I have been living here for about two months now and carefully read all of the reviews (mostly negative) of the Reserve before choosing to rent here. The reason why we ultimately chose this property is because we thought it was a good value for the location. Although they have since raised the rent, it's still either on par or slightly cheaper than a lot of apartments up the road in crystal city and i can say from experience that a lot of those apartments are smaller, older and generally not as nice.

In terms of my experience with the management, i have nothing but truly positive things to say. I will give two examples of what i thought was excellent service on their part. Shortly after moving in, my roommate noticed a problem with his shower leaking water onto the floor. We work ordered it and had someone come to see about that same day. After consulting with the supervisor, they were able to fix the problem and will even have the carpet stretched so that it can be nailed down again. Both maintenance men that I interacted with were unfailingly polite and courteous.

My second positive experience came when I recently decided to adopt a pet from a local animal shelter. The place required a written statement from the management company saying that I was indeed allowed to have a pet in the apartment. Although it all but states this in the lease, the leasing office responded promptly to my request for this letter and even had it brought to my door so i didn't have to come back and pick it up. I really appreciated them going out of their way to help me out.

As for the gates being broken, etc. I don't feel that our gates malfunction any more than at any other apartment complex. "The gates are always up" is a constant complaint in a lot of the reviews for lots of different properties. Since i have lived here, the only time when the gates have been up for an extended period of time at odd hours is when they were hit by lightening. I also noticed the other day that the parking garage has security cameras trained on the entrances. I have no idea if this is new, or if they even work (since often security cameras are there more for deterrence purposes) but it definitely made me feel safer because i would think it would make any criminal think twice if he knew that his license plate and possibly likeness might by captured on film. I understand than the neighborhood the complex is located in is pretty mixed income but alexandria as a whole has VERY low rates of violent crime and with two cops living across the hall from me, i couldn't feel safer.

User Responses
From: amyzerwick	Date: 07/07/2008
Hi, I just wanted to clarify my post earlier. I'm definitely not management regardless of whatever others may think. In my post, i stated that "they have since raised THE rent" not that they since raised MY rent. I was simply clarifying that although we chose to live here because we thought the value was good, I also know that rents have been raised across the whole property since we signed our lease...at least if their own website is to be believed. According to information that they make available online, the rents for our unit now start at about $150 more a month than what we currently pay. Simply information for the consumer...take it or leave it. As far as the gates are concerned, i have no idea whether or not they were really struck by lightening nor do i particularly care. I didn't find it particular plausible either but if memory serves it was approximately a period of 48-72 hours that the gates were out of commission and whether it was due to lightening or some other maintenance issue, i don't really find that unreasonable. Gates are mechanical and they sometimes break. I think that's only to be expected. I clearly state in my review that my experience is based on two months of living here and anyone (prospective renter or otherwise) is at their own liberty to draw their own conclusions from what I and others have said. With the exception of the lightening strike incident, the gates have worked fine while I have lived here and I stick by my statement. At the very least, the gates here work a lot better than other complexes I am familiar with. Regarding the security camera and safety in the garage, I really can't address that since i have never had my vehicle towed or rifled through. The one comment i would have is that towing companies the world over are notorious for not exactly being gentle with other people's cars so it seems unfair to fault the management of an apartment complex for what is probably an industry wide problem. Again, i don't work for the reserve, but i have worked plenty in customer service and it is easy for me to empathize with their position. I have also had my car towed in other localities...even once had it towed by a municipal government and they definitely damaged it. I have lived in Alexandria for my entire life and vehicle theft and vandalism is a problem all over the city, in every part of it, low income, high income and everywhere in between. I agree that the management of our property has a responsibility to do everything they can to protect our persons and our property but they can only do so much. The only solution I have ever heard of that has worked in dealing with this problem is when communities have formed neighborhood watch organizations and basically been the sentry and guard in their own streets and neighborhoods. I'm not suggesting that we do this here because it presupposes that the thief comes from outside the community and also relies on the goodwill of all neighbors, but I also don't think it's fair to blame management entirely for this problem. In my opinion, other posters on this issue got it right when they suggested that concerned residents should take it upon themselves to report anything suspicious they see to the police. I empathize with any resident who has had their car broken into or otherwise damaged, and it's completely fair for that sort of experience to be shared on a website like this but it's also fair for me to share positive experiences that I have had without having them be labeled as fraudulent or planted. Trust me, I have read all the stuff on here too and it does appear that there are some questionable posts probably put up by management but they were mostly about three sentences long and pretty generic...my post wasn't. I appreciate you other readers taking the time to read my post and presenting me with an opportunity to clarify myself.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/07/2008
This reviewer is obviously lying here--probably management posting on their own behalf. First, they claim their rent was raised after only living in the complex for 2 months--very unlikely unless this person signed the month-to-month lease, which the management adds at least $500 to the regular rent for that option. Next they claim the only time the gates didn't work was when lightning struck--yet they said they have only been here two months--so how do they know what the gates do here? And lightning didn't strike the gates and knock them out--that was just an excuse by management--whoever heard of a storm knocking out gates? Regarding the security camera in the garage--it obviously doesn't work since management has not been able to stop people from breaking into cars in the parking lots. Nor has it been able to stop its towing company from damaging cars and then lying about it later.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/07/2008
I agree. Every 6 months, a "positive" false posting shows up...probably by management

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