When we visited the Alexander House, we were led to believe that it was a luxury apartment building run by professionals. They were super nice until we signed the lease. After a few months of living there, we learned we were wrong on both counts. The building is old; the tenants are a mixed bag; and the front office is nothing short of incompentent. Please, do not be fooled by the slick sales pitch and sweet-talking. Take it from someone who fell for the spiel: It is all an act.

First, the positives: It has a great location, 2 blocks from Metro, and right near a municipal parking garage and the 24-hour Tastee Diner. And that is it. Seriously.

I was informed early on that the uniformed guard at the front door is not, as you would assume by his badge that reads "Security," a security guard. No, the double-talking property manager informed me: That person is a member of the "courtesy patrol." Really' How courteous is it that this person is generally engaged in conversation with non-tenants, often letting his or her friends loiter on the front steps' And how courteous is it to be sound asleep on the job at midnight' How courteous is it to be away from the desk for seeming hours at a time, despite the "back in 10 minutes" note' How courteous is it that I had to call the county police myself about a car parked in front of the building with its stereo blaring for over an hour, because the individual on "patrol" didn't feel that calling the police was in his job description' Not very, I say. Repeated calls to the front office did not help the situation.

For literally 8 of the 12 months we lived in this building, the garage door was broken, by which I mean it was left open 24 hours a day with no camera or, dare I suggest, security guard. To make matters worse, the door from the garage to the elevator lobby on our level was broken for weeks, by which I mean it did not lock. Is it any coincidence that during this period, there was (no kidding) human waste (#1 and #2) in the elevators of the building, despite the fact that I and others reported the broken door' No surprise here.

Please, if you are still thinking of living here, avoid the 6th floor. My next-door neighbor's stereo thudded bass into my apartment 7 nights a week. I heard several couples break up on their balconies, and one in the hallway outside my room. A bachelorette party was completely out of control, and the tenants refused to quiet down. My across-the-hall neighbors allowed their toddlers to knock on our door at all hours. Finally, someone on the floor smokes so much pot that when the police came (because I called them), they could not identify the source of the smoke because it was so dense.

To be frank, the oddest combination of people imaginable live in the building. There are many young professionals, but there are also more people in wheelchairs than I have ever seen anywhere else; a mentally disturbed man on the 10th floor who once proposed marriage to me; and people with pets, despite the rule against them. I should mention that at least on the 6th floor, the vast majority of tenants are Section 8, which means they pay half rent. Draw your own conclusions, but suffice it to say that when we looked for a new building, we sought out one with few section 8 tenants.

The layout of our apartment was strange. A lot of space was used up by the bathroom, since all of the units have huge, wheelchair-accessible doors. The closet doors are those crappy accordion doors, and they break often. I have never seen so much space taken up by doors in an apartment. The kitchen is ok, but the breakfast bar is far too high to use for eating; it is just a half-wall that serves no real purpose.

Maintenance means well, and Tito is the man, but once I had to call 4 times about a leaky bathroom sink before they showed up...and fixed the kitchen sink. People, I could not make this up if I tried. I called about a broken air conditioner, and when the maintenance man showed up, he told me he thought it was not even hot enough outside for air conditioning. In general, plan to call at least twice for maintenance requests...and expect a frosty reception in the front office.

I have saved the worst, the absolute worst, for last. The property manager is one of the most unpleasant individuals I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. She is snotty; she is quick to disclaim responsibility for problems; and worst of all, she is ineffective. My fiance and I have PhDs, but she talked to us as if we were third-graders. I suspect she must be the property owner's niece or girlfriend; she is all talk and no action, in my experience. She is to be approached with caution. The rest of the people in the office are nice enough, but it is not clear what roles they fulfill, since maintenance requests are not put in, and since it took over 6 months to get a new garage door after ours was clearly completely faulty.

Please, please think twice before renting here. Then reread my review and think again. I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. They will need to make some changes, or they will be completely section 8 before long.

I should note that I lived in Manhattan for 5 years before living in this building, and I currently live in the Bennington, another high-rise in Silver Spring, so I am well accustomed to the reality of apartment living. The fact is that this building is the bottom of the barrel. If you are paying full rent, you should expect more. We live in the Bennington now, in a bigger apartment that costs only $300 more a month, where the staff is nothing short of angelic and the building is completely secure. You deserve better than this place.

User Responses
From: csebrigh	Date: 12/31/2005
GET A LIFE!!
From: sdiva44	Date: 04/26/2006
Wow, I live in the Bennington now and was thinking of moving into Alexander House when my lease is up (because I am one of those section 8, we'll tax-credit tenants) because my income is now too high to continue to pay $755. But after reading your post I might see if I can find a roommate that can split a 2 bedroom with me at the Bennington because I do love this building.
From: Anamckee	Date: 07/12/2006
What a racist and classist. I doubt it had little to do with the fact that they are section 8 and more about just being rude people. And so what if people are in wheelchairs, you don't like disabled people either? I can't believe someone had the nerve to write that. I live in Alexander House right now and honestly, it's not the BEST place but it's pretty okay. None of the above problems. Alexander House is under new management and it???s a lot better!
From: blushoes	Date: 07/13/2006
Wow the lady that moved to the Bennington from the AH she must be a real winner of a person to be so hateful. It that what you get with a PHD
From: nomorealex	Date: 07/26/2006
All the facts are true. For all who dispute, you're living in fantasy land. I can attest to many of the complaints. I'll be glad to leave!
From: rentercomments	Date: 07/27/2006
Section 8 or not the people in the building treat the place like trash and perpetuate urban stereotypes of "ghetto people". Of course there are decent, clean, and self respecting people in the building but I think they are the minority. The quality of the building, management, and security are very marginal at best. Bottom line is that there are plenty of other better places to live for that amount of rent (except of course for those subsidized renters). Advice to all: avoid Section 8 residences to lessen the probability of this happening again.
From: alexhouse1	Date: 11/13/2006
this is all a lie actually the person who wrote that its crazy there are a problem anywhere you go but why you have ti lied all this i lived in Alexander House for 10 yers paying close $ 2,000 well guess what i love it there are ppl stil live there more than 5,6 yers thats the truth
From: aholland26	Date: 02/03/2007
Sorry to tell you this, but you are lying. The garage door was broken for 3 to 4 weeks, not 8 to 12 months. This is not a section 8 building. It has a number of HOC rentals (not the same as Section 8, at all). Oh yeah, what do you have against handicap people. Do you think you deserve a better place to live than them. I'm not in a wheelchair but I don't share your concern... sorry! If you are going to write a review, at least tell the truth. If you are going to move to the Washington Metro area, don't be afraid of diversity. Have a nice day.

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