I moved into TOTH in June 2008 from out of state, so I was unaware of the area where I would be living. The selling point was the close proximity to Naylor Road metro station so I could get to work. You truly get what you pay for - my 1 bedroom seemed very small for the price ($946.00/month). My neighbors loved to run by and knock on the door at all hours of the night, and I could hear children in the hall running at times much later then they should have been up on a school night. The windows were not very good, and I could hear traffic and accidents all the time on Branch Ave. I didn't realize how bad the insulation was until I moved and now can't hear traffic at all, even though I lived off another very busy street.
The water bill was upsetting throughout the time I lived at TOTH. When I first found the place online, I was told ALL utilities were included in the rent. Then I arrived in D.C. ready to sign my lease only to learn I would be required to pay a water bill. It seemed as the water bill continually went up, even though I lived by myself and didn't use any additional water from month to month. The kicker came earlier this year, when I suddenly got a bill from the office saying I had not paid my water bill, and that the $90.00 water bill had been forwarded to the office and that I was to pay the office rather than EBS. The letter, signed by the complex manager, said that if I did not pay the amount due to the office, they would subtract it from my next rent payment, then add late fees to the rent. What I think surprised the office staff was I had proof that all of the my bills had been paid in full, and I called and spoke to someone from EBS about the account. It seemed odd when I went to discuss the issue with someone in the office, and I saw the stack of letters given out regarding water bills. It seemed like every single apartment in my building got one - sounds like a problem on the complexes side not the renters.
The laundry room wasn't the best. Often times there would be 3 or 4 washers or dryers broken, and when there was only 10 of each in the room, it made for difficult for getting laundry done. I did like that the machines ran by a card that you loaded money on from a credit card, as I didn't have to hunt down quarters in order to get laundry done.
The couple of times I had maintenance issues, they were taken care of quickly, but once of the repairs were done incorrectly, so the problem continued. Just before I moved out in June, painters came in and they did a great job repairing the couple of spots. One of the maintenance guys, Billy, was my favorite, and he even loaned me his personal hand truck when I moved out.
The office staff changed constantly, and they were all extremely rude when you went in to ask a question. While these changes occurred, the office was closed early, and never open on weekends, making it difficult to get assistance for people who worked full time jobs.
The week before I was scheduled to move out, I suddenly developed a mouse problem. I had never had any evidence of mice in my apartment, and I kept my place very clean. I assume that someone nearby had moved into an apartment that had been empty where the mice were, and they spread. When I called the office to report the issue, they said they couldn't do anything about it - until I threatened to put out poison to take care of the problem, then they were quick to help. That same week, there had apparently been a several reports of rodents in our particular building because letters were placed on every door about proper trash disposal.
I moved out of TOTH earlier the year. Like the title of my review says, you get what you pay for in an apartment. I'm not sure if I recommend the place or not. I guess it just depends on the person.

User Responses
From: ecpigirl	Date: 08/23/2009
thanks for the info. so what apts do you stay in now. trying to find a decent place to live don't mind paying a little extra for rent if its worth it.

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