First and foremost, I am a person who works in the property management industry. I've been working in the field for almost 4 years now. After my last experience with the property manager, I'm seriously considering moving out of this place and into a community that is owned by the company which I work. Normally I am very forgiving of problems/issues when they arise because I often deal with many similar issues. I have to tell you that the Property Manager at this community is totally incompetent. There is no way that she would be able to manage a Class A property for the company I work for. Here is my beef: my apartment flooded because the air conditioner was leaking onto my living room floor. Well, this is the second time that this has happened in my apartment. The first time I was forgiving. The second time I am not so forgiving because it is preventable issue. I am concerned that there could be mold and mildew from the sitting water. I have been sick for the past month leading up to the discovery of the water leak. The management has not confirmed with me that they have even tested for the presence of mold, more specifically the level of mold in my apartment. The property manager's answer to my inquiry was that mold exisits everywhere. Yes, I know this, but mold in high levels can cause serious health problems. I plan to forward my complaint to the health department. She (and the building engineer) told me their A/C leak issue is a recurring problem. They told me that it might happen again. Are these people really stupid' If you know it is a problem, then take the necessary steps to prevent or minimize future occurence. My flood scenario happened twice in a year. My apartment was in disarray for a week. The first time I had to wait two weeks before the issue was resolved. It may have gone unresolved for another week this time around if I hadn't been vocal about my displeasure. Now, this is not the only issue that I have had at this community, but keep in mind that I have been very forgiving the last 3 years that I have lived here. What really upsets me is the lack of customer service skills that the management staff possesses, specifically the property manager. I've had my share of dealings with the leasing office. I have to say that I agree with many of the negative postings. The leasing staff is not very friendly and seem annoyed when in fact it is their job to be nice to their residents. Good luck if you ever need to reach them because the phone just continues to ring ring ring. I am not sure how busy a leasing team can be when you are almost at 100% occupancy. Maybe that is the problem' The building is at 100% occupancy, so they DON'T CARE' There are three buildings, The James, The Potomac, and The Ashley. They all have seperate administrative offices, but the main property manager is in the middle building. To be fair, the staff at my building (The Ashley) has been absolutely wonderful when addressing issues. I'm glad to deal with such a friendly group of individuals. But, when you have a major problem that needs resolution then it is handled through the PROPERTY MANAGER who is in the middle building. So, if you have a problem with why your rent is being increased, then you need to speak with her. Good luck if you ever have to speak with her. I don't think she is a very customer focused manager. I hate to be so negative, but I don't think she realizes she is in the wrong business. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS LACKING!!!!!

List of problems:
1) There seems to be a problem with noise in the building. Many times you can hear someone hammering in the evening after 9:00 PM or early in the morning. Management has posted signs to minimize noise, but does not appear to have pinpointed the problem.

2) Courtesy officers are wreckless in the parking lots when patrolling the area, still worthless because they just sit in the car and talk on their cellphone.

3) Building is older. So it has quite a few issues. My toilet runs often, yet I've made several attempts at contacting service for this issue.

4) Closet door often comes off track and maintenance has come out several times. Now, I just let it stay off track because it's still not fixed.

5) I was promised a newly rennovated apartment when I moved in. I work in the busines. I know the difference between new and shampooed carpet. I didn't get new carpeting.

6) We are paying market rent, but we don't have everything a market ready apartment includes.

7) There is a younger/irrisponsible element in the building. Often writing stupid remarks on helpful reminders that are posted throughout the building. Yet, some of the OLDER people are bit nosy as well. People often trash the elevators leaving peanut crumbs or debris as if it were their own personal trash area.

8) The fire alarm has gone off several times throughout the time I have lived here. All false alarms. What am I to think if we have a real emergency' Because of the problem, they often continue to test the alarms during the day. This may not be a good place to live if you have to sleep during the day.

9) Water has been turned off many times to resolve water issues.

10) A/C and HEAT can be difficult when transitioning between seasons. They turn on/off the heating cooling systems at specific times during the year.

11) Because it is an older building, there is like 40 coats of paint on the walls and often the workmanship of painting and renovations is poor. We've had one bedroom painted and another to be painted because the paint in flaking. This is a nuissance because we have to move all of our furniture so the painters can access the walls. If it were done correctly before move-in then I wouldn't have to be inconvenienced.

12) They installed new windows in every single apartment. Well, my window began to leak water into the apartment when we had some heavy rains. It took three weeks before a contractor could come out to fix the problem. At least I hope it is fixed'

13) Because each apartment shares vents with other apartments, you can smell the smoke of cigarette smokers in some areas of the building. We have air purifiers at the entrance of our apartment to prevent the smell of smoke from coming into our apartment from the hallway. We also have air purifiers in our bedroom.

14) Did I mention that the management office lacks customer service' Oh yeah, Maybe I wouldn't have written my little rant if I had been treated with a little respect when I came to visit the property manager. Something to make you go Hmmm'

Location is great. Convenient to metro. Just hope you don't need to deal with the property manager.

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