I have had problems with Seminary Hill since I moved in May 2008. At first I had rented an apartment on the 1st floor, left the deposit and everything, and then I was told that the apartment was no longer available and I had to take an apartment on the 3rd floor as my only other option. Having a dog, this was very inconvenient for me in the garden style. Before we moved in, my roommate and I were able to walk the apartment with a member of the leasing staff. She mentioned that she did not like the floor in the kitchen and that she was going to have it replaced. She promised that it would be done by 9:00am that Saturday morning - our move-in day. We pulled up with the truck that day at 11:00am and low and behold, the floor was not complete...so here we are sitting in the parking lot with all of my belongings without anywhere to put them.

The event that has determined my decision to move out at the end of my lease (I wish I could sooner!) was the date of the fateful flood...apparently a pipe burst in my bedroom in my apartment. My dog stays in my bedroom during the day so she doesn't get into mischief. I arrived home after work around 8:00pm that night which was later than normal. I opened the door to my bedroom to let my dog out and I noticed something a little odd - a cardboard box was sitting my brand new comforter. As I walked further into the bedroom I saw that a panel had been removed from the wall - and upon further inspection...mostly with my sock...I found the carpet to be SOAKING wet - as well as all of my belongings in that corner. Needless to say I was livid, first and foremost that I was not alerted to the situation...even after the fact. I called the emergency maintenance hot line (I would never recommend this if you have an emergency...they didn't call me back!) to see if I could get an explanation and the woman said that someone from the on site staff would call me...SURPRISE...they didn't. At 7:45 the next morning and plumbing truck shows up outside and I had a feeling they were coming to my apartment...and sure enough they knock on my door. I asked them about the incident, since I had still yet to hear from the leasing office and they stated that the leak happened at 12:00 noon the previous day...the office was open for an additional 6 HOURS after that time and they couldn't call me to let me know!' So here I am with soaking wet carpet and a scared puppy without any knowledge as to what happened, where the water came from, or the quality of the water in question. At 9:00am I was in the leasing office where I spoke with the Property Manager who stated that she didn't know my apartment was affected...it was MY apartment where the pipe burst!!! How could it not have been affected!' She then called in the maintenance guy and he said that the contractors should have left a note stating they were there....well - I'm pretty sure the contractors didn't just miraculously have a key to my apartment - they had to get it from someone...so why didn't THAT someone leave a note...or call me...about the emergency situation they experienced'

Well...after I spoke with the management I was assured that everything was going to be taken care of. Home Properties has a program of what they like to call the "Pledge." If anything goes wrong - you can submit a pledge to be reimbursed rent...well - the PM did this for me along with the grocery list of complaints: carpet soaked with no notification, plumbers showed up the next morning with no notification, emergency maintenance never called back, my dog being subject to strangers in the apartment without my notification, a soaking wet cardboard box upon my brand new comforter, and water damage to my newly purchased bed frame. Normally the reimbursement is one days rent for the inconvenience. Keep in mind that since the carpet in my bedroom was soaked...it emitted a really wonderful musty smell that I couldn't stand - so I slept in the living room...for 5 days...because that it how long it took them to repair everything. I got a free carpet clean out of the deal...and a measly $40 check for my troubles. $40 doesn't even cover one day of rent and I was displaced for 5.


For obvious reasons I will not be renewing my lease come May 2009. The leasing staff pretends to care about your problems and promise solutions but don't follow through. I am pretty reasonable when it comes to unforeseen events, but a little heads up and a proactive approach to remedying the problem would have been nice. And just an FYI...I have seen a drug deal take place on the front stairs to my building...however...because of the neighborhood I'm a little scared to call the police because who knows how many pieces I will be in the next day...and its really thrilling when I get cat calls from the guys who live below me from their windows. It makes for a really comfortable and safe environment - don't you think'

User Responses
From: citykween	Date: 12/29/2008
You should have gotten out with that 30 day promise. I was there for a year and nothing went wrong until day 31. Rats, rats and more rats! Just be weary of that whole area of Alexandria, it's all pretty much "the same" if you know what I mean.
From: Anonymous	Date: 02/01/2009
At least you received some money. I was told it's not their problem that I didn't have renter's insurance.

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