a Safeway, dry cleaners, FedEx Kinkos, and plenty more. It's pretty popular, which can make traffic in and out a pain, but living so close I almost always walk anyway. If you have children though, definitely hold their hands if you're crossing the street near the main entrance, as a lot of people run the stop signs.

Overall:

Well, the fact that I already resigned for another year should indicate that I like this place. Not only is it close to work for myself and both of my roommates, but the shopping center and other nearby businesses are a very nice benefit. Shady Grove hospital is right across the street and there are lots of doctor's offices nearby on Shady Grove Road. Rockville Pike is 5 minutes away and has pretty much every type of business you could ever need within a couple miles, and there is easy access to I-270 if you need it. Prices seem a little high, but then that is true of this entire area. But, while I wouldn't consider Post a great value, I definitely think it's worth every penny to live someplace safe with a great staff, beautiful apartments and ammenities, and in a very safe area. I plan to spend at least a few more years here and when I do decide to leave, it will be a very difficult decision.


Update: (3/15/2009)

I'm updating my original review just to give some final thoughts before I move out. Apparently I lied about staying here for a few more years, but that's more about now having to commute to Alexandria than anything with the community. After almost 1.5 years here, there has only been one lasting problem (the ac/heating/airflow issue I mentioned above) which, while annoying, isn't management's fault and can't be fixed without major renovations. As I said above, it is particular to the Willow floor plan and I would simply suggest asking a current resident about whatever floor plan you are looking at before moving in.

Rent went up when we resigned only $30 per month, and every other expense has remained fairly constant. There was a period where the leasing office was undergoing construction a few months ago which, surprisingly, didn't seem to affect the service at all. The office was moved down the hall and packages were kept in a separate room, but the staff did the same excellent job of dealing with any issues that arose. Overall, if not for my commute (3 hours per day in traffic is too much) I would be staying, and my roommates are in fact looking for someone to replace me.

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