I have been living here for less than two years, and wish I could run away from this place since the first week. Let's start from the beginning:

1. Things improved a little bit since the new owner assumed ownership -- I need to admit that. However, an incredible array of major problems continue nonstop.

2. The garage doors have been broken for more than a month, meaning that anybody from outside can enter the building, access your apartment, break into your storage area, or steal your car. BTW, these are very common in this building.

3. Speaking of access, I ve had at least three attempts of invasion to my apartment in the middle of the night. (I m aware of at least 3.) Indeed, it is a very scary situation, even if you are a man. Many locked storages have been broken into, and residents had their belongings stolen. It is not rare to see homeless people sleeping on the coaches of the main entrances (Lambourne Rd & Dunvale Rd), especially because the main entrances are kept open or routinely broken.

4. Again, it is common for the main entrance doors to be broken, and the one at Lambourne Road has been broken for more than a month. Access is free to anybody. The staff says that they are trying to fix it, but no signs that this will happen any time soon.

5. Since I moved to this building, I have been trying to get my name listed on the directory. After nearly 2 years, it has not happened. I can't order a pizza, have guests or anybody invited in if they don't enter with me, as they can't buzz me to allow entry. In case I have an emergency, I won't be able to open the door even to the 911 crew. I also can't get my packages that require signatures delivered, as officially I don't live in this building. One may think that this is an isolated situation, but it is not. Many residents experience the same problem.

6. In less than 2 years living here, I ve had my apartment flooded 3 times. An older lady who lives above me clogs her toilet, and they can't evict or move her to the first floor (at least she would flood only her apartment) because it is "discrimination." Sorry, I thought I was the one being discriminated against by waking up in the middle of the night with dirty rain inside my apartment, and having my belongings destroyed... BTW, in one of the floods, I stayed without electricity for more than 10 days, everything wet and stinking. I ve learned that a number of residents have experienced similar flooding situations. Of course, the management does nothing to alleviate your problem. What I have heard so far is "get home insurance" to pay for the damages or stay in a hotel.

7. WE HAVE FIRE ALARMS!!!! (They sound throughout the building AND in your apartment.) All of them false (estimated 30 within the past year), nearly always in the middle of the night or weekends, and lasting at least several hours, before the Fire Department is contacted by management to turn off. What fun and excitement it is waking to a fire alarm wondering whether there is a real fire in the building or whether someone is having fun. Anyway, after an hour or so of this strident and deafening "song" in your ears, you cannot sleep anymore. Unfortunately, only a few handicapped, elderly and disable people actually respond anymore and exit to the street to await the Fire Department. Clearly, it is management s, not the Fire Department s, problem.

8. Major construction surrounding this building simply never ceases. Of course, if you like jackhammers at 6:30 a.m. backhoes, concrete trucks etc. throughout the day and the associated noise and dust, you may find Dulaney Crescent well-suited to your needs. Seriously, walk around the building, and you ll find nearly 360-degrees of new construction or major repairs to existing buildings.

9. Parking is the part I like most: Parking on the streets is difficult during the day and nearly impossible after 8 p.m. With all the construction mentioned above, on-street parking not only for your guests, but also for residents is extremely limited. At night, you'll find cars parked illegally and at weird angles protruding into the street (alert -- police officer walks there once a while distributing fines). I'm delighted to watch this from my window. If you are fortunate enough to have a garage spot as I do, you MUST remember to display your hang tag at all times, because this building has an agreement with Pollards Towing, and they patrol the building each night around midnight to 4 a.m. If you happen to need another hang-tag displayed as I do for work and switch tags back to the Dulaney tag, you re faced with your car towed without notice in the middle of the night, a $220 towing fee (must be cash), and could you guess'-- extremely rude towing people, who are professionals at giving elusive directions to their towing lot. Plan on spending several hours trying to find the towing lot, located in the Twilight Zone, with no name on the building, no street address, and conveniently located behind other auto businesses that help obscure it. I'm assuming that they do this on purpose, to delay your pick up and get more money from you.

10. Lastly, Dulaney Crescent is considered a luxury building. The rent is luxurious, the building and appliances are not. Things break all of the time: air conditioner, heat, blinds, cabinets, washer, dryers, microwave, etc. This started happening on my first week in the building, and hasn't stopped since.

I highly recommend that you research other apartments before overpaying for Dulaney Crescent s unending host of problems. Talking to other residents in this building, you would find stories similar to mine. In my work, everybody already knows about my stress with this place, and they allocate coworkers relocating from other states to different places. In summary, floods from toilets, cars towed without notice, false fire alarms, non-stop construction, cheap appliances, non-responsive management, dirty public areas, broken front doors and garage doors, thefts from storage areas all contribute to the Dulaney Crescent experience.

User Responses
From: dindygirl	Date: 07/16/2007
Glad I never rented there - I called when they were first built and some snobby woman was on the other end of the line spouting out their high rents. Guess they found teenagers to fill the rooms up. What is up with that garage door too? This place is not that old to have a constantly broken garage door.
From: steveridge	Date: 07/24/2007
Possible relief - I own a 4 Bedroom Townhouse close by. It has 3.5 bathrooms, a deck and a yard. Its in a very nice neighborhood and its beautiful. Its available in August 2007. For more info please call 410-409-2516

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